A Day in the Life of a Microsoft Dynamics Consultant
Life as a tech consultant can be hugely varied, and that’s no different for Microsoft Dynamics consultants, as Tisski’s own Sheryl Netley can certainly vouch for! Working hard to implement tech solutions that tick all the boxes for Tisski clients, there’s no such thing as a quiet day for Sheryl, who enjoys sinking her teeth into creative problem solving.
Here’s an insight into Sheryl’s day-to-day life and an exciting project she’s been working on for the Ministry of Defence.
Communication is key
They say variety is the spice of life, so spice certainly isn’t something Sheryl is short on! Depending on which stage her latest project is at, she could find herself running workshops, building solutions, working on documentation or training clients.
“I like to be kept on my toes,” Sheryl said. “It means I’m always excited about what every day holds and I’m certainly never bored.”
One key aspect of Sheryl’s role is communication; working with external clients, it’s important to build trust and rapport, so keeping them in the loop on project progress is essential.
“I would expect to be talking to my client every day while I’m not on-site. At Tisski, we very much work alongside our customers, to the point where we essentially become a part of their extended team. This gives us a real insight into their challenges and empathy with their situation, allowing us to build strong and robust relationships and ultimately provide better solutions.”
Supporting clients and playing an active part in the community
Over the last year, Sheryl has been working to support one of Tisski’s public sector clients, the Ministry of Defence (MOD). In that time, she supported in several different ways, from leading initial discovery exercises to building solutions that would address ongoing challenges.
“Working with the MOD from the outset allowed me to have significant customer interaction, organising and running workshops across all levels of the organisation. I got to know their people and processes very well, which is always helpful.”
As an active member of the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform community, Sheryl regularly attends user groups – sessions where people with shared interests meet virtually or in person to share ideas.
“I’d been considering presenting a session for some time, and when I heard that Agile development was on the list of subjects that had been requested by members, I immediately thought of Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and the benefits it had brought us at the MOD,” Sheryl explained.
With the MOD keen to participate, Sheryl worked with a member of their team to create and deliver a presentation to the D365UG Birmingham virtual event in July. “It was great fun working on the presentation and the session was very well received,” Sheryl said.
Find what you love and make it your job
As someone who is passionate about helping others, Sheryl is pleased to have secured a role where she gets to do that on a daily basis and having once been advised to ‘find what you love and make it your job’ by her dad, she seems to have done exactly that.
“I’m given the opportunity to take part in some really interesting projects, and continually learn and share knowledge. The highlight of each week for me is Tisski’s ‘Brown Bag’ session every Friday, where the entire company gets together to share experiences and expertise over Teams, with a different person presenting each week.”
Outside of work, Sheryl is a mum-of-four so there’s never a dull moment in her day, whether she’s clocked on at work or not.
“Three of my children still live at home, so it can be quite hectic! I like to get up early and have a little bit of time to myself before the house gets busy - I find that the mornings are a great time to get things done, and to take time to reflect on how lucky I am.”
