Efficiency is a key ingredient when it comes to creating value for our clients and our employees. So, we enlist a team of commercial experts to help embrace the highway sector’s lean approach and continuously improve the services we provide.
When Aneta Pindak goes to work in the morning, she is thinking the usual things about the traffic, if she has enough cash to nip to the shop for lunch, and making time in her diary for her passion – mountain biking. It might surprise you to know she is also thinking about traffic cones. Specifically, how she can support the commercial team at HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd to find efficiencies in the way traffic cones are deployed to maximise added value.
Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration! But Aneta plays an important role in the team that evaluates our business processes, projects and contracts in order to find ways to better keep operatives safe, increase the time available to do other tasks, and save money that can then be re-invested into the workforce and R&D.
Aneta works at the company’s office in Blackwell, Derbyshire. She is a Commercial Administrator responsible for the company’s Coventry-based activities. She has a highly transferable set of skills and dedicated approach that makes her an invaluable asset. Her responsibilities are to support different functions across the business, engage and collaborate with different teams and interact with internal and external customers on a wide array of different projects.
Feeling valued for her contribution is one of the areas that brings Aneta the most satisfaction. She feels like a trusted and important part of the commercial team, despite being a relatively new recruit. She joined HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd in September 2021, from her previous role as an Administrator for Aperture Trading where she was employed for four years.
She traces her interest in commercial administration to her desire to grow personally and professionally; the opportunities for progression in commercial management are wide ranging and transferable to many sectors. She explains: “Getting this position was really rewarding and is something I’ve been working hard for. I’m hoping to keep improving at what I do so that I can achieve even more in my career as a commercial and business professional.”
Aneta credits her success to sheer determination and hard work. But a role in commercial administration requires more than that. It requires her to deliver on her responsibilities with integrity, maintaining an excellent track record of discretion and confidentiality. She is expected to show initiative, managing her own time and numerous priorities, and developing inclusive decision-making skills.
Problem solving and issue resolution are core aspects of her role, and she needs to hone effective, persuasive communication skills up and down the business hierarchy to get her job done. Over time, Aneta will develop an encyclopedic-type knowledge of the highways industry and its associated risks that will help to identify and develop opportunities for efficiency and new business.
She says: “I think it’s important to be kind, helpful and show empathy to be successful in this role. But that only gets you so far, you also must be resilient as you’re often asking difficult questions and encouraging people to prioritise your needs above their day-job. But it has to be done, for the good of the company in the long term. It also pays to be quite particular, especially when it comes to data analysis and scheme valuations as attention to detail is an important part of the job.”
In her current job, Aneta coordinates the commercial administration activities and operations of the Coventry-based arm of the business to ensure its efficient and compliant with the company’s commercial and quality policies. She puts her many years of administrative experience to good use controlling the documents critical to the projects and contracts she is responsible for; managing financial administration tools; overseeing the accurate and timely completion of weekly timesheets including collation of late information; managing correspondence and client queries troubleshooting issues; creating, and updating company records; data analysis and compiling reports; scheme valuations and long-term cost analysis; and the purchase order process.
She also participates in regular commercial team and office-based meetings providing important resource, financial, and operational data.
Choosing a career path in the commercial world is a rewarding experience. Beginning in an administrative position like Aneta, individuals take on greater responsibilities as their experience, and industry awareness grows. Over time they perform an increasingly active role in the operational development and growth of a business.
With a personal development plan from HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd specifically tailored to an employee’s goals and potential, someone like Aneta could gain the qualifications that will consolidate their learning and experience and see them progress to a more advanced role, such as that of a Quantity Surveyor, helping to estimate costs, materials, personnel, and project timelines to keep a project on target.