At CWE, we’re proud to be part of the UK rail industry. We believe it’s a great place to work and that our friendly team showcases the best of the sector. In this series, Life at CWE, we’ll be providing a glimpse into the life of our staff. We hope this will give readers a sense of the work our brilliant people do and the diverse range of talents and skills that make up the world of rail engineering.
In this month’s episode, we catch up with cleaner, and keen baker Sonya Maxwell, who talks us through a typical day maintaining the high standards at the centre of excellence at Crowle, and impressing her colleagues with her generous baking!
What does your job entail, and what does a day in your life look like?
In short, I make sure the offices at CWE are spick and span, I have been the cleaner here for 4 years now, and I love my job and all my colleagues. There’s quite a big workshop at our centre of excellence at Crowle, mainly full of machines, racking and parts, so although I leave a lot of that for the guys to manage, I will make the work safe a clean and safe environment for them, picking up on any near misses, any hazards or general rubbish that has been accumulated over the week. Then there’s the offices that I keep on top of too, cleaning with a smile on my face – I even bring goodies in for them! Lucky I know! I normally do Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and find that I can keep on top of the work load this way, though some weeks it’s extra busy and I have more to do! I know everyone on site works really hard, so it’s a pleasure maintaining those high standards down to the cleaning too.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
I think a lot of people look at cleaner roles and disregard it; I don’t think anyone could do their job to their full potential with smelly bins lingering and dirty workspaces, but luckily, I work for a company who genuinely cares and have colleagues that appreciate how hard I work. It’s a pleasure coming to work, and have formed true bonds with many of the staff here, and of course it’s then a pleasure making sure the workspace is clean for them. It’s also particularly rewarding when someone notices the little things – “Oh you’ve wiped down my desk, Sonya, thank you” is always great to hear! I know that when I leave after my shift, that I’ve made a difference to those that work here, even if it’s just something as simple as a kind word or gesture. It’s rewarding to know that you have a positive influence on a business or on an individual.
Which of your personal skills help you fulfil your role?
The obvious one is hard work, you can never look at a job and think it’s beneath you in this industry. Believe me when I say I have seen some “interesting” things as a cleaner over the years, that’s just all part and parcel of the job, you can’t get away from it! It’s not for the faint hearted, so you do have to work hard! I also think it helps to be a friendly face around the business. I know that I am there to do my job and provide a cleaning service for the workers, but it’s nice to be able to build a rapport with them and have a laugh and make sure they are alright. Sometimes I’ll bring them a brew when I can see things are especially stressful, or their workload looks heavy and it’s always so well received, so I guess that element of being a people person also helps me get the best out of the job.
What is your biggest piece of advice for someone embarking on the first stage of their career?
My advice is do what your heart says to do, and don’t be afraid to try! I love my job; I know I do a good job and I know my company both appreciates me and wants me to succeed. Whatever you’re passionate about, do it, and don’t care what other people think! Get your qualifications, get your experience and make a go of it, because the happiest people in this world enjoy what they do, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else says! The most valuable thing for me carving a path in this industry was making sure I created a good base of clients and using their good feedback to propel my reputation so I would also say make sure you get that good base of clients, do your market research and finally pick a company with good morals and ethos if you are going to work for someone!
Tell me something interesting about yourself!
I am doing a charity bake sale in September for Children’s Cancer – I will be baking all different buns, sausage slices, cheese and bacon slices, and then any specific requests that people have! Hopefully we can raise a good amount of money for a charity close to my heart – I sadly lost both my sister and my niece to the horrible disease, they both suffered with breast cancer, and I think it is important to help as much as you can to help those that are going through the same thing.
