As part of our ‘Meet the Team’ feature, we meet Racheal Richmond who talks to us about herself and her role at Tortoise. Racheal lives in Peterborough with her husband and two children.
What you do at Tortoise?
Working at Tortoise, I am able to draw on my experience to maximise the team’s individual strengths and development, streamline our processes and generally make sure the whole operation runs smoothly.
What is the best part of your job?
Firstly, it is working with the fantastic team here. Having been in the workplace for many (cough) years now, I know just how important it is to be surrounded by people that you enjoy spending time with. Not only is there a fantastic mix of skills and experience between us, everyone here is genuinely nice and cares about doing the best for people. Secondly, I love the variety I get to deal with each day – from working out the payroll to writing copy for the website, no two days are the same.
Where have you worked previously?
I worked for 17 years at IBM in a variety of roles such as Professional Development Manager, Resource Manager and, in the last few years, as an IBM certified Project Manager so I have a variety of transferable skills that are valuable in this role.
What past experience brought you to work here?
As a school leaver, I worked for Pearl Assurance and that’s where I first met Mike, the Director of Tortoise. As he says, we were lucky to work in this environment at such a young age as it taught us many of the disciplines that are key in running a business. After 5 years there, I left to study a Combined Honours degree in History and Psychology and upon graduating, joined IBM. I made a decision to take a voluntary redundancy package so that I could spend less time travelling and shortly afterwards, I bumped into Mike again…
Why do you like it in this area/Peterborough?
I have grown up in Peterborough and I love the way it is constantly evolving. I’m proud of all the creative events that people work hard to put on here and I also volunteer for Vivacity in my spare time. I live a ten minute walk from the City Centre so it’s very easy to nip out for a drink (sometimes too easy….)
What are your interests?
My husband and I go to a lot of gigs as we both love music and we often take the kids to a festival in the summer. I’m also a craft nut and spend way too much time and money on sewing and crochet.
Funniest/embarrassing moment at Tortoise?
My clumsiness is a constant source of embarrassment, I’ve broken Donovan’s mug, tipped a whole jar of coffee over the kitchen area and now I only have water in lidded cups….