Meet the Reconomy Team – John Boneham

Job title: Account Co-ordinator (National Service Team)Daily number of hot beverages consumed: I’ll have about 4 coffees a day. I have a very particular way of making it, which is a closely guarded secret, but no one else here seems to like it. On the plus side, it gets me out of making rounds of drinks every day!Accompanying biscuit of choice: Bourbon. The marmite’ of the biscuit world ““ either you love them or you hate them.How long have you worked at Reconomy?I’m actually celebrating my first anniversary of joining Reconomy today. To be honest, I can’t quite believe it because it’s flown by. I’d not worked in the waste industry before, so I’ve had to absorb a lot of information over the last 12 months. One of the biggest challenges I’ve had is that so many terms in the waste industries are abbreviated, so it took a little while to learn my FELs from my RELs.People wrongly assume that waste management is straightforward, but there are a lot of environmental regulations that you must abide by when disposing of waste. Non-compliance can result in some very hefty fines, so it’s a serious business.What are your core responsibilities?I predominantly look after customers within the SME construction sector. These are frequently contractors that are responsible for shop fittings, refurbishments, clearances and similar projects. The turnaround is extremely tight because they might only be on a job for 1-2 days, so when they order waste management services from us they typically want next-day delivery. It’s my job to process new orders, make sure deliveries are on time and generally ensure customers are happy with the service they get from Reconomy.How do you make a difference everyday?There’s so much more to customer services than answering phones and processing orders. It’s my job to ensure that when our customers go home at the end of the day, they do so safe in the knowledge that their waste management services are all in hand. I think that’s how I make a difference every day ““ I give our customers peace of mind.How is the changing face of the waste industry directly impacting upon Reconomy and your job role?We’re all a lot more environmentally aware than we used to be, and that includes our customers. I certainly feel that by working here I’m doing my bit to help the environment. Before I joined Reconomy, if I’d have walked past a building site I wouldn’t have given a moment’s thought to something like waste segregation. You see a few skips grouped together and you just think: that’s where the rubbish goes. You don’t appreciate the planning that will have gone into how that waste is being managed or how they’re maximising recycling to keep their costs down.What did you do before you joined Reconomy?Before coming to Reconomy I spent 6 years working as a recruitment consultant. I started out working at the local council as an advisor, helping people on job seeker’s allowance to find regular employment, and that led to me getting a job at a professional recruitment agency. At times, it could be very rewarding, because you know that what you’re doing has the potential to transform someone’s life, especially if you can find them the perfect job. It could also be incredibly challenging though, because there were times when I was dealing with people who had been out of work for as long as 15 years.How do you wind-down at the weekend?For me, Saturdays and Sundays are all about family time. Though with two young children to entertain, finding the time to wind down at the weekend is pretty much an impossibility. Sometimes it’s less tiring to come to work!What is the best thing about your job?The vibe around the office is really positive and that’s primarily because of the people that I work with. I’m surrounded by a really great team. Compared to a lot of my colleagues at Reconomy I’m still relatively new, but you’re made to feel welcome very quickly, so I feel like I’ve been here for years.