Julia Baldock, IT Delivery and Performance Manager tells us about how the technologies we use keep us competitive in a crowded market as well as her aspirations for Hastings Direct and her team. Could you be interested in being a part of this team’s bright future?
Tell us about your background and what led you to Hastings Direct?
I joined Hastings Direct in September 2014 after nearly 15 years with my previous employer (so a big decision!) and I have quite an eclectic background. In every company, industry and position I have held ‘people’ have been core to the role and this is what led me to Hastings Direct. Our approach is centred around our 4Cs (Colleague, Customer, Company & Community), colleagues help drive our growth so we in turn invest in support, training and development; we believe that engaged colleagues lead to happy customers and we actively promote a culture where we can all contribute and thrive.
Can you tell us a bit about the work you do and the technologies your team work with here at Hastings Direct?
We operate in a very agile space and our cross functional teams deliver frequent technological updates that improve our colleagues and customer experiences. We look after a wide range of platforms, syntax and systems from data development and system change to digital journeys – they touch many areas of our business which in turn supports our strategic plans for growth. My role is to support and develop our colleagues to achieve that, from regular 1:1s to ensuring we have the right people in the right roles to both support the delivery of our projects and meet individual colleague needs.
Looking to the future, what are you excited about for Hastings Direct and how will your team look to contribute to those plans?
Technology is constantly evolving and increasingly becoming more important to the growth of the industry. Hastings has big ambitions and our plans to achieve those are bold and exciting with our IT & Change team driving these forward. Every individual colleague is encouraged to embrace innovation and there are lots of opportunities to get involved and drive those ideas into reality whether that is improving our web journey for customers to developing proof of concepts in new technologies. It’s this culture of continuous improvement that ensures our team will deliver against those strategic plans.
Why should someone consider joining Hastings Direct?
It is a growing and inspiring company to work for with so many opportunities – it’s never boring! Anyone who wants to work for a company that puts colleagues at its heart and to know that you are not just a small cog but integral to our success, then this is the place for you.
Find out more about the opportunities in our IT team