Matt Hunns

Shining the spotlight on Matt Hunns

If nine years ago you’d have told Matt Hunns that he would one day become a training manager at SRL, he probably wouldn’t have believed you. However, such was Matt’s progression within the business, that is exactly what he has achieved. This is his journey at SRL... 

Matt joined SRL as an operative in our D8 depot in Cambridge. At the time, there were only three members of the SRL team in the south and Matt manned the depot on his own. As the region grew, so did Matt’s remit, and, after two years, he recruited an operative to support him in his new role as depot supervisor.

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Training SRL people to be the best they can be

In his seven years as a supervisor, Matt amassed a wealth of knowledge on our products and when the opportunity arose to become training manager six months ago, Matt jumped at the chance.

Matt is now part of our four-strong training team, which is headed up by Chris Bissicks, and he is responsible for training around 20 people across six depots within his region.

“Having spent nearly 10 years at SRL as an operative and then as a supervisor, I’ve picked up a lot of in-depth product knowledge and this has equipped me well for my new role as training manager,” says Matt. “In my training, I cover everything that’s needed to run a hire depot, such as how to put out mobile traffic lights, how to test a battery, how to maintain and repair traffic lights and how to fix a trailer. It’s all vital in helping SRL to deliver it market-leading service – we never let customers down.”

“I’m constantly travelling between my depots in Cambridge, Northampton, East London (Romford), West London (St Albans), Basingstoke and South London (East Grinstead). I’ll typically spend two or three days at one depot, training and helping the team. I like to get to know everyone in each place before moving onto another one. It’s my mission to train people to be the best they can be.” 

Matt supports new people when they join SRL, often interviewing them and then carrying out inductions. This involves going through a detailed health and safety training programme to ensure that everyone is competent. Matt also helps any news administrators get to know the systems and shows them how to use our operating system, Syrinx.

“I’m constantly travelling between my depots in Cambridge, Northampton, East London (Romford), West London (St Albans), Basingstoke and South London (East Grinstead). I’ll typically spend two or three days at one depot, training and helping the team. I like to get to know everyone in each place before moving onto another one. It’s my mission to train people to be the best they can be.”

Training to progress at SRL

With the business achieving close to 40% growth last year, Matt has had to keep pace with our development, but he relishes the challenge. “SRL has grown so rapidly over the last two years and every depot is getting busier,” he says. “As Europe’s largest traffic light equipment manufacturer and hirer, we have to keep ahead in innovation and service, and I’m delighted to play a part in delivering that by helping our people build their skills and perform at their best. I am passionate about this job and I get a lot of satisfaction when the people I train share that enthusiasm.”

Using his excellent people and communication skills, Matt really enjoys the process of training people and then seeing them progress through the company themselves. “I’m very proud to have trained two fantastic guys – Chris St George and Sam Low – who were both operatives and have now gone on to become a supervisor and a regional manager, respectively. It is terrific to see all their training and hard work paying dividends.”

Achieving such results clearly makes Matt very happy, but what else does he like about working at SRL? “It’s a fast-paced company, so no two days are the same, which I really enjoy. And because SRL is a leader in its field, there is plenty more opportunity for personal development – not just for me, but for the people I train as well. SRL are a great bunch of people, they make things happen and they look out for each other – I couldn’t hope to work with a better team.”

Due to rapid expansion and growth, we have opportunities for more exceptional individuals to join the team. If you’d like to get in touch, please email recruitment@srl.co.uk.