Thanks to Ben Butters for sharing his experiences and the values that drive him at Dufrain. Ben is a Senior Consultant specialising in business intelligence and analytics who has been with Dufrain since 2021. Read his thoughts below on the challenges and rewards of his role, his inspirations, and his journey at Dufrain.
1. Tell us a little bit about what you do?
I am a Senior Consultant at Dufrain with a primary focus on business intelligence & analytics and I’m currently working on a data remediation project supporting a leading UK bank. For every organisation, data quality is so important. Making sure their customers can trust that they can manage their data is critical for being able to operate efficiently. The larger the organisation, the harder it is to keep data quality high. However, data remediation projects like ours are improving data quality, and in turn, improving the organisations’ ability to interact with their customers. I have been on this project for around 18 months now, and the fight to keep data quality to a good standard is an ongoing challenge. On top of my client duties, I am the pre-sales lead within Dufrain’s BI & analytics practice and it’s my responsibility to make sure that Dufrain has market-leading BI content that supports the sales function of the business in their conversations with new prospects. This role requires me to be knowledgeable in the BI industry and make sure that we as a company are taking advantage of the latest tools available to help our clients.
2. What do you enjoy most about your job?
Providing value to projects is what I enjoy the most about my job. I know that my day-to-day role on client sites is a really important part of the overall programme. My internal responsibilities at Dufrain allow me to work closely with great people to make a change and contribute to the business to help Dufrain be the best at what we do, which I equally enjoy.
3. What does a typical day look like for you?
Every morning I meet with the team on a video call which is a great way to start the day. As we are spread across the UK, mainly working from home, it’s a nice way to speak with each other. The rest of my day involves progressing work streams, whether it’s using SQL to answer questions from data or visualisation data using Tableau, and presenting these findings to the team or stakeholders on the project. On top of this, I communicate regularly with the wider data team and other teams within the programme to keep them up-to-date with where our work is, and if there is anything we can do to help them.
4. Which of our company values resonate with you the most?
The “be ourselves” value resonates most with me. I believe that people should be themselves at work. When they are and can be part of a team full of people doing the same thing, they really benefit from a range of experiences and perspectives.
5. What would you say has been your most significant achievement or the one you are most proud of whilst working at Dufrain?
For me, it’s achieving two promotions within two years at Dufrain. I arrived with no consulting experience and I put the work in to get to my current position of Senior Consultant. The promotions signify the effort I have put in to progress professionally and it’s definitely something I am proud of.
6. Who inspires you the most within Dufrain?
There have been multiple people who have helped me massively within Dufrain, from my managers to people I work closely with on projects. At Dufrain, there are multiple people you can look to and attempt to emulate or take bits and pieces from how they work to make you better at your job. I’m always trying to learn from a few select people at a time.
7. Which work benefit or perk is your favourite and why?
Hands down, it’s the private healthcare package that Dufrain introduced in the last couple of years. I have personally benefited from this having struggled with the same recurring knee injury for over 10 years. When this care was made available it allowed me to get amazing treatment rapidly, something that I’ve never had but always wished for. Although I’m not yet 100% fit, I know the care is ready for me to take advantage of whenever I need it. This is something I am very grateful to Dufrain for implementing.
8. What’s the best advice you can give to someone who wants to work for us?
Your career is fully in your own hands here and if you put the effort in you will receive the reward. I for one have benefitted from this environment with the two promotions I mentioned above, but there are many stories of people within Dufrain who have achieved great things. On top of this, I would recommend putting yourself out there, speaking to lots of people, and trying to do what you enjoy.
9. What skill do you think everyone should learn?
Not necessarily a skill, but I think whatever you are working on you should aspire to be as knowledgeable as possible in that project/area of expertise. This not only benefits you individually but the people that you work closely with. I believe it’s an important factor in any successful project as it allows you to lean on your knowledge in uncertain and stressful times.
10. What are some of your favourite things to do outside of work?
I love to play golf and I try to get out as much as possible and take advantage of how lucky I am to live on the east coast of Scotland. For me, a round of golf with friends is the most relaxing and fun time I have. For the last couple of years, we have been on golf trips abroad to experience courses around Europe. On top of this, I spend a lot of time with family and friends and try to spend as much time out of the house as possible.
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