Contributors: Aja Cheal, Marketing Executive Apprentice and Mark Le Surf-Hall, Senior Project Manager
Recently I sat down with Mark Le Surf-Hall, Senior Project Manager, to talk about his time at Enigen so far.
Mark has been with us for just over 2 years and in his long career he has previously worked for a number of organisations in multiple roles, including but not limited to: Developer; Analyst; Tester; and Development Manager before moving into Project Management.
Mark: “What initially attracted me to project management was a suggestion from a mentor of mine at a previous company. I had gone through multiple roles and enjoyed them but was feeling quite restless, and project management was the first role I had where I really enjoyed the variety. Working with people, liaising with customers, and solving problems. In Project Management, very rarely is one day the same as another, though this may not be true for Project Managers in all organisations. I think in larger organisations, where there are huge project management teams, there’s a lot of specialised skills that are siloed. At Enigen you need Project Managers who are hands on. I’m not saying I need to take over or do other people’s jobs, but one needs to be able to understand and appreciate the roles and responsibilities not just within Enigen itself, but also of how Oracle works and how that impacts us and our customers. This can be tricky in itself because this is constantly evolving and changing, but it’s an important part of the job, and it’s worth it because it contributes to my number one focus: delivering results for our customers.”
“From a professional standpoint, I think because of my age and my time working in the industry, one thing I have brought is an understanding that a lot of the challenges we think are new to us now, have actually been around for years. I can also see that really, the level of tech understanding within a lot of organisations is the same as it was 20 years ago. Companies often aren’t tech savvy, and they don’t need to be. They’ve been focusing on their business, and they come to partners like Enigen in order to plug those gaps. What we do as an organisation is have a conversation and dialog with them, as it allows them to realise their business requirements, and understand how technology can support that. Although we use vastly different platforms and technologies to 20 years ago, and things have massively evolved over time, fundamentally it’s all about how we interact with the technology in order to meet business benefits and goals, and to deliver what the customer wants. So actually, not a lot has changed.”
“My favourite part of my role here? I love interacting with the people. I can genuinely say I’ve never felt more comfortable in an organisation. I think because of the passion that people have for the work they do, and the fairness there is across teams. I’ve not faced anything that has required getting over somebody’s ego or having to challenge someone on a personal basis. There will always be technical and business challenges, but the people are great so it’s a really good organisation to work with.”
“I’m also really pleased to have had the opportunity to become a Mental Health and Wellbeing Champion here. Mental health is so incredibly important to safeguard in the workplace, so when Erin (Erin Shaw, Director of People & Culture) announced the Wellbeing Champions scheme I jumped at the opportunity. It’s provided invaluable training to support both myself and my colleagues in the workplace, as well as the opportunity to directly offer my support and personal experience on our regular Wellness Wednesdays, where the team are welcome and encouraged to book time in with either of the two champions available on that particular Wednesday.”
“Aside from a focus on mental health I like that at Enigen, we are an equal opportunity organisation. This is super important to me. I think it’s fantastic that we can bring in people right at entry level, so we are not looking for people to be fully formed and fully qualified. We are good at spotting potential and working alongside new starters so that they realise this potential. That’s something as a Project Manager you get involved in.”
“Because of the nature of the technology we work with, often there can be many different answers to the same problem, but some more effective than others at getting the job done. Therefore, it takes reaching out, experimenting, and exploring – it’s part of the role. Not everyone is expected to know everything, but Enigen ensures that people keep their skills up to date and are qualified which is also good for the individuals as they have some formal recognition of their capabilities.”
Want to know more about the people that make Enigen?