Logged In With…Terry Bowles, director at Drivers Plus
TERRY Bowles is a director at Drivers Plus, a Bradford-based HGV driver recruitment company that specialises in the placement of HGV class 1 and class 2 drivers throughout the North.
Describe yourself in a Tweet
A self-motivated and positive person, who puts family first, loves sport and who definitely doesn’t suffer fools lightly!
What are your career highlights?
My biggest career highlight was setting up the Hallmark Contract Packing Division back in 1998. I held the position of general manager and within six months we managed to get the business up and running and were employing 120 staff.
What’s on your iPod?
Lots of things my son has downloaded for me. There’s a lot of variety on there and I haven’t got a clue who some of the artists are. There’s rock, pop, some r n b and a couple of Nine Inch Nails albums.
What has been your favourite/worst job?
My favourite was working for the Hallmark Contract Packing Division and my worst was working in the wool textiles industry.
My father insisted on me doing an apprenticeship and suggested the textiles industry, so I spent five years as a trainee wool sorter before qualifying.
Unfortunately at around the same time that I qualified, the wool textiles industry was finishing in Bradford so I actually ended up with no job.
Who is your ideal dinner guest or which public figure do you admire most and why?
I admire John Barnes, the chairman of Harry Ramsden’s. I went to a seminar he was speaking at, which was held at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, and he was a really interesting man, who had some fantastic ideas and real vision.
Are you worth what you’re paid? Why?
Yes I think so. I put in a huge amount of hours to ensure our clients get the level of service they expect and am definitely not afraid of hard work.
What has been your biggest business mistake/achievement?
My biggest mistake was in my very early days when I was working for a shipping and forwarding agent. I was only 16 and was asked to send 200 bicycles to a children’s home in Barcelona, but put the wrong information on the documentation so the bikes never arrived. To my knowledge they’re still in a bonded warehouse in Spain!
What is your pet peeve both in and out of work?
In work, it’s people who pass the buck instead of dealing with issues themselves and outside of work it’s going food shopping with my wife! It literally takes hours.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
My old managing director, Mark Seekins. He was and still is an exceptionally positive person and is now a very good friend of mine.
What do you enjoy most and least about your role?
I enjoy good days, when we book lots of drivers and receive positive feedback from our clients. I don’t enjoy days when people try to make up excuses to get out of certain shifts.
What’s the key to managing people?
I think you need to set the standard by example. You need to be firm but fair, be prepared to listen and to tell people the truth, whether it’s good news or bad, as most people respect honesty.
What are the biggest barriers to your organisation’s success?
Trying to do too much of the day to day activity ourselves.
Both Richard, my business partner, and I have trouble letting others within the organisation take responsibility. We need to try and let go of the basics and spend more time developing the business.
Companies that stand still never last long and so we need to ensure we keep developing and growing the business.
What would make Yorkshire an even better place to live and work?
Yorkshire has a lot of attributes and is a great place to live.
Many of the inner city areas are in a poor state though with businesses closing every day and more investment should be made by local government to improve them.
The M62 could also benefit from some serious improvement that would help to ease constant congestion.
If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what alternative career would you choose and why?
I’d love to live in Cornwall, buy a couple of boats and spend my time on the water sailing and fishing. Retiring in Spain is also a dream.
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