Today we are introducing to you Kathy Atkinson as another one of our highly skilled team members.
Kathy joined Forge Technologies as a Senior Project Manager in 2022.
We were thrilled to sit down with Kathy and get to know a little more about her.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I was born in Scotland and lived in a few places before settling in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, where I have been for the last 20 years since university. I have a 12-year-old cat, Lola, who likes to sleep all day while I’m working and paying the bills!
When not working, I weight train a couple of times a week and really like the outdoors, whether it’s for cycling, swimming, or walking. I like to challenge myself and am currently training for the Great North Swim which is in the Lake District this June. I’ve been swimming through the winter and gotten plenty of practice in cold conditions!
I’m lucky to live at the edge of Peak District with everything outdoorsy right on my doorstep. Last year I took a 6-month sabbatical and travelled to Canada to see my sister. I did lots of mountain biking whilst there to explore the stunning surroundings.
Music has always been another big passion of mine, apart from being active outdoors. I’ve been DJing at local clubs and bars over 10 years and when the pandemic happened, we started hosting an online radio show.
What did you do before joining Forge?
I have been in project management across various industries – manufacturing, utilities andmore recently, the legal sector. My roles have always been around IT and technology change, leading projects from large-scale business transformation to technical cloud migration and infrastructure upgrades and developments.
What drew you to work in tech?
After graduation, I worked in the charity sector for a while, but always had an interest in technology and change management in the workplace. When working for a Scandinavian steel company, I had an opportunity to join their global SAP program that allowed me to travel internationally to various sites. That experience opened my eyes to the way that technology can help businesses overcome various challenges.
Even though I’ve always gravitated to technology focused roles, I find it extremely important to make sure we’re not just implementing technology but also enabling customers and colleagues to get the most out of the solutions. So, for me it is not just about technology but also how it translates to the customer environment and culture, and how they can best implement it. You can give people all the technology they want but if you don’t bring their employees and customers along on the journey, they will struggle to realise the benefits.
What do you enjoy most from being part of the Forge team?
I really align with Forge values and ways of working; the customer-focused approach and constantly exploring new ways to make things better and more efficient for our customers. We don’t have the constraints of working within a much larger organisation, which means we can be flexible and adapt to customer’s needs. For me, the role itself is very exciting with a lot of room to expand and work across different areas. Plus,the wide range of clients across industries brings plenty of different business challenges for us to get stuck into!
What does an ideal workday look like for you?
Start the day early at the gym, then walk home – I love that little break in between to get my mindset ready for work. In all honesty, I don’t miss commuting a single bit! Technology delivery is very fast paced so my days tend to go very quickly. My favourite work days are those where we visit customers on site to see what they’re up to and focusing on what we deliver for them, and then meeting colleagues in person to bounce ideas between us and have a bit of social time too.
What about your ideal day off?
That would be out on the countryside enjoying one of the beautiful cycling routes or swimming spots we have here in Sheffield. And of course, you’ll need a pit stop to visit a pub for some pie and chips with friends!
What one piece of technology has changed your life?
That would be my mobile phone. It has evolved from being a simple device for only calling and texting into so much more. My mobile phone enables so many things that I really enjoy doing, like music, podcasts and films, and then all the applications for outdoor activities and sports. And of course, it has also changed the way we work – whenever I have my phone with me, I can be online anywhere and at any time I want to.
What industry trends do you think are going to shape 2023?
It’s going to be an interesting year; workplaces will be more and more varied, and more virtual than ever before. I’m excited to help our customers navigate the change not only from the technology side of things but also bringing their people and processes along with the transformation.
The pandemic caused the shift to hybrid work,but not for all job roles. Some industries need longer to catch up with digitalisation. I think the next shift will be digitalising some of the more operational, shop floor and frontline work that has traditionally been heavily offline and paper based. Obviously, working from home is not an option for all lines of work but changes like digital apps and having different devices to use in the workplace can make a huge difference in the way we work.
