Zehra describes the task of managing the programmes as "a balancing act. You have to understand exactly what each of the programmes involves. The best way of doing this is to be prepared to wear many hats. As well as managing the programmes Shilpi and I help with the administration tasks, training clients and with providing intensive, one-to-one support to the clients. This means that we are very much aware of what goes on at the front line and what works best."

Another important factor in making the programmes a success is through responding to the needs of clients. Zehra has recently recruited two bi-lingual members of staff, Sohini and Onder, who speak Bengali and Turkish respectively. This is great for helping clients with ESOL needs to get the most out of the programmes. It also means that we can engage with local employers who themselves have limited English. Sohini and Ondar help clients to prepare speculative letters in Bengali and Turkish, giving ethnic employers access to staff which they would not otherwise have been able to recruit.

Zehra is currently steering her staff through a period of cultural change within the company. KS is endeavouring to empower its staff to take responsibility for achieving their individual targets and for forming their own network of contacts. One key element of this is for each member of staff to form links with Jobcentre Plus advisers, making sure they are aware of the services we provide and how we can help their clients. Zehra encourages her staff to make these links through holding breakfast and lunch meetings with Jobcentre Plus staff and through initiatives such as "Wicked Wednesdays" on which KS staff take time out of their days to catch up with their Jobcentre Plus contacts. For Zehra, hitting and exceeding Shilpi Purkayastha targets is both the most challenging and the most satisfying part of her work. Shilpi adds that the other major source of job satisfaction is "seeing the smiles on the client’s faces and knowing that we have helped them into a job that they really want to do."

For further information contact Zehra or Shilpi through our Holloway Octagon Court office.