Elaine’s life @GBG
Congratulations on your GBG anniversary!
Yes, I recently celebrated my tenth anniversary with the business! Over that decade, I’ve worked as a finance business partner with leaders across the company.
I provide financial insight and analysis, financial modelling for commercial bids and business investment, as well as forecasting, budgeting and reviewing actual performance. I think of myself as a facilitator, making things happen between teams in the sales process – driving business decisions through to financial results.
What makes your workday?
I enjoy the autonomy I am given in my role and the sense of ownership and responsibility, and I also love how varied my work can be.
I was recently on screen as one of the presenters of GBG Kickoff FY23, an all-company event showcasing the year ahead. While it was nerve-racking to be presenting in front of an audience of about 600 people, it was amazing to see the work that goes on behind the scenes and I was proud to be speaking about the importance of what we do, building trust in a digital world, and how we value the trust of our customers, team members and Investors. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and was great personal development for me.
“The way I see it, we stop the bad things and help the good things happen online. And that’s what makes me proud to work for GBG.”
Elaine with proud mum and dad in Malaysia, with the Commercial Finance team and participating with them on the GBG Challenge last year and on top of the world at Mount Fuji, Japan
Are you proud of what we do?
Absolutely. So much of what people do now is online and everything we do at GBG is about building trust in the digital world we live in. We might not be visible when you’re logging into your account or buying something online, but our solutions are working behind the scenes, making sure that no one but you is using your identity, for example, or that your order will be delivered to the right address. The way I see it, we stop the bad things and help the good things happen online. And that’s what makes me proud to work for GBG.
I was proud to be a GBG Sales Incentive Award winner this year, too. The awards go to our top sales performers across the Group for their amazing achievements, but non-sales team members are recognised too. It’s great that GBG rewards team members for their hard work and achievements – it feels like the work you put in has not gone unnoticed. It was a lovely surprise to receive an award.
“Being able to set my own working hours and be flexible during the day really works for me, helping to meet work and family responsibilities.”
Do you work ‘When and Where you Want?
I have to admit, I haven’t taken full advantage of GBG’s ‘Work When and Where You Want’ scheme yet – if only I had a holiday home abroad to escape to!
I definitely will make good use of this as I have family all over the world. My parents live in Malaysia, my brother lives in Japan and we have other family members spread across Australia and Singapore – the last time we got together was in 2020 just before we went into lockdown.
Getting our holidays coordinated so everyone is in one country is challenging with different work commitments, so the Work When and Where You Want policy will really help to spend family time together now that border restrictions are starting to lift.
What about work scheduling flexibility?
Yes, this is essential for me as I have two young children and like a lot of parents, juggling work, deadlines and the children’s after-school activities is always a challenge. Recently, we’ve had home renovation work on top of these normal activities, so I was also packing up the house to move out for a month and managing contractors!
We’re still not finished but we’re getting there. Being able to set my own working hours and be flexible during the day really works for me, helping to meet work and family responsibilities.