As a single dad of five children, Sean Rayner has overcome many challenges to get where he is now. And his hard work has just been rewarded with a big promotion to service delivery manager at ReformIT, one of Gloucestershire's top managed IT service providers (MSP).
SoGlos sits down with him to find out how he juggles family life together with a new job as a senior leader — and he gives us his top tips on staying organised.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up joining ReformIT?
I’ve spent most of my professional career within the IT industry, focused mainly on hardware sales, procurement, customer satisfaction and repairs. I took a few years out of my career to focus on building a safe, happy and (most importantly) organised home for my children.
After my career break, I started to get back into the industry, reading articles, starting free courses online and generally re-exploring current trends, themes and infrastructures in IT.
I have some incredible friends who have been part of my close support network through the years. One of whom is in the MSP/cyber security field who, one evening, asked if I’d like to go to the pub for a catch up. Little did I know, the whole evening was a set up! It was an informal meeting and casual chat with a couple of individuals, one of whom turned out to be Neil, the managing director of ReformIT.
I must have made a good impression as, the next day, I had a call asking me to come in for an interview. I like to joke that my story at ReformIT essentially started at the pub and, in my experience, it’s the only positive story that's started at one!
Can you tell us about your journey from your first job as first-line engineer to now service delivery manager? And what motivated you to go for a promotion?
When I first started at ReformIT, my plan was to enter the workplace on the bottom rung of the ladder. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to get a full scope as to the inner workings of an MSP and ReformIT as a company. This was encouraged and supported by a great team of supportive and knowledgeable professionals. The team were integral in enabling me to stretch my legs, ask many, many questions and add my own prior experience into the mix.
I started the job with a two-year plan — become fully immersed within the company, gain as much on-the-job experience as possible, then focus on a role I felt I’d be most suited, to make the most positive impact at ReformIT.
Having spent my previous years in a technical sales role, I felt this would be the best fit. However, a new job position became available and thought I’d throw my name into the mix of potential candidates. My thinking behind this was simple — a sales role is very similar to that of a service delivery manager (SDM). We listen to our clients’ needs and tailor a service to suit, while making sure that service is maintained to a high standard.
The only difference is, the SDM takes a more in-depth management of the internal SOPs and KPIs, to make sure what’s sold is delivered with integrity, honesty and accountability.
Having looked at the job role and description, I could confidently say that I’d been carrying out similar duties for around 12 years previously, so it made sense to give it my best shot and apply.
What specific skills or experiences from your customer service role do you think were most beneficial to your current job?
Firstly, empathy. Everyone has experienced the frustration of technology not working as expected. Whether that be a car breaking down or a faulty headset during an important Team’s meeting. Keeping that empathy and understanding in mind plays a massive role in client satisfaction, managing expectations and doing your utmost to ensure clients are looked after.
Next is communication. Internal and external communications is, to my mind, the absolute backbone of a business and the glue that keeps a team together and ensures clients feel supported.
And lastly, the ability to ask the correct questions, the ability to stay calm, being understanding and supportive when changes, issues or concerns arise both with clients and our team. Being as organised as possible gives me the ability to be an agile member of the team and able to pivot based on priorities.
Did you face any challenges while moving up the company, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for me was, having never worked for an MSP before, there was a fair amount of imposter syndrome initially but, after finding my feet and getting an understanding of client’s various infrastructures and nuances, I was soon able to action requests and assist with client queries and issues as they arose.
The obvious challenge of managing work and family life was a large one. And I’m always needing to make sure my time is organised effectively with a solid focus on work staying at work, and not being too harsh on myself if the children stay up a little later to have quality time. I’ve been given the flexibility to work from home when required, collect poorly children at the drop of a hat and work my hours around any appointments that arise.
None of this would be possible without the understanding and flexibility ReformIT has provided. It’s not a one-way street however and requires hard work and a fair amount of dedication to my responsibilities.
As a single parent of five, how do you manage the work-life balance, especially with the demands of your job?
To be honest, it’s the same way I’d manage being a single parent of one — a solid foundation of schedules and organisation, along with timeout from work and housework to enjoy family life, experiences and laughter. It’s certainly an ongoing challenge which has been a learning process over the years and has tested my ability to compartmentalise work and home life a fair amount!
As mentioned already, I’m employed by some very understanding business owners who believe in me as a person and understand my motivations. I’ve always been a highly motivated individual which helps manage my responsibilities both as a father and as an employee.
What are your top tips for managing your time between work responsibilities and parenting?
I have found creating a weekly schedule to be incredibly beneficial in managing downtime with the children, life admin and work tasks. This allows me to separate all aspects of my working week and allows me to coordinate my time effectively.
I usually strategise the month based on upcoming events both at work and as a parent, which gives me a broader scope of where I need to be and what needs to be included in the week by week planning of my life.
Not particularly glamorous but, without pre-planning and schedules, I wouldnt get much achieved!
And finally, what do you prioritise as a parent, and how does that influence your professional life?
I do my absolute best to carry my motivation, priorities and values through all aspects of my life. I’m by no means perfect but, I really believe in positive, transparent and honest communication. I've made this an integral part of working well as a team both in my profession and within my family.
I work and parent with sincerity and trust, and I will always go above and beyond what is required for things I believe in. My children are my absolute motivator to be the best I can be, primarily as a parent but also a professional within an exciting and ever-changing industry.
