60 Seconds with Natalie Teden
What is your role?
I am the Senior Marketing Executive here at NQA. I work out of the Dunstable office alongside the Global Marketing Manager and between the two of us we plan and execute the marketing activities across the world.
I have recently celebrated my one year anniversary at NQA. Currently I am responsible for NQA's corporate identity, creation of content, organization and publication of all marketing activities in line with our marketing plans including copy writing, PR, promotions, webinars, events, seminars and communication activities.
Planning and implementing promotional campaigns aligned with the commercial strategy and campaign plans, managing and improving lead generation campaigns, ensuring regular content review and accurate promotion of NQA services.
I also spend time monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of marketing activities and communications, maintaining and updating customer databases, creating and measuring social media content. I am also helping to deliver the digital marketing campaigns to increase online presence, simplify the customer journey and deliver exceptional customer service to both clients and prospective clients.
Most memorable moment at work?
My most memorable moment so far was the 2018 company-wide conference back in January. Every year NQA bring together all of their employees, both office based and from around the field for 2 days of company information and engagement, team building and networking.
As I was still new at the time it was a great way for me to communicate face-to-face with many of the people I speak to everyday on the phone or by email but don’t necessarily get to see often in person. Along with updates on the company performance, a look at expectations for the year ahead, motivational industry speakers and exciting new product developments it was great to network with all of my colleagues and that has definitely helped forge my relationship with them in the past year.
Favourite things about working for NQA?
There are three things that really stand out for me at NQA. The first is the approachability of the director team. I have not worked for a company where the relationship between staff and their directors is so transparent before. As a stereotype, directors can often be daunting to approach, however at NQA they all operate an open-door policy and make a huge effort to integrate with the wider team and are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. They often join in on team activities and this makes going to them for advice or their opinions on marketing ideas much easier.
My second favourite thing is how much NQA openly appreciate their staff. Hard work is rewarded with BBQs, cultural days, office-wide lunches, Christmas parties and champagne. It’s gestures like this that keep employees motivated and happy at work and it definitely shows! My friends and family are often left jealous when I tell them about how we get treated.
The last thing I love is that my job is so incredibly varied and busy. The marketing team runs at 100% all of the time and this is across a mixture of different projects and no day is ever the same. From smaller tasks to huge ground-breaking jobs, staying on top of everything keeps me on my toes and keeps me motivated and excited.
Top tip for people looking at certification?
My top tip for people looking at certification would be to make a bucket list of what you expect from your certification body. Don’t settle for sub-standard service! There are plenty of big CBs out there that will charge you the world just to provide you with a certificate BUT there are also more personal companies available that will take the time to delve into your company and industry, provide you with improvement opportunities and give you the on-going post-certificate customer service and guidance that you should expect!
If you'd like some information on transferring to NQA feel free to take a look here.
How might you be able to help our readers?
I can help you with obtaining the correct logos to use across your materials, writing press releases to celebrate your training or certification achievements and creating a stronger partnership through case studies, news items and events.
I can also help to put you in touch with relevant assessors and experts in each sector or help you get a quote with our sales team but whatever the request, I will endeavour to answer any query sent my way.