A day in the life of Charlotte Chetland
A day in the life of Jet’s Planing Sales Manager, Charlotte Chetland
Variety. Problem solving. Teamwork. Those are just a few of the reasons that Charlotte loves what she does at Jet. In just two years, she’s made a real impact at the business, with her work directly leading to industry-leading compliance, impressive growth and a raft of award wins.
Jet is passionate about sustainability – it’s something that runs through the core of the company, which has been operating for 36 years now. A key part of that is recycling the road planings that our crews working across the country deal with. They can be used for a wide range of construction or development applications. They’re also a very cost effective substitute to expensive virgin materials.
Charlotte’s job is to lead the Planing Sales team. “We’re essentially right in the middle of everything”, Charlotte says. “It’s up to us to make sure we find a licenced tip or reseller to take the planings and we liaise with drivers, suppliers, operations, and our customers.”
So, what does a normal day for Charlotte start like? “Well, I’ll begin by looking at the jobs we’ve got coming up and essentially the planings that we can offer our customers. It’s important to be completely organised, even though that plan could change at any time!
“Then it’s a case of checking in with our team of drivers who are working hard across the country and keeping them in the loop about what’s happening during the day. After that it’s time to update my own team and get the day properly underway… after a cuppa!”
Jet sells road planings to an eclectic mix of customers, with many different groups finding a use for them. “Farmers, people working on car park renovations, builders, landscapers, hauliers… you name it!” Charlotte says. “A key part of my job is building relationships with these customers, to find the most sustainable method of disposing of road planings from jobs. It means a lot to me that we’re part of the process that ensures they are recycled effectively.”
Charlotte’s work certainly isn’t without the occasional logistical challenge… She recalls a time when she received a call from a driver who had 400 tonnes of material to dispose of on a Monday evening, but the planned customer it was going to be delivered to decided they no longer needed it: “I thought to myself, okay, this is a problem and it’s up to me to solve it, but there’s always a way. I jumped on the phone to our pool of customers until I found someone who needed it close by. That’s what we do at Jet – we get the job done and we do it in a compliant manner 100% of the time.”
Jet’s proud to be ahead of the curve when it comes to ensuring compliance, something that’s also very important for clients who need to ensure they’re abiding by all the latest rules and regulations. “When we dispose of road planings we have to provide a waste transfer note and we’re now using an innovative digital system which makes life easier for everyone and ensures that we’re being as accurate as possible.”
Aside from her day-to-day responsibilities, Charlotte is proud to be one of Jet’s mental health first-aiders. It’s an important role, with more than half of safety advisers in construction reporting an increase in mental health issues last year. “Many of our teams are working shifts across the country and that can be quite lonely sometimes, so I’m always happy to lend an ear and just have a good chat. Something as simple as talking for a few minutes can really help.”
Attitudes like Charlotte’s have resulted in Jet becoming a supporting and inclusive place to work, even being named as one of The Sunday Times’ Best Places To Work earlier this year.
How does Charlotte herself take time to relax after a busy week then? “Well, I’ve got two very cute new kittens who take up most of my time at the moment”, she laughs. “My day-to-day is busy though, so it is important to switch off. However, I really do count myself lucky to do a job that allows me to make a real difference every single day.”
