It’s the people that make up the team
This month we had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie Wilkins, Head of our Managed Services division. Jamie has worked for Tugela People for over four years and runs a rapidly expanding team of HRIS consultants and HRIS technical support consultants.
The Managed Services team provide support for clients that have typically gone through their Sage People implementation and require that extra little bit of ongoing assistance. The team has recently started offering Managed Services support to TalentLMS customers and providing HR Monitoring Services for our HR Automation service.
In addition to this, the service offering has further expanded to provide dedicated Short Order Queue (SOQ) work for clients running Sage People that require changes to their Sage People org – either to existing functionality or the implementation of new functionality, where the project size is beyond the scope of the typical Managed Services support.
What is your background?
I studied Business and Human Resource Management at University. After graduating, I worked in HR generalist roles for around eight or nine years, during which time I gained my Level 5 CIPD qualification. I liked my roles, but what I enjoyed even more was the systems side of things, and I decided this is where I wanted to focus my career. I quickly became the 'go-to systems expert' in my various roles, helping implement and improve the various HR, Payroll and Recruitment systems I worked with.
What inspired you to join Tugela People?
I knew I wanted to focus more on the HRIS side of things, so I took the plunge and initially joined Tugela People as a Junior HRIS Implementation Consultant.
I'm proud to be part of a company that gives you the opportunity and support to develop your role and make a success of it. The culture is very friendly, and everyone is highly supportive of each other.
How has your journey with the company been so far?
When I started working at Tugela People, I implemented Sage People for a few global clients and gained promotions in that area. After about a year into my role, I was given the opportunity to support a client after their go-live for 8 hours per month. This was when Managed Services was born. I had no idea that my role would evolve into where it is today. I was integral in the setup of the Managed Services division and am now leading the team and expanding our offerings. In the past three years, we've grown to a team of eight, supporting twenty-five (and increasing) clients with their HRIS needs, and we're growing fast.
How do you envision your future with the company?
I want to continue to work collaboratively with my team and the company's management team and grow Managed Services even further. I'm so proud of every single person in my team, and sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think about just how far we've come and how much great feedback we get from clients. I'm focussing on offering additional services around HRIS, LMS, Payroll and other HR Technology related systems and expanding our range of services, team and locations. My personal goal over the coming year is to develop my management and leadership skill set and undertake a certification that is relevant to my role. I still enjoy the technical side of what we do; however, my focus has shifted to growing what we offer through Managed Services rather than getting involved in troubleshooting and configuration (although sometimes I can't help but get involved!).
Aside from work, what else do you do, and what inspires you?
This will sound cliched, but recently becoming a Dad has changed my outlook on life and priorities. I enjoy going to the gym and walking my dog Mabel in my spare time. In addition, I am a big Formula 1 fan and have a real passion for music. When I get the opportunity, I also enjoy gaming, particularly racing with my steering wheel setup. As you can imagine, I can be quite distracted with the little one!