One voice you will have become familiar with over the years is Jenna Cartwright’s. As front of house—not to mention PA to the Directors—Jenna’s is the friendly face, welcoming visitors to Covetrus HQ in Dumfries every day. Continuing our meet the team series, Jenna tells us what it’s like to manage the diaries of some of the business’ busiest people, and what work/life balance means to her.
Originally hailing from Ashford, Kent aka ‘The Garden of England’, Jenna was “lucky enough to have spent time living on some beautiful country estates growing up”, given her family background in gamekeeping. This allowed her to live across the UK, namely in Wales, the last port-of-call before heading north to Scotland aged 15.
With over four years under her belt, Jenna began her Covetrus journey in February 2016. Prior to this, she notes: “I didn’t have any reception/PA experience, but it was always something I wanted to do! Before I joined, I worked for the mobile company O2 for eight years; before that, I worked with horses. I used to teach horse riding, working at a racing yard in Lockerbie, Livery yard and hunting yards. I really enjoyed it. It was hard work and long hours but was great fun—apart from working in the winter when it was cold!
As an owner of two dogs (and three chickens) the self-confessed ‘morning person’ likes to get her day off to the right start: “I like to get up early even on a weekend! Normally I get a cuppa, let out the dogs and feed them and the chickens. Then get ready for work, get some breakfast before leaving the house to be at work for 8 a.m.”
Jenna knows once she’s in the office, things might be just a tad hectic and the words “typical day” might not fall within her lexicon. “I send out emails to say which managers/directors are in the business, a weather report for the warehouse, the all-important canteen menu for the day and I collate data for a KPI report that goes out around lunchtime to directors. Every day is different which is what I like. The job definitely keeps me on my toes! I pretty much book all the transport/hotels/flights and hire cars for our site and the odd flight from OZ!”
Jenna continues: “My calendar is full of bookings at the minute! I also book meeting rooms around the UK, they can be for our transport team, human resources, directors or our sales team. I help organise meetings for our teams, not just here, but I also liaise with our people in Europe and the US which can be tricky with different time zones.”
If that wasn’t enough, Jenna assists in meetings, taking minutes to circulate and compiles slide packs to send out to the teams. Then there are the usual reception duties: taking customer phone calls and dealing with general enquiries, greeting visitors, ordering stationary, onsite meeting room tidying. There is not much she doesn’t do.
Despite the high-pressure nature of the job, Jenna knows it’s better to lean into her to-do list, keeping a clear head and staying calm, ensuring things go off without a hitch. “I have quite a level head which I think you need for this kind of job, as sometimes it can get quite busy and I get a lot of last-minute requests, but I do like being busy! At home I’m a bit of a neat freak and I like to keep busy with things around the house or garden then relax with a Gin or two in the evening!”
So, what does 2020 hold for Jenna? “As I didn’t have any reception/PA experience before starting Covetrus I’m hoping in 2020 to see if there’s any course/training I could complete to gain more experience and qualifications. Personally, I will be continuing updating my home! New bathroom and carpets next! The exciting things!!”