"It’s hard to believe that 20 years ago today, I walked through the doors of the Capgemini offices in Sale near Manchester and into a career and work family that turned out to be a perfect fit for my ambitions, for my personal and professional growth and for my life journey," says Nicola Hodkinson, Capgemini UK Global EM Learning & Performance Lead and Engagement Manager Curriculum at Capgemini University.

In her role, Nicola creates long term, sustainable and collaborative customer relationships acting as the bridge between the client and operational delivery teams. Since joining Capgemini UK, Nicola has gained a breadth and depth of Service Management experience through the provision of Application Service Management services to a portfolio of clients in both public and private sectors.

Nicola's interest and enthusiasm is focused towards Service Delivery and Service Introduction. She loves to engage early in the project life cycle, be accountable for the engagement and instigate a working framework to enable to the application support teams to operate and function within commercial and quality boundaries.

Nicola shares her career journey with Capgemini UK.

Finding her 'work home' from day one

Nicola can recall pulling up to the office in her VW Beetle, walking into the reception and then through the bustling office. Her desk was right at the far end of the room and she remembers walking past a mix of colourful characters, being introduced to her team and more importantly being shown the kitchen. 

"Sitting down at my desk to assimilate my surroundings, I knew in that moment from the pure energy and friendliness of the people surrounding me, that I had found my ‘work home’. Little did I know that 20 years later those feelings would still be as strong as ever," she says.

Driven by the desire to be the best she can be

While reflecting, Nicola is half in disbelief at the amazing career she has been able to carve out for herself. As an only child from a very small/extended family, she was lucky to have had a fantastic childhood and upbringing where her parents were only ever interested in whether she was happy. Her Dad used to attend my school parents evening and would ask only one question: "Is she happy?". If the answer was "Yes", he would stand up and walk away, as that’s all he needed to know.

This consistent simple statement led Nicola to pursue her College and University aspirations where the time and effort she gave was not through family pressure but through her own self-drive to do the best that she could and be recognised for the results she had achieved. 

"This is very much how I continue to run my life and career now. I consistently demonstrate to myself, my family, friends and colleagues that focus, hard work, taking the time to learn and experience each situation, ‘trusting the process’ and getting results that I feel proud of achieving continues to make me a happy and driven individual," she adds.

A career defined by the people

Nicola asks herself: "So, what have I learned in my 20 years at Capgemini?"

She's learned that it’s the people she works with that are the reason why she enjoys her career so much. 

From that first day in the office, to the vast array of client, projects and services she has had the privilege to work on, to the amazing training and leadership programmes she has been a part off and sponsored, her takeaway is always the people.

"In the early years of my career, I would sit down for my year end performance review and always be told that I would go far in the company and that we would be working towards the next promotion whether that be imminent or 3/4 years away, because I was worth investing in," she says. 

"Again this consistent message of worth, appreciation and recognition into the value I was adding (even at a junior grade), never led me to believe anything different and here I am 20 years later, achieving all that I had hoped to achieve with the journey still continuing in front of me."

Nicola could write down numerous names of those people who have inspired her, influenced her, believed in her and had a huge impact on her over the years, both professionally and personally, but they know who they are. "I sit here smiling as I remember them all," she adds. "Their faith in me and my faith in them has always stood firm."

Giving back to the Capgemini community

Today marks a milestone in her dedication to a company which is more than just a ‘job’ to her, it has been a place where she can continually demonstrate her capability and be consistently recognised for her efforts. Nicola has made lifelong friends, embarked on lifechanging learning programme and had the privilege to influence strategy and vision. 

But more than anything, she has been able to give back to Capgemini UK's junior community by giving them her time, showing her passion and talking through her experiences, in the hope that some simple consistent messages can also make a difference to them and their future achievements.

"You may read this and think ‘It can’t be that perfect all the time!’ and of course there have been bumps in the road, as no path can be perfectly forged. However, I believe in the journey and taking the learn to learn, taking the time to experience and taking the time to work through those ‘bumps’ and trusting the process," she explains.

"Having worked within Application Management Services in the UK since I joined Capgemini, I will be forever grateful for their continued support to my learning, my growth and my journey and I welcome many more years of making a difference, adding value and giving back."

Join successful women like Nicola at Capgemini UK

Capgemini believes in the power of its people and the vital role that Learning & Development plays in growing its talents. Therefore, the company invests in employee learning, and value self-development. Capgemini turns potential into value.

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