Ten years ago, Lisa Drage began working with Evergood as a freelance Marketing Consultant, aiding Evergood in our mission to bring more awareness to the career opportunities that we provide across the UK. Lisa clearly made an immediate impression as she developed her career with Evergood to become CEO in 2015. Now settled in, and formulating great plans for the company, we stole 10 minutes out of Lisa’s busy day to sit down and have a chat. So, Lisa, what is the most exciting part about working for Evergood? “Simply being involved with an incredible company like Evergood. One predominant aspect of the role is that we get to introduce young, trained professionals into the industry and help build their career. Seeing these people make that first step into achieving their lifetime career goals is extremely rewarding.” What has been your proudest moment while working at Evergood? “For me it has to be our staffs achievements. They’re the foundation that has helped build the commendable reputation we enjoy today. They always give 100% to every client , reinforcing our company’s motto of ‘Working for you’. We’ve also been lucky enough to have been a finalist in many business awards, which create great opportunities to celebrate with the whole team and offer recognition for all their hard work.” That’s great! Now let’s get into a general work day for you at Evergood. What’s usually first on the agenda when you arrive in the morning? “My day starts as most people’s would : clearing my emails in readiness for the day. I also make sure I begin the day, even on Mondays, with a smile on my face and try to say hello to everybody. This certainly works for me and I hope encourages others” Does Evergood being an SME pose any challenges within the industry? “Absolutely. The benefit of my foundation work with Evergood before becoming CEO has allowed me to understand what is happening in our industry and how we can meet those challenges. When it comes to the industry, what are the greatest changes you’ve noticed during the last 5 years? “Generally, there have been legislative changes, such as the IR35 and Criminal Finance Act, that have required for us to change our work dynamic and structure. But the most significant change is the higher demand for Locum staff, and the pressure this brings upon the NHS. At Evergood, we aim to respond to this demand with a multi-skilled approach to NHS recruitment.” So, considering your experiences of the last five years, where do you see Evergood in the next five years? “Having seen Evergood expand so successfully into multiple sectors over the last ten years, I now believe that we can diversify further into other sectors, whilst not compromising the quality of staff we deliver to the Healthcare sector.” I understand that Evergood are now partnering with schools across Hertfordshire. What motivated you to integrate the healthcare sector with local education centres? “I was approached by YC Hertfordshire, who provide immense help and advice to young people in Hertfordshire. They, in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company, offer an employer mentoring programme for school students aged 12-15 who are at risk of disengaging with education. These can include students who are lacking the motivation and aspirations that will propel them through until the end of their education. My role involves mentoring these students and helping them make the right career choices. This activity led to a further role where I act as an Enterprise Advisor or ‘critical friend’ to an assigned secondary or special school. This involves providing key career insights regarding the health sector to the staff of the school so they can better mentor the students. This is achieved through meetings with senior leadership team every term to assess the school’s current strategies in student career engagement. This also helps us as recruiters to see how the next generation of work seekers are being motivated and prepared for working life. Given the current pressures on NHS staffing, it really is most rewarding to be making a difference in the healthcare community by inspiring young people to seek a career in healthcare.” Thank you very much, Lisa. As you can see from our conversations with Lisa, we are embarking on a commitment to going above and beyond within the healthcare industry and to cultivate a culture of being the best. To find out more about our current opportunities, click here.
Thursday Mar 29, 2018
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