What is your title and how would you describe your job?
Head of Automation Practice. My job is to lead the development of a new service for Elabor8.
Why did you choose Elabor8 as your employer?
I was at a point in my career where I was tired of the corporate status quo. I was looking for a company that was leading the way in terms of culture, vision and investing in their people. I started going to meetups and other local events and found Elabor8 really showcasing a modern way of thinking. Coupled with genuinely being active in the community, I knew I had to know more. Here I am, 5 years later still seeing the same values.
In a sentence, Elabor8 are forward-thinking, care for the people and promote a culture of learning.
What does your day look like?
My day is full of diverse tasks. Typically I straddle between understanding market needs and trends, discussing ideas with clients, working on internal capability development and developing online content. The best part though is working with a bunch of talented people, who I can bounce ideas off of and learn from.
What is it like working remotely with clients?
I think it’s great. I love the collaborative nature of modern online tools like Miro & Mural so everyone can explore ideas together, and it still blows my mind that you can see others navigate and contribute to the same document in real-time. I like the relaxed nature of remote video calls too, which allows people to show more personality than in an office environment. You get introduced to partners, kids, pets and all sorts of things (I showed someone one of my guitars today). I’ve seen some pretty fantastic t-shirts & backgrounds too!
What’s the one thing you do that helps you connect with clients?
I like to spend a bit of time upfront to get to know people. How long have they been working there, what else have they done in their careers, how was the weekend – I am quite curious by nature, so love to follow up on some of these, e.g. “How’s the vegetable garden going?”. It makes it interesting and humanises the relationship.
What’s your go-to when… dealing with a difficult situation?
Depends on the situation – If it’s a disagreement, calm things down, remove emotion and identify root cause. Emotionally charged situations can be a bit more challenging to handle remotely, but it’s still possible to resolve them digitally.
Why would you recommend consultancy and E8 in particular?
For me, consulting is a rewarding job. It’s often challenging, where you have to deal with some complex problems, but at the end of the day, being able to help organisations be better at what they do gives me a sense of purpose in my career. Elabor8 aligns to this thinking through our beliefs, aims and expeditions. They also support my thirst for learning, allowing me to grow my craft organically.
How would you describe Elabor8’s culture?
It’s a supportive culture that helps you grow. Can’t really say much more than that.
What’s the top tip you give people wanting to work in this field?
Listen & learn. We work with clients who have very diverse portfolios, so effective consultants have the ability to absorb and learn information quickly. We also have a great talent base internally who are eager to share knowledge, so we encourage learning from our peers too (knowledge sharing is something we pride ourselves on). No matter who we are, there is always something to learn. Following on from this is the willingness to feedback to the group, by sharing your knowledge too.
Any hobbies or things you like to do that we can share?
I have a young family that takes up a lot of time, so we are usually doing things together. Playing, exploring, being creative, it’s all about adventure and feeding their curiosity. I dabble in playing guitar, but with the kids, it’s currently more about letting them have a strum than me. It’s super fun to teach them though.
If you’re looking for that next step in your career we’d love to talk to you, send us your details. We’d love to speak to you. Elabor8 Careers.
