Five years at Entec Si

After five years at Entec Si, I have gained so much; a brain full of knowledge, a heart full of memories, and friendships to last a lifetime. Five years feels like an exciting milestone to reflect on and I can’t wait to celebrate more achievements.

In the beginning

I joined Entec Si as a project manager and was quickly launched into the world of consultancy and project management. Earning my Prince2 accreditation at 52 wasn’t something I had imagined I’d ever do. This was a huge leap for me and I’m so proud that I did it – it felt like such an achievement to embrace learning something new.

Alongside this I began working at my first client, East Northamptonshire Council and the Borough Council of Wellingborough. Having worked for 29 years at Birmingham City Council, I was familiar with local government. In addition to this, my project-based mentality helped me to really throw myself into the work.

Within those three years I worked on various projects such as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, an ICT transformation programme and a project to transition the two councils to a shared Revenues and Benefits platform, and the implementation of a shared Revenues and Benefits document management system.

I believe my longevity with this client was due to my stakeholder engagement and ability to deliver projects. For me, it is simple: when you deliver good work, people come back. Building trust is an essential part of our work and the best way to do this is by delivering projects for our clients effectively.

How to become the best you

As passionate as I am about my client work, I am just as impassioned about developing our team. I’m a keen advocate for nurturing less experienced members of staff and sharing knowledge with my colleagues to enable them to flourish into the best version of themselves. The combination of project delivery and people development is a sweet spot for me.

As part of our people development, I supported Entec Si to welcome their first ever apprentice! In addition to this, I have also helped to run company away days and workshops focused on developing skills across the team. A memorable workshop was aptly titled ‘how to become the best you’ and I think that sums up my approach towards development.Feeling valued

Feeling valued

After five years with Entec Si, there are too many memories to write about, but a particular standout moment for me was at my first Entec Si Values Awards. The company runs an annual values awards for their team to showcase those who have exemplified the values throughout the year. These are voted for by your fellow colleagues.

In my first year I was honoured to be nominated for all five values (Care, Commitment, Integrity, Versatility, and Collaboration). In addition to this, I won the award for Care and the overall award for the person who had exhibited the values as a whole.

This was a real eye-opening moment. I was able to step back and realise that this was a group of people who recognised me for who I was. Since then, I have won the Care award every year and I’m just as surprised each time!

A network of support

My time at Entec Si has been all about people; developing relationships with clients, creating friendships with colleagues, and learning something from everyone I meet. I don’t know the answer to everything, but our culture celebrates a collaborative way of working and this has allowed me to thrive.

Without Entec Si, I never would have proactively started networking, but having the confidence and support of my colleagues allowed me to explore an area that was new to me. The last five years have been a real endorsement of the confidence that Entec Si places in its team and people.

Ready for the next step

Although I have already achieved so much with Entec Si, there are still so many exciting opportunities ahead of me. As part of the new Operating Model, I’m hoping to mature and consolidate my role. Part of this will be growing and running with key customer accounts whilst working with Sarah Towers to help shape and grow our local government clients. Watch this space!