"Even after fifteen years, you never stop learning"

Marlon van der Scheer has been a fixture in the Conclusion MBS team for fifteen years. Over the years, she has seen the company grow and develop, but one thing has remained unchanged: her passion for structure and organisation. She once started in central resource planning and has been working as a Project Management Officer (PMO) for six years now. A role that fits her like a glove.

Administrative pivot

In her PMO position, Marlon is the administrative linchpin in all ongoing projects within Conclusion MBS. Together with a colleague, she monitors the overview and maintains projects in a broad sense. "We ensure that new projects are in our system, with the right colleagues linked to them so that they can register their hours," says Marlon. "At the end of the month, I check these hours and take care of the invoicing." The planning is also Marlon's responsibility. "In our planning tool, I oversee who is available or overbooked. This way we avoid getting into trouble with our time."

Close to the people

As a PMO, Marlon automatically has a lot of contact with colleagues. "It's a very central function," she explains. "I consult a lot with project managers, but also with other colleagues about their hours and projects. Do they have any questions about that? Then they come to me." No day is the same. "It is super varied work. I can safely plan my tasks ahead at the beginning of the day, but there are always good questions from colleagues in between."

It is precisely this variety and direct contact with colleagues that appeals to Marlon so much in her role. This became even more clear when she temporarily switched to the finance department. "There I saw the financial side of planning and projects. I thought this part of the process would be fun to experience. But I missed supporting colleagues, thinking along, switching and planning. That's why I'm back as a PMO after a year and a half. That suits me better."

A day at the customer

Yet Marlon is still curious about the customer side of her work. "If I could swap a day with someone, it would certainly be with a consultant," she says. "I mainly work internally and have little customer contact. Consultants, on the other hand, sit at the table with the customer. Together with them, they build IT solutions and implementations and see how an initial workshop on current processes and requirements eventually leads to a go-live. I think that would be valuable and interesting to experience."

Never stop learning

Marlon has not lost the eagerness to learn after fifteen years. "You would think that you have seen everything by now. But it's really nice to notice that I'm still learning new things. For example, over the years we have had various processes and systems, which I not only had to find a way around, but also set it up in a smarter way. For example, in an earlier switch to a new planning tool, I was involved in testing and fine-tuning the system. So that everything is in place before colleagues start working with it."

To get even more out of the planning, a training course on reporting is planned soon. "Hours, planning, the commitment of colleagues – add it all together cleverly and you have a strong forecast," says Marlon. "This is essential for our company to be able to estimate whether we will still have room for additional projects in two months' time. I'm going to delve deeper into that. So you see: you never stop learning."

People make the work

Marlon sees the space to continue learning and growing as a big plus of working at Conclusion MBS."As long as you do what you have to do, you can largely organize your day yourself. If you take responsibility, you get freedom and trust in return." But what makes her work really valuable are the colleagues around her. "They make my day," she explains. "We now have a relatively new team of project managers and that provides fresh energy and new ideas. It keeps the work dynamic and inspiring – even after fifteen years."