For the latest edition of our “5 minutes with” series, we sat down with Gillian Bunclark, TrackTik System Administrator. She spoke about her career journey, the decade she has spent working at Corps, achieving a distinction in a full-time data course, and why having a supportive team is key to happiness at work.
What does your role entail?
As TrackTik System Administrator, my role varies day to day. I oversee our TrackTik system, a cloud-based security management platform by Trackforce. It helps manage our workforce, operations and compliance, so it is a critical part of the running of our business.
The most continuous part of my role is auditing the system, keeping it accurate and intuitive for users. I train all new admin users on the system and work as the bridge between Trackforce and Corps Security to resolve any issues and optimise our user experience.
What roles have you worked in prior to joining Corps Security?
I left school at the age of 17 after being accepted into a training programme with a global technology company. I spent 15 years working there across various roles within the business.
My main role was working as an out-of-hours call manager. I was one of the subject matter experts for our high-profile clients and it was my job to make sure our extremely tight deadlines were met. I loved how fast paced it was. I typically had just a few hours to organise an action plan, and send parts and engineers to fix the issue. This could be made much trickier when the client was in another country!
In 2016, I entered the security industry when I joined Corps at the central support team, and the rest is history.
Tell us about your journey within the company
I was initially a Relief Scheduler, so I answered the phone, organised schedules and completed other administrative duties. After a few months, I was offered a full-time position as a dedicated scheduler for the London teams. I built up a lot of knowledge doing these roles, particularly as someone new to security.
I became supervisor for the scheduling team, and soon after, we brought in TrackTik as our new Time & Attendance system. I’m one of those people who likes to know the real ins and outs of systems, so I immersed myself in learning everything I could about TrackTik, and I naturally fell into my current role.
What steps has your development taken and how has Corps supported you in this?
I have always been lucky with supportive colleagues at Corps. I can get quite settled in my comfort zone, but Margaret Dalziel, my manager at the time, offered me the position working with the London teams. It was that first nudge I needed to get back into learning and developing my skillset for the industry. Every manager I’ve worked with since then has been the same, and I have always felt supported.
In 2024, I completed a full-time data technician apprenticeship. It was an intense, full-time course, and I was proud to achieve a distinction grade. I would have never been able to do it without the time and support I was given from my management team.
What’s been your biggest highlight in your role?
Being awarded a distinction grade for my apprenticeship is 100 per cent my proudest achievement since joining Corps. There were definitely moments where I thought there was no way I’d complete it. In my youth training programme, I completed dozens of college courses and two modern apprenticeships, but I never thought I’d be studying and writing essays again 20 years later.
It was completely worth it. It’s never too late to learn a new skill!
What do you love most about working at Corps?
The people I work with are just fantastic. I love my Corps colleagues. Being a people person is definitely a big part of my role, and I work with people at every level of the business, which brings an interesting variety to my work.
I also love the history of Corps, and how rich its heritage is. We had a great presentation a few years ago of Corps artefacts and historical documentation throughout the years. It showed me how far back our history actually goes, and that it meant so much to people that they kept all this information and data for over 160 years.
It makes you feel part of something bigger, and it helps that Corps really looks after its people. Something like the real Living Wage means the world to officers, and it makes a massive difference, especially in the world we live in now.
What are the key ingredients to finding happiness at work?
Having a good, supportive team around you to be there for the good, the bad, and the ugly is so important. You need people you can talk to about absolutely anything without judgment, and I’ve been lucky to always have that at Corps.
What helps you create a good work/life balance?
I have developed a great work/life balance by finding a hybrid working pattern that works for me.
I am also a very organised person. On a Friday afternoon, I’ll take 10 minutes to look at my calendar for the next week and make sure everything is where it needs to be. I also schedule in my breaks and make sure that I take time away from my desk.
This helps me work efficiently, so it doesn’t eat into what matters: time with family and friends.
Read more of our “5 minutes with” series, and if you are interested in working with us, please get in touch.
