Day in the life: Digital Services Partner

Digital Services Partner Simon discusses what makes overseeing Squared’s digital infrastructure so empowering and why a growing company is an exciting one…

I lead the Digital Services team and the first question I normally get is, does Digital Services mean the I.T department?

Digital Services is essentially I.T, incorporating everything digital or tech based. From computer hardware and software, to wi-fi and door entry systems; Digital Services is quite broad and essentially effects all areas of the organisation.

My day always starts with coffee. It is as essential to my working day as having a working computer, if I’m found by my colleagues without a coffee on the go they know this needs to be resolved quickly (black, no sugar for the record!).  

Once I’ve got my caffeine fix, my day normally starts with reviewing our systems and the network to identify any issues. Any problems can affect the entire Squared team, so it is important that these are identified and resolved as quickly as possible. This continues in the background throughout the day to ensure our digital infrastructure is delivering for the Squared team.

I work as part of the Digital Services team, with two team members reporting to me based from different Squared sites. While we do work agilely at Squared, having presence at multiple sites can be useful in detecting problems more quickly and being on hand to offer in-person support to the team. Part of my role is reviewing any issues that have been flagged or any areas for development that I’ve identified and delegating as appropriate to members of my team.

I’m currently working on several interesting development projects as part of realising Squared’s digital-first approach. One project is the implementation of a new intranet to pool our resources internally along with many of our existing applications to allow a more integrated way of working that makes us more future-proof and more digitally agile. Furthermore, we are also in the process of setting up a new housing management system, which again will empower the Squared team to work in a more agile way with simply access to a web browser.

It's not just about new systems though, part of my role is using digital solutions to improve efficiency for the wider team, such as digitising processes to make them more automated. This includes exploring digital business cards, digitising Homes with Support sign-up forms, exploring digital solutions around customer feedback and the installation of equipment at new developments.

So, why Squared? Well other than the free coffee (which is an important perk for me of course), having the freedom to express and explore new ideas that can improve the company is very empowering. I work with great people who are eager to explore the possibilities of digital solutions meanwhile the training offered at Squared is above and beyond the pure essential.   

Working for a company that is growing and wants to grow digitally is exciting if you work in that field, it allows you to think creatively and build the foundations to maximise digital capabilities. I know that my work benefits the entire organisation, with every team member being able to do their job more efficiently and effectively, while knowing that it will be even better in the future.

Growing an organisation isn’t just good for the balance sheet, it’s good for the people who work at the organisation too. I’m excited for the future, provided our coffee supply doesn’t run out!