Robbie joined the Bristol office as a Senior Consultant in February 2022, following 5 years at IBM. Robbie has found that life at Lancia has supported his growth and development in ways that he could never have imagined whilst working for a large business. We ask Robbie why he decided to take the leap from IBM to pursue a career with us, at LanciaConsult.
We’re really pleased he did!
Q: Robbie, you originally joined LanciaConsult from IBM. Please briefly describe what attracted you to the role and move into a Consultancy firm?
A: When I was at IBM, I worked in Global Business Services, a department that specialises in technology consulting. Due to IBM’s size, I was regularly doing remarkably similar work with the same types of clients. This meant I was unable to diversify my skills, and I was not getting the challenge I needed to be able to learn and develop. The other draw for me was working for a small sociable team that really cared for its people, post-pandemic most of my work at IBM was delivered remotely and I was missing the team atmosphere.
Q: How have you found the experience of working at Lancia, versus a large, global tech corporation?
A: The last year has been a massive opportunity to learn and develop, I am working with a much broader range of clients and on various projects. Lancia has big corporate clients, but we also support charities in the 3rd sector as part of our social impact work. Earlier this year, I was able to do a piece of work with a youth work charity as part of this scheme, and it was amazing to see the impact our projects can have on the wider community.
Q: Outside of your primary role, you've been instrumental in launching the apprenticeship program at our Bristol office. Can you tell us more about that, and why you are passionate about it?
A: I am a big advocate of apprenticeships, having completed my studies via a degree apprenticeship when I started in Consulting. I have been working with the team at Lancia to develop an equivalent programme that will allow us to bring apprentices into the business. To be able to lead on this is a great demonstration of the opportunity that working for such a caring organisation offers you, Lancia, are embracing and allowing me to be involved with something I am so passionate about. I‘m really looking forward to seeing the hard work come to fruition and hopefully having new apprentices join the business soon!
Q: How does Lancia support you in doing things outside your day-to-day responsibilities, and how do you think that helps your career?
A: I would say that a lot of organisations talk about employees being themselves at work, Lancia lives it. Prior to joining Lancia, I joined the Board of Trustees at UTC Portsmouth, a technical college I had worked through with my previous employer. This is something that Lancia has really embraced and supported me with, I am given the time needed to do this role. Jeff, our CEO, even joined me on a trip to Portsmouth last year to understand more about the college and how Lancia might be able to support it in the future. That is just one example of how Lancia supports me in getting involved in what I am passionate about.
Q: Lastly, can you tell us about the overall culture and work-life at LanciaConsult? Would you recommend it to someone looking for a new opportunity at your level?
A: I am just over a year into my Lancia journey and absolutely love working with the team; it is such a friendly atmosphere. I would recommend joining Lancia, and I think I would sum it up as:
- Lancia really focusses on growth and development; our coaching system LIFT allows you to shape what development looks like for you and where you take your career. This is then supported effectively by the team.
- Lancia seriously cares about its social impact; we genuinely put our time into supporting the community across our two impact pillars Environment and Education. Our social impact report evidences this; it is a great part of Lancia and makes it a wonderful workplace.
- Finally, if you are looking for a social team that you enjoy working with and spending time with, Lancia’s investment on socials and away weekends really help you get to know and build great relationships with our fun and energetic team.
If you’d like to learn more about working with Lancia, find out more about starting your career with us.
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