What was your background before joining Altus Consulting?
I’ve worked in financial services for 12 years in total. I was in banking working as a meet and greet position (the smiley people at the front door) through to customer service (opening accounts, supporting people through bereavement). I then moved over to work at an investment platform where I went from onboarding new clients, to managing operational teams and finally into a business readiness role which let me understand both the technical departments and how to translate the ‘so what’ for the operational departments.
What attracted you to Altus Consulting?
I really enjoy learning new things and have put myself through multiple qualifications. These start to get a bit pricey after a while so something that really attracted me to Altus and the Aspire Programme is that you get the opportunity to work in all the different areas. This means the opportunity to understand their work and ways of thinking. It gives me the variety I enjoy while also supporting clients in their deliveries with the knowledge and expertise I already have and support of experts in their areas on the areas I’m less knowledgeable on.
Tell us a bit about your team.
My ‘home’ team is in Programme Delivery. Our team is a great mix of personalities, skills and experience. You’re always encouraged to ask questions and seek out expertise from others and I find for me this is the best way to learn about something new. It then means we’re forever developing as a department and able to support in an even wider range of projects. Due to the team being delivery based, this also means that we all can work with different parts of consultancy which keeps my days really varied.
How has your role changed since being here?
I’ve only been here 4 months but the role is brilliantly varied. I expected to be purely learning the ropes but instead, I’ve been on client work and been invited to take part in multiple internal forums and given the opportunities to support in developing this ever evolving business.
What do you enjoy about working here and what’s made you stay?
The big thing about Altus for myself is that it’s sociable and is determined to make everyone feel as welcome as possible. I really love the Bath office location but also the flexibility of going to see clients and working from the London office, or having no questions asked about working from home when you just need to get things done. The work life balance is something I really thinks help me be at my best because it allows me to be in an environment that suits my needs that day. This, in turn, means the business get the best out of me too. I’m really rubbish at sitting still and thrive when I’m engaging with people and learning new things (noticed the theme…?). Altus has allowed me to do both these things.
I like to be independent and pro-active and these again are things that the business values and has encouraged me to do. In any work, you’ll find that there are peaks and troughs of demand. It can be really hard to learn to lean into those troughs but in this business, I’ve found there’s always something to do, you just have to shift your focus on to something else.
