If you’ve ever walked onto the Shotton Mill construction welfare site and felt the buzz of energy, the smooth running of operations or heard music and laughter at 6am, chances are Joanne Martin is behind it.
Since joining Elara in February 2023, Joanne has climbed the ranks from cleaner to Facilities Manager and brought her trademark humour and drive along for the ride.
A working relationship that just ‘clicked’
Joanne didn’t join Elara looking for a title. After taking redundancy from her previous role, she simply wanted to use her 20+ years of management experience somewhere she’d feel at home. That happened the moment she met Bev and Rebecca.
From her very first interview with them both, everything just clicked. As they chatted about Joanne’s work history, a surprising connection came to light – Bev’s son, Alfie, had worked at the same company Joanne had recently left.
“Little Alfie!” Joanne said with a smile.
A quick call to Alfie for an informal character reference later sealed the deal, and just two days later, Joanne joined the team as their newest cleaner. The rest, as they say, is history.
As Joanne puts it, “I clicked with them both immediately. The fun we have is unbelievable.”
Further down the line, when one of the team’s supervisors went away on holiday, the client asked who would run the site. Without hesitation, Rebecca named Joanne. One opportunity led to another, and she quickly rose through the ranks from cleaner, to team leader, to supervisor, and now Facilities Manager, leading a 20-strong team across Shotton Mill’s construction welfare site.
Firm, fair, and always present
It’s up to Joanne and her team to make sure the site runs like clockwork. Her day-to-day includes training the team on health and safety, guiding them on product use, managing site processes, proactively identifying onsite issues that affect day-to-day operations, and directing maintenance teams on repairs and replacements.
She plays an active role in Health & Safety planning meetings, raising issues with the wider team, and identifying maintenance and H&S concerns that impact staff morale and welfare. Joanne has been awarded the monthly Health & Safety award for full compliance and is regularly featured in the Health & Safety newsletter for her contributions to welfare initiatives.
But for Joanne, it’s not just about structure, it’s about spirit, and that’s where she shines.
“They’ve got a lot of faith in me, and I’ve got a lot of faith in them,” she says. That mutual trust shows. Her team members have told her countless times that they wouldn’t work for anyone else. “I’m firm but fair,” she adds. “I’ll go the extra mile for them, and they know it.”
When principal contractor J F Hunt came on board, they were quick to praise the team’s work ethic and Joanne’s visible leadership. “Their feedback was amazing,” she says. “They were blown away by how much we do to support the men on site.”
Turning up the energy (and the music)
Culture at Shotton Mill is anything but ordinary. Fancy dress at Halloween, bunnies in the windows at Easter, Christmas jumper day – it’s all part of the experience. If you’re lucky enough to visit at sunrise, you might find a few of the cleaners and construction workers dancing along to the day’s first song as they start to get to work. Joanne fosters a workplace where professionalism and joy sit side-by-side, just as they should.
She even sends out a weekly round-up to the team, sometimes in rhyme or song. Why? Because lifting the team up is her main priority.
Proud moments and pink tutus
Joanne’s proudest achievement? Being trusted to manage the welfare site at Europe’s largest paper mill. She said that both her team and management just fit together like puzzle pieces and added that she believes Elara’s success is largely down to their determination and personalities – the fun and the laughter contribute to a wonderful work environment where they’re ready to get up and seize each day.
She added: “With Bev and Rebecca behind us, you want to give back. You want to give your best.”
But it doesn’t stop there. Joanne is also immensely proud of the outstanding team she gets to work alongside, day in, day out. Having been sadly diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago, she became one of the reasons Bev decided to take on Mount Kilimanjaro, in an effort to raise money for the Prevent Breast Cancer charity.
The whole Elara team jumped in to help raise money for the charity climb, including Joanne. Together, they each dressed in pink tutus and pink t-shirts to sell cakes across their sites to the construction workers to raise money. Their campaigning raised over £3,000 in just a week – heavily contributing to Bev’s total fundraising sum of over £10k.
Joanne’s personal journey adds even more depth to her story. Now four years on from her life-saving operation and awaiting her fourth mammogram results, her strength continues to inspire not just her team, but also her son, who calls her his inspiration.
What’s next? More of what she loves
Joanne’s not going anywhere. “There’s always room for growth,” she says. With her CSCS card in the works, she’s set on expanding her skills even further.
Her words for anyone thinking of joining Elara? “It’s great. You’re looked after and respected, plus, it’s fun everyday.”
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