This month, we are delighted to spotlight Marilyn Kennedy, our Senior Account Manager, as our Staff Spotlight honoree. Join us in recognising Marilyn's exceptional dedication, expertise, and leadership that continually propel our team forward. Let's delve into the inspiring narrative of Marilyn's journey and her remarkable achievements. 

➢ How long have you been in the energy industry and what’s one piece of advice you would give to someone new to our industry?

Between working in Scottish Power and my time as an energy consultant – I have spent the best part of 23 years in the Energy Industry, that’s scary when you put it in writing! My advise would be to just listen and learn, focus on your remit and not get caught up in things that are out with your control and just do the best that you can.

➢ Do/did you have a mentor, if so tell us about them.

I was lucky enough to have 2 mentors in my career whilst at Scottish Power – the first one, was the Call Centre Manager who promoted me from call centre advisor to Team Manager and supported me with guidance, knowledge, experience every step of the way. My second mentor was another Call Centre Manager who saw my potential and encouraged me to apply for a more senior position within the company, that of Operational Development Manager – which I got. Their people skills and the way she promoted and encouraged you to be the best of yourself and believe in your capability was second to none. I looked to her as the Manager that I would like to be. Although I left Scottish Power in 2006 I still keep in contact with these guys.

➢ What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Best bit of advise has come from my dad – “don’t worry about the things that you can’t change or control, focus on the things you can change and you’ll become a happier person” and I have to say that it is very true.. although I wish I had listen to him earlier in my life!!

➢ What’s one activity you complete on behalf of clients that would surprise people of its difficulty?

Meter Installs – One of our largest clients in retail required quite a few, they were always taking over new premises and looking to get new meters installed. Liasing with DNO’s, Suppliers, Electricians, Engineers etc could be a nightmare if you don't know where to begin, especially when they were looking at CT ratios, amps etc. When these things are not in your field and you are caught in the middle between DNO and electricians/engineers it suddenly becomes a very daunting task and one that you wish you had never embarked on! Luckily, that's where I can help take the stress away.

➢ During your time at Here’s The Plan, what achievements are you particularly proud of?

I suppose my biggest achievement in recent months would be helping to get a new system up and running. This system allowed me to introduced new Bill Validation processes and procedures to amplify our current offering, I also trained 2 new staff members not only in the new way of working but also on the system. It’s good to know that these processes and procedures are now being used as a foundation for our Head of Bureau Services to build an even more robust Invoice Validation programme which will allow HTP to provide the best Bureau Services possible to both our procurement and non procurement clients.

➢ Tell us about your portfolio, what industries do you work with, what type of supplies do you manage?

My portfolio of clients is varied in both sectors and size – for instance, I have 2 very large multi-site clients for both electricity and gas, with one being in the Beauty Industry and one being in Hospitality then on the other hand I have a farmer who has 1 NHH electricity supply. I would say the majority of my clients and supplier would fall into the mid market range.