'Space, Service, Community' underpins Andrea's role at WCC business centres
"I think anybody is happiest, and most likely to succeed in what they do, when they feel valued"
In her role as Operations Manager for Warwickshire Business Centres, Andrea Tsinontas meets a lot of people.
So that works out well, because her whole career has centred around making people feel valued. Supporting them to get the most from themselves...and thereby getting the most out of them.
Andrea's role is to ensure that tenants at Warwickshire County Council's business centres across the county, from Nuneaton in the north to Bidford in the south, get everything they need to help their businesses thrive and grow.
Running parallel to that is the need to deliver efficiency and cost-effectiveness from the centres to ensure value for the county council's investment in them. It is a big and complex job, but one which Andrea is relishing since moving across from a similar role at Leicester City Council - all underpinned by her mindset of putting people first.
"I think anybody is happiest, and most likely to succeed in what they do, when they feel valued," she said. "That is the approach I have always taken and it applies now, both to my team at the county council and to our tenants in the business centres.
"I like a work environment where people are encouraged to push back. If you think something could be done differently and better then say so - and if you are right, we'll do it.
"In one company I worked for, the managing director regularly spoke to managers and deputy-managers and encouraged them to be open and honest - and everybody benefited. That feedback made the business strong.
"That is how we work at Warwickshire Business Centres. If someone in my team doesn't agree with something, then speak up. That way we all move forward together.
"This is a really exciting job, helping to make the businesses in our 286 units make the absolute most of themselves. There are loads of amazing SME in our centres, creating employment and helping to drive their communities, and it is a privilege to be supporting them as much as I can."
WCC has three fully-managed business centres - Eliot Park Innovation Centre and Centenary Business Centre (both Nuneaton) and Sir Frank Whittle Centre (Rugby) - and six smaller bases around the county. Maintaining those and ensuring the best service for all the tenants, all the time with an eye on future-planning, is a demanding role. But it's one for which Leicester-born Andrea is well-equipped with experience from a career in both private and public sectors.
"I worked for a long time in the hospitality and retail sectors," she said. "I also spent two years working at minimum-wage - waiting tables and as a chef and that was fantastic experience too because it gave me a real insight into how everybody should be valued and respected.
"Then I moved to Leicester City Council and worked at DOCK, a business development centre, which broadened my experience again in a way which is very relevant to what I do now.
"Basically, my ethos can be summed up in three words...space, service, community. If people are given space to develop and achieve their goals, then efficiency and levels of service go up and the community as a whole benefits. The businesses at WCC's business centres impact upon their communities in so many positive ways and this role enables me to help them grow individually and increase that impact.
"It's about supplying all the facilities and practical stuff they need but also personal support where necessary. Running a small business can be tough and quite lonely at times. Sometimes you just need a sounding board and if I and my team can be that, great."