Chris Mee Group are delighted to welcome Colette Horgan to their every growing Management team based in Little Island!
Colette joined Chris Mee Group in October 2020 as Group Quality & Training Manager having spent 13 years at Enva Ireland Ltd.
Since starting with the group Colette has been heavily involved in the ISO Integrated Management (IMS) project and QQI, NEBOSH, IOSH and PHECC projects as well as heading both the CMSE Training and Quality departments.
Colette’s experience in Sandoz alongside her Process Safety Chemist role at Irotec Laboratories and her New Product Development Team Leader role in Schwarz Pharma Ltd have all prepared her for this challenging and strategic role.
Chris Mee, Managing Director of Chris Mee Group, said
“While the past 12 months have had their challenges, it’s been a year of embracing new ways of working, new technologies and adapting our services so that we can continue to provide a top-quality service to our clients old and new. We are delighted to welcome Colette into the team and have no doubt that with her assistance 2021 will be better than ever”
Get to know Colette:
What drew you to the industry?
I have learnt a lot throughout my career, so a move to the training industry was a natural progression for me. Early on I was very fortunate to have a fantastic boss that really valued teaching and learning, I was the protégé of sorts. I was sent on a lot of training courses and had a lot of mentoring during that time which I believe really stood to me. People should never underestimate the value of learning in industry. You may get the foundation in college, but there is so much more to learn. Coupling that with my experience in (and indeed the importance of) Health & Safety makes this move to the Chris Mee Group a perfect fit.
What upcoming plans do you have for the business in the near future?
The business responded well to the challenges introduced by the pandemic last year and many of our training programmes have been adapted for online learning. Online and blended learning solutions are here to stay and we will be busy enhancing these services over the coming year. With Quality you are always on a journey to continuously improve and I want us to become an example of best practice in everything we do. It’s in line with our mission to become a leading provider of outsourced professional consultancy, training and people solutions internationally.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard, career or otherwise?
There is no such thing as a stupid question, or in other words “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” whether that be asking a question about something you don’t fully understand, to be sent on that training course you always wanted to do or to be part of that project that you’d like to be involved in. You should never be afraid to express your interest.
What piece of advice would you give to college or course graduates who want to go have a role like yours?
Be prepared to start at the bottom and build up your experience over time. Good communication and people skills are essential, and working in Quality requires attention to detail, a strong sense of integrity and the desire to do the right thing, but above all enjoy what you do.
How do you generate innovative ideas?
I like to have a broad knowledge about a lot of things. There are always different perspectives and I find talking to people and hearing their perspective sparks my own thought processes and ideas come. Ideas often come to me when I take time out to reflect, which is usually when I’m out walking my dog in the countryside or about to go to sleep!
What does ‘success’ mean to you?
Success is about happiness and not about financial gain or status. It’s mostly about enjoying what you do whether that be at work or at home. For me that includes being heard, learning new things and being able to make a difference.
What’s the best thing you ever learned from the worst boss/coach you ever had?
I had a boss once who constantly second guessed me and sought second and third opinions from my co-workers before deciding about anything. I had always felt my opinion mattered and I remember feeling very undervalued at the time. Until then I hadn’t realised how important it is to let people know how much you value them. People have a wealth of knowledge and experience all uniquely different to our own and we should never take that for granted, and yes, it’s perfectly ok to get that second opinion if needed it’s how you communicate it that matters!
Colette Horgan
Group Quality and Training Manager
Chris Mee Group
Euro Business Park, Little Island, Cork
021 497 8100
colettehorgan@cmse.ie
cmse.ie
