Carron Henley International Women's Day Interview
Happy International Women’s Day 2023!
Welcome to our International Women’s Day Spotless Spotlight Interview. In honour of today, we wanted to interview one of the many amazing women in our leadership. Our very own CEO Carron Henley is an inspiring woman who has made it to the very top of Spotless in a short ten years. Working alongside her in the office, she is a powerful, yet humble presence who continues to make strong relationships from upper management to our cleaning operatives. It is a genuine pleasure to work for someone who has such care for the people they work alongside, and we are so excited for this chance to hear some of her story. Especially in light of International Women’s Day.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your career to date…
“Well I started in Spotless ten years ago, before then I originally came from a finance background. I worked various roles in RBS, Alliance & Leicester, GE Capital, and Standard Life Bank. When Standard Life Bank closed in Edinburgh and they transferred to Leeds, I started looking for new opportunities. I secured a role as Credit Controller at Spotless in 2012, and very quickly took on additional projects out with that role and for other companies involved with Spotless. In 2015 I then became the Payroll and HR Manager for Spotless, and then further progressed to becoming the Commercial Director in 2017. In 2021 I was then promoted to my current role as CEO at Spotless.
Q: How Does it Feel Being CEO of Spotless?
“I would say that even two years into the role I still sometimes suffer from imposter syndrome. In some ways, it still doesn’t feel real. When people ask what I do, my title as CEO isn’t the first thing that I say, it can feel surreal for me to say it out loud. It’s a huge responsibility, and the business is growing all the time. I think it feels so unreal because Roger Green who founded Spotless put his trust in me to look after the whole company. Spotless was his baby, it’s been over 30 years of his career, it feels so remarkable that he has left it in my hands. It means a lot to have that trust.”
Q: Tell me about the role you have as CEO…
“Everyday is certainly different. At the moment I’m still involved with hereditary roles and projects, so I am redelegating these as my responsibilities as CEO keep growing. To accommodate this, I am passing on a lot of my knowledge to the people within the Spotless Head Office. Some days I am in meetings all day, literally from 8am in the morning to 5pm at night. I receive upwards of 120 emails daily that need sorted and prioritised. When I have days with no meetings, I can get on with my project work, and this work is integral to the operations and growth of Spotless. The projects look at anything from daily operations to navigating new challenges. In addition, I oversee two of our Regional Offices and manage four of our Key Customer accounts. So some days I am dedicated to being involved with them. To help manage all of this, I have built an excellent team at Spotless and can honestly say I have the right people in the right places within the business.”
Q: What is your favourite part of your job?
“Personally I love coming in and knowing that the people I work with are enjoying their roles. Not that we all enjoy our jobs all the time but knowing that our people are growing and feeling fulfilled is a big plus. I also love meeting clients or our cleaning operatives which helps to get a feel of the business at ground level. Overall, there isn’t one part of my job I would say is better than the rest, I honestly get satisfaction from it all.”
Q: Any fun or memorable moments you can recall while at Spotless?
“Oh, there are lots of memorable moments, not always for the right reasons. I could tell you a lot of strange stories from my time in HR! Though I would say the moment that comes to mind is my ten year work anniversary celebrations. Roger made a lovely speech about my time with the company, and since it was around my 50th birthday the office decorated my room with giraffes which they know are one of my favourite things. Even the celebration cake they got me had giraffes on it! I was honestly so touched and felt so appreciated for what I had achieved over the years.”
Q: Do you believe that working for Spotless benefits your life?
“Massively. It has given me opportunities to do things I never would have done if I had been with another employer. I have flexibility for both my work and personal life so that I can have a balance. It’s important that when I work hard and work long hours, I can still achieve a work life balance. It’s difficult to have that at director level so it has taken me a long time to get there. I have met so many people over the years at Spotless that are friends for life. I trust the people that I work with, which makes such a massive difference when working such a high-level role.”
Carron was such a perfect fit to interview for International Women’s Day for Spotless as the women who is at the very top of our business. She has been through many struggles that we have as women when pursuing professional careers. The struggles of balancing personal and professional life, and the feeling of imposter syndrome when in higher management roles. She has been an amazing force in driving the growth and success of Spotless, and we look forward to our continued achievements under her leadership. We also hope to see other companies in our industry champion their women for International Women’s Day 2023.