In the second of a new series of blog posts, EBU Office Manager Karen Durrell describes her typical work day:
A day in the life of Karen Durrell
Whether I’m working in the office or at home. I start the day at 5am with an hour’s dog walk then an hour of work emails. Driving to work currently is a bit arduous as the new HS2 and East to West Cambridge to Oxford train works are closing and reopening my various routes to Aylesbury from Milton Keynes at any given moment. But it's always a cross county route and beautiful.
As the Office Manager I look after the office maintenance and facilities and all that entails, as well as staffing. I need to be a jack of all trades. I have a working knowledge of most departments and each staff member’s tasks and I am able help if/when its required. Whether I’m in the office or not I try and make sure to touch base with a staff member each day specifically, making sure that they are ok.
I’m also the Membership Secretary so I deal with emails and calls from members, clubs and counties. Amanda and Kay are my colleagues who help with this. Between us we try and help everyone with their queries.
My day-to-day work varies depending on what I have on my ‘to do list’. What comes through my emails, calls and discussions can impact this, some days I actually finish my list! It is now budget season, so I’m working on those at the moment. We are currently updating a few IT systems and with Covid still very much with us, it important to make sure staff working both in the office and at home are supported.
I try to finish my day at 2.30/3pm in time for school pick up and the joy of after school clubs. However, I am on call if the staff need me.