We're celebrating our support teams' success and career development across Stroma Building Control, including their promotions, education and training, and career changes through Stroma's Training Academy.
Our teams across the country provide invaluable support to our network of inspectors working on-site and guide our clients through every stage of their project to provide a proactive and efficient Building Control service.
Our feature only includes a small part of our teams, and we'd like to take the opportunity to thank every one of them for their passion, dedication, and contribution to our business.
Hear about some of their career success stories at Stroma Building Control.
BEVERLEY BELL
REGIONAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATION MANAGER (NORTH)
“I have recently been promoted to Northern Regional Office Administration Manager located within our Durham Office. I am responsible for the administration of our Building Control Surveyors situated in the northern region.
I ensure workload is prioritised, distributed, and actioned promptly, ensuring clients, new and existing, receive the best service, whilst managing office protocols and ensuring our staff’s health and wellbeing is maintained.
I ensure staff within my region have access and knowledge of updated procedures, ensuring safety for the surveyors whilst on-site with clients, including administrators when welcoming clients to the office. Being a hands-on manager, I can assist and respond to clients and staff queries, ensuring a quality service is maintained.
Technology plays a large part in managing work distribution and ensuring our new CRM system is being used to its full potential whilst training new surveyors and updating administrators of any changes.
I have worked within the Building Control industry for 12 years and gained a lot of technical experience and knowledge. I joined the business as an administrator 9 years ago and was then promoted to Senior Administrator. I have seen many changes over the years, especially the merge to Stroma Building Control, which has positively impacted my career, having recently been promoted.
I am extremely lucky to be working with a great team of professionals from every level, and without their support, I could not excel in my new role.
Stroma Building Control encourages, promotes, and invests in all staff, so I am looking forward to the future and being part of a great team.”
SARAH CANN
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE MANAGER (MIDLANDS)
"Hi, I'm Sarah, and I'm the Regional Office Administration Manager for our Midlands region. I am responsible for overseeing the office's day-to-day running and ensuring that the administration is carried out efficiently, professionally, and timely.
Our clients have access to regional offices and surveyors, ensuring they have a single point of contact close to their site. Our network of surveyors enables our admin teams to provide an efficient Building Control service for our clients, from booking initial inspections right through to final sign-off and handover.
Since our new CRM system and remote site inspection tool has launched, we are all working on one system accessible through electronic devices for surveyors working on site.
All data is stored and accessible in one location, reducing the need for paper files and speeding up the process for our clients.
The business's excellent reputation and the changes that are happening will enable me to develop and grow my career within Stroma. I'm on the next journey of my management career development, and I'm currently completing my ILM level 3 training in Leadership and Management.
I am fortunate to have a fantastic team around me. Stroma has also invested in my ILM training, and I know that Stroma will be the business for me to grow with – I'm very excited about my future here.”
CHARLOTTE FOLEY
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION MANAGER (NORTH LONDON/EAST ENGLAND)
“Hello, I'm Charlotte. I am the Regional Office Administration Manager for our Watford, Bedford, North London, Colchester, and Chelmsford offices.
Our administration teams across Stroma Building Control support our Surveyors in delivering the full range of Building Control services. We all take great pride in our work and ensure it's done professionally and timely.
I have worked for Stroma for five years, starting as a secretary and worked my way up to Regional Office Administration Manager. Stroma has helped me grow both personally and professionally. We have a very positive team environment, which makes my job a joy to have.”
CARRIE GRAINGER
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE MANAGER (SOUTH EAST)
Hi, I am Carrie, the Regional Admin Office Manager for the South East. I manage a team of Administrators, and together, we support the Building Control Surveyors for the Petts Wood, Kings Hill, and West London Offices.
I work closely with my team to ensure that the workload is prioritised and actioned efficiently, ensuring that all clients receive an excellent service.
When new Surveyors join my region, I work alongside the Building Control Manager to do the local induction. A part of my role is to ensure that they have all their PPE ready for them to start visiting site safely as soon as possible. I have also had to ensure that Surveyors within my region have had all the necessary PPE required during the COVID-19 pandemic, as their safety is paramount to us as a company.
Technology is the most significant part of my role. Our clients can request a quotation or initial notice using our website, and this application goes directly to our CRM system, where my admin team and I get these set up and issued. The whole process has a fast turnaround and has proven to be very successful.
I joined the business 10 years ago this September as a part-time Administrator working just 2 days a week. I worked my way up to become the Admin Manager of the Kings Hill office, and then 3 years ago, I received this promotion.
The people across Stroma are fantastic. Over 10 years, naturally, you will see people come and go, but I can honestly say we have a great team across all divisions. To have 3 companies all come together, more if you include the other divisions, and then to throw into the mix a new database system was a huge challenge, but it worked, and we are still here bigger and better than ever!! I am excited about what’s to come!
New Careers with Stroma’s Training Academy
CHARLIE WALTERS
TRAINEE BUILDING CONTROL SURVEYOR (PETTS WOOD)
"Hello, my name is Charlie, and I am a Trainee Building Control Surveyor for Stroma working at our Petts Wood office in the South East region. My current role involves carrying out plan checks on projects, assisting surveyors with site visits and learning the Building Regulations. I am also in my final year at college studying for an HNC in Construction and The Built Environment, which will help me gain my CABE membership.
In my role, I am a point of contact for our clients with any queries they have regarding their project if they require a site inspection and also supply them with my plan check comments at the start of a project. As a trainee for our Petts Wood team, I assist with the team's clients but aim to have my own set of clients soon.
At the beginning of 2020, we started to use a new CRM system to keep track of all our projects. On the CRM, I can track all of my projects in one place and see when I did a visit, if a plan check has been carried out, and any outstanding remedial actions.
I first joined Stroma as a 6-month temp in 2018 to help out with the administration, which was extended to a full-time role. In my interview, it was made clear that Stroma offered progression to become a surveyor through Stroma's Training Academy, which I started in late 2019. Since then, I have been mentored by the senior surveyors in Stroma, joined the Academy with other trainees on the same path, and completed my first year at college with a Distinction. I will now be working hard towards becoming an assistant surveyor and gaining my CABE membership.
The best part of working for Stroma is the people I get to work with. I would not be where I am today without the time and effort put in by my colleagues to help train me both when I worked in admin and now as a surveyor. If I ever come into any problems or require assistance with my work, I know I have support around me to help.
Stroma has also invested heavily in my training, putting me through college to get the required qualifications for my CABE membership and being part of the Academy. I know together with my hard work, I will be able to achieve the goals I have set out for, and I am excited for the future with Stroma.”
YVETTE JOHNS
ASSISTANT BUILDING CONTROL SURVEYOR (TRURO)
“Hi, I am Yvette; I am an Assistant Building Control Surveyor at our Truro office in the southwest region. On a day-to-day basis, I answer clients' queries, check plans, undertake site inspections, and assist other surveyors within my team.
I am a point of contact for our clients by answering queries and carrying out plan checks, which protects the clients' interest in the design and build process to ensure they have a compliant build at completion.
Technology plays a big part in the role day to day, especially within the last year, with the challenges everyone has had to face working from home. Being able to use programmes, such as Teams, has made a big difference.
I started as an admin assistant within Stroma Building Control in 2018. As I got to know more about the company and what was involved with building control, I started to look into what would be involved to progress into a surveyor's role. So, when the opportunity arose, I went for it. I am now in the final few months of completing my HNC in Construction and the Built Environment and about to embark on the second year of the Stroma Training Academy.
The best part of working for Stroma would have to be the people I work with; they are always there to encourage and give guidance when needed. If it weren't for the people in my team giving me the confidence I needed to take the next step in my career, I don't think I would have.”
Stroma’s Focus on Training and Development
“In the first quarter of 2021, we have seen the Stroma Building Control Academy relaunch, with 18 surveyors now progressing through over 25 hours of training to attain their membership of CABE at the end of the year.
Our Institute of Leadership and Management Level 3 Diploma has gone live, supporting team leaders and managers in progressing their careers. Our internal management course, known as My Team, also went live, giving all Stroma line managers training in the core management process.
It's great to see how these programmes are supporting the teams and our people across Stroma.”
Jonathan Gallie, Group HR Director
Join Our Team at Stroma Building Control
Stroma Building Control is a people-focused business, and we're heavily investing in developing our staff to help achieve their career goals and aspirations.
We offer a unique opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects, using the latest technology to enhance the building control process for a safe, sustainable, and compliant built environment.
As a multidisciplinary provider of environmental sustainability and compliance services, you'll also get the chance to work with a range of other construction professionals across Stroma Group.
If you're interested in joining, please visit our Careers Hub to learn more about Stroma, our people, and the benefits we offer.