SSO Pro Graduate Spotlight Interview: Carmen Smith, Holcim (Australia)

SSO Pro Graduate Spotlight Interview Graduate Name: Carmen Smith Company / Organization: Holcim Aust Pty Ltd Title: P2P Services Manager Description of Role: I manage both the Accounts Payable team and the Master Data Team. Both of these teams service 3 business units & the Corporate function across Australia. How long have you been in this position? I have been with the company and part of the Shared Services for 18 years and in a management role since 2004 _______ Q: What are your three main challenges in the year ahead? Instilling a culture of continuous improvement Reduce waste and re-work Ensuring staff are engaged and motivated Q: How has the SSO Pro course helped develop some solutions to these? The SSO Pro Course helped in many ways. It strengthened my knowledge base in areas that I wouldn't necessarily come into contact with in my daily role but would be exposed to at a more senior level. It also helped me think outside the box, having been part of a shared services for 18 years it was a good experience to be able to confirm that I am on the right track, or alternatively, made me challenge and re-consider some of the beliefs that I may have held. Q: Have you been able to share some of the tools and templates with your team and/or stakeholders (customers/suppliers) to improve your processes? We have recently embarked on a Process Excellence Journey and I'm sure I will be using and sharing some of the tools & templates throughout the journey. Q: What was your favourite module? Why? How has it impacted your day-to-day output/work? I would say my favourite was the Change module. Being part of a Global company changes are inevitable and this module really brought it home to me the importance of good change management and communication. I now create a communication plan for everything, big or small. Q: How have you celebrated and recognized your wonderful accomplishment? The Head of Business Services officially presented the certificate to myself, and another colleague who also succesfully completed the course, in front of the whole of the Business Services team. Q: If you could choose anyone to lead one of the modules, or perhaps a new module, who would it be and what would their topic be? My choice would be to have Stephen Fry for any module and any topic. He is such a natural narrator, he's intelligent and passionate and people love to listen to him. Q: SSO Pro is designed to be one component to Professional Development and learning. How does your learning from the program fit into a larger leadership development approach? Being part of a leadership group that encompasses the end-to-end Finance function this course has helped me understand the challenges faced by other people in the group and I feel more equipped to be able to contribute to the group across all functions. Q: In addition to the content and skills learned, what else did you gain from the course? My main takeaway was that I was really happy I did the course because it challenged me to think about the things I do every day and as I passed each module it has given me a new confidence going forward, which I continue to share with my teams Q: Did going through the program inspire a new interest in a topic, role or project for you? I think probably Governance was the one which I found quite difficult to pass, so it has probably exposed a bit of a knowledge gap that I am now keen to fill. [inlinead]

SSO Pro Graduate Spotlight Interview: Carmen Smith, Holcim (Australia)

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SSO Pro Graduate Spotlight Interview: Carmen Smith, Holcim (Australia)

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