Steven Sperling - Eight Year Anniversary

Steven Sperling - Eight Year Anniversary

Today we are celebrating Steven Sperling’s eighth anniversary at Platform Smart…

Steve joined the business in January 2016 as a Director & Managing Consultant, supporting the management and development of Platform Smart working closely with Shane Colombo.  Whilst playing the role of Operations Director, responsible for leading the Back-Office and Associate Programme, he still has oversight of some of Platform Smart's key clients including HSBC and Sedgwick.

We caught up with Steve to gain some insight into what Platform Smart was like throughout the years and so we can get to know him a bit more. Read below to see what he had to say.

What do you think has been one of the biggest changes you have seen in Platform Smart since it was formed?

Platform Smart is obviously significantly bigger now than it was 8 years ago and with this has come the need and expectation to have a lot more rigour, structure, maturity and compliance. Some of this is needed to support the size of the company we have become and to give confidence we can operate appropriately, and some of it comes from the need to comply with the demands and requirements of our clients. However, this aside I honestly feel that the intent, values, desire, and passion that was in place on day 1 are the same today and that the core essence of Platform Smart is exactly what it was when it was formed in 2015. 

Out of the eight years you have been here, is there one you particularly enjoyed the most?

Since Platform Smart was formed, we have gone through several phases; start-up, COVID, Scale & Growth; each of these phases had very different objectives and the challenges and opportunities were specific to each phase. Looking back, I enjoyed elements of all these phases. The excitement and agility we had in the start-up period were really enjoyable, things could be done very quickly and there was a lot of freedom in how we made decisions and an element of fearlessness and a mentality of having nothing to lose. COVID was of course a period with a lot of uncertainty, however, once we were a few months in I really enjoyed the renewed sense of collaboration and feeling of going back to basics that we put in place which ensured we could respond quickly to events and changes in client decision making. Uncertain times obviously remain but as we look forward, I really enjoy working with the management team identifying opportunities for improvement and how we can best support the company in its continued growth. Scaling the back-office team and seeing the Finance, Operations, Resourcing and Client Management functions grow has been something I have really enjoyed and look forward to doing this more as we continue our journey.

What career would you be in if you hadn’t worked in IT?

When I was younger, I wanted to either be a chef or a professional footballer; I was rubbish at football and couldn’t cook so it soon became apparent that neither route would be particularly successful. I decided to play it safe and go into IT at college whilst I decided what I wanted to do ‘when I grew up’, 25 years later I'm still not completely sure so, for now, I’ll stick with my current role 😊

Can you name a personal highlight from the last eight years?

My personal highlights since Platform Smart was formed would have to be the arrival of my 3 children who are now 8, 5 and 2 and the more recent move to Scotland.

With the recent move to Scotland, how have you found working with the team? Has it been seamless?

The move to Scotland has been fantastic. We’ve now been in Scotland for 7 months and I come down to the Platform Smart office for a week every month. With the COVID era just a couple of years behind us, working with the team remotely has been seamless. The Platform Smart team comes together in the office every month and I plan my trips to be around at the same time. We saw some of our biggest growth during COVID and remote working has proven to be very successful for us, so I’m not surprised that the move to Scotland has been smooth. I am definitely of the view that ‘being in the room’, looking people in the eye and being able to collaborate around a whiteboard can’t be replaced so I always feel like my trips down are invaluable; although I definitely need to remind myself of this when the alarm goes to catch the red eye flight down.

Can you name some of the biggest challenges you have faced and how you overcame them?

I am definitely an overthinker and someone who can sometimes get consumed by the detail and try and spin too many plates at any one time; the latter being something that can happen very easily when you are managing clients and responding to their requirements and challenges. There have been times over the years when the sheer volume of activity has felt overwhelming, and it is easy to feel almost paralysed. To overcome this, I find that simply going back to basics really helps to overcome any challenge; scribbling down the key things that need to be done, by when, for whom, prioritising them, making a list, what are the risks, what are the options, talking them through with the team and getting things into an order really make a difference. Not rocket science by any means but this works for me.

If you had to switch roles with anyone in Platform Smart for the week, who would you choose and why?

This is a difficult one as I would genuinely love to have the opportunity to experience most of the roles within the organisation, however, having been client-facing for so many years I definitely wouldn’t pick to swap with any of our MC’s as I know how tough that role can be. Our Associate Programme is our most valuable asset and one of the biggest challenges we have is working out how we retain and enhance the value our Associates receive from their association with Platform Smart and how we can make them continue feeling ‘connected’ to us as we grow. With this in mind, switching roles with Oscar who is ultimately responsible for defining the future of our Associate Programme is something that I think would be interesting, fun and without doubt challenging.

Want To Catch Up?
Let’s Grab A Coffee

With imminent news of new clients and therefore new opportunities on the horizon, we're eager to engage with our associates who are interested in sharing updates on their availability and current circumstances. Whether it's a casual catch-up and an opportunity to get an update on all things Platform Smart, or a focused discussion on new opportunities or subjects highlighted in our recent newsletters and other communications, we'd love to hear from you.
 
If you're interested in a catch up, don't hesitate to drop us a message to get something booked in, and we look forward to speaking with you soon!