After a few years of helping to manage some of our automotive brands and being the go-to (and unofficial) IT support person, Jo has transitioned from Social Media to be our full-time Operations Manager — during a lockdown or two no less!

We thought we’d ask him a few questions about how it’s been and the kinds of projects he’s been working on.

Why did you want to move from social media to operations and IT?
With education and experience on both the creative and technical side of things, I've always straddled the line between operations and production. Hotglue gave me the opportunity to try out a range of roles over the last 6 years and now they've even let me start my own department. I felt now is the right time for the business to have a more focused approach to operations and I'm excited to have the opportunity to take on the challenge!

What are the main projects that you've been working on?
There are a lot but the biggest are unifying our workflows across teams, and another project geared at our device management. There's a lot that goes into getting the job done right, and my focus is on making sure everyone has the tools they need to deliver the outstanding product Hotglue is known for.

What challenges has working in operations and IT presented?
Stepping into the role I've had to understand a lot of new systems and processes at a deep level quickly in order to be able to plan for the future. Being the expert in the business comes with a level of responsibility to correctly identify opportunities and best-fit solutions – it's a responsibility that can have real impact on how people work. Knowing when to bring in external resources to provide recommendations is certainly going to be an invaluable skill in this space!

What have been the highlights of organising this side of the business?
I love seeing the gains in efficiency we're making. What used to take hours is now an automation that runs in 30 seconds. The steps we're taking now are going to make us an even more agile business ready to take on whatever challenges are thrown at us – and we'll do it with a smile with our focus being on the interesting stuff, leaving robot work for the robots.

Do you have any IT tips or hacks that you’d be willing to share? Let’s go with your top three!

Everyone should invest time in understanding tech and how it can make their life better. Never stop asking yourself the question "can a robot do this?"