Wave is a supplier of water to businesses in the UK and employing 300 people in Durham and Peterborough. Lucy Darch joined the firm as CEO in 2017, leading a joint venture between Northumbrian and Anglian Water in the UK's newly deregulated non-household water market.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? My first job was as a sales support coordinator for Friend’s Provident, which was a mortgage, insurance and pensions advisory service. I think that financially, for me personally, I was actually worse off working for them than I was as a student! As a student I had my grants, my student loan, and my fees paid, which I think worked out at more than the £9,000 a year starting salary I got from Friend’s Provident.
However, while working there, I received valuable financial advice and education. They taught me about pensions and life insurance, which prior to the role I didn’t know a great deal about. This gave me the tools to get on the property ladder and buy my first flat, which turned out to be a really smart investment.
What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? While working at British Gas I trained to be a Living Leader coach, I met Penny Ferguson who created the Living Leader programme and she told me: "You should never forget that you always have choices". I think this is great advice for when you’re feeling apprehensive about your next steps, or when you feel railroaded into a decision. When you start hearing words like ‘should’, ‘got to’ and ‘must’, I believe those are triggers for really looking at what you are doing and whether it’s really something that you’re choosing to do for the right reasons.
Every year I write myself a vision statement about what I want to do that year or over the next six months, focusing on the choices that I’m making and staying in a really empowered zone and truly in control of myself.
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? Utilities is a really challenged sector to work in and we’re in unchartered waters now - we're dealing with lots of factors that are out of our control, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Brexit and the impact that these are having on the cost of living and wholesale prices. The non-household market that Wave operates in has only been in operation for six years, so to be faced with so many market challenges straight away has been really challenging.
Despite this, we have had a relentless focus on customer experience over this period and we’re very lucky that our shareholders, Anglian Water and Northumbrian Water, also share this customer experience focus. Seeing the latest Retail Market Review from Ofwat, I think we’re finally turning a corner into a market in which Wave can continue to deliver a great customer experience.
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? I think the greatest change that we’ve seen is the move to hybrid working. I look back at how things were before the pandemic and think of all the time we wasted on commuting. People are working incredibly effectively in a hybrid fashion and our position at Wave is that everyone works to the business’ needs. If the team needs you in for coaching, training, or meetings, the people come into the office, apart from that, the team is free to switch between home and the office as it suits them. I think that this flexibility has repaid in spades with the high level of productivity – at Wave our attendance went up since introducing hybrid working, with less people being off sick. We now have an attendance rate of 97% which I think is an incredible achievement and something we’re proud of.
Who is your role model in business? I had a manager at British Gas called John Beddows who taught me the ethic of ‘work hard, play hard’. We operated in a challenging market, with ambitious targets and some days felt relentless but we celebrated every milestone along the way. It was a six or seven-year journey to reach our goals, but despite the challenges I always felt valued and appreciated and confident that I was supported. We also had a lot of fun along the way. Sometimes you come across leaders, like John, who are unsung heroes and the special kind of leaders that make their team feel appreciated.
What would your dream job be? This is my dream job - I absolutely love it! It’s the perfect mix of strategic challenges and being creative to steer the business toward our core focus. This year we’ve had a big push on our Social and Sustainability Promise and we are getting excellent feedback from customers that we’re making a difference. They can see that we’re doing it for the right reasons, which is something that I feel is important to hear from our customers.
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? If you work in utilities you have to enjoy being focused on data and processes – it’s an important skill in a lot of sectors but particularly within utilities.
There’s also a Richard Branson quote that is good to keep in mind when you’re starting out: "If someone offers you a really amazing opportunity, say yes and learn to do it later". I love that attitude because there are a lot of opportunities at Wave, giving people the chance to take secondments and move between teams. Gone are the days that people stay in one role or business forever. You can move to a new role and hone your skills by trying out different things until you find something that you’re passionate about and enjoy doing.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? We’re based in Durham and Peterborough which are both amazing places. I love both, but I do think there’s something truly special about the people in the North East, in terms of their commitment and their dedication to quality - people really want to do an excellent job.
We have been lucky to have inherited businesses in two brilliant regions. Since Anglian and Northumbrian Water passed their customers over to Wave, we’ve felt a lot of loyalty. North East businesses have been loyal by nature because they value that allegiance to working with businesses in the region as well. Durham has a beautiful charm and takes my breath away when I see the castle and Durham Cathedral and the hilly cobbled streets.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? Incredibly important. We’re investing heavily in our Social and Sustainability Promise. We’re working with primary schools around where our people are based, educating teachers and students about the importance of saving water. As a team we do beach and canal cleans which give back to communities and brings our people together. Customers are keen to hear these kind of business activities, so we have a platform called Alaya that shows our carbon footprint, our water saving challenges, and the results of the cleans we do – I think that transparency is really valuable. I’ve seen a synergy between the Wave team and people who are interested in the environment and are motivated to good in society.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I’m a good horse groom! I’ve got three horses and they are the most pampered animals you’d ever imagine.
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