This month, we’re sitting down with Micky Sidhu, our HCM Practice Lead, to talk all things Human Capital Management!
Tell me about your role within Namos.
I’m really proud to say that I am the Namos HCM Practice Lead. It’s a large practice dedicated to HCM Cloud SaaS projects. I look after a wonderful and talented team of HR and Payroll Consultants. My job is to deliver excellence on all our Projects by providing the best possible experience for our customers.
The team, possibly the biggest onshore HCM team in the UK and voted recently Oracle HCM Practice of the year are encouraged from Day 1 to be the best consultants they can be and have our customers in the cloud with no fuss and no drama.
Can you talk me through your previous experience?
I started my career in Oracle working as end user for large B2B business in Birmingham. The business was going through a lot of change, and in doing so took the opportunity to move from Peterborough PS2000 system for personnel and payroll to Oracle HR and Payroll Release 11.5.3. This is where, for the first time, I was able to get my hands on Oracle HR and Payroll. I knew after this experience I wanted more; the only way to do that would be to join an Oracle practice and work on multiple projects.
Over the years I’ve Implemented Oracle EBS and Cloud, working in a business development role and worked for myself as an Oracle contractor. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing companies, projects and consultants. One of my ambitions was to help build a HCM practice and join a true Oracle consultancy. Many of us harbour that ambition; I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to do just that in March 2020.
What led you to join Namos?
I knew I wanted a new challenge, and I wanted to immerse myself in all things HCM Cloud. Namos ticked every box for me. Culture and team are really important to me. After I spoke with Jerry Seager & Chris Mason it was immediately evident that their values and ways of working were aligned to mine. Joining Namos was a no brainer… I am as excited now as I was when I started my first Oracle project nearly 20 years ago.
What do you love about working for Namos?
For me it’s the team spirit – I feel like I’m never working alone. There’s no stepping on each other to get ahead. There is zero politics, it’s all about delivering excellence and being the best consultant you can be. The team comes first, and that’s something you don’t always experience in other organisations.
You are expected to deliver but trusted to do your job. There’s no micromanagement. Culture is important too, our values include the word Care. “Big Enough to Deliver, Small Enough to Care ”. This isn’t just about caring for our customers but is also how we work as a team and watch out for each other..
Talk me through the typical roles you recruit for within your team.
We look for candidates who can consult in Oracle HCM and not just configure. Typically the roles advertised are for Consultants that will help us deliver the modules under the HCM pillar. We want people who are willing to upskill, and not candidates who are happy doing the same thing all the time. The Cloud product doesn’t lend itself to that type of Consultant. Cloud is changing and challenges us all the time. Our Consultants must want to grow their skills and experience.
What qualities would make someone a good fit for your team?
No lone rangers! You need to be a team player. Many of our consultants come from an end user role and move into consulting with us. As we say at Namos , we consult and don’t just configure. Our customers expect us to provide consulting not just about the tech but how they can improve processes, best practices, improve KPI’s and so on…
Candidates need to be passionate about consulting and really want to share knowledge and best practice.
Which aspects of your work are you most passionate about?
I’m a problem solver by nature and I love a challenge! Cloud is the enabler, and every customer will have challenges in adopting Cloud and meeting existing business requirements/outcomes. The processes our customers established 5-10 years ago are not the processes they need to have in place now to meet the demands of business and internal workforce. Getting into the client requirements and building a solution that exceeds expectation is always challenging but is what I love and I’m most passionate about.
Delivery is our bread and butter. It’s what we do and I what I enjoy. I love talking to customers about how to achieve a no fuss no drama delivery. We encourage our clients to adopt a SaaS delivery approach. Our delivery methodology is focused on getting customers into the cloud quickly and without risk.
I’m really missing face to face interaction right now! Things are changing thankfully , and I’m looking forward to meeting clients and #TeamNamos.
What does the future look like for your team?
More and more projects, more modules! There is some really cool stuff coming out which is exciting the team. The guys are getting stuck into Dynamic Skills, Employee Experience, Autocomplete and Journeys ….
We’ve got lots of work coming our way, and lots of growth happening over the next couple of years – we have an office in the US and in Dublin (to expandinto Europe). So the future looks pretty good.
What advice would you give to candidates starting out in the Oracle world?
What helped me was coming from a business background and then joining an Oracle practice. This gave me the knowledge, skills and experience I needed to work effectively in a customer driven role.
For candidates coming out of university or an apprenticeship program, join an Associate program such as the one Namos have. Come in at a junior level and shadow an experienced Senior Consultant to gain the experience you need.
Being passionate is important as well. Oracle is rapidly changing, and you need to be ready for that.
Join us again next month, when we’ll be meeting Tracey Weetman, our Learning and Development Lead!
