From Graduate to IT Director: Follow Sam's Journey
Posting date:
08/12/24
Sam Schrader is the UKIB Region & Corporate Functions IT Director at Rentokil Initial. She first joined Rentokil Initial as a graduate student in the RI Management program in April 2005, where she completed two operational placements before her third placement in our Head Office.
Sam joined the company permanently with a role in the Initial Facilities division and has had a further 11 roles since, all of which have contributed to her current role. Her career has been supported by a range of formal and informal training, including a Rentokil Initial sponsorship for her Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Postgraduate Diploma. All of these experiences helped her understand cross-functional business processes, giving her an appreciation for what's important to businesses.
Sam says her roles at Rentokil Initial have been “really useful because I can do a mix of project management and business analysis, which is particularly relevant in this kind of company. I learned how to translate between business and I.T. and that ability to bridge the two has played into pretty much every job I've had since. It's something you learn through the experience of doing. It's not a qualification you can go out and do.”
When asked who her Mentor has been, she says, “That’s a difficult question to answer because that's part of what makes Rentokil a great place to work - you've got so many great people who are just technically brilliant. I've had some amazing managers who have taught me all sorts of stuff over the years. It's really difficult to name one Mentor because there have been plenty of indirect colleagues that I've learned huge amounts from as well.”
Sam has met many talented and fabulous people through her journey in Rentokil Initial. She says, “You build a network that becomes invaluable. You work with Finance, Operations, and Marketing. It's a cross-functional business, and your network has to be cross-functional for you to be successful here.”
Through the various roles, Sam has gained many different skills. “One that got drilled into me by a couple of my different line managers, which is not a thing that comes naturally to me, is the ability to get down right into the detail of something, to get granular on a business requirement or process. I've got one particular boss in mind when I think about that one. I was taught to investigate something to the nth degree until there isn't anything further to chase. Then I've had another boss who almost told me the reverse, which is to step back from something and look at it holistically. In hindsight, it's a really useful thing to have learned.”
This is one of the many thousands of colleagues with similar stories. If this story inspires you, click here to learn more about open roles at Rentokil Initial.
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