Hi, I’m Iesha, a Business Engagement Officer for the office and professional sector. I joined FOR Cardiff in March 2022 because I wanted to use my skillset to enhance the city that I love.
I previously worked as a corporate legal secretary at Capital Law, so I have plenty of industry experience under my belt. Outside of work I enjoy exploring nature or art exhibits in the city.
What I Do Day to Day
As my job title suggests, my role is all about engaging with businesses to make them aware of FOR Cardiff – highlighting the projects we run and the benefits available to them and their staff.
Day to day, I work to find the relevant contact for a business and get in touch with them via email, telephone, or social media to arrange an in-person meeting.
I find in-person meetings are always best – although online meetings are a useful tool, it doesn’t compare to real human interaction. After initial introductions, I like to get a good understanding of a business and gauge which of our projects would be the most relevant and beneficial to them.
I give an overview of FOR Cardiff and have an open conversation about how we can work together going forward. Meetings are a great way to find out problems or needs a business has, so I can feed it back to the wider team and assist in any way I can.
This role is an ideal fit for me because I enjoy making meaningful connections with people from different businesses and backgrounds. I love finding out what corporate companies are up to, whether that be discovering their aspirations for the city centre or learning how they look after their staff wellbeing.
Maintaining positive relationships is a big part of my role. After an introductory meeting, I make sure that I am their “go to” person – whether that’s to organise street cleansing, connect them with city centre partners or to answer a question about one of our projects, I am always just an email away.
The Highlights So Far
Since I’ve started, I’ve been on a mission to get into as many ‘low engagement’ businesses as I can. I’ve managed to reach businesses who weren’t aware of FOR Cardiff and explain who we are and what we do.
For example, Lewis Silkin and Wendy Hopkins solicitors are two businesses who were previously unaware of FOR Cardiff. However, their staff recently attended our exclusive ‘The Card’ event at Scaredy Cats Café Bar in May.
The best perk of any job is the events and at FOR Cardiff we love to host exclusive events for employees who have ‘The Card’. The Card is like a members club for employees who work at our businesses. It gives them access to events as well as discounts at city centre businesses like The Alchemist, 200 Degrees Coffee and NCP Parking.
I really enjoyed being a part of The Card event at Scaredy Cats Café Bar. I helped with the event planning and hosting on the day – it was nice to have a sense of a purpose at an event, rather than just enjoying the free drinks!
Members who attended got to preview the venue the day before it officially opened, sample their menu, and try their craft beer and cocktails. It was a great opportunity to connect with people and it’s always fun to be the first to see a new venue!
The Next Few Months
I’m really looking forward to working on making Cardiff one of the UK’s first “equality cities”, as I think this will be such an interesting, but important project for Cardiff and its businesses.
I’m also looking forward to working on more events and exploring more of the unique venues Cardiff has to offer.
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