A look behind the scenes at Wienerberger – Joanne and her customers

As part of Wienerberger‘s series of insights into their workforce, a day in the life of Category Product Manager for Roof and Landscape Joanne Roberts has been explored.

With every day being different and the possibility of being anywhere at anytime, Joanne’s work is exciting; product development is a big part of what she does, which involves making sure demands from customers and the market are met, whilst giving industry access to new tiles and pavers.

She has to keep a very close eye on numerous areas of Wienerberger, to see how the various ranges are fairing. For example, liasing regularly with the sales team to see how roof and landscape products are selling.

Listening to customer feedback is crucial for Joanne, as that is a key were of evolving the company’s products. She works closely with merchants to guarantee their products and making the customers’ jobs that whole lot easier.

Wienerberger’s Rivius roof tile is a fine instance of this – customer insight that the tile was old and tired resulted in the company developing it.

Features were included to make it appear more like slate, which is the core idea of the tile.

Extensive research amongst merchants has also helped to reduce the speed at which the tiles were being fitted. Here, client feedback led to an interlocking till being created, which addressed the issue regarding time nicely.

She also spoke about how many departments work together to create the end product. Accounts, sales, customer services, transport, quality control and the factory, every member of every division has an important role of some description to play.

A product launch will see Joanne work with the technical team to ensure the product operates to its full potential.

There is also a heavy reliance on the factory team, who’s input is invaluable to guarantee that specifications are being met.

She says her favourite part of the job is working alongside different teams and departments, plus being out and about constantly, as opposed to staying desk-bound for five days a week.

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