ILC ARTICLE

Rising Star Interview with Claire Greenall – Manager, Client Services Team at e2e

30th March 2021

1. Tell us about your role. What do you do, and what do you find most interesting about it?

I manage the Client Services Team at e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management.  We are a salvage and automotive recycling network and we manage total loss vehicles on behalf of our insurer clients.  My role is hugely varied and touches all areas of our service delivery to clients.  The remit for my team includes: Operations – processing total loss instructions, queries, invoices, v5 document & key management; Accounts – processing vehicles clearances, salvage payments, recovery and storage payments; Auction – management of e2e vehicles sold at auction; and Engineering – processing inspections and recovery and storage challenge negotiations. It looks a lot when you break it down and it is, but I’m so grateful to have an amazing team that make the outstanding performance they give look effortless.  As a business we are committed to delivering service excellence and my team really walk that talk. I have an overview of our process from start to finish and I am regularly in awe of our people who see removing friction from the total loss experience and creating an exceptional customer journey, their individual and collective purpose.  It’s an incredibly rewarding role and the variety certainly keeps me on my toes. 

2. What made you want to work in this industry?

In all honesty, the industry wasn’t something I knew very much about or considered at the time.  I was just 16 and joined ITEC North East to further my education with a vocational apprenticeship and start my Level 2 in Business Administration. I had 2 interviews and was very lucky to have been offered both apprenticeships. I opted to join e2e (NSG Ltd at the time) as they had great feed back from ITEC and the business itself intrigued me. The other position I was offered was within walking distance from my home, but I decided to join e2e as it seemed a great opportunity and I liked the people I met when I was interviewed.  I’m so glad I made that choice.  I’ve been given so many opportunities to learn and grow, working my way up through the business to a role in the management team.  My colleagues are so supportive, the business management so encouraging and I really love the industry I landed in.  I firmly believe I can make a difference to our insurer clients and their motor policyholders and that is massively satisfying.   

3. What do you see as the biggest challenge to your industry in the next year?

I see the biggest challenge, and one that faces our whole industry, being ‘getting back to normal’ from Covid.  It has been great testament to our Business Continuity Plan that we managed to transition to working from home so seamlessly and effectively with no interruption in service for clients; a year ago now at the start of lockdown.  I think it will be hard for many people, including myself, to mentally readjust again to working from the office, even though at e2e we are all itching to get back.  I need to make sure my team is well supported through this next transition.  We have already carried out the required risk assessments so as to implement the necessary changes to make the work environment Covid safe.  It is great that e2e makes staff well-being a priority and as well as having trained Mental Health First Aiders we also use a secure online well-being CheckUp service to remind us to take time out to notice how we are feeling physically and mentally and take steps to take care of ourselves. The management team gets an anonymised report on how people are feeling within the business and can develop initiatives to address any common challenges.  It really is a supportive environment.  I personally cannot wait to talk to people face to face again, share a drinks run and enjoy random chats. Video calls just aren’t the same!

4. How would you like to see the industry improved next year / 5 years / by the time you retire?

I’m excited about the prospects for reclaimed parts and how their use can benefit the environment.  It makes complete sense to me that there is no need to increase carbon emissions to make a new door for let’s say a four year old Ford Fiesta, when there is a perfectly good matching door on the non-accident damaged side of another four year old Ford Fiesta that can be recycled. I think the confidence in the quality and reliability of reclaimed parts is growing since the VRA Certification scheme was launched last year and I’m proud that our network members are all achieving accreditation. Next year I’d like to see many more insurers using reclaimed parts to off-set border line total loss cases.  In five years I’d like to see all insurers promoting green motor policies with reclaimed parts built into the repair process as standard.  And before I retire, which is good way off, I’d like to see innovation across the salvage and automotive recycling industry linked to the recycling of batteries that power electric vehicles – because that’s going to be essential if electrification of road transport is to be sustainable.

5. If you could give your 16-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?

‘Don’t be so shy, you can do whatever you put your mind to’.  I used to feel awkward about putting myself forward, in case I made a mistake.  Since our COO, Neil Joslin, joined the company a couple of years ago he has pushed us all to see our capabilities and invited us to ask questions of management and provide our own ideas.  I would never have seen myself in my current managerial role when starting out at 16.  I still sometimes have moments when I question how I got here – but I give myself a good pinch and look at the evidence of my achievements. Having been at the company for 24 years this year, I must be getting things right! 😊