A week in the life of... A week in the life of...
Ian Colclough ACIPP, account executive at SumTotal Systems
Monday
latest release which is our learning, talent and workforce management solution, a unique product offering, in preparation for updating my workforce management clients. I have to be able to understand all of the different products we provide which can be a time-consuming task when there are regular updates and enhancements. Today was also very exciting for me as one of my clients asked me to share more details about Perspectives, our upcoming flagship annual event. We tend to get a variety of speakers on a range of topics that are impacting the workplace: from generational shifts in learning habits to the best ways to engage the workforce. Perspectives provides SumTotal the opportunity to showcase our solutions to clients and prospects who may not have had a chance to see all of our solutions. The day starts with a meeting with the sales director to look at quarterly objectives. I then try to get everything in order in terms of wrappings things up, putting my expenses through, updating our customer relationship management software and making sure my clients are all happy going into the weekend. I then start to think about the weekend. This one is particularly interesting as my wife works for South Yorkshire Police and through her I have been asked to referee the Police UK National Badminton Finals in Newcastle. I met my wife at a badminton club, and our three sons have all played badminton from a young age, representing our county. It’s great to be able to do something completely different in my spare time, as it means I return refreshed and excited for the week ahead. q Friday
so we work with them to make it as easy as possible. In terms of workload, it gets even more challenging. April is always the busiest time of the year for anyone involved in payroll as it’s when the tax year ends which can be challenging at the best of times. One of our clients is struggling due to key members being absent through sickness we make extra resources available to help the client cope. I’m also lucky that our technology is created to make it easy to use without having to rely on a single expert. Today involves one of the most common features of my job – travel. I tend to spend at least two to three days a week travelling. In a way I’m fortunate as I have clients across the UK which means every day is different, but it can also be quite lonely when you sitting in a hotel on your own. It’s Ireland today, and in the morning I’m running through an overview of our other solutions available to them. Currently they use our fully integrated payroll/HR solution, but they are looking to purchase additional modules namely workforce management, expenses management, learning and talent management. One of the most frustrating things about being on the road is that you can see all your emails but not respond easily. This is the double-edged sword of smartphones and being ‘always-on’. You have to remember to act on the email when you get a moment with the computer; I call this acting on the terrace. Wednesday
Relaxing, re-charging and enjoying is how I spent the weekend, and it has put me in the best place to start the week. I always take time on the Sunday night to review my calendar for the week ahead, ensure my appointments are confirmed and that all of my hotels and travel for the week are planned. This means I walk into the office on Monday morning and know that I’m in a good place for the rest of the week. First thing Mondays my manager holds a weekly team meeting. We talk about the activities for the week ahead including client news, service performance, incident management and other requirements. In the afternoon I have a meeting with a client who brings a number of their top executives to meet us. These meetings are always a challenge as you get representatives from finance, human resources (HR) and IT, who all have their own needs and requirements. You have to know who you are talking to when discussing the benefits of our technology, so the conversation changes appropriately; for example, payroll wants to know how legislation is being handled in the solution and IT wants to know how it affects them. Of course, everyone agrees the most important aspect of a business critical solution is to pay employees accurately and on time. I start by finishing something I began yesterday. I work with my professional services team to generate statements of work and then with the contracts team to produce addendums. It can be a real challenge for our clients when they have to deal with additional licensing and employees, Tuesday
Thursday
I start the day getting to grips with our
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | June 2017 | Issue 31 48
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