Network Rail is to launch its first property “returners” programme aimed at bringing skilled surveyors who have had a career break into its workforce.
The public sector arm’s-length body is one of the largest owners of land and property in the UK and the staffing programme comes as it is challenged with fast-tracking the disposal of £1bn of development land and delivering more than 12,000 homes by 2020.
The company is also integral to station-led development, including King’s Cross, the upgrade and expansion of Thameslink and Crossrail, Europe’s largest civil engineering project.
Kirsten Durie, principal development manager at Network Rail, said: “We have a real challenge on our hands disposing of land so we need to get more people in, and we saw this as an opportunity to access a different talent pool we weren’t reaching before.”
Candidates must have been out of the industry for at least two years and hold an RICS qualification. They are supported through a 12-week programme where their skills can be adequately assessed and they can be placed in the most appropriate department.
Recently, surveyor Marion Ellis, who is head of customer experience at Countrywide surveyors, wrote an article for an RICS blog about when the pressure she was putting on herself to return to work after her second maternity leave came to a head.
She described it as having her own “Ariana Huffington” moment, referring to the editor of The Huffington Post who became a sleep activist after struggling to balance her work and personal life.
Ellis said she decided to change her working pattern after she “had a wobble” on a train while travelling for work and spilled coffee all over a passenger, only to be told by him she looked “really tired”.
Durie and Ellis talk to Rebecca Kent in this week’s Tomorrow’s Leaders podcast.
Click here to read more about Durie in the coverage of EG Connecting Tomorrow’s Leaders event earlier this year, where she was a panellist.
Marion Ellis writes about her experience returning to work from maternity leave
It took my very own mini Arianna Huffington moment after returning to work from maternity leave to realise that something wasn’t right.
And if I was to give anyone advice about returning to work after having a baby, it would be to speak to your employer – and ask for help if you need it.
I have two children and enjoyed the benefit of maternity leave twice. The first time I worried non-stop about how I would cope when I returned to work; a situation I’m sure a lot of women are familiar with. And yet when I look back, I couldn’t wait to get back into the office and get my “life” back.
I started off part-time and some days were hard, with “working mums’ guilt” rearing its head often. But I always went to work and found a way to make things feel alright.
Half of Brits believe women receive fewer opportunities after returning from maternity leave. Fortunately, this was the opposite of my own experience.
I had a six-year gap between my two children. During this time, as a chartered surveyor and member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), my career had progressed well and my responsibilities increased significantly.
With experience behind me, I was confident returning to work the second time would be plain sailing, but that was not quite the case. Again, this is something that I know is a shared experience among women who return to work after having a second child.
Lack of sleep and travelling up and down the country took its toll. I found that although my most productive, coffee-fuelled hours were on the train, I still felt like I couldn’t make headway. I started to wonder: if I can’t keep on top, how can I progress? And if I can’t progress, then what’s the point? I felt at my lowest, least confident and, quite simply, exhausted.
My company was very understanding when I approached them and asked for help to balance my workload. We struck a balance, where I’m still full time but don’t need to travel as much and have more flexible hours. Working together helped relieve the pressure I was putting on myself to be the perfect employee and parent. It gave me a clearer perspective and made me feel much more valued in the office.
While on maternity leave I met new parents and grew my network, which was invaluable. I missed this when I returned to work, so I set up a women in surveying group to support female colleagues up and down the UK – and I now mentor candidates on business and leadership development programmes.
Not everyone is so fortunate when returning from maternity leave; it can be terribly lonely, particularly if you’re in an industry like surveying where women make up around just 14% of the profession. Through greater understanding and initiatives such as the RICS Inclusive Equality Quality Mark (IEQM), a voluntary scheme to help organisations create more diverse and inclusive workplaces, we can help our sector to drive change and attract and retain our best employees.
Of course, this situation is not unique to surveying: there are women in all industries who feel they cannot ask their employers for help and buckle under the pressure of being a working parent. So much so, that they end up leaving work completely, and this is something that needs to be addressed.
I’m fortunate and over the past year I’ve learned what career progression and leadership means for me. As a working parent and woman in a male-dominated industry, I’ve started to focus on things that add value to me and make a difference to people I care about.
A year ago, I’m not sure I could have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Now I have the support system I need to continue to develop my career, and I know I am heading in a direction that makes me feel rewarded and valued at a company where I can make a difference.
To send feedback, e-mail Rebecca.Kent@egi.co.uk or tweet @Writer_RKent or @estatesgazette
