A Friday Chat With Searcys’ People Administrator, Stacey Bibbey

Stacey Bibbey joined Searcys less than 12 months ago and is already making huge leaps in the charity sector. With the rest of the team, Stacey is working on an ambitious project to help the company raise £175,000 in celebration of our 175^th anniversary year. This week, we talk to Stacey about working at Searcys and her passion for the WWF.

Hi Stacey. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your role with Searcys?

I started working with Searcys in August 2021, and am the People Team administrator across Searcys’ venues and events portfolio. I have completed my Business and HR Management training, and am currently studying level 7 CIPD.

What do you like most about your job with Searcys?

I love the challenge and love everything that I am learning, the growth within the company and the team I work with, who are amazing people and great teachers. This is my first general HR role, my previous ones were very specific to the recruitment of that specific role, and I’m really enjoying it.

What do you think is the secret to the success of great customer service?

Listening, understanding, and being a genuine person. There’s no real formula, I do think just being genuine is the most important quality.

What is your favourite Searcys venue?

That’s a hard question! I’ve been to pretty much all our venues, and hand on my heart I can say it’s not just the venues that I love, but the people that work there. If I had to pick though it would be Blenheim Palace as my favourite outside of London, and St Pancras in London.

What are the three job tips you’d give a person who is starting a job in a front of house role?

• If you’re unsure, always ask. You can never be too careful
• A smile goes a long way
• Finally, I’m a huge advocate of having a “turn-of period” 30 mins before you go to sleep – don’t use your phone, stay away from any screens (maybe read a book), which will help you get a better night’s sleep for the next day

Tell us about your charity initiative and why you have chosen it?

At Searcys we want to raise £175,000 for a range of charities, which is a huge undertaking and something I’m really passionate about. I’ve chosen the WWF – the Worldwide Wildlife Fund – as my charity initiative, primarily because I love animals and agree with the work the charity does. It’s not just animal-focused, it also advocates important work to slow down climate change, as well as mitigating the effects of climate change on our planet and the effects to the animals that we share it with. The WWF were crucial in helping uncover how food in supermarkets can be part of the reason for deforestation.

The HR team and I are also doing a charity walk, the Moonwalk for Breast Cancer, which will be in May. It’s an amazing charity that touches so many people.

And what are you working on at the moment to support these charities?

I am doing 100 miles in March for WWF, which I hope will go towards the important research they do into climate change and how our modern lifestyles affect the world we live in. If you want to support me, please see the link: https://www.facebook.com/donate/3113232928956142/?fundraiser_source=external_url

A few other people from Searcys and I are also doing the Moonwalk, which means a lot to me as I have had family members and friends who have fought breast cancer. As soon as my colleague Lottie suggested it, I jumped on that! If you want to support us, please donate at: Walk the Walk: The MoonWalk London 2022 (enthuse.com)

Finally, as Searcys approaches its 175^th anniversary, what would your one wish for the company and your colleagues be?

Happiness. As cheesy at is sounds, happiness is something you cannot buy and something that can be hard to find. You can get great moments that fade, but happiness is hard. So I would wish for that, for everyone