Working in both the Netherlands and Suriname: Diana shares her experiences

From Senior Consultant to Operational Manager at the Oracle APEX department: Diana’s work life has been very diverse. As Operational Manager, she supervised projects at the Oracle APEX department, analyzed the customer’s needs, and worked frequently with Oracle APEX, SQL, and PL/SQL. In 2017, she was appointed Delivery Manager, a leadership role with many responsibilities.

Diana tells us what it’s been like: “My role is very versatile. Of course, I still have my responsibilities within the Oracle APEX department. As a Delivery Manager, I make sure all the projects are completed on time, within budget, and meet the quality standard. In addition, I coach my colleagues on a technical level. They can always come to me with their programming questions. I like to help them wherever I can.”

Coaching colleagues

Self-development and sharing knowledge with each other is important at Qualogy. As a Delivery Manager, Diana plays a key role in this. She explains: “I supervise and train my colleagues in the base concepts of APEX, SQL, and PL/SQL. With exercises, assignments, and cases, I teach them more about these programming languages. Every two weeks, I test their knowledge. My end goal? To make them ready to obtain their certifications, so they can work independently on projects.”

The best part of her job?

Coaching employees is one of the best parts of Diana’s job. She explains: “Coaching makes my job even more fun. I love to contribute to my colleagues’ grow. When I see them doing well, it makes me happy too. The connections with my Dutch colleagues make this job extra special.”

Let’s go to the Netherlands

As Delivery Manager, Diana is also involved in a big project for a Dutch client: A.S. Watson. Aside from consultants in the Netherlands, a team from Qualogy Caribbean is also deployed. This team is under Diana’s supervision. Her activities mostly take place offshore, but Diana has flown to the Netherlands a couple of times to work for A.S. Watson on location.

What was it like? “It was an amazing experience. The work itself is very challenging, but I like that. I rolled up my sleeves and set to work. And the Netherlands is a beautiful country. Especially the temperature made me happy. During my lunch break, I often went for a walk with my colleagues. You simply cannot do that in Suriname. You would return to work all sweaty!”

Positive experience

Her work visits to the Netherlands also encouraged the team spirit. Diana says: “My Dutch colleagues are so nice and patient. They were always prepared to help me if I had any questions. And during our lunch breaks, we got to know each other better. Because of these work visits, I learned a lot about the Dutch (work) culture. And I also learned how the business processes run, which helps me with my current role. As you can hear, my visits were very valuable.”

Are you visiting again soon?

Diana: “I hope so! Because of the corona crisis, international travel is currently not possible. But working remotely from Suriname goes well. I keep in touch with my Dutch colleagues via Microsoft Teams. There is approximately a 4-hour time difference between Suriname and the Netherlands, which is very favorable. Not just for us, but also for our clients. They profit from an extended service desk. When the workday is done in The Netherlands, we still work for a few more hours, at the regular rate.”

Want to know more?

Curious about the job opportunities at Qualogy Caribbean? Great! Take a look at our vacancies. Or send an open job application to: info_caribbean@qualogy.com. We would love to tell you more.