Contingent Workers: Paul
Paul Turner is the Technical Consultant at Red Manta. Specialising in Microsoft Office 365 he is the go to guy if you or your business needs improved online security and getting the best out of the systems you currently have.
At a Glance:
On the web: redmanta.co.uk
Reading: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I can’t work without: music, mostly Hip Hop
Contingent Works: How has working at Contingent helped you and your business?
Paul Turner: It's made us more visible to people in Bromley plus we don't live that far from here, it's about a five-minute walk. But what it has really done is it's freed up our space at home so we have an office here that we can close the door at five o'clock. So in terms of work life balance its much better for us and our business. In terms of being here physically, I've had some work from people here at Contingent Works. We've done work for Contingent Works and we’ve done work for creative recruiters Sumo. There's other people we've been speaking to as well so it's really helped us to be quite niche yet get our name out.
CW: What made you choose Contingent?
PT: It's a better experience than the other places in Bromley. We did have an office space around the corner, but the experience in there was nowhere near what you get here. There's more people here that you see on a daily basis rather than being in a corridor facing a wall. There's that and there's a lot more mingling here. It’s a lot more social, there's just more energy and everybody will help pitch in and get stuff done.
CW: How would you describe your business and what you offer to people?
PT: We are specialists in Microsoft 365 so where you would traditionally have IT support companies and consultancy companies, we bridge the skill gap between the two to specifically help small to medium businesses. We do that by understanding how each business works and where their problems are. We can get them to work smarter and more efficiently using Microsoft 365 tools. IT support companies generally tail off after setting up or providing licences restrictions, and larger consultancies usually charge a £1200-1500 day rate for consultants to come in but we bridge that gap so that small businesses can take the same advantages as large corporations.
CW: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
PT: Probably seeing the change in people. We're very good as human beings when stuck in a rut, working around things and not changing. When we convince people there is a better way and they get used to that better way, I think that's probably the most rewarding part because they realise that everything can change for the better.
CW: What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?
PT: Read, take time and don’t stop looking at the new stuff. The reason I specifically picked Microsoft 365 after being in IT for 30 years id it's always changing, you're never going to get stale. There's always new things to understand. There's always new things to find out. There's always new boundaries to push in terms of trying to work out how to do something. So, read, learn and keep on top of technology.
