Dr. Eng. Hassan Almari - IT Application Expert
What’s the focus of your current role? What is your purpose?
The focus of my role is to provide all necessary support within a key KSA-based contract in any aspects related to applications, assets system and infrastructure, system engineering methods, system architecture, design and any other assigned tasks. My purpose is to share my experience and knowledge with my colleagues and our partners, to introduce happiness to their work-lives by supporting them in their roles and to participate in achieving the project goal and objectives through the highest standards of performance, ethics and dignity.
What do you typically do in a full day’s work?
7:30am – Get ready for the day
At 7:30am I arrive at work. Serco Middle East has many offices because we work on various contracts, but my place of work is in Digital City in North Riyadh, KSA. Before starting my busy day ahead, I grab some coffee for me and my friends. I like that we have a morning ‘tradition’ of doing this for each other. My work environment is filled with exceptional people from different nationalities working as one family, from the janitor to top management. My director enters the work area with a big smile and asks us if everything is ok and if we need anything, which I like to call “professional and parental management”, creating a beautiful environment.
I greet everyone then sit at my desk to check:
- My work emails: while I respond to urgent emails, I make note of less urgent emails to be responded to as required.
- My meeting timetable and their necessary reminders.
- My prepared and prioritised tasks list from the previous day.
Consequently, I start performing my tasks by order after confirming the tasks-list with my line manager. Making this list helps me keep on top of things and really helps me be efficient throughout the day.
9am – Team meeting
Today, we have a morning weekly team meeting. I work in the Asset Management (AM) department and we’re comprised of ten experts from different disciplines such as IT, finance, supply chain, planning, asset management and lifecycle. However, the AM team is totally different than in my previous experience. Here, we continuously support each other, care about each other, understand each other, listen to each other’s comments and work together with pleasure and a smile.
None of these team meetings are boring, because the management team are professional and respectable people who trust in us to work efficiently. The meeting is always interspersed with small talk about experiences and stories that are part of the meeting scope but still interesting and joyful. The output of the meeting is always productive, and all the team members know what they need to accomplish as a team and as individuals.
The ‘team spirit’ we have at Serco is wonderful and innovative because it creates a very fun and lively atmosphere that builds lasting professional relationships and friendships, which based on our Serco values: Innovation, Trust, Care and Pride.
10am - Prepare for presentation
Later this week, my team has a very important presentation that we are taking forth to our partners’ team. We need to prepare and complete final touch ups to our presentation. Serco’s management team is always interested in new ideas and staff are encouraged to be innovative. I participate to the best of my knowledge.
12pm - Lunch time
After a productive morning, I usually walk with one or more of my teammates to have lunch at one of our favourite restaurants within Digital City, enjoying the sun whilst we are walking.
During the lunch we just enjoy the time chatting about both work and personal life with many entertaining stories.
1pm - Completing daily scheduled tasks
After lunch, we conduct several short meetings with peers, undertake research activities and develop new system implementation plans. Five-minute breaks for stretching, casual chatting and pray are allowed when we need it.
I once asked my director: how do we decide when we can take a break on this current project? His response was surprising and conveyed a message that included Serco’s values of trust and care. His response was: “when you need it, you can take it!”. This response made me think twice and encouraged me to work harder and to provide exceptional work without the stress of being micro-managed.
5:30pm
It’s the end of the day! I head out to my home to prepare and enjoy dinner with my two kids after a long day at work. This normal working day at Serco increases my knowledge and allows me to share my experiences with great people. I finish the day always with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that I’m helping my country through the work that I do at Serco.
Why would you recommend Serco to graduate jobseekers?
Throughout my career I have worked with both international and local companies – well-known organisations with their own unique visions and management strategies. What makes Serco special is that you can see their values (Trust, Care, Innovation, Pride) through their actions, not just on their documentation or on their logo. Serco is one of the best companies because it cares about employees and customers. Thus, I strongly recommend Serco for graduates.