Risk Management: the evolution of Jean-Philippe Peltier

After starting his career as a network engineer in the telecom industry, Jean-Philippe entered Risk Management in 2014.

An adventure which continues and in which, thanks to a beautiful evolution, he blossoms fully. A very nice start to his career that allows him to better understand the Risk Management business.

The meeting with Risk Management

Jean-Philippe started his working life as an engineer in a design office for the telecom sector. A technical job in which he quickly discovered a routine for which he did not feel suited.

In search of a new opportunity, which is more in line with his temperament and with more human interaction, Jean-Philippe will try a first experience in consulting. That's how he joined Stanfeel Conseil in 2014 - which will become part of the Blue Soft group in 2016 - and carried out his first missions as a Business Continuity and Datacenter Consultant.

The different stages of career development in Risk Management

In the Risk Management professions, career development is structured and depends to a large extent on the experience of Consultants.

Junior consultant: the first steps in the profession, accessible to young graduates.
Confirmed consultant : after a few years of experience, the consultant gains in responsibilities, in team with a manager.
Senior consultant : the consultant is in complete autonomy
Manager: transmitting and developing are at the heart of the job.
Senior Manager: able to manage several teams.
Director: manages an entire department or business unit.

At Blue Soft, human skills are also important factors in this evolution. In these professions, customer relations, teamwork and autonomy are qualities that allow a rapid transition from one grade to another.

Jean-Philippe tells us how he experienced these transitions.

"As I was not a complete beginner, and as I mastered the technical notions of my job, I went straight to the rank of Senior Consultant. But I learned a completely different job, especially in its form, which relies heavily on customer relations and teamwork. So I did my apprenticeship, and at first I had the feeling that I was more of a burden than a useful resource! But my manager quickly reassured me. At Blue Soft, employees are seen as an investment in the future. The group relies on us for the long term.

This vision suits me perfectly and allowed me to take this first step successfully, towards the rank of Senior Consultant. This time I had the opportunity to put into practice what I had learned. I felt confident in my skills and autonomous, but still relatively "passive". I was executing a plan but my initiative taking was not yet developed. It was by having to Manager that I achieved this goal."

From Consultant to Manager, big changes

"By becoming a Manager, the main difference I perceive is that I am no longer asked to "do my job", but to be a complete and integrated part of the activity within the group", continues Jean-Philippe.

Indeed, the rank of Manager brings new responsibilities. In addition to accompanying customers, the Manager goes further in listening to their needs, with a global vision. He/she will be able to modulate the mission to fully respond to the problem.

"Today, when I am asked to do something, my role is to have a critical look at the request and its implementation. For example, in my current assignment, rather than preparing and executing IT contingency plans, I will advise the client on the series of tests to be put in place beforehand. I feel much more of a driver, both for the client and for Blue Soft."

At our customer's, this transition came naturally, but it's clearly a done deal. An expert in the banking sector, Blue Soft entrusted Jean-Philippe with a long-term assignment in this sector for a major account. Jean-Philippe had been working as a consultant for 18 months, but the announcement that he was to be promoted from Consultant to Manager was a real eye-opener for the customer. Attentive to his recommendations, the client also entrusted Jean-Philippe with the training of other consultants in the team. Discover the importance of implementing internal control and risk management for companies.

Three objectives for progress in Risk Management

In his position as Manager, Jean-Philippe is also more involved in the life of the Risk Management activity of the group, and contributes to its development on 3 axes

Human resources

This is the most novel aspect of his role. From now on, our young manager participates in the recruitment process. His role is to evaluate the candidates according to the strategy defined by the group, in terms of profiles and skills. He analyzes career paths, validates skills and determines whether they correspond to the culture Blue Soft.

"It is sometimes difficult to get all the new employees to adhere to our vision of our business. It's sometimes a generational issue, as senior and junior candidates don't have the same expectations, nor the same ability to apply the Blue Soft methodology, which is not necessarily the same in all consulting firms. It's a strategic point to determine, and it's very interesting, " comments Jean-Philippe.

The development

Developing the business requires new missions and new clients. And development is one of the Manager's objectives. "At Blue Soft, there is no sales representative for Risk Management. It is the Managers and Directors who look for new missions. This is a field that allows Jean-Philippe to develop his relational skills, even if it is a bit of a baptism of fire for him. " Fortunately, we have built our methods around this objective," he says, "We have a network, training and clients to rely on. We start by approaching clients who already know us, which allows us to familiarize ourselves with this new aspect of the business. "

Management

The transmission of Risk Management business expertise is an integral part of the Manager's mission. Jean-Philippe is therefore required to accompany the consultants who join the group during their first years. Here again, this new dimension relies heavily on human relations, and the exchanges are enriching, as the profiles are very diverse.

Explore new topics

Although the progression from one rank to the next is quite natural and is mainly based on the acquisition of experience, this does not prevent Jean-Philippe from still having a thirst for new territories. Today, he is a BCP and Datacenter expert, and still has new avenues to explore in order to learn about the other facets of Risk Management. "I'm very interested in internal control, which is quite different from BCP. And I'd also like to explore cyber resilience, which enables a company to ensure the continuity of its information system, even in the event of an attack.

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Possibilities that Blue Soft allows, thanks to a permanent accompaniment and the encouragement of the continuous training, so that our experts are always at the top of their trade!