Suncorp has heaped praise on its Technology and Transformation Principal Business Analyst Tony Phillips, who celebrates his 50th year at the company.

Mr Phillips, who began at the then government-owned GIO in the early 1970s before Suncorp’s purchase in 2001, reflects on the transformation in his time that saw a shift from manual to automated processes.

“We had no computer screens so to get policy details, you would have to fill out a piece of paper and tick a box saying what you wanted from the computer, the typists would enter it all in and the next day you would get a printed sheet of the person’s policy,” Mr Phillips said.

“You would then change the bits you wanted to update, send it back and the process would be repeated.

“To change a person’s postal address would take a minimum of four days.

“We eventually got one computer screen in 1979 for a team of 12 people. By the early ’80s we had the postal address change to a one-day overnight change.”

He says he has always seen technology as a critical piece towards increasing productivity, with advancements in the 1980s allowing him and his team to greatly fast-track Suncorp’s operations.

“My focus is customer service,” Mr Phillips said, “My customers are Suncorp’s people who use the computer systems I support.

“My role in technology is to provide assistance that lets the business get on with doing business and if something’s broken we’ve got to fix it quickly.”

Mr Phillips says he’s always been more interested in a “hands-on experience” and is “quite happy to be at the coalface providing service to customers”.

“You find your own balance over time, what you’re good at,” he said.

“It’s not stepping up the ladder, it’s finding where you can contribute the most, finding your niche and where you can add value.

“I’ve enjoyed the work providing my customers with a good level of service. It’s been challenging but rewarding.”