David Falkner

Job title: Fault Volume Reduction Lead
Business Unit: BT Wholesale
Joined:  January 2004

I joined BT on the Fast Track leadership scheme in January 2004 and the progress since then has been incredible. I started out implementing various change initiatives within our customer service teams and, within three months, I was asked to head up a £44m service relationship with a major Mobile Network Operator.  I then went on to head up the team designing and implementing an end-to-end fault forecasting process for Wholesale, and am now using that work to contribute to a programme which will cut 30% of core network faults from our business by March 2007.

There's an increasing sense of urgency wherever you look in BT. I think the level of competition within the industry has perhaps made this inevitable, but working for a former monopoly which now regularly wins awards for innovation and vision makes for some pretty exciting times.

Day to day, I try and ensure I'm out with my teams and customers as often as possible so I can really understand the issues they're facing. This makes for a fair amount of travel but the pay-off is that the job is hugely varied.  There is a lot of senior exposure, with associated pressure to get key facts right first time, but also a genuine chance to influence major decisions.
 
If you build a strong reputation, and deliver consistent results, there is a constant stream of new initiatives that you can get involved in.  It means there is never a dull moment, but equally means you need to be able to prioritise appropriately on the bits where you feel you can add the most value.

Learn more about what's it's really like to work for BT.