Darren Nickels

Describe what a typical day at work looks like for you

Typical day starts with emails! Over breakfast I’ll be checking them to see if there is anything I need to be aware of for the day ahead, or any new information I need to share with the team. When I get to the office my first port of call is always with our IT helpdesk – this is a real barometer of where we are with our customers at any given time and so is an area I like to keep in constant contact with. After that, my office door is always open – so that leads to plenty of conversations and improvement ideas appearing every day! On any given day I can be meeting with people at any level of the organisation, and so things never really stop. And I also get the opportunity to go out and meet with our customers on a regular basis. This is something I actively encourage for everyone here, and that’s no different for myself – taking the time to understand your customer’s business and their needs and priorities is vital for shaping the future strategy through my own role.

Who and what are you responsible for?

I am responsible for all the day to day operations of the Henderson Group’s retail IT company, Henderson Technology. From software development and IT help desk support, to hardware installation and training, we cover it all! We have a team of 50 great people at Henderson Technology, all here to deliver a first class service to our retail customers. My job is to ensure our team has the vision to create and deliver new and exciting technologies which will keep our retail stores ahead of the competition, while ensuring the teams in our stores are supported fully to be able to use all this technology in a simple way every day. No mean feat, and couldn’t be delivered without a strong and focused team.

How does your team fits into Henderson Group?

IT is at the heart of everything, and this is especially true in retail – ensuring products are on the shelves, to providing fast and efficient service in store, IT is the enabler behind virtually everything you see. Henderson Technology’s role within Henderson Group is to create and deliver these technologies for our customers, while at the same time meeting the needs and strategies of the Group as a whole. This means we interface with virtually every department in the company, and need to have a good understanding of how the company as a whole operates. The flip side of this is that we have a duty to explain how IT can help with strategies, and how we can assist the company to continue to grow, so we always have the opportunity to help shape the future too.

What are the best bits about your job?

This is the point where everyone says “variety” – and I’m not going to be any different! I have a real passion for retail, and having the opportunity to work in a role where I can help shape the store environment ticks so many boxes for me. The ethos and environment in which I work also gives me great satisfaction – we have enough space to explore new ideas, and the backing of a company and a board that actively encourages us to do just that. Backing all of this up though is the people I’ve been lucky enough to work with. This is my 19^th year with the company, and have been part of the company growing and been able to grow with it, and at every point have been surrounded by creative, passionate and supportive people at all levels of the organisation.

Best bits about your company (Henderson Technology)?

Henderson Technology truly is like a family – and it’s a living breathing thing that everyone here is fully engaged in making better by everything we do. We’re so lucky to have a really settled team with lots of people here longer than 10 years, and all of us have the opportunity to help shape and build the company as we go forward. So the best bit about Henderson Technology? That everyone here feels like it’s their own company! Having the room to develop as a person in a creative, exciting – and challenging environment is a rare thing to find.

What is the best thing about your team?

People and passion. IT can be so creative and exciting, but it can also have its challenges when things don’t go exactly as planned. Without a team of people around me who care about what we do, we wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful as we are today. It’s when you get those ‘hiccups’ along the way that you see how far people will go to help and get things resolved, and in my team that never ceases to amaze me.

What attracted you to Henderson Group?

It was a local company and a place where even from the outside looking in, I could relate to their goals. After studying retail at university, I knew that was the industry that I wanted to be a part of, and getting the opportunity to combine that with my problem solving nature in the world of IT was a perfect fit. I knew from the first interview that the people I would be getting the chance to work with were ideal – supportive, friendly and passionate, so when the call came to say I’d been offered my first job with Hendersons working on the IT helpdesk, I jumped at it.

When not working, what can you be found doing?

I have young two daughters, and so as many people will understand a lot of my time at home revolves around them – whether it be swimming, hockey or piano lessons, the list is endless! My big passion is travel, near or far, my job has given me the opportunity to visit every continent on the globe bar the Arctic’s and alongside that on any given weekend you will probably find me and my family out of the house and usually somewhere along the North Antrim coast – as good as any exotic place I’ve ever visited!