Kirsten started at Harmony in September '22 as a Management Consultant in the business consultancy team. After a fun onboarding day, she went straight into her first digital transformation project at a client, together with a few Harmony colleagues. Now, 6 months later, we look back with her on her time at Harmony so far.
Hi Kirsten, can you introduce yourself to our readers?
I'm Kirsten, I'm 31 and I live in Antwerp with my boyfriend. In my free time I love to travel, and I travel a lot: I spend all my holiday days on it. My father is American and lives in North Carolina. I visit him regularly. As a child I spent my summers in America, which was wonderful. Maybe that's where I caught the travel bug. I also love running: I recently took part in the Brussels half marathon. And I like eating out and often meet up with friends.
What did your career look like before you joined Harmony?
I studied Communication Sciences at KU Leuven and then did an additional Master in General Management at Vlerick Business School. After my studies, a traineeship gave me the chance to take on various roles at different companies in a short time. That way I could discover what I enjoyed and where I wanted to go next. After that experience, I was keen to broaden my knowledge in a new sector. I was then able to start at Brussels Airport Company as a PMO. That was a great experience in an extremely interesting sector. After 3 years, I felt the need for a new role, but the opportunities within the company were limited. That's when I thought consultancy might be a good career path for me, because of the variety and the growth opportunities. I started at a consultancy firm where I did some nice projects on process optimisation, but the internal culture suited me less. A former colleague who now works at Harmony contacted me, and that's how the ball started rolling.
How did your application process at Harmony go?
The application process at Harmony felt very pleasant, because it didn't feel like applying for a job but more like having nice conversations. There was a lot of emphasis on cultural fit. Because of that, I didn't feel much stress either. I spoke with Maarten, Cleo and Thomas, and the conversations were very relaxed. The more conversations I had, the more I noticed that I really wanted to start there. I also appreciated that Harmony took my availability into account for the start date. That way, I could finish my previous project with a good feeling and start at Harmony with a clean slate.
How did your first weeks at Harmony go?
I had my onboarding together with 2 other new colleagues, Anouck and Gert, which made it very enjoyable. I got a clear explanation of Harmony in general and of how Business Consultancy works internally. I met my coach straight away and got to know a lot of colleagues over lunch. That was my favourite part of the day. The next day I started right away on a project at Arag. I was lucky to be able to work on the project with 3 Harmony colleagues, which made the onboarding at the client very smooth and natural too. The handover happened without much stress and at a comfortable pace, because I was allowed to take my time. It was a lot of information, but thanks to good guidance from my colleagues I picked it up quickly. Once I had a better grip on the project, I could also take the time to take on more responsibilities within Harmony. That way I keep the connection with my Harmony colleagues.
What is the project about?
I was able to start at ARAG, a legal expenses insurer, as a Proxy Product Owner. The project is about completely replacing their current back office systems (claims and contract management applications), on which their entire operation is based, from drawing up quotes and contracts to handling claims. Replacing such critical applications obviously doesn't happen overnight, so it's a complex, long-term project. To replace the old tool with a new one, all processes, flows, integrations with other systems and so on have to be mapped out. As Proxy Product Owner, I'm responsible for the content, together with the other Product Owners on the project. Each Product Owner is responsible for part of the process and acts as the go-between for the business and IT. What sets my role apart from that of a "regular" Product Owner is that, on top of that, I have to keep an overview of the interactions between the different topics and processes being delivered.
The project is run in an agile way, so we have a delivery every 3 weeks. I find that a very nice way to work, because you immediately see the result of what you've been working on; it becomes tangible. Plus, there are 5 Harmonians working on the project, which is of course great fun!
How do you look back on the past 6 months at Harmony?
I'm 100% convinced I made the right decision to take the leap to Harmony. There's a good balance between seeing each other regularly, working at the client and working from home. Every time we see each other, there's a great atmosphere. You notice that everyone has the same mindset: we're driven and social, but we also value family and life outside work. That's how I see life too: work is fun, but it doesn't define your whole life. The human aspect at Harmony is also very strong, and I like that.
Thanks to this human approach, I was able to grow quickly in my project. Because I was given enough time to learn, I felt little stress and could focus on my learning process. So I've grown a lot in the past few months, and I'm quite proud of that. Thanks to the good guidance from Thomas and Harmony, I'm where I am today. I would never have thought that on the first day of my new project.
How would you describe Harmony's culture?
The informal atmosphere and flat structure at Harmony made me feel at home right away. I would describe Harmony's culture above all as human, informal and jovial. Involvement is encouraged. Nobody pushes us, but we all want to keep in touch with our colleagues and do fun things together. There are regular afterworks and a team building activity every 2 months, we're taking part in the Hercules Trophy soon and we're even going away for a weekend together in the autumn!
What would you say to people who are hesitating about joining Harmony?
It's important that people think carefully about what matters to them in life. For me, that's drive for the job, but also the flexibility to still have a life outside work as a consultant. That informal FUN culture at Harmony is a real asset. On top of that, Harmony simply has projects with very interesting content, in different sectors, which offers a lot of perspective and opportunities.
Give it a try, because it may sound 'too good to be true', but it isn't: it's real! If it feels right, go for it, because it really is true.
Would you like to work as a Management Consultant, just like Kirsten? Take a look here and join our team!
