Specially created film shows Burton Funeral Home talking about their careers and working as a team

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 16/12/2016


The team from Wellings Funeral Directors, in Burton, have spoken openly about their work life balance and their careers at Central England Co-operative Funeralcare.

Jo, Kay, Rachel and Gary took time out from a volunteering event at Bretby Crematorium to talk about how they rely on the good will and dedication of the people they work with for support and to ensure the quality of their work.

Funeral Director Jo Mills, 44, has been working in the funeral industry for nearly five years and is a passionate advocate about her work with the Co-op and her colleagues.

The married mother, from Swadlincote, said: “My team is massively important to me because we all have different roles and different levels of authority, but not one of us can complete our job on a daily basis without the other. We are all equally important to ensuring the quality of our service.”

“We are immensely proud of what we do and what we deliver for families.

“For me it is important that we all feel equally responsible for the service we provide for families.

“Good communication is so vital. We couldn’t do what we do and give the service that we provide without each other.

“Ours is not a typical 9 to 5 job. I want families to feel that we have done more than they expected us to do. I want to ensure that we provide a service that is second to none.

“Every single day when I come to work we are able to share experiences with each other, support each other and more than anything it means that we are not carrying the load on our own.”

Senior Funeral Administrator Kay Crispino has worked for Central England Co-op for more than 15 years and feels strongly that every family should receive the highest standard of care and compassion.

The 51-year-old said: “Colleagues assist with the job but also offer each other moral support as situations can be difficult and emotional at times.
“To know that people are there for you to console you or lighten the mood – it makes the job a privilege.”

Rachel Walsh, Funeral Administrator, uses the comparison of a cake to describe her colleagues and why the perfect mix is what matters to get the balance just right.

“There are a lot of varying qualities in different people and when all of those qualities come together you make the perfect team,” the 52-year-old said.

“You need lots of ingredients to make a cake and that is what I think a team is – lots of different elements to bring out a 100 per cent quality service.

“Every day is totally different. We have ups and downs, but at the end of it all we are always there for each other and when we go home at the end of the day we feel like we have achieved something.”

After a morning of raking leaves, collecting conkers and growing as a team, Funeral Service Assistant Gary Adams, 52, summed up the mood of working at Wellings and Central England Co-operative Funeralcare the best.

“We are like a big family really. We like coming to work and we all work for each other,” he said.

“These people are my family outside my family.”

See the Wellings team talk about their work in the funeral industry by watching our specially created film at http://www.centralengland.coop/funeral-services

More details on pre-paid funeral plans are now available by visiting http://www.prepaidfunerals.coop/ or call 0800 454 552.


Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property.  The company’s funeral business consist of over 120 funeral homes across 16 counties, 10 florists, masonry production and administration, Bretby Crematorium and Terry Smiths coffin factory. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store and funeral home development programme for 2015/16.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including raising over £1 million for Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and @mycooplife on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth / Jo Baldock at Central England Co-operative on 01543 414140
Email –publicrelations@centralengland.coop