Read Jane's story to learn what it's like to work as a Centre of Enablement Lead at QBE.
Tell us about your role at QBE
Not many people can say it, but I genuinely love my role. I’m the Centre of Enablement Lead for Change and Technology Services, which means I help to guide, drive, and encourage us on the journey to becoming a more modern technology function. I work with people across Technology Services in different teams and regions guiding and coordinating how we mature as an organisation. In a week I can be advising on how agility can help solve a problem, setting up reports, shaping a team, challenging a certain process or running a training session on agile mindset. It’s definitely a varied role.
What is your career background?
I have a pretty varied background starting in Music (my passion) and Architecture (my degree). My first job in technology was on an IT helpdesk - it was my passion to help people do their job well – give them the tools, training and coaching and setting the RIGHT targets – that led me into improvement focussed roles. All of my roles have focused on bringing about change and continual improvement. I love seeing people grow and realise they can achieve something they didn’t think was possible.
What is it like working in tech at QBE?
There’s a great atmosphere within Change and Technology at QBE. I don’t view myself as being particularly technical but as having just enough knowledge to understand the big picture and a willingness to learn. It’s important to remember that if you don’t know something in a meeting, you can almost guarantee that someone else isn’t sure either, so ask the question for both of you! We’ve got a great mix of experience and knowledge in the organisation and everyone wants to achieve the best outcome for our customers. It's also the first organisation I’ve worked for with such a high proportion of females at ALL levels (right to our divisional CIO), many of which take advantage of Flex@QBE, working hours that work alongside family. Although there are a lot of us, we still come together to look at how we can make things even better with our Women in Tech group.
What’s your experience with Flex@qbe?
I make the most of Flex@QBE – I’m part-time (31 hours) to work around drop-off and after-school activities. QBE has given me the flexibility and in return, I’m happy to go into the office when needed and do those anti-social global calls (although I know that no one would mind if I said “no – I can’t this week”)
How has the technology industry changed in recent years?
I’ve been in technology for over 20 years now and I’d say it’s moved to being less about the tech and more about the people. We used to recruit for technical knowledge, but now attitude and aptitude are just as important, if not more so.