2024 A year in review - Matt

2024 - A year of success?

As 2024 draws to a close I thought that I would reflect on the year, which was my first as a consultant with Refractis.  During my initial discussions with the founders of Refractis, I was asked, what I thought a great first year at Refractis would look like for me – so how has the reality matched up to my initial perception, or am I writing this as a plea for a new consulting role? 

Getting my feet under the desk 

I joined Refractis toward the end of 2023, so by January I felt like I had properly settled in. I had the advantage of having previously worked with the founders of Refractis, so I felt like I knew broadly what I was getting myself in to.  Even so, there were aspects that I hadn’t expected – the office was a hive of activity, which isn’t always the case in a world of hybrid working, and I could tell that care had been taken in making sure that the office was an easy place to work from, with technology that was considerate, collaborative spaces, and a frequently replenishing snack drawer.   

After the usual pre-requisites of creating a branded CV, updating my LinkedIn page, and filling my calendar with lunch dates so I could get to know my new colleagues, I was soon put to work on various elements of “Project Refractis”, the company’s ambitious programme to create that best boutique IT delivery consultancy in London! I also rolled my sleeves up to help with some financial modelling work on a new low-code data analytics platform which certainly kept me entertained. 

Challenging Work 

While the tail-end of the previous year had been a great time to get to know my new colleagues, like most consultants, I’m only truly happy when I’m up to my eyeballs in client delivery.  The first few months of a new year is often a period where people feel a little low – Christmas is disappearing in the rear-view mirror, the days are short and cold, and spring feels a long way off.   

For me though, January brought a new client challenge, and I found myself heading into work with an added spring in my step.  The task at hand was to manage the migration to cloud of a critical ERP system.  A Refractis colleague had completed the initial planning and preparation work, but now I was being entrusted with running the cutover itself, including all the pre-migration testing and operational sign-offs. 

The cutover involved lots of late nights and a few weekends, but all the hard work paid off and the migration itself was successful and completed with minimum business disruption.  

Having witnessed the commitment and technical skill of the Refractis team our client asked us to work with them to deliver a complex portfolio of technology change across their organisation, and that work has kept me busy for the rest of the year.  It’s given me the opportunity to visit several of their sites across Europe, which again reinforced my view that while Teams and Zoom are critical in supporting collaboration across an organisation there are still occasions that benefit from face-to-face interaction and the sense of shared purpose that it can bring to a team.   

The work has been challenging, but also enjoyable, allowing me to bring a mix of technical, planning and stakeholder management skills to bear – being able to do this consistently and with a small number of experienced consultants is often the Refractis “secret sauce” of delivery. 

Great Teammates 

Of all the things that I was hoping for at Refractis the quality of my colleagues is the one that keeps me most excited.  It’s always great to work with good people, and I love the fact that Refractis fosters an extremely collaborative environment where people can encourage each other and bounce around ideas and ways to solve problems. 

Refractis puts a big emphasis on hiring people with real world IT delivery experience and it has been really useful to have extra sets of eyes to review plans and to hone and improve technical approaches and documentation.  It can sometimes be daunting to get a presentation back with copious amounts of red-pen and comments, but reviewers always take the time to explain their thinking and to help improve the end-product and ultimately the delivery to our clients. 

The management team at Refractis like to say that while we take our work seriously (and we absolutely do!), we don’t take ourselves seriously (and we absolutely don’t!).  There’s always a good dose of self-deprecating humour going on in the office, and lots of opportunity to strengthen relationships across the team through impromptu games nights and other after work events.  I also love the fact that the team is genuinely passionate about technology – nerds and geeks are welcome here(!), although there is always healthy debate about the real-world value of new IT trends and a healthy scepticism about technology for technology’s sake. 

Over the last year there really has been a sense that I am part of the Refractis team even during the parts of the year when I’ve been the only Refractis resource on a project. I know my colleagues will always be there to support me and likewise I’d be happy to help them out if they needed it on one of their deliveries. 

Having values and adding value 

Lots of companies have a page on their website that describe their ethos and values and it’s easy to find what Refractis has to say in this area.  Of course writing down some pithy value statements is easy, but it’s only once you’re inside an organisation that you can see how they really impact the day-to-day running of the place.   

The Refractis values focus on doing the best job possible for our clients, even under pressure, working as a team to deliver more than the sum of our parts, and finally the importance of having fun whilst working hard. 

I can honestly say that I have seen all of these values being exhibited throughout the year, whether in the work that the company takes on or the discussions that go on behind the scenes to make sure that the right resources are allocated to ensure that we can deliver an excellent outcome to our client; the opportunities to learn from my Refractis colleagues and the genuine celebration of other’s achievements; and finally the relentless focus on making sure that everyone is enjoying themselves, feeling supported, and growing as consultants.  

What three words? 

So back to my original question – how has the year measured up to my expectations?  If I had to sum up my experience in just three words I think they would be Daunting, Challenging, and Rewarding.  I certainly felt the pressure of joining Refractis and the trust that the MDs were putting in me, but they had lined up a project for me that played to areas that I am very confident in with just the right amount of challenge, and now after a year I feel very much a part of the Refractis team and can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store!