Abi P.

Started in Fashion, found engineering and moved to customer operations

From studying fashion at the Fashion Retail Academy to joining British Airways as a Business Support Apprentice in Engineering. My career has been diverse and I have enjoyed the challenges and variety of work. I began my journey at British Airways in 2016 as an Apprentice and was fortunate enough to move across internal engineering departments and head office, which even involved working in our contact centres in Newcastle and a short period at a maintenance facility in Malta. I graduated from my Apprenticeship and worked within departments across Safety and Security and Engineering. I have since moved to Heathrow Customer where I manage the performance and development of a large team of our front line colleagues. I have also completed a further Apprenticeship through British Airways, where I have obtained a Chartered Management Business Management degree.

I manage a team of customer facing colleagues

I am currently a Performance Development Manager in Heathrow Customer. Where I lead and manage a team of just under 150 individuals, Customer Experience Representatives (CERs) and Customer Experience Leads (CELs) , who all report directly into me across Terminal 5 and Terminal 3. I manage their on the day performance and development as well as their longer term such as career development and coaching. My goal is to create the right environment for my team to thrive and be part of a Better BA. I am passionate about developing my colleagues and am committed to driving a people focused culture and delivering for colleagues and customers alike. My role is ultimately in place to offer support and development to our people.

Developing colleagues

I really enjoy human interaction and where possible helping and developing my team. I have learnt that I have a real passion for working with people and helping them develop within their careers across the organisation. The role is very diverse and no day is the same, which I enjoy as it keeps every day interesting and has developed me as a people manager. Being so close to the operation is also great, as it gives you a real buzz being in the heart of Terminal 5. Overall it has been a great developmental role, transitioning from Engineering to the Heathrow Customer Operation.

Anything is possible.

Anything is possible within a large company like British Airways. Once you are within a large set up the opportunities are endless and you can work across many departments, gaining experience as you go.

My Chartered Management Degree

I felt as though there was a gap in my learning and so undertook a further Apprenticeship through the support of my fantastic. This led me to completing a Chartered Management Business Management degree.