bloom: Barbara Delchambre
Barbara has been an SAP consultant at Flexso for six years. She works as a business analyst in the Business Transformation team. It's the ideal job for someone with an analytical brain 🧠 AND 🫶 passion to inspire people and bring them into change. Barbara does it with as much perseverance as the marathons she runs. A driven mind in a healthy body. 🧠🏃🏽♀️🫶
Many interests, as many talents
When she started at Flexso, Barbara had little experience in tech. "I did hotel school in high school. Afterwards, I took a year of ballet pedagogy, then a semester of IT and finally I chose secretarial languages. I have always had many different interests and I wanted a taste of all of them. In the end, languages in particular turned out to be my thing, hence my final choice. So I have a bachelor's degree in Office Management, as that direction is called nowadays, and in my early years at Flexso I obtained another postgraduate degree in Business Analysis."
Very diverse training! How did you end up working at SAP?
"After my studies, I did a number of customer service jobs. I was still searching a bit and was left feeling a little hungry. Eventually I found a job that challenged my analytical ability and I immediately felt better about it. That was at Olympus, known for its cameras. I worked there for fifteen years in the Medical Systems department in the Aftersales department. Among other things, I was key user for the ERP system and I found that very fascinating. Analyzing processes and trying to improve or make them more efficient was something I enjoyed doing. In Japan, where the head office was, they used SAP as their ERP system and when Olympus Europe switched to the same business software, I was allowed to supervise the roll-out for our department in Belgium. Really great fun! I loved SAP. It suddenly became clear that I wanted to continue with that and then I made the decision to take a totally different direction in my career, 100% towards SAP. I started applying and quickly ended up at Flexso. The no-nonsense philosophy and flat structure were a breath of fresh air for me. Fortunately, the interest was mutual. My experience as a key user played in my favor, but above all my motivation convinced them. I super wanted the job! That's how I ended up at Flexso as an SAP consultant."
"Above all, my motivation convinced them. I wanted the job super badly!"
What attracts you so much to SAP?
"I think partly the complexity, but mostly the comprehensiveness. There are so many possibilities for companies to set up their processes in SAP! I find it infinitely interesting to figure out with the customer how processes run. Why do we do it this way? Do we really need this? Can we do it better and how?"
A business analyst forms the bridge between IT and the business. Have you grown in that role in recent years?
I really feel like I have "landed" on the professional level, even though I am still learning every day. I recently started describing myself on LinkedIn as a Process Improvement Enthusiast & Adoption Motivator. That expresses exactly what fascinates me. Immersing myself in processes and convincing people of the added value of change. For me, that is the ideal combination. It feeds my analytical mind and at the same time I am busy with the human side of change management. Since I started at Flexso, I have been working in the Procurement department of one particular client. There I am constantly looking for the added value of automating or not automating certain processes. It is my responsibility to question the requests from the business and say no if a desired change does not add enough value. I translate the approved requests to the IT people who customize the systems. Clear communication is very important in my job."
"Clear communication is very important in my job. I translate business requests to IT developers."
Exercise as relaxation
Barbara feels at home at Flexso. "The many team activities make it extra nice to work for this company. Playing sports together, for example, is super fun for me because I love sports. As a child I did ballet, I also really like winter sports and in 2016 I ran my first marathon in New York. That was a unique experience! Since then I've had a taste for it."
And now you run marathons with colleagues?
"Indeed. Three years ago, someone here had the bright idea of running a marathon in the Alps ⛰️. 'Are you crazy?" was my first response, but we signed up anyway with an enthusiastic group of colleagues. We were screened and properly supervised, given a personal training schedule, and then came corona. With a year's delay - which actually suited me fine - we left for Austria in 2021 for a beautiful, intense marathon in the mountains. Unforgettable! And very conducive to the team atmosphere. Sporting together is very much encouraged within The Cronos Group ( of which Flexso is a part, nvdr.) and I am happy about that. Relaxation through physical exertion, it works for me. It allows me to clear my head. Sometimes the solutions then present themselves automatically."
"While exercising, I can clear my head. Sometimes the solutions then present themselves by themselves."
"What is still important in your life?
"The balance between a healthy mind and a healthy body keeps me very busy. I practiced yoga for a long time and that's how I came into contact with macrobiotics(Nutrition and health theory based on ideas from Zen Buddhism,vdr.). That's a whole other world really, with knowledge you otherwise have no access to. I find it particularly inspiring when it comes to nutrition. In 2006 my mother died of cancer. Partly because of that, I started to study the effect of nutrition on my health. I'm not a teetotaler, which is a bit difficult as a bon vivant, but I do try to make better food choices. It's a kind of mind switch that doesn't come naturally and takes time, but that I get a lot of satisfaction from."
Inspire others
"It's nice to inspire people, just by showing how things can be done differently," Barbara continues. "Maybe subconsciously that's a common thread in who I am. Motivating and enthusing people, that's what makes me happy. I've also been committed to Fight Against Cancer for years. It's a commitment that is close to my heart and that I love to share with others."
"It's nice to inspire people, just by showing how things can be done differently."
Is there anything else you are proud of?
"On a professional level, I am quite proud of my radical career switch, towards SAP and business analysis. That was not as easy as it may seem now. I honestly didn't expect anyone to hire me because I had little concrete experience. But lo and behold, it worked out and I'm still at Flexso. I did work hard for that, took additional training, constantly looked for additional knowledge. I want to do my job well and learn a lot. Being on the way to a goal, big or small, every day, that makes me happy."
What are you secretly still dreaming about?
"Can I go wild for a moment? I would love to give a TED talk someday! For several years now, I have enjoyed being in front of an audience. I would really like to learn to present better, with that big dream as my goal. By practicing a lot, it should work, right? Now to come up with a topic 😊."
Barbara feels at home at Flexso. Also triggered to a place where you can be completely yourself? Get to know Flexso!
