Connective tissue
This week at Fair Food the tides of maternity leave brought back someone sorely missed but departed with two more colleagues we can’t imagine working without.
We marked the triple comings and goings with speeches, orange cake and Dench pastries.
Each of the three, it was noted, is seriously good at their job but more importantly when any one of them is at the warehouse, Fair Food is a better place to work.
Hema, Fair Food’s operations manager, is going on maternity leave.
Hema’s presence has always had a way of bringing crews together.
She also has the rare talent of telling a hard truth with a smile and such care that it makes you feel drawn in rather than rebuked.
Hema’s morning at the Fair Food warehouse starts at 5am. “The Line” is a living thing, its whir and rattle calls thousands of grocery items together, it demands speed, precision and a feel for the person either side of you.
On Fair Food’s recent birthday people spoke about staying on The Line longer than they ever thought they would.
There is a pride in being part of Hema’s team, united by care for each other and belonging to something, that when added together, becomes bigger than the job itself.
Kelly is returning from maternity leave to resume her Customer Service Manager’s role. She brings back the care and calm determination that has seen us through the daily dramas and disasters that befall all grocers and logistics companies.
Always in the middle of things Kelly sees how a system is working or isn’t working and is often the one patiently yet persistently pushing us toward the solution that everyone knows is needed but is too busy to take on.
Kelly has a talent for pulling the people and pieces together to rescue the delivery gone wrong, to find the missing cooler or get the emergency fruit and veg box to someone’s sick mum or before due-date parents.
These often end up being the sweetest most connected times in customer service and are attested to by the number of mentions Kelly and her team receive in Fair Food’s reviews.
Aisha, who is also leaving, came to Fair Food at the height of COVID. In a time of fear and darkness she brought a bagful of fun and light. Her ability to talk to anyone, take on any task and make seriously tasty eponymous orange “marmalloyd” has made her beloved and indispensable.
After three years crafting beautiful content and taking our social media to the next level Aisha found she could not muster up another Instagram or Facebook post.
Not wanting to lose her, to our surprise and joy, she accepted the role filling Kelly’s maternity leave position, which of course finished with Kelly’s return this week. And so once again we make speeches, eat pastry and say goodbye.
In these three full-hearted, talented women, we are reminded that Fair Food is more than its warehouse, website and marketing plan – reminded that nothing actually works without the connective tissue between these rigid pieces that allow Fair Food to stretch and bend and fit about the humans who work or buy their food here.
Have a great week.
Chris
