Professional engagement

5 September 2016



Textile Services Association membership services manager and deputy CEO Gillian Farrar continues her series about life in the industry with an insight into her own working day representing the UK’s textile care professionals


I joined the Textile Services Association (TSA) in January 2014 as campaign and communications executive and have developed over the last two and a half years into the role of membership services manager and deputy CEO.

My role covers membership engagement, events, project delivery, communications and general problem solving; as well as leading our newly established team and long-established consultants.

The office opens at 9am so if in, I arrive at my desk at 8:45am and work through emails until about 9:30am. Once the team have settled in, I check in with them to make sure they are set for the day with tasks and answer any questions they may have. I then focus on project work like our current linen awareness video, apprenticeship development or Next Generation Network.

In the afternoon, I’ll update our social media, post on our website and work on our member magazine, the Advisor, or check in with some of our consultants, touch base with the Board, and reach out to members. We release the Advisor magazine three times a year – the summer issue landed on members desks mid-July – and as the editor, I curate, write and edit articles for the magazine and direct the layout with our design agency. I love producing a magazine that updates members on our activities and also helps them in their business environment.

Being responsible for membership engagement, I am frequently out of the office, travelling around the country visiting member sites or attending meetings. This is the best part of my job as I love catching up with our members and meeting such brilliant, passionate people. If I am ever stuck for inspiration or drive, I’ll make sure I schedule a member visit because there is just so much passion and expertise out there that it makes serving the trade association a real pleasure.

I also represent TSA on a European level at ETSA meetings where we share best practice, knowledge and expertise to bring more resource forward for our membership to utilise.

TSA Events are also a great opportunity to unite members. Our special interest group meetings have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years and the engagement we receive grows at each event. By engaging with the trade association, we believe a member gets more bang for their buck and we get a greater picture of what the industry looks like in 2016 so we try to ensure there are interesting agendas planned.

Apprenticeships and the ‘Next Generation Network’ project we are pioneering this year is my favourite TSA project so far because future proofing this industry is imperative. The textile rental service delivers, time and time again, and as such it is an important British industry so we must protect the industry from unmanageable skills gap developing between generations.

The office closes at 5pm and then you will often see me heading out  to a dinner or event with industry associations such as the UK Housekeepers Association or the UK Fashion & Textile Association, or I’ll be walking home with my nose in a book, switched off from the outside world.

PROFESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE


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