Adapt and keep going.
For Colleen Hebbert, ERP has been part of her professional work identity since learning about SAP at university 20+ years ago. She chose business electives alongside her IT degree and discovered how technology runs the world. And she has not looked back since.
“I love the variety of work and ability to contribute to solutions and business outcomes. It is less about how to design and build but more why we should or should not do something.”
Open the Door and Jump in the Deep End
Colleen started as a graduate with Queensland Government as part of an SAP support team. “I am forever grateful that I ran into a recruiter at a careers fair, and she happened to remember me when I walked into for my interview. Working in government is an excellent grounding for ERP.”
Her first opportunity was on the Service Desk – helping users navigate the system and resolving problems across the ERP solution. “I was the overly confident graduate. And what a learning curve. Felt like I constantly was drowning!”
Eventually, she shared – over time, through exposure and a willingness to learn – she became more familiar with the technology, the business processes, and the people. She still jokes about ‘drowning’ and her husband quips that he gave her a straw to use until she resurfaces.
Career Transition to Juggling Life
Colleen acknowledges it was different working on ERP solutions prior to having children. She recognised the need to evolve and was grateful that COVID pandemic forced her to slow down. ”I used to travel weekly for work and my son had health issues placing him in hospital frequently. There was a moment I flew home and was so tired I mistook the hospital for a hotel.”
After COVID, she found new ways of working to deliver outcomes without the need to travel. It took a bit to adjust to balancing work and family. “Sometimes it’s frustrating that I can’t tune the world out and focus on learning, but I remind myself it’s a privilege to spend quality time with my son.”
Umpire Not the Player
As part of her career progression, Colleen soon found herself ‘downing the tools’ of application product security and shifting to cyber governance to support customer cloud adoption. She likens security to an umpire in a game.
“Security is never the main game. It is a support function. You can still play a game without security. It just might not be a fair match though. As a supporting function, we are here to help.”
Communication Is About the Audience
What become apparent to Colleen is that it does not matter what you know it is about providing helping your customer get positive outcomes. “They do not need a brain dump of what you know. They just need your help.”
Colleen continually reminds herself that translating technology concepts and adapting to her audience is key. “I remember trying to help a user fix an error message,” she shares.
“Their job was about helping people – and not use computers. They were out of their comfort zone and stressed. I realised soon I needed to use their language – not make the situation worse speaking a “tech” language. For example, it was not taking a screen shot but pressing a button to take a photo. We slowed down to her pace and got there in the end.”
Connect with Colleen on LinkedIn
