Role: IT and Training Manager
Company: Sliderobes
Track Record: Kathy McMullan has worked in the IT industry since 1992 when she had her own IT consultancy (KayMac Consulting) which specialised training and support in the legal profession in London.
Whilst Kathy was born and bred in South Africa, her husband, Richard, is originally from Portrush and so in 2001 they came to live in Northern Ireland, first in Coleraine and then moving to Helen’s Bay in 2005.
Kathy has worked for Sliderobes since 2002.
She started working for them on a part time basis doing some computer training and support as well as showroom design and dressing. Sliderobes is a great company to work for if you have children.
They have different types of flexible packages for working parents and really support working parents.
Once Kathy’s children started school, Kathy joined Sliderobes on a full time basis, although she works a certain number of hours a week, as part of the flexible working hours, rather than in a 9-5 role.
DAY IN THE LIFE
6.00am:
On weekdays I get up and do some yoga stretches followed by a few minutes of meditation.
This helps me to focus on the day ahead and to be positive about whatever comes my way!
6.30am:
Wake up time for the children as well as making school breaks and breakfast for everyone.
Leave home with two younger children on drive to school in Malone.
8:30am:
Once the children are delivered to their schools, I head back to my car for a drive to Newtownabbey where Sliderobes’ admin offices are located.
(After buying my treat of the day – a large cappuccino!)
Usually start making phone calls in the car to the various sites and to resolve any problems which computer users may have experienced over night.
9.30am:
Arrive in the office and have a quick catch up with my support team to ensure that there are no urgent outstanding IT issues which need my attention. I try not to make any appointments before 10:30 am so that I can regularly review what is outstanding on the support desk.
10.30am:
Once 10:30 comes along, there are usually people waiting to see me either to discuss project work (such as updating our CAD system, making changes to our CRM system, new computer training skills) or suppliers meetings (eg mobile phone, CMI for support and hardware, CapVentis for Qlikview or Saleslogix).
I enjoy this part of my job as I feel that I am part of a collective effort and working with people who share a common goal. The Sliderobes’ culture instills a sense of shared purpose which is not an easy thing for an organisation to accomplish.
12.30 pm:
Try and grab a bite to eat at my desk whilst catching up on emails which have come in whilst I’ve been in meetings.
Once lunch is complete, it’s either back into meetings, phone calls or testing and reviewing changes we have made to one of the IT systems.
We have quite a complex setup on our computer network.
In 2011 we virtualised all the servers at our head office and our users at the various sites across Britain and ROI now connect to the network in Belfast via an MPLS network.
I therefore try and keep the afternoon free to pick up any support calls which may have come in from one of our sites and which my team have not been able to resolve.
I would also use this time to look for any conferences or training which may be relevant to either me or my team.
Sliderobes is a forward thinking company who believes in the importance of growing the knowledge of their team either through training or networking which means that I get to attend regular seminars.
Last week I was at a Qlikview conference run by CapVentis which was interesting and taught me a great deal about Qlikview which I was not aware of.
3.30pm:
Rush out the office door to get the children from school by 4 pm. Luckily both schools have an after schools club which I avail of frequently and thank goodness, they accept the children at very short notice! I am not very good at time keeping!
4.30pm:
Into the gym to meet Richard for a quick strength or cardio workout. (I am running a half marathon in September for the charity Action for Children and training hard for that, although I only started running last February.)
Most days, however, I spend some time waiting for the children whilst they are at a piano teacher/singing teacher/drum teacher/karate club/climbing club/gymnastics club.
6.00pm:
Home to do homework with the three children and make dinner. As a family, we sit down to dinner every night and everyone has a chance to tell us how they enjoyed their day and we all particularly like the ‘The thing I liked best today was’!
Once the kitchen is tidied, all items out ready for school the next day, it is usually bed time for the children.
9.00pm:
After Richard and I have caught up on the day and had a chat, we sit and catch up on a bit TV.
Then it’s time to start checking emails again and getting some work done in preparation for the next day.
This may be preparing for a meeting or writing a paper for board approval. I like to use this time to do my ‘thinking’ work and plan how I can develop the IT structure within Sliderobes to make it more beneficial to users and customers.
10:30pm:
Bedtime – rejuvenation for the next busy day!