Meet the Team: Andy Miller

Up next in our ‘Meet the Team’ series, we have Andy Miller, Non-Executive Direct

Tell us about your role at Trickle?

I am Trickle’s chair, working for the company on a non-exec, part-time basis. I got to know Paul (Trickle’s CEO) when I worked for Capita, which bought Paul’s company at the time, Sigma Seven.

Capita had 70,000 employees, and Paul’s company had around 30 people. When a small firm is bought by a much larger one, it can have a real impact on the culture of the smaller organisation and lead to unrest in the team.

So when Paul started Trickle, and came to me to ask if I wanted to get involved, I said yes. I saw Trickle as something that would help managers – especially in large organisations like Capita – understand why people were unhappy at work, give them the opportunity to do something about it, and hopefully prevent them leaving the organisation.

The more formal part of my role involves chairing board meetings and helping secure new investment, but I am also a sounding board for Paul. It’s quite lonely being the boss, so I am here for him to bounce ideas off and give him a second opinion.

What is your favourite Trickle feature?

The Flare feature, which allows people to raise issues – such as mental or physical wellbeing – anonymously if they are uncomfortable doing it in person. I have a son who works for the NHS and I think it’s a very valuable tool for organisations like that.

What does the perfect weekend look like?

I have played sport all my life, so the perfect weekend would involve golf or tennis – preferably in good weather – and seeing my four grown-up kids for a pub lunch. Throw in a bit of gardening, and a good film on television and that would be ideal. I would also try to avoid driving during my perfect weekend, as I do too much of it during the week!

Film or books? And what is your favourite?

Books. I am probably going to sound like a grumpy old man but I am a bit concerned about how much time people spend looking at screens. People are on ‘receive mode’ all the time as they are constantly being sent information through their smart devices, and it’s hard to switch off. Books help me relax and get to sleep at night. At the moment I love Mick Herron’s ‘Slough House’ series. I have just finished the last of them.

What was your first job?

My first sensibly paid role was a summer job before I went to university, collecting bins in the town I grew up in. I then went back to it for several summers throughout my studies, as it paid well, which really helped me through uni. It was interesting as it gave me a detailed knowledge of all the places in that town! In those days there were no wheelie bins, so you had to carry the rubbish out to the lorry, running from house to house, so it was hard physical work. It also introduced me to a great group of people whom I would have never met otherwise.

If you had a time machine, would you choose to go to the future or the past – and why?

I’d go back to the recent past so I could do something about the huge reliance we all have on smart devices. They are fantastic tools, but we have become so dependent on them. They have changed our society because people are hooked on them, sitting looking at their phones when they should be having a conversation. So I’d like to go back and design them a bit differently, so they were still useful, but much less addictive.