Bego Urain (pictured)
Head of CBS IT Service Assurance, Bank of Ireland
The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of a flexible, hybrid working approach to enable colleagues to balance their work and family life.
My role in Bank of Ireland involves looking after our digital platforms such as our 365 mobile app and digital services which affect over one million of our customers, so it’s critical that I remain well connected to my teams. I have fully embraced our new hybrid working model as it allows me to work in a way that suits my life and at the same time stay connected to colleagues. It’s very important to me that I can maintain my relationships with my team and wider departments as we work remotely.
Working collaboratively with many colleagues across the Bank in this hybrid way has been extremely successful. It’s great to be working in a high trust culture like the Bank that encourages us to work flexibly.
Having the ability to work flexibly means I can minimise energy-draining commutes and maximise time with my family, while also having the option to go on site.
Flexibility can maximise productivity
Before the pandemic, I was regularly on the move between multiple locations, taking taxis to team meetings and commuting to the office every morning. Having the ability to work flexibly means I can minimise energy-draining commutes and maximise time with my family, while also having the option to go on site. This means I can choose to work from home which allows for more time in the mornings for a walk or to spend time with my wife and son. If I decide I need to go to the office or to work from any of our hubs across the country, I can book a workspace and work where and when it suits me.
I’m very excited about the Bank of Ireland Academy which provides me with career and development resources, enabling me to grow. I use it to access learning pathways, explore future roles and connect with mentors from across the organisation. I recently completed a course in data analytics – something I hadn’t delved into before – and it was so useful, even if it made me question keeping all of my social media accounts! Having all of these resources online means that our opportunities to network, grow and develop are not limited even though we are working more remotely.