Kira Farringdon is a Technology Apprentice. Her blog is part of our side of desk series. We’ve invited three colleagues to share their experiences of side of desk work at Accenture. Side of desk is what we call projects and work that are done alongside our day-to-day client work. Everyone at Accenture works on these throughout their career. They cover a wide range of interests; everything from sustainability to emerging technology and inclusion and diversity; developing thought leadership to organising internal events. Read the blogs to get a glimpse of what current analysts do and how their side of desk work has contributed to their career journey.
For my main side of desk project, I am the Events Lead on the Life@ team for my project. In the Life@ team, we focus on health and wellbeing, and socialising for all Accenture people who work on a client project. This includes people from analyst level all the way up to managing director, and sometimes also involving the client.
When the opportunity arose, I knew I wanted to get involved with this and be part of a team that ensures the project is an enjoyable place to work. Also being a part of a team that instils a sense of community within such a big organisation like Accenture was very important to me. Having previously worked in hospitality, I saw this as a great opportunity to utilise my previous experience.
What do we do?
As Events Lead in the Life@ team, I have the task of thinking about events that the whole team will enjoy. Although we all work on the same client project, my colleagues all have different experiences and interests, so I focus on bringing the community together. And, having joined Accenture during a time when offices were closed, I understand the value of being able to meet with your team in-person. With our offices opening this past spring, it’s been great to see the number of different events held in the office. As time has gone on and more events have been able to run in-person, it has been a great opportunity to build stronger and trusting relationships with my team members, which has made for a very positive work environment.
In the summer I organised an event for both the client and Accenture teams, which happened to be the first collective event since our project started due to lockdowns and social distancing guidelines. We had a private area in a venue nearby the London office for this after work social, with food and drink options for everyone. This was a great opportunity to meet the rest of the client team that I had not had the chance to meet in person. Leading up to the event I had the opportunity to liaise with my team members which helped to deepen these connections further. This event went down very well, and everyone seemed to have a great time, with requests to more events like this in the future.
Shaping my career
My day-to-day client work is very different to my side of desk role on the Life@ team. I’m currently working as a business analyst for a video streaming platform. The team have been very supportive of my part-time studies as part of the apprenticeship programme and have enabled me to learn and grow in my role at work but also have the time I need to focus on my university studies. I’m studying for a degree in Digital and Technological Solutions at the University of East London one day a week and working on client projects at Accenture for the remaining four days. Client work and studies take priority, however focusing on event planning with the rest of the Life@ team can often be a nice break.
Side of desk has given me the opportunity to develop my skills outside of my day-to-day work; I have learnt how to develop meaningful connections, manage a budget, and collaborate with the wider Life@ team. Organising events and connecting with many different people within Accenture has given me more confidence when conversing with various clients, especially when presenting to and leading calls with senior client members.
With the variety of roles and experiences available at Accenture, there are so many options of what your day-to-day work can look like. Side of desk projects are another way you can shape how you spend your time at Accenture. There are so many different side of desk projects that there is truly something for everyone.
Kira's Bio
Kira is a Technology Degree Apprentice at Accenture currently studying Digital and Technology Solutions and working on a client project as a Business Analyst. She has recently had her year anniversary at Accenture and is now in her 2nd year of studies. Outside of work and studies, Kira enjoys hiking, rock climbing and baking.