With a career to date spent in change delivery, Marcia tells us about working life as Business Analysis Manager in our Digital and Change team, driving business improvement and using her experience to develop others. Maybe a role in Marcia’s Business Analysis team could be your next move?
Tell us about your background and what led you to join Hastings Direct
I started my career many years ago at an insurance company handling motor claims – at that point, I was a university graduate who didn’t quite know what they wanted from their career! I found myself quickly drawn into business improvement, wanting to make the customer and operational experience better. I was fortunate to be able to secure a secondment as a business analyst and I’ve never really looked back.
My career has focused on change delivery and I’ve been able to work across a number of industries, including software, telecoms and financial services. I’ve worked as business analyst, business consultant, process and solution designer, business readiness lead and business analysis manager. More recently I’ve enjoyed leading teams, combining my interests in change and continuous improvement and developing capability in others, so I’m really welcoming the opportunity to build a best practice Business Analysis team within Digital and Change.
What's it like working for Hastings Direct?
Hastings is really clear on its ambition to be the best and biggest digital insurance provider and this really underpins everything that we do. We have a great culture, it’s very action-orientated and driven to get results, but it’s also friendly and inclusive. Colleagues really support each other and, in Digital and Change, all teams want to get over the finish line together – we are instinctively collaborative.
Tell us about project delivery and how has lockdown affected you and your team?
Most of our Business Analysts work in agile Scrum teams. We’ve really embraced this methodology and are starting to see some good results. But there’s always more to do, so we are investing heavily in our ways of working and building great capability in our teams. We deliver a wide variety of change: digital and mobile app customer experience, continuous improvement, new products and product changes, fixing defects and meeting our regulatory obligations to name but a few.
Like many businesses lockdown has resulted in a new way of working, as my team all work from home and interact with each other using MS Teams. Keeping connected is really key to maintaining our sense of team – having fun and being able to continue to deliver. However, it’s reassuring to be working in an industry that continues to do well despite the pandemic.
What’s the best piece of ‘working at home’ advice you could offer?
Put your camera on when you join remote meetings. It’s made such a difference for me as I now work with a team of people that I have never met in real life. Using the camera really helps to build rapport with everyone, as you can see how people are reacting and responding and means you can read the room.
I also try to look for positives, particularly now that I no longer have to commute to work! Whilst I miss my drive-time podcasts, I really enjoy being able to spend that extra time with my family.
What advice would you give to someone who’s considering joining Hastings as the next step in their career?
As with many companies, I believe that you will get out what you put in. If you come prepared to use your talents, learn and apply your skills, adopt a growth mind-set and bring your best self to work every day, you will fit in perfectly!
If you’d like to be part of a team working together to support each other and the business, while delivering for our customers, check out our current vacancies and apply.