Swimming in career choices

Author: Jennifer Chandler

Photographer: All images used with permission

With a career that’s spanned multiple industries, Michael Ciavarella has found that a double degree in information technology (IT), and business (human resource management) can take you just about anywhere.

To many, an interest in working with people and technology would seem like two diverse career paths, but Michael Ciavarella has spent his life working with both.

“I love working with teams and being able to influence the overall growth of each individual,” Michael said. Having led many high performing teams in multiple industries, he attributes many of the foundational skills to his learning at ACU.

“Before ACU I was actually at another university studying computer science. It was very focused on the technical elements of computing which I enjoyed but was missing the people side of things. ACU provided me with an opportunity to continually learn the technical aspects but also gain hands on work experience and community engagement exposure which helped me get my foot in the door when I graduated.”

The human side of technology

“During my course I really enjoyed combining the technical learning with the human focus. Keeping people at the centre of technology is critical.

“Not too long ago, it was common for organisations to build software, release it and only then gain feedback from customers. The landscape surrounding this and technology is changing so frequently and consumers of today have very high expectations. Organisations who don’t live up to what customers are expecting will struggle to exist, so you need to have your customers involved from the beginning and take a strategic view.

“The model I employ is to talk to customers first, before touching a keyboard. It’s as simple as bringing a notepad and pencil, gain their perspective and feedback on an idea and learn from them. I make a conscious decision to co-create with customers, ensuring they are involved the whole way through the process.”

For Michael, human-centred technology skills have opened doors across many different industries and in many different roles. He has worked in HR, innovation, ecommerce, digital transformation, data and analytics, change management and is now General Manager of Technology at Swimming Australia.

A career without limits

Michael has had a rich career, following different paths to build up a wealth of experience across may different skill sets.

“I started my career in HR at Honda, where I was given the ability to streamline processes, build several HR systems and roll them out company-wide. After a couple of years, I shifted into ecommerce working with the entire Honda dealer network on digital applications.

“I then went to Manheim, an organisation selling second-hand vehicles through auctions. I had a key role in transforming a physical auction business into an online one. Some of the products created were the first in the country and across the globe.

“From there I went to Telstra. They were commencing their digital transformation. We were looking at ways to remove customer pain and drive customer advocacy. I worked across several roles during my time, including General Manager of Personalisation and Marketing. It was my role to transform our customer experience, ensuring that regardless of the channel our customer engaged with us via, the experience was connected and contextual.

“I was then approached to head up innovation at Target. Retail was very different to telecommunications. We were operating on much smaller budgets and needed to move as fast as possible in a competitive industry. The work I drove was about experimentation, testing and learning, human-centred design and organisational change management. It was a great learning ground for retail, a time where consumers were shifting from physical stores to online exploration and shopping.

“Recently I’ve joined Swimming Australia which is fantastic as I’ve always been passionate about sport. I lead all the technology here which is exciting, but the best part is working with a great team and driving a culture that will enable growth and success for the future.”

Michael’s experience across many different industries is one of his greatest strengths, “Changing industries means I’m constantly learning. It also means I can bring a different perspective, seek to understand what customers are looking for and drive organisational change. Customers don’t necessarily have a bias on what industry you’re in, or the channel they select to engage with you via. They simply expect a great service. If you don’t provide a great service, your competition will.”

Michael says it’s when you combine technology with a genuine interest in your customer that you can provide a leading service – whether you’re a retailer, telco, sporting organisation or have a large or small budget.

“I’m a firm believer of continuous improvement rather than perfection. By the time you get to perfection, the landscape has changed. I prefer an improvement of 1% every week, which means we are 52% better every year.

“Creating high performing teams is about continuous improvement, growth, diverse skillsets, integrity and for each team member to know the mechanics of complementing each other.

I feel pretty blessed with the study choices I've made, the mentoring and leadership I've been the recipient of and the field that I'm in. There's no shortages of opportunities, excitement and challenges.

Interested in a career in Information Technology? Explore IT at ACU.