If Lesley Arnott had followed her industry’s legendary marketing advice to “go to work on an egg”, she’d have needed to eat more than 6,000 of them for breakfast during her career to date.
That’s assuming she had one every day of her 26.5 years working for egg giant Farmlay.
And also factoring in weekends and holidays.
Farmlay has produced millions of eggs since Lesley joined the business
It’s a lot of eggs but Farmlay, based at Cockmuir Farm, near Strichen, Aberdeenshire, has produced many millions more since Lesley joined the business in August 1998.
She is now its longest-serving employee.
So, is Farmlay an “egg-cellent” company to work for?
Lesley said: “Working for what is now my family is, of course, a huge pull to staying motivated.
“Being recognised as a valued member of the team, utilising my problem-solving skills and facing something different every day is what has kept me coming back every day.
“It is a joy to watch first-hand how much the business has expanded over the years.
It’s not just the free eggs that keeps Lesley at Farmlay
“I love receiving a big order at the start of the working week and successfully packaging up all the eggs to go out for distribution. It’s a satisfying task, and one I haven’t taken for granted. We are proud of our quality eggs.”
She added: “There is a reason I have stayed here for so long.
“It’s not just because of the free eggs we get to take home at the end of the week.”
It is a joy to watch first-hand how much the business has expanded over the years.” Lesley Arnott
She told us her favourite way to eat eggs is poached on top of smoked salmon, especially on Christmas morning.
Lesley has a farming background, and lives with her husband on their mixed arable and cattle farm near Fraserburgh.
She said she joined Farmlay as an egg packer after seeing the job advertised as having the “perfect” working hours of Monday to Friday 9.30am-2.30pm.
“The hours fitted around school pick-up and were precisely what I needed to earn money, whilst juggling life as a mother-of-two,” she said.
A quick promotion
Just a few months after joining, she was promoted to an office role to cover maternity leave.
Her knack for problem-solving, while learning quickly on the job, were soon recognised.
When the maternity cover was over, she stayed in the administrative job.
She also took on he tall-important quality control management (QC) role.
In 2007 she became general manager, allowing her to flit between QC, attending to staff needs, covering leave, placing orders, admin and running the egg graders.
Her daughter, Debbie, is married to Farmlay managing director Iain Chapman.
Asked about his mother-in-law, Iain said: “Lesley adds a huge contribution to the everyday running and decision-making processes of the business.
“Her career progression and growth in responsibility demonstrate the wide range of opportunities we have at Farmlay.”
The company produces, through contracts and its own output, nearly seven million eggs a week.
Conversation