An off-site workday at Port Moody Ribs Festival
If you told me when I started my co-op that I would be stepping into my supervisor’s shoes and undertaking her responsibilities, I wouldn’t believe you. Well, that’s exactly what happened for two months.
I began my Co-op with TELUS in May 2017 as a Business Analyst on the Executive Client Relations (ECR) team. The first four months were extremely smooth. I had amazing support from my supervisor and manager, I could always lean on them to support me when questions surfaced, and I witnessed how quickly all my skills were developing.
At the end of August, my Supervisor informed me she would be moving teams. At the time, I was made aware to me that the team would be without a supervisor for what ended up being two months. My supervisor and I split a lot of the same duties; therefor I was her sidekick and filled in when she was not there. In turn, her last few weeks were filled with her training me to take over her in-progress and behind the scenes projects.
So, there I was, a new co-op student, stepping two feet into a much larger role with more responsibilities and duties. I would have much more responsibility, have to answer to more team members, and ensure all escalations are delegated immediately. This would overwhelm some, make others step back, and some may see it as a rewarding challenge. I was the latter. While I was nervous, I saw how this experience would help me and I was not afraid to take on the responsibility.
My duties included, completing all month end reports to great accuracy and delegating all urgent and highly sensitive escalations to the appropriate advisor or business channel in a timely manner, without further assistance.
I witnessed how this experience greatly improved my decision-making skills. As someone who, for example, can never decide which drink to get from Starbucks. I always found it difficult to make a decision, especially when it would be sent out to many stakeholders. This characteristic lead to frequent questions to my supervisor for assistance and confirmation while delegating escalations. With her absence, I found myself trusting my thought process and gut instinct when making decisions. I applied this process greatly when answering to team members about ECR reports and system issues. As well, I excelled in seeing which escalations took priority, ensuring deadlines and important emails were not missed.
A team-bonding event in Deep Cove
Overall, my experience has only been positive, exciting, and fulfilling. I have witnessed how my skills have strengthened, how my network has expanded to all parts of Canada, and how a company can be tremendously caring for its customers and employees. This experience has confirmed my desire to concentrate in Management Information systems and work in a Corporate Company.
The Vancouver ECRSOP Team volunteering at a TELUS Days of Giving event, in partnership with the National Aboriginal Day festival