Retranscription entretien consultante SD Worx chez Shell

A. Hello ! First thank you for accepting to meet us. We are very grateful. So, we are doing a research for university about telecommuting, teleworking, and we would like to ask you some questions. First can you tell a bit about you.

B. I’m Liesbet. I studied Human Resources Management in Leuven and I graduated in 2008, so four years ago. I started to work for SDWorx just after my studies as a payroll officer and for a year, I have become HR Consultant.

A. Are you a teleworker?B. I don’t think I have the contract of a teleworker, I have a contract on annex attachment

to my contract. I don’t think it is legally determined but as I’m a consultant I have to go to one client in Brussels, one client in Hasselt and I have to move everywhere so before I go to a client or afterwards, I work at home. Or when I don’t have any visits, I work from one of the offices or at home depending on what I have to do. So it’s very flexible

A. And now, as a consultant for shell, do you work at home several times a week?B. I work 3 days/a week for shell and my shell boss asked me if it’s ok for me at work at

shell office because people have to see me or ask questions in person. But we agreed upon that I start working at home in the morning. So I start working early, at 7 o’clock, I work few hours and then when the traffic is passed, I can come to Brussels because I live in Limburg, it’s very far from here. So my driving time is a little bit shorter

A. How much time do you win by coming later on the day?B. Quite a few. When you look at the morning and the afternoon, half an hour, forty

minutes maybe moreA. Yes, that’s a lotB. Yes, that’s a lotA. And the evening do you live the office later or earlier to avoid the traffic jam?B. Yes, earlier, I try to live earlier, on the latest I try to leave at 4 o’clock to avoid the

traffic. So it’s ok. For me the main reason of working home is the trafficA. Ok. And do you have children or are you married?B. No, I don’t have children but I’m married.A. And does the teleworking represent an advantage for your personal life?B. Yes, my husband works in Brussels too, so we both make long distances. And when I

work at home, I can also do for example laundries in between or I can walk the dog, I can make some diner. I have more flexibility so it does help my personal life. And I’m not that tired, because it’s very tiring to travel a lot

A. Now more about your career. Where have you started to work?B. SD Worx is my first employer. But I did my internship at Manpower. That’s the only

other postion that I haveA. And have you always been at the same position at SD Worx?B. No. Sd Worx is the only employer I send my resume to, and thank god I got in. I

started to work at Antwerp as a payroll consultant. That’s something that you can do everywhere in Belgium. I have an office like 5 minutes away from me but I chose to work at Antwerp because it’s the headquarter, and when you want to move forward, you

see a lot of people, you hear a lot of things so I always chose a long traffic road, it’s a choose of mine so I really cannot complain. I had other opportunities. I worked as a payroll consultant for two years and then one year in the same team, I started to work for the HR, the HR part in relationships with clients and then after another year, so after 3 years at SD Worx, I started to work as a consultant. So it’s now for one year.

A. Ok. And how would you describe your ideal job?B. What do you mean? By homeworking?A. No, it’s more what are your expectations, your motivations that SD Worx or another

company could answer to?B. Hum, I’m really quite happy with my job. I’ve got, I get a lot of, how do you say …

People ask me a lot for vacancies in their company. But I still don’t want to change. I have a lot of benefits I think. SD Worx is a very human employer. We get a lot of flexibility; we have to give flexibility as well, so we have to work late. I put on my computer a lot when I’m at home in the evenings. It’s a good balance for me, so I don’t really know what SD Worx could do extra. At this point, I’m very happy in my job.

A. And do you know what are the values of the company?B. Yes, they’re inspired values. I know them by heart.A. Can you tell me what they are?B. Integrity, I know them in dutch, hum samewerken, working together, passion,

innovation and results oriented.A. And do you share these values?B. Yes, that’s the main reason why I work, I chose SD Worx. It’s the main reason indeed.A. And how do you work with these values. How do they reflect in your work? Can you

give me an example or something?B. These are also my personal values. Si, integrity is very important to me, result oriented

also and passion as well. These are something that is me. So, you can see it in my relationships with clients, contacts with colleagues. That’s really who I am, so … it’s a great match.

A. Ok. How would you describe your relationships with your colleagues? I mean, because you are a consultant, have you a lot of contact with them?

B. I have to say, when I changed from a payroll consultant in a team to an HR consultant as an individual, a lot of things changed for me and it was not always very easy because when you work in a team, you have your colleagues with who you speak about how was your week-end, I did this, I did that. I was very connected to my colleagues and now I’m less connected. Although I call my colleagues, I don’t see them every day, not at all, I contact them when I need something, when I have a question work related, but I don’t how everyone’s weekend was. And I miss that a lot, I have to say. For me, it was a very important part of my job that I have someone behind, and now I don’t have anyone anymore. But when I work at Shell, I have my group of colleagues again, so I can compensate, this something I miss.

A. And do you think telecommuting plays a role in this change of relationship?B. I don’t think so. I think if you want to communicate, you do you just do. Perhaps,

when you work at the office, you communicate with a lot of signals and when you work at home these signals are waste. Perhaps it’s a bit more difficult to speak about personal

things on the phone or via email. But I don’t really think it’s a threat to my relationship with my colleagues.

A. Ok And what about your manager? Has the relationship changed? Because I suppose you don’t see him or her a lot.

B. No, indeed I don’t see him a lot at all. I see him for my coaching. It’s 3 times … no I don’t know, I think once a month. It’s very important for me and also for him to stay connected and to let him know what I have been doing. So if I have feed-back from my client or when I have sold something, I always inform him, I let him know the things that are happening with me because he has to take it all in, and coach me and help me and to stimulate me. So it’s very important that you set some boundaries, that you make some deals with each other about how we are going to handle this because if I don’t see him at all but at the end of year he has to evaluate me and he doesn’t really know me. So, it’s all about sharing.

A. Has he also a control on your job? Or is it only coaching?B. It’s coaching for the moment. I am still growing in my function, so coaching is the

main part. I think when I don’t make my objectives, it would be control and coaching. But for now, it’s just helping me grow

A. So you do have a lot of autonomy in your job?!B. Yes, I have a lot of autonomy. At first, it was very scary to have so much freedom but

now it’s been in you and it’s nice.A. Do you also have a manager here at Shell?B. YesA. Do you feel closer to your Shell manager or to your SD Worx manager?B. To my SD Worx manager. The manager at Shell is my client and although she gives

me objectives and she gives me feed-back and she coaches me too, she is still my client and for me that’s a strict line. My colleagues at Shell are colleagues but my manager is my client. Perhaps it’s a little bit strange but …

A. Yes I can understandB. Yeah, she has to evaluate me in my assignments and she used to be satisfiedA. Ok. Where do you see you in 5 years for example?B. In 5 years that’s a bit hard, because I only see myself in 3 or 4 years, and that’s

growing on the sphere of consultancy. Afterwards, I really don’t know what I want to do, hum (longue pause) I really don’t know

A. Do you think you wanna do your whole career at SD Worx? Or would like to change at some point?

B. For the moment, I’s like to do my whole career at SD Worx but I getting the feeling that there are a lot of changes coming up. So if my values are not compromised, then I’d like to keep working for SD Worx but if there’s a mismatch with the things I do, with the things I want to do, and in what is expected from me, I would change.

A. What are these changes you are talking about? If I can ask of courseB. Well, our CEO is leaving, we have a new CEO who … I always had the feeling that

Jan Van…, the big guy, he was guarding the values of SD Worx. And now he is gone, and someone else is coming and we have to be ready for a more international structure,

we have to adapt to the economic situation, we have a lot of things coming up and I don’t know if our values won’t be compromised. So it’s a real concern of me.

A. Do you have colleagues who are much more older than you at SD Worx?B. Yes all my colleagues areA. And do you think there are differences in your implication your work for the

company? In the way you work?B. Hum, they have a lot more experience and they need less preparation. They also have

more experience in sales and I don’t. But I don’t know if it’s differences about who we are or experiences. I don’t feel like there’s a big gap.

A. And both groups live the values of the company the same way?B. I don’t know, I think I’m a bit extreme there. I think they handle inspired but they are

not inspired, you know what I mean? They do the things they have to do but if the values change, that won’t be a problem for them, it’s ok I think. But I don’t know for sure.

A. Do you think that living the company’s values as you do is specific from your generation?

B. I think that … I give info session about generation management, so I LEARNED that the generation feels that same, so I don’t really know. Perhaps!

A. Ok. Now about your objectives at work, do you try more to achieve more company’s objectives? Or do you prefer focusing on your own objectives?

B. I think they are the same …A. But what I mean is for example, as an individual you want to evolve quickly in the

company and maybe you act for it and other objectives from the company, less important for you beside.

B. Ah ok. I think that’s the balance that I talked about. I’d like very much that my manager and my company invest in me, so I want to have training, I want to evolve, I want to stimulated to achieve the objectives of the company. So it’s in me that I want they invest for it’s for the company good.

A. So the interest of the company is really important to you?!B. Yes A. Has the telecommuting had an impact on your way to work for the company? Have

you been more motivated by your work?B. It’s difficult for me to say because I started telecommuting when I changed job and

payroll was a starting job. I always told everyone that I was not going to do that a long time. Now, I change to HR and that’s the thing I really wanted to do so I feel much more motivated and I can work at home. So I don’t know. But I suppose that I much more motivated because I can work at home because the balance is kept intact.

A. Ok. So you started telecommuting a year ago when you started your new job. What is the main reason you decided to do it, you decided to telework?

B. It’s time saving and I don’t have to stand in the traffic so long, that’s the main reasonA. And do you think that telecommuting has also changed the organization of your work?

I mean, for example, when you do office schedule work, usually when you come back home your work day is over; and when you work at home the schedule is not as clear.

B. It has changed the place where I work and also the time of my work. I work a lot more when I work at home. My work is never finished, and when I work at home, I don’t have to GO home and close it, I’m at home so I have the time to finish it, the time spend on the road, is a work time now. So the lines are more vague when I’m at home.

A. And what are the advantages and inconvenience of telecommuting?B. Advantages are more time, more balance, happier personal life and disadvantages …

(long thinking) yes you have to guard your boundaries better because you keep on working, you keep contact with colleagues. Technologies allow you to read your emails everywhere and whenever you want. So you have to make sure that when you lock off your computer, that you stay locked off from the work. Another disadvantage? I really couldn’t say.

A. So you really enjoy your opportunity to telecommuteB. YeahA. Is the telecommuting well perceived in your company? Do your colleagues understand

your position and the fact that you work at home?B. Yes. I think it’s appreciated when you work at home. Here at Shell, it isn’t. Here,

perhaps it’s the manager. She likes to SEE that I’m working and when I’m at home, she doesn’t see me so I’m not working for her. It’s a bit like that. It’s ok as I do it here. We made an agreement but she doesn’t really appreciate it. She is more controlling type. When you let your employees work at home, you have to be more a coaching manager instead of a controlling manager, so …

A. And how is it perceived by the SD Worx employees? Do they think the same way of your Shell manager or do they understand that you really work at home

B. Yes because our objectives are based on results and not on means. So I have a full time job but I can do it in an half time, it’s ok I think for SD Worx because the objectives are met. It’s more when you don’t reach your objectives that we can a conversation about working at home. My manager has to follow the steps that I take to see what’s going on. But when your objectives are met, I don’t see any issues at SD Worx.

A. And does the company give you all the means you need to work at home?B. Yes, but when you work at Shell you got a lot more. So at SD Worx I have a laptop

and a cell phone, you get the technologies to make it work but at Shell you receive an allowance for your work, you get, it’s really cool, a one time cheque let me say, to buy equipment, to buy a desk, to a chair, a printer

A. Do you think that the values of the company are lived the same way and as stronger when you telework as when you work at the office? Aren’t they getting lost on the way?

B. I don’t think so. I think our company really lets its values live, so I think they keep living on when you work at home and I don’t really see any of my colleagues become stranger because they work at home.

A. The relation to the company is still the sameB. I think soA. Have you received training or any other preparation in order to telework? Time

management or something like that?

B. No because it’s inherent to the job that you do. You have to work at home so I don’t miss a training.

A. Does the company have a role in the integration of the values? Because they seem reflected in your daily work

B. Yes I had a long training as a payroll consultant. You have 5 or 6 weeks training and beside you have one day explaining how the company works, how the structure is and what the values are. But it’s only one day

A. Ok that’s all. I have finish with my questions. Thank you very much for your timeB. Your very welcome