Deployment and Implementation Manager Review

I am currently seconded into First Direct FST team and have responsibility for managing the Deployment and Implementation team. This includes ensuring that any changes land effectively within my department and are communicated with key stakeholders in a structured and timely manner, while also representing the specific needs of our brand.

I feel like I have learned a lot of skills, both specific to managing projects and some more general skills too. Learning the theory behind certain approaches to project management and the benefits of using these has really helped me day to day, plus some of the tasks and activities set as part of my apprenticeship have led to me increasing my knowledge of tools like Microsoft Office, Mural, Confluence and Jira.

I am really enjoying my programme so far and I find that what I am learning is helping me perform my current role too. I have become more familiar with a lot of the PM terminology used and this has increased my confidence in work. The company I work for has been really supportive so far and encourages a culture of development.

I think this is probably one of the areas that could be improved upon. I sometimes find the Smart Assessor tool a real challenge to work with and knowing whether I am making the right amount of progress can be difficult. That said, my supervisor is fantastic and provides me with lots of support - signposting additional information and helping me understand anything that just isn't 'clicking'.

My employer has been really supportive and my Manager had attended my regular review sessions with my Apprenticeship supervisor. I am able to schedule dedicated 'off the job' learning time in order to complete my study and am confident that if this became a struggle, I would only need to raise it and it would be addressed.

My training provider has been good in terms of my supervisor herself - I know I can get any guidance with problems I have directly from her. In a more general sense though, I think that there could be some improvement in the platform used to track my progress as I don't find it to be user friendly. I have attended one 'feedback' sharing session but it felt a little like it was a tick-box exercise as opposed to a genuine attempt to gain constructive feedback. Many of the questions asked didn't seem particularly relevant.

I think it is very relevant to my role and I have already been able to implement some of my learnings and new skills in my day to day activities. Has helped me grasp why Projects are approached in certain ways and prompted me to really think about how I can successfully deploy changes into my area.

No

Yes

I would recommend HSBC to a friend because I feel like they have been really supportive in helping me develop my skills and experience and there have been plenty of opportunities for me to do this, whether that is access to training programmes/apprenticeships, online learning tools, short term opportunities in other roles/areas.

Make sure you have lots of good competency based examples for interview - the STAR technique is always a good structure to use when responding to interview questions. Be open with your Line Manager about your development needs - in my experience, they have always been supportive but, don't expect someone to give you a ready made development plan - it is up to you to drive your own development by having the discussion with your Line Manager about your career.