Q&A
How do you keep your team/staff motivated? Very simply, by driving the growth in the business, which then creates excellent opportunities for our employees. When the business grows, we develop new roles and people move up within the organisation. We always aim to recruit from within, which therefore creates more opportunities for other people within the business as we must backfill each position. Out of 25 management positions all, except two, have been hired from within the organisation. During more challenging times, the most crucial aspect needed is open, honest communication and I need to be able to look everyone in the eye and explain any difficult decisions we have had to make. What are the challenges facing the industry going forward? I have discussed openly my disappointment that some companies can provide a product that does not meet the regulations. Several lighting suppliers are providing misleading information about fire rating, lumen outputs, UGR rating, which ultimately puts peoples’ lives at risk. It should not require events like Grenfell or more recently the death of Frank Finnie, a pensioner at Aberdeen Market
earlier this month due to issues with emergency lighting, for the industry to be accountable. Ultimately, it’s about education and holding companies responsible for providing products and services that meet regulations. What new trends are emerging in your industry? The buzzword in the industry for the last 8+ years has been around IOT. Most reputable suppliers now have an offering and last year we launched our residential smart range called Robus Connect, which offers one platform for all smart residential needs. We started with lighting from GU10’s, fire-rated downlights and GLS lamps and are now launching doorbells, sensors, indoor and outdoor cameras. It’s been a huge success so far. The next trend is Human Centric Lighting, which Lighting Europe has outlined in its product road map for several years. We have developed an advanced range called ‘Humanitas’ and have already won projects with this product. This is a significant milestone for the company as we lead the market in terms of developing ground-breaking technology that most of the largest lighting brands in the world are still developing. As a
business, we are now playing Champions League football and taking on the superstars. What advice would you give to someone aspiring to your position? Win the morning, win the day - The first hour of your day is the most crucial and the importance of having a good routine will then allow you to win the day and achieve what you want, rather than get pulled in various directions as the daily requests come your way. If you win each day, you can win the week, win the week, win the month, win the month then win the year.
Continuous improvement and development - There is always
something you can improve on, and if you are continually making small incremental gains every day, you will have achieved an enormous amount over the year. What good habits should you do more of and what bad habits should you delete?
Everyday interview - Sometimes, it is tough to see the next level of
progression. In your current role you are essentially doing an interview every day for the next promotion. If you consistently perform, you then become the obvious choice for the next promotion when it
18 | IRELAND’S ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE
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