Lance Bruner, director
In 2021, Perficient continued launching new resource groups for colleagues to find connections and community while building their skills. In addition to the Giving ERG and Agile Community, Lance Bruner, director, took the reigns to formalize a group that had been providing information on consulting best practices to our localized GEO teams so that more people could participate and enjoy learning and sharing content.
This initiative directly supports our People Promise by providing a safe platform for our people to present and share their knowledge. Additionally, it also provides a continuous learning opportunity that can help us challenge and champion each other and aligns with a number of our values, especially around people and collaboration.
We sat down with him to learn a little more about how the Knowledge Sharing Community supports Perficient colleagues.
Describe the Knowledge Sharing Community.
The Knowledge Sharing Community of Practice is an initiative across all Perficient that is oriented on knowledge-sharing of functional skills and technical skills to provide a community for collaboration and skill growth. Initially, this is taking the form of monthly knowledge share sessions that will typically be held on the last Thursday of every month. We will be recording these sessions and they are housed on Perficient Academy for future reuse.
What events can people expect in this community?
Most recently, we hosted a panel discussion on “Scoping & Estimation” hosted by Joseph Willet, key account director leading all Perficient’s engagements for GM Financial and previously a director of experience design. He facilitated a panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A with Perficient subject matter experts to explore the topic of scoping and estimation across business units. The panel explored best practices, common challenges, and potential solutions for improving individual and cross-business unit estimation and scoping. It was really interesting because Joseph has a proven track record for combining client vision with delivery strategy to turn ideas into action across multiple Perficient capabilities including strategy, product management, experience design, development, and marketing.
Who is this community for?
Anyone who is interested in understanding best practices and ways to work with other business units on how projects are scoped and estimated. It’s especially helpful for team members who are involved or interested in scoping new engagements.
What excites you about being a part of this volunteer community?
It’s been exciting to get to know so many people outside of my project and BU that are passionate about helping each other build up our collective skills. I’ve also learned a lot on topics that I didn’t know much about before attending the sessions, such as web exploitation.
What do you think people will get out of the Knowledge Sharing experience?
There are multiple ways we want our colleagues to get value out of this initiative.
Although a big part of the initiative is focused on the monthly knowledge sharing sessions via a presenter, an equally important focus is on the group discussion and community building aspect of those sessions, so that we can all get to know our colleagues outside of our BU’s and outside of our projects.
As a presenter, it’s an opportunity to refine your presentation skills in a safe environment, share and disseminate knowledge on a topic you’re passionate about, and increase your brand recognition within the Perficient community as a Subject Matter Expert on the topic.
As a participant, colleagues get the opportunity to learn about functional and technical topics that can expand their skillset. They get to meet and collaborate with Perficient colleagues across a variety of business units and really understand who in Perficient has subject matter expertise on certain topics, so they can follow up with those colleagues if further training or help in those areas is needed.
What have you personally gotten out of it?
For me, personally, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to get to know colleagues from across Perficient on the steering committee that are passionate about the idea of knowledge-sharing. Also, it’s been amazing to see the depth of knowledge and curiosity our colleagues have. It’s humbling to see how incredibly talented and willing to contribute our team has been.
Across our 6,000 + colleagues, we have so much great experience and knowledge that we’ve gained throughout our careers, it’s important that we have a platform to leverage and spread that knowledge to our colleagues so that we all collectively build each other up and expand our skills together.
KEEP READING: Learn more about Perficient’s knowledge management expertise
Perficient Provides Tools and Support for All Colleagues
It’s easy to see Lance has brought together top thought leaders across the company to find new ways to support other colleagues, something important to a global and growing organization like Perficient. When you come to work at Perficient, there are always tools to support your journey and people willing to help.
SEE MORE: About Perficient supporting colleagues at all stages of their career journey
At Perficient, we continually look for ways to champion and challenge our talented workforce with interesting projects for high-profile clients, encourage personal and professional growth through training and mentoring, and celebrate our people-oriented culture and the innovative ways they serve Perficient and the community.
Visit our Careers page to see career opportunities and more!
Go inside Life at Perficient and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
