Whistle-stop Wednesdays: CCR to Chapter Lead

What do you do in Admiral and how long have you been working here?  

I've been in Admiral for roughly 14 and a half years. My first role was as a Contact Centre Representative (CCR) in Customer Services, where I was on the Teleports Team taking calls for half the day, then dealing with customer queries and processing reports for the other half. My next role was as a Test Analyst, where my main responsibility was testing any changes that were being made to our main administration. I was then promoted to Senior Test Analyst where my role was more about supporting all the Testers and getting an early look at any of the more complicated changes which were in the backlog of work for our area. Currently, my role is as a Chapter Lead for Software Testing. As Chapter Lead, my main responsibilities are to build up the right capabilities in the Tribe, perform as a Test Engineer when needed and take some line management responsibilities. 

How did you get into your role? What is your background?  

My background is very varied! I left school at 16 and went to work on a YTS (youth training scheme), which led me to work in a photo mini lab processing films. We quality checked every single photo, running into hundreds of thousands during my eight years there. After leaving the photo mini lab, I worked in another well-known Welsh firm, Kwiksave. I spent around 10 years working for Kwiksave/Somerfield where I worked my way up to Deputy Manager. I joined Admiral in 2007 in Customer Services working on the Teleports Team, processing reports and dealing with customer calls to making changes. In 2011 I went on a secondment with the Tech Testing team and that move became permanent. During my time as a Test Analyst, taking a methodical approach and having an eye for detail came naturally to me, probably due to my previous experiences. Over time I worked on a lot of different areas which provided me with the experience needed to move into my current role as Chapter Lead. 

What's the most exciting change or project happening within your area?  

I’m currently involved in the Guidewire Upgrade project which is very exciting. Along with the upgrade, as a whole Tech area we want to start leveraging cloud technology, which will open up lots of development opportunities and give us the ability to spin up environments more quickly.  

Do you think there are opportunities to grow and develop here?  

There are always opportunities to grow and develop here, it’s encouraged actually! Some of my colleagues are moving away from being Test Analysts and are moving into development roles. Others are looking to upskill so they can become Automation Testers. Some of my colleagues are even completing degrees whilst working, such as Degree Apprenticeship BSc (Hons) Applied Software Engineering. They work four days with us, and on the fifth day they attend university. For Test Analysts and Test Engineers, there are a large selection of courses Admiral provide financial support for, such as ISTQB Foundation Level Software Testing, ISQTB Advanced Level Test Analyst, ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager and ISTQB Test Automation Engineer. 

Do you have any advice for someone looking to join your area?  

I’d recommend spending a little time understanding the complexity of Admiral’s business model, as we have various products and a large customer base with a lot of our customers being with us for many years. I’d also recommend spending some time networking, especially with everyone working from home at the moment, it’s much harder to understand how all the areas fit together within Tech. Skills and characteristics that are important vary from area to area, but being open minded and flexible is a good start. We have a large range of skillsets mixed with good business knowledge, so any new starter will be able to lean on the rest of us to get them up and running. Being able to work collaboratively is essential. Automation is growing within the Test area, so experience of Agile and BDD, using Cucumber (Gherkin) and knowledge of some object orientated languages like Java or Python would also be beneficial. 

Have a look at our current opportunities in Admiral Tech.