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As the UK’s leading gift voucher, corporate rewards and Christmas Savings business, we want to turn our attention to recognising the incredible women in our company to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023.

International Women’s Day has said its focus lies with embracing equity – creating a fairer society by adapting services and policies to people’s diverse lived experiences. As a company, we also believe that equity is not just a nice-to-have – it is a must-have.

To celebrate a world where difference is valued and celebrated, we have invited five especially inspiring women from our company to talk about their experiences of work during their careers. Here is Hayley’s story.

Hayley Bromley is the living embodiment of ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.

Now firmly on dry land as the Treasury Manager at Love2shop, Hayley started her career sailing the high seas on a huge aircraft carrier.

Growing up in Coventry, the teenage Hayley decided she wanted to join the Royal Navy after leaving school. It was a big step to take and there was a point when she had a wobble about what lay ahead.

“When I was about to set off to do my basic training I remember crying at the station, saying goodbye to my mum and dad. My dad even called the base to find out if I was ok,” she explained.

“I was only 18 and it was terrifying.”

As you would expect in the military, Hayley found herself in a male-dominated environment. She said: “I have always got on with everyone, so it didn’t phase me going into the Navy with the majority being boys.

“I think that, out of my intake there were around five girls and 20-plus lads. The training was amazing. It didn’t matter if you were a lad or a girl, you just got on with it.

“However, I was a little quiet on the ship and sometimes there would be the odd comment such as, ‘Oh I don’t want her on our team’. Little things like that bothered me, but not too much.

“I joined as a medical assistant and I absolutely hated that role so I switched to being an operator mechanic on the radar and on the guns.”

Hayley spent three years in the Navy. It was there she met her husband and when she became pregnant with their first child, it prompted Hayley to make another big decision to leave the service at the age of 21.

“Me and my husband were going to be on different ships, so I didn’t think the baby only seeing one of us at a time was the best for either of us,” she said.

Just six months after the baby was born, Hayley returned to the workplace. While she was waiting to join the Navy, she had worked two days a week in the finance department at her dad’s work which  gave her an early taste of accounting.

“I went back to work about six months after the baby was born,” she said. “I was an accounts payable assistant at a vehicle hire company for about a year before I left to have my second child.

“Then it was all change. My husband came out of the Navy and became a full-time dad and, again, I returned to work after about six month at a utilities company.”

Hayley worked in two more finance jobs before securing a role as a manager in a finance department. And, after several happy years, she found herself at the centre of a drama that matched anything she experienced at sea.

Her employer was Thomas Cook Airlines, a subsidiary of the Thomas Cook travel empire that spectacularly imploded in September 2019 after a £200m black hole opened up in its balance sheet. Although the airline itself was profitable, it was dragged down by its parent.

Hayley said: “I was really pleased when I got the job with Thomas Cook Airlines because I love anything to do with travel. I was there for six years and that was where I got most of my accounting experience.

“We were doing ok. It was the tour operator that was struggling. We knew something was going on because I was getting calls constantly from suppliers wanting payment without an invoice. It was totally full-on.

“I didn’t sleep. I just sat up flicking between new channels. The next morning my team messaged me asking what we should do and I said we should go into work. Even though the group collapsed in September we had to carry on working until November.

“There were lots of things that needed to be sorted out. There were bouncers on the doors to stop other people taking stuff. It was an awful time for everyone. Some people had been there for 20 years and they loved it.”

Hayley secured a temporary role with Love2shop but left when a permanent position came up elsewhere. However, she loved her short time with the business so much that she jumped at the chance to return, which she did two years ago.

“Being the Treasury Manager involves being in control of all the money, making sure the accounts are topped up with the correct amounts, protecting the money of our Christmas savers.”

Hayley is being supported to advance her career by taking accountancy qualifications. She is happy working in a business where she feels encouraged to grow in her job.

“I think it was more difficult as a woman years ago,” she added. “Now we have hybrid working and it is much easier to juggle things such as kids and nurseries. Back then, it was much more rigid if you were a mum.

“There is so much more flexibility in the workplace now. It was like when the Navy was going to put me and my husband on different ships – that was a real old-fashioned way of thinking. I now feel like I am in a very open and inclusive atmosphere.

“My line manager Lynn is brilliant. She is so knowledgeable and confident. I am training to be a treasury accountant; I don’t want to keep changing jobs. I want to make a career in a place that I like.”

What have you discovered about yourself during your career?

That I am more capable than I thought I was.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?

That you can always make a positive out of a negative situation.

Best advice from a mentor?

Focus on what you want to be rather than what others think you should be.

What would you do differently if you had to do it again?

I really wouldn’t change anything.

Biggest lesson learned?

That you are never too old to start again or learn something new.

What would you say to someone starting out?

It is your own journey and never compare yourself to anyone else.

As the UK’s leading gift voucher, corporate rewards and Christmas Savings business, we want to turn our attention to recognising the incredible women in our company to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023.

International Women’s Day has said its focus lies with embracing equity – creating a fairer society by adapting services and policies to people’s diverse lived experiences. As a company, we also believe that equity is not just a nice-to-have – it is a must-have.

To celebrate a world where difference is valued and celebrated, we have invited five especially inspiring women from our company to talk about their experiences of work during their careers. Here is Janine’s story.

“Same place, different world,” sums up Janine Murphy’s experience of the transformation she has seen during 27 years with Love2shop.

First joining as a teenager in the late 1990s, Janine walked into what she described as a “man’s world” where you simply put your head down and got on with the job.

Today, she confidently leads a team of people, which in the run-up to Christmas can be as many as 50 people. She is also free to implement her own ideas on how her part of the business should run.

“Some people don’t like change. They think, ‘Well, this is the way it has always been, and this is the way it should stay’. But that’s not necessarily the best way to do things,” said Janine.

Janine is the company’s Fulfilment Manager. Based in Wirral, she runs a permanent team of eight people packing and dispatching letters, statements, catalogues and vouchers.

“We send out Love2shop products and third-party products. We have our own Love2shop card and Love2shop voucher. We also sell third-party products such as Marks & Spencer gift cards.

“We make sure customer orders are packaged and fulfilled to the customer’s requirements. Making sure things are sent out on time.

“For a few months of the year I am in charge of 40-50 temporary staff that come in to help us fulfil the Christmas savings customers’ orders.”

Janine was just 18 when she walked into the Valley Road site for the first time. She was taken on as a temporary Christmas worker. She was asked to return soon after and worked for the company on a temporary basis for two years.

“When a full-time job for an assistant came up in the office I was approached and that’s when I joined the business permanently. I have been here ever since.

“When I first walked in it was very much a man’s world in those days. Very old-fashioned. But you just put your head down, did what you were told to do and got on with it.

“Back in my day, you would never see a female director or any women among the management.

“Around 15 years ago, I started to see signs of changes. New staff came into the office. I worked with the first female director, Denise Porter.

“She was involved in the Love2shop vouchers and marketing, and she brought in new ideas and offered a fresh perspective.

Janine began to really enjoy the ways in which the business was changing, as female peers and senior managers became more visible.

However, it was more recent events that allowed Janine to realise her full potential. When a manager became unexpectedly absent during the COVID pandemic, it prompted her to step up to the plate.

“Initially it was panic stations,” she said. “There were suddenly so many things I didn’t know. It was a real challenge and in some ways I really enjoyed it. I learned so much during that period.

“The past year had been the first time the fulfilment operation had properly come under my control. I was finally running it the way I imagined it and for me that was a real achievement!”

It is during the few months leading up to Christmas, when there is a big influx of temporary staff, that Janine really had to demonstrate her fast-developing managerial flair.

She explained: “When temporary staff come in you are suddenly dealing with a range of diverse people – different ages, temperaments, attitudes. You have some loud people, some quiet people, and a big part of my job at that point is managing all those different personalities.

“I am very much a listener. I listen a lot to what is going on around me. That, I think, is how you learn.

“As a manager you have to listen to people. I don’t think you can be a good manager if you are not listening to what your team is saying.”

What have you discovered about yourself during your career?

I have learned to trust my own instincts.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?

I wish I had the confidence back then to know what I was really capable of.

Best advice from a mentor?

Believe in myself – I can do it.

What would you do differently if you had to do it again?

Speak up more.

Biggest lesson learned?

Just because something has always been done a certain way it doesn’t mean it is the right way.

What would you say to someone starting out?

Never be afraid to ask questions.