Employee Spotlight Najaid Ali
Tell us about yourself
I am 27 years old and the father of 2 devils. A daughter aged three and a son aged 7 months. I was born and raised in my hometown Luton. I studied in Luton sixth form college where I took A level Law, A level Business studies and A level Psychology. I carried on my education by going to the University of Bedfordshire to do Human Resource Management. I am a family person who enjoys spending the weekends around my parents to enjoy our lunchtime feasts with the rest of the family. I also enjoy playing football every weekend with friends and of course having a big meal straight after.
How did you get into working in the waste management industry?
My working background has been in customer services and had originally applied for the customer service role in Cawleys. I was then told that there was an opening for a field sales executive at an apprenticeship level. I was not sure about the role as it would have been new to me and having very little experience in sales. I was told to come in for a taster day and was really impressed. It was a no-brainer to pick Cawleys as I would be gaining valuable experience and skills all the while gaining a qualification.
How has your job changed as you have worked in the industry?
Originally I was a field sales executive at an apprentice level so my patch, target and daily workday was slightly different to the other guys. During my time in Cawleys we, unfortunately, had coronavirus causing the majority of us to go on furlough. This is where I believe the idea came about for the telesales role as many customers were not happy to have us on-site during this period. The telesales role was another new role for me in terms of being able to persuade customers to buy from you with nothing but your communication skills. After a year’s delay with my apprenticeship, I was finally able to submit all my coursework and do a final presentation. I was amazed when I found that I had received a distinction for my work and do want to thank everyone who helped me through the years. Following the success of receiving my qualification and doing well in telesales, the role for field sales had become available again. I then had the opportunity to apply and fortunately, I was able to transition back to field sales with a whole set of new skills from telesales.
What are some of your favourite things about working for Cawleys?
The favourite things I would have to say is being part of the Cawleys family. Everyone is incredibly friendly from the day I started, and this has not changed. Being able to come into the office and have a chat about a job or even our personal life makes working for Cawleys enjoyable. Overall my favourite thing about Cawleys is every person who works for Cawleys.