Released On 25 February 2021
Cityparents welcomes Shane Dixon, our 25,000th member
We are thrilled to welcome Shane Dixon, an Operations Excellence Assistant Claims Manager at QBE Insurance to Cityparents. Shane is the 25,000th member to join our network and he is kind enough to tell us about himself, his work / life balance and what he hopes to get out of his Cityparents membership.
CP: Please could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your career background?
SD: Firstly I am a married father of one boy who is the life and soul of our household. I am a former professional DJ with ten years’ experience in the nightlife industry so music is a big passion of mine, I also enjoy travelling and seeing lots of new places inclusive of here in the UK especially the Lake district and Scotland amongst my favourites.
I am an experienced operations and continuous improvement specialist working closely with key business stakeholders to continuously improve day to day business processes and practice. I am currently Working within the Operational Excellence team at QBE, leading change & implementation of lean and continuous improvement solutions within several lines of business, part of this role includes identifying, designing and implementing Robotic Process Automation solutions to further add value to the current claims handling processes whilst ultimately creating a problem solving mentality within the wider workforce.
My career history is varied as I started my career working for one of the UK’s largest Bio-Diesel manufacturers as Group warehouse training/Lean Practitioner, I then moved in to manufacturing working for a Fortune 500 tool manufacturer which is where I really homed in on my lean application and strategic approach to delivering people and corporate change management solutions.
CP: How do you manage to balance your professional responsibilities with your home life?
SD: I feel I am very good at keeping a strict balance between work life and homelife, albeit a little more challenging in the current climate. One important aspect of work life balance from mine and my wife’s perspective is communication, discussing and scheduling correctly to ensure we both can carry out our demanding workloads. Being driven and goal orientated ensures I can deliver to the best of my ability. I also ensure on my lunch hour I go for a run or a steady walk to keep my mind and body healthy, the fresh air and scenic routes enable me to forget about the pressure of work and the hustle and bustle of a busy home life.
CP: Why did you decide to join Cityparents and what do you hope to gain from being a member?
SD: I have seen several emails from Cityparents containing numerous activities, ideas hints and tips and I was intrigued to learn more, I am a massive advocate for reading and learning and If I find one thing I can do differently by incorporating one of Cityparents' suggestions then I am benefiting from joining.
CP: The COVID-19 pandemic has blurred the lines between our family and professional lives more than ever. Do you see the role of fathers evolving in this context?
SD: Personally I am a very hands on father, myself and my wife have very demanding jobs so it has been critical to maintain the hands on approach. Over this past year to ensure we both stay saine, carry out and deliver in our roles as both parents and employees we have balanced our working days, taken time off when needed, taken long strolls in the park and local area. Allowing yourself to be available for your child(ren) is of pivotal importance as the younger generation are still learning to deal with pressure and stress, so for me spending time and playing and entertaining my son has been number one priority in ensuring he suffers no adverse effects of not going to school and or seeing his friends and family.
CP: Do you think this period will trigger longer term changes in corporate working life?
SD: Definitely, I think the larger companies will maintain offices however I think the workforce will become more agile by incorporating one or two days a week working from home. It has now been proven that companies can deliver from a remote working format. Smaller companies I feel could see this as an opportunity to downsize their offices and save on the costs of running said real estate.