Here is James' Story

• What do you remember about your very first day at Columbus?

  My first day was in March 2014. It immediately struck me that the company felt like a family – more so than companies I’d worked with before. 
  

• What was Columbus like, way back in 2014?

  The vast majority of my colleagues had the same ‘can do’ attitude as I do. The business processes were loose, but workable but we all contributed to making each project better than the last. Problems, were not problems but were seen as a ‘challenge’ and we worked well to overcome the obstacles that the customers liked to throw in our way from time to time.

• What have you learnt since you've been away that you have brought back with you?

  That I missed being part of Columbus! 

  In my time ‘in the wilderness’ I was with 2 other consultancy firms. The first was a very young firm, with no processes, and a disparate team. All the things I’d taken for granted at Columbus were now a major obstacle to delivering projects.

  The second firm was a very established firm, and I really noticed the complete lack of flexibility towards the customers. Their team were very set in their ways, and would only help the customers to a certain extent – most of the effort was in covering their own backs, there was no real relationship with the customers.

  The main thing I learned, was that Columbus does a huge amount of things, very well – considerably better than the opposition that I encountered whilst I was away.

• What was the reason that you came back?

  I felt incredibly isolated and unsupported in my last company. Following lockdowns, the company had decided that there should be no face to face team meetings, so 99% of my working time was at home in my home office.

  The senior management team were solely focussed on the bottom line. The employees, and customers were very much secondary to their thought process. The staff turnover in other organisations was simply incredible.

  I missed the Columbus family, and I also missed being part of a team where you knew that everyone had each other’s backs.

• What was your 'second' first day like?

  Brilliant. It was amazing to find that many old colleagues were still here. But, it was different to how I remembered, and now I would say that Columbus is even more of a family than it used to be

  Already knowing who to reach out to, when I had questions, was of huge benefit.

• How has your role changed?

  I’ve come back in a slightly more senior role. Whilst many of the systems and processes look the same, they’re not all the same under the bonnet anymore.

  The role has changed for the better – there’s much more focus on helping the customer, and having a solid relationship with the customers, and I can see that the vast majority see Columbus as Trusted Partners for exactly that reason.