Recently, we spoke to Edward Dunkley (Ed), one of our Implementation Associates about what working at Fundipedia is really like.
Ed –You were interviewed not long into this role and said that ‘understanding all the acronyms’ was what you found the most challenging. Is this still the case?
My industry and project management knowledge has certainly improved but I still get the odd term or acronym I don’t know popping up! There’s certainly more to learn. I think the next step in improving my industry knowledge is moving from the ‘what’ to the ‘why’. So, for example, even though I might know what a certain regulation is, understanding why it’s important to our clients and how Fundipedia can help them resolve it is the thing that will help me offer a better service. Improving that part of my skill set I think will be the most challenging part of my role over the coming months.
How have you seen Fundipedia develop in the time you have been working here?
Fundipedia has certainly come a long way since my first day here. That’s instantly noticeable by the number of clients we’ve onboarded in that time, and the number of clients we are in active implementation periods with. More than that though, I’ve seen the Fundipedia product expand to offer solutions to more and more client issues. Fundipedia can always be improved – and we still get plenty of useful requests for improvements – but it’s amazing to see when we onboard a new client just how many more clients wants and needs the product automatically meet.
How do you think working at Fundipedia differs from other graduate roles?
There’s a huge amount of trust and autonomy in the way we work compared to many of my peers in other graduate roles. We have regular check-ins and a great support structure in place, but we’re trusted to get tasks done in our own time. We’re also free to offer up ideas at any time and over the past few months, Sarah and I have been trusted to run client meetings and training. Finally, there’s a lot of variety in the day to day of our job, especially almost a year later when we can properly get to grips with the various projects. A lot of graduate jobs will send you around different departments for variety, but it’s nice to have a singular role you can continuously grow in that has that variety built-in.
How do you keep on top of different projects and multiple clients?
Sherree (Director of Client Services & Delivery) has recently introduced me to Microsoft To-Do, which has certainly helped! I always make sure to keep notes and actions sorted by date and client, but Microsoft To-Do helps with keeping all your tasks in one place. Mostly though it’s about having a good understanding of your priorities (which tasks are more time-sensitive than others) and which steps in the project will require more input from you or another Fundipedia colleague. This makes it a lot easier to plan out your week and ensure tasks get done on time.
How much interaction do you have with other members in the Fundipedia team who are not working with you day to day i.e. not in the implementation team?
A big part of my role recently has been understanding client requests and feeding back on any required development work to our developers. We’ll discuss how they’ll need to go about implementing the request which helps me get back to the client accurately. As a result, I have had a lot of interaction with our development team recently – special mention to Jack who I feel like I bug (development pun intentional) almost constantly! It’s been really nice to work with and get to know people in the wider business.
How do you feel your work/life balance is?
I have a really positive work/life balance at Fundipedia. There’s plenty to do without it becoming overwhelming, and the work is challenging but not stressful. I’ve never felt pressured to work out of hours, although this also means I’m willing to do so from time to time if there’s a particularly pressing client need or if I really want to tick off a particular task before I log off. Being able to work from home and cut out the commuting time really helps with a good work/life balance too. That said, being able to use our new WeWork office a couple of days a week is nice for a bit of home-office separation and allows me to be in central London for after-work activities which have improved the social and sporting side of my life!
Have you been given the space to evolve within your role as well as outside of it in a professional capacity?
Definitely. There’s a great support structure in place in the company so I always feel like I can ask if I’m stuck on anything and there’s a real wealth of knowledge in the management team – it makes for a very easy workplace to learn in. And as I mentioned earlier, we’re always free to input our own ideas so I’ve been able to find my own way of working effectively as well as learning directly from others.
What part of Fundipedia do you enjoy working on the most?
This is quite a difficult one as that variety I mentioned earlier is probably the thing I enjoy most. So, while I might really enjoy getting stuck into some client meetings one day, by the end of that week I might actually enjoy putting my headphones in and getting on with a solo task. If I had to choose one thing though it would be solving client problems. It’s always satisfying to be able to leverage Fundipedia in a way that solves an issue a client has contacted you about.
Do you think being a ‘work-from-anywhere’ company is positive for you? Is there anything you would change about this set-up?
It’s definitely really positive for me. As I alluded to earlier, cutting out the commuting makes for a great work/life balance and being able to work from my family home or my girlfriend’s flat makes visiting those important to be much easier. It’s also really nice to be able to go for a walk around the park at lunchtime or chill out on the sofa, rather than having to spend lunch in busy central London. That said, I am also glad about our new office as it is nice to go in for a change of scenery and it means I don’t have to arrive late to my Tuesday board game night or risk missing kick-off for Wednesday evening football.
Now we have the option of the office, I don’t think there’s anything I’d change about the setup, although I am looking forward to when we get the whole implementation team together in one place – I think that’ll be a particularly beneficial and productive day.
Where do you see your role in Fundipedia in the next 12 months and how different do you think it will be to your first 12 months?
I’ve already taken on more client-facing work recently, running training sessions and chairing the occasional meeting. I suspect there’ll be more of this in the next 12 months. I’m looking forward to taking a more active role in our projects; helping shape project plans and taking action points from meetings. I think being an active participant more often and taking on more responsibility will be the main difference between my first and second years in the role. The past 12 months have been mostly learning, so I’m looking forward to putting that knowledge into practice!
Interested in working at Fundipedia? Take a look at our job openings and see if there is something right for you!