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Monday July 25th, 2022

Interview with HRD & Employer Brand Assistant Caitlyn O’Kane

Caitlyn O’Kane knows, better than most, how it is possible to carve out your ideal career with B-Secur. The Fashion Marketing graduate joined the company as a Commercial Assistant but is now playing an important role in the HR team.

Here Caitlyn talks about her B-Secur journey and how she has watched the company grow and develop over the past year.

 

Tell us about yourself Caitlyn

After graduating from The University of Manchester with a degree in Fashion Marketing, I always thought I would end up working overseas in the fashion industry but Covid hitting just as I was finishing my degree created a different path for me.

Although working for a technology company wasn’t something I had originally planned, I absolutely love my job at B-Secur. What makes it so great is that no two days are the same. One day I can be focused on onboarding employees and making sure they have everything they need to settle into B-Secur, the next I can be organising company events and writing content for our staff newsletter.

In my spare time I like going to the gym and yoga classes, cooking and trying new recipes and spending time with my friends and family.

You initially joined as Commercial Assistant, tell us how you have been settling in and why you moved to your new role in HRD and Employer Branding?

HR was not something I ever considered as a career path previously, however after some time as a Commercial Assistant, I came to realise that I really wanted to use more of the skills that I gained throughout my marketing degree. I discussed this with my manager who suggested the role within HR which I immediately fell in love with after making the move in February. My manager, Caroline has been so helpful throughout and gives me the freedom to work on the employer branding side of things which is great.

You joined the company at a very busy time, tell us how B-Secur has changed in the past year

I joined B-Secur during lockdown which meant life and work felt very different to how it was before and how it is now. On my first day I visited a pretty much empty office to pick up my laptop then went home and did all my onboarding via Zoom and Teams. 

Now I help with onboarding employees and their experience is very different to mine. They get to meet all the different teams in person, have lunch with everyone on their first day and get a feel for the B-Secur culture. 

As we are a fast-growing company, we need to constantly innovate and improve. Due to growth and changes in business strategy, new teams have been created and more staff employed. Our new staff are helping B-Secur go from strength to strength, both from a business and company culture point-of-view.

You work to promote B-Secur’s Employer Brand, tell us why B-Secur is a special place to work

B-Secur employs some of the most talented developers, engineers and data scientists in the world so we are always learning from each other.

B-Secur fosters growth and allows you to develop your own career path. I have felt continuously supported in my personal and professional growth throughout my time at B-Secur. To help me develop further within my HR role, I have been given the opportunity to complete my Level 3 HR qualification with CIPD in People Practice. 

B-Secur truly cares about its employees with many wellbeing initiatives in place while the flexible working practices allow for a great work life balance.

Tell us about the culture at B-Secur. What support is in place for new employees and employees ambitious to progress in their careers?

During induction week, employees get to meet all the teams, visit the office, have lunch with peers, receive a welcome box and all the necessary equipment to work from home. From the first day, new people are greatly supported by their team and the wider staff at B-Secur.

We have a very down to earth, innovative and passionate culture, and it is so great seeing the office get busier, making a more fun and collaborative environment. 

There are so many development opportunities as we are a fast-growing company and we partner with many networks that employees can avail of for learning, development, and networking such as Women in Business, Business in the Community and Women in Tech. Many of our employees partake in the ILM course to develop their leadership and management skills. We can also take any training that will fill any skill gaps needed to succeed in our job or to develop further in our role.

What advice would you have for anyone thinking about joining the company?

Do it! We have so many amazing opportunities constantly coming up as we are in a period of high growth. There are some great jobs available on our site at the minute. 

We have so many benefits that really add to the experience of working for B-Secur. Some of my favourite perks are free parking, free food and drink when in the office, great health insurance and pension schemes, quarterly comms days and flexible working.