Blog

Julie Graham reveals what her life looks like as chief executive of Ingeus’ employability services.  

One of the many things I love about working for Ingeus is that there’s simply no ‘typical’ day, every day is unique – mainly because I spend a large proportion of most days talking to different sets of people.   
I’ve been a people-person since my early career working as an employment advisor back in Australia and while the job title and continent may have changed, that hasn’t.  

  

I have a well-honed morning routine to set me up for the day.  
I usually begin with exercise and the day’s news on the radio. I’m a real morning person, and while hopping on the treadmill at 5am might sound extreme, the release of endorphins first thing makes me feel good and wakes me up in plenty of time for regular calls back to my family back in Australia. I find connecting with them really grounding and enjoy catching up on their news without having to phone them (very) late at night.  

  

Generally, the first task of my working day is to prioritise and get organised. In a busy role, it can be easy to get sucked into short-term tasks that are shouting the loudest. It’s important for me to give time to more strategic long-term priorities; in the fast-changing world of employability it’s vital to plan ahead.  

  

I’m catching up today after a busy few weeks out and about including hosting visits such as the recent one to our Rochdale site. Representatives, including the Chief Executive of Trafford Council, came to see our work in action, meet the team and some of our participants. I love being on-site, interacting with our teams and meeting new people.   

  

A large proportion of my work involves promoting Ingeus and the wider sector to external stakeholders. Hosting visits is an excellent way to showcase the work we do at grass-roots level and the positive difference we make to people’s lives. It’s a chance to show the huge range of support we provide. While help with CVs and job applications is undeniably important, so too is the expertise of housing advisors, health and wellbeing experts, our money management team and other support staff working to help people move forward.  

  

Today, my main morning call is with fellow CEOs from other prime providers of the Restart Scheme. I’m a fierce believer in collaborating as a sector, as thankfully my peers are too. We work together for the greater good, sharing best practice, discussing policy changes and how to respond to them. By sharing this insight, we can help each other to improve outcomes for all our participants. Like any good relationship, give and take is important. I believe you get out what you put in, so I always strive to provide helpful contributions. I have also been a board member of our trade association ERSA (the Employment Related Services Association) for the last three years. I earmark time every day to read bulletins, updates and expert comment on issues affecting the sector. There’s a lot to digest and consider at the moment, with changes to commissioning and the forthcoming Connect to Work programmes.   

  

I’m keeping a close eye on my pedometer today too. We regularly have an internal step challenge on at Ingeus and I’m proudly competitive about it! Ingeus places great importance on health and wellbeing and I like to practise what I preach; I usually notch up around 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day. I take regular breaks from my desk, always head to the stairs rather than the lift, and today am stretching my arms and shoulders as I make a cuppa – techniques I picked up on one of our regular wellbeing dial-ins last week.  

  

My afternoon attention is focused back on our teams. I hold six-monthly business reviews to keep aware of local initiatives, successes and issues and am in the midst of working through all of our London sites at the moment. After preparing for these reviews, I’m on to a series of calls with some of our Corporate Support teams: finance, comms, and HR are all on the agenda today. I could certainly never get bored with the variety of topics I touch on!   

  

After a few more deliberate steps up and down to my home office, I down tools at around 6pm. I’m a firm believer in maintaining a sensible work-life balance and my husband’s signature slow cooker curry has been calling to me all day. Even better, then it’s The Traitors – don’t tell me – I’m watching on catch-up! I’m not a big TV watcher but this is my guilty pleasure. I love it because it’s all about people, how they interact, and how they cope under pressure. We’re planning a Traitors-themed dinner for some friends next week… Who will be the traitor? Not me, that’s for sure. I’ll be playing Claudia!   

  

Then it’s a good night’s sleep ready for another early start, many more steps, and another day of doing what I love.