Careers Meet Jess Bond

What have you enjoyed in your time so far at Mole Valley Farmers?

I love to learn and I find there is so much we can learn from each other. In my 2 years here I’ve got to work on so many projects, which means I get to network and meet new people. With my role, it's nice to have the space just to get to know people for people and understand more about them and what their stories are. One thing I’ve really enjoyed creating is ‘This Is Us’, an online platform to showcase colleagues in and out of work and how wonderful our people are.

What inspires you to come to work every day?

I love the people that I work with, I've made some really good friends. I wouldn't call them colleagues, they're genuinely my friends. It makes a massive difference to my day or to my working week that I've got people I know I can call. Whether that's because of work or whether I've got stuff going on; I feel comfortable and safe that I can be myself here. I can just be me.

What opportunities have you had since working here?

I think the thing I like the most about working here is that I can be autonomous. If I've got an idea, it's never shut down. It's a case of let's listen to Jess and understand the idea. And I really like that. I feel that people trust me to roll with it.

I've been very blessed in the fact I’ve had opportunities to present to the Executive team and the Board of Directors, and while I’ve presented to senior levels in my previous companies, it's quite something to have their time and feedback.

What is a typical day for you and what do you get involved in?

It varies. As I’ve mentioned I get to work on so many projects and with so many people across the business. One of the first projects I worked on was creating the Employee Engagement Survey. From colleague feedback and results, an Engagement Working Group was created. This is made up of colleagues from across the business and it’s a chance for us to discuss different topics, understanding what our people want and need, then coming up with different solutions.

I really enjoy leading the Emerging Talent Development Programme. Working with the individuals that have been selected to potentially progress and be the future here at Mole Valley farmers.

There’s also the new induction process that has been introduced. I was able to design and put together a new corporate induction for all new starters, regardless of where they work and at what level – receiving feedback on this has been really lovely.

I’m passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and I’m looking at how we can progress with it here, what we need to do and how we can involve everyone from colleagues through to Directors.

Something we did last year was ‘Step into Christmas’, which was an initiative I organised to get Head Office colleagues into store to support at the busiest time of year – it was really great fun. There’s so much, I just enjoy it all.

What are you looking forward to in your career?

With most jobs that I've had I just want to be the best I can be. For me, but also for the company and for the people I work with, and probably more so in this role. At times, I think perhaps I've got it wrong or at times perhaps I've not been as persistent as I should be, so there's definitely a lot that I'm learning from this role about me that I need to improve. I just want to be able to make a difference for the people, if I can.

What do you do outside of work?

I’ve been married for 2 and a half years and have 3 step children. We also have two dogs called Rennie and Sonny. Rennie is a miniature Schnauzer and Sonny is a Show Cocker Spaniel; we love to get out and walk them. The other things I love to do is socialise with friends, listen to music and have a lovely McDonald’s treat the morning after the night before!