Staff profilesMartin Gurner – IT Support, Head Office Martin used to work as a shop assistant at The Money Shop, before handing his CV in to his local H&T branch in Brighton.He worked there for a year before transferring to the Chalk Farm store due to a family relocation and whilst there, provided cover for many of the London stores.

Martin then decided he needed a change of career and due to his love of computers, applied to work in the IT support department at the company’s Head Office, based in Sutton.

He is currently loving his job and says it’s the variety of queries and the team he works with that makes his days interesting and enjoyable.

Martin feels that he has been challenged at H&T and that the company has been extremely supportive during his career, making the transition from working in the store to the office an easy one. He is looking forward being directly involved with the implementation of the new database system and all the challenges that will arise from it.

Heidi Chafer – Manager, Leigh StoreHeidi has worked for H&T for almost five years, and originally started at the company’s Refurbishment Centre, where she was responsible for cleaning items of stock.

When her husband’s job forced her to relocate to the North-West of England, she began working as an Assistant in the St Helens branch. Four months later, she was promoted to Assistant Manager, and transferred to the new Birkenhead store.

During her time at the Birkenhead branch, Heidi was involved in organising the distribution of two new ranges of jewellery that were launched in the North West region, as well as assisting with the opening of 5 stores.

Then, in July 2008, following her successful management training, Heidi was given her own store to run in Leigh. She is thoroughly enjoying her new role as a H&T Manager, and has built up a fantastic relationship with her team.

In October 2008, she won the coveted Employee of the Year award at the NPA awards ceremony, proving that all her hard work and dedication to H&T over the years really has paid off.

Heidi says “I am delighted to have won the award for H&T. It is thanks to all the training and constant encouragement I have had from my Area Manager and colleagues throughout the years that I have been so successful. H&T is a fantastic company to work for; they really do invest in their people.”

Nicola Barnes – Area Manager, North-West Region Nicola joined H&T in October 2000 as an assistant in the Liverpool store. Within a year she had been promoted to Assistant Manager, a role which she enjoyed for three years and gained a wide range of experience in how to run the store when her Manager was away.

She was then made Manager of the Kirkby store in 2004 before taking the opportunity to become manager of a new store in Walton Vale in February 2005 where she was responsible for considerable growth in the store’s business.

Nicola was then approached by her Area Manager Zoe Parry and asked if she would like to train to become an Area Manager, working under her guidance. It was something she had never seen herself doing before, but Nicola is now thoroughly enjoying her new role, which she began in January of this year.

Nicki says, ‘When I joined H&T I never thought I would become an Area Manager! But throughout my career here I have been challenged to develop my skills and have been given a significant amount of training in this respect. I am delighted to have reached this level and am looking forward to continuing to develop with H&T. I would recommend H&T to anyone looking for a chance to develop and grow, they really look after their people.’