Recently promoted to Systems and Administration Manager, Kerri Summerfield has been with Collard for almost ten years and has been proactive in building a career that meets her needs and those of the company.
Kerri began working for Collard in a customer service role, managing skip-hire bookings and dealing with skip-related calls and emails.
Kerri says, “Before Collard, I’d been working for a skip hire company in another town, and personal circumstances brought me to Aldershot.
“My previous employer posted about my circumstances on LinkedIn, highlighting my expertise in Weighsoft waste management systems.
“James Chillery, now the Divisional Managing Director at Collard, then approached me. The rest, they say, is history!”
From a portacabin to an expanding HQ
When Kerri first joined Collard, her workspace was a small portacabin. As the company has grown rapidly over the years, she’s moved into a modern office at Collard’s flagship six-acre headquarters in Eversley.
She adds, “Although it was small at the time, you could see that the company was moving fast onto bigger and better things.”
In 2019, Collard acquired Raymond Brown’s waste division, and Kerri was heavily involved in integrating the sales order processing and transport management systems between the two companies.
Then, when COVID-19 hit, some of the company’s operations remained open, and demand for skips grew, so Kerri and the team were busier than ever.
Kerri says, “It got too much, so I said we should trial the set-up of an admin team, which I ran, and it’s still going today!”
Systems superstar
Recently, Kerri felt she had taken the admin team as far as she could and was ready for a bigger challenge.
Having demonstrated her expertise in weighing software, successfully integrating the Raymond Brown systems into Collard’s, and introducing new tools to improve the admin team’s efficiency, Kerri begins 2026 as Systems and Administration Manager.
She explains, “Across our business, we use many different systems – for example, to book annual leave, create reports, issue invoices, or register vehicle services.
“My new role is to make sure we’re getting the very best from those systems and to identify where integration could make the employee and customer experience as brilliant as it can be.”
Kerri has seen the company invest around £8m a year in the systems, tools and training needed to make this happen, and she knows it’s a learning curve for some team members.
She adds, “I’m a very patient person. I make time for everyone who needs extra help and support getting used to new systems.
“But you know, Robert Collard, our MD, listens to what tools the team needs to do a brilliant job and will go out and invest in them. So we’re very fortunate.”
“We should trial the set-up of an admin team, which I ran, and it’s still going today!”
Kerri started the Collard admin team
Kerri’s take on the Collard culture
Kerri describes working for Collard as being part of a family.
She explains, “Robert is very visible. He knows what’s happening, but not in a micromanaging way. He’s open, welcomes ideas, and is incredibly approachable.
“The company is now much bigger than when I first started, but everyone looks after one another. I’ve made great friendships here; there isn’t a high staff turnover, and customers are at the heart of everything we do. At the same time, the business is very forward-thinking.”
The future for Kerri
With the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming increasingly prevalent, Kerri is optimistic about its potential.
She says, “We’ve had some really exciting meetings with developers about AI, and we recognise it’s the future, but it has to work with our commitment to building human rapport with our customers, some of whom prefer to call and speak to a person, and we love hearing from them because we’re people- people.”
This year, Kerri’s also looking forward to supporting the Farmborough International Airshow in July, where some of the team will be based while they sustainably manage the event’s waste.
So, if you’re planning to attend, why not go and say hello to Kerri and team!
