Meet Cody Adams: Analyst 

“I am 22 years old and have always been a technically minded person. I enjoy learning new things. My interests are coding or anything computer-related as well as playing baseball in my spare time.”

What do you love most about your job?

I love the fast-paced working environment and that I learn something new almost every day which helps me to grow in my career. That, and the people I work with, makes me WANT to come to work every day.

How did you get into this position, and did you have any formal training or work experience?

I was working on one of our campaigns as a call centre agent when the MIBI team had announced they were opening up a CDP (Career Development Plan) initiative.  I had always wanted to do programming since school but I was not aware that it was part of the MIBI work stream. when I found out it was I jumped to apply, I was familiar with Python coding at the time but I had to learn SQL coding as part of the CDP program.  I got through the program and a position became available in the team, I applied for it, went through interviews and I was successful.

What challenges did you face along the way?

When I began studying the development program, I didn’t have internet at home. We were required to have certain online courses completed in order for us to even be eligible to apply for the program.  This was my biggest challenge as the only way I could get through the courses was if I come in before my shift or stay at work after my shift to study.  It was a tough few weeks but it was definitely worth it.

Does your company offer training for career advancement?

Yes they do

What career path options are available to you in this industry?

In this field it opens up many opportunities as long as you’re willing to put in the work.  I personally would like to venture into software and App development.  There are, however, many more paths to choose from such as Database Administrator, Data Scientist, Data Analytics, BI Analyst, etc.

Tell us about a typical day at work

On a typical day for me, I work an 8.5-hour day.  My objective is to automate as many of our manual processes as possible so that if somebody in my team was to not come to work, the show would still go on.  My colleagues are great to work with, we’ve all got a good relationship with each other and for the most part have good communication.  I try not to stress at work as it’s not a very productive state. As we all know, work can get pretty hectic sometimes, but when stresses run high in the cube we all buckle down and get things done.  We all work very well as a team.

Why would you recommend this industry to other young people?

I would recommend this industry to other young people because of the fast-paced working environment.  Changes can happen at any moment and you will need to adapt or sink so for me it teaches good work ethic and it’s good training on how to deal with high stress working environments.

What advice would you give others to deal with work challenges?

For me the most challenging part is time.  There is always something that needs to be done and there is not enough time in a day.  My advice is to find the best way for you as a person to manage your workload. Scope all projects realistically.  I have a list of things that needs to be done for the day and I systematically work through it.  This is important for me as at any moment someone can walk in and say: “hey I need this done”.  This can completely throw you off track, so I will scope the requirements of the task and I fit it into my list based on priority and provide the appropriate turnaround time.

What has been your proudest work moment in the BPO industry?

My proudest work moment would be the day I got employee of the month.  This was amazing because I was only in the team for 6 months and everybody thought that I worked hard enough to deserve this.

Do you have a role model or work mentor, and if so, how has he/she inspired and helped you to grow professionally?

Yes, my role model and mentor is my manager Raymond. When I started studying for the development program I had never even seen SQL, which is where we do most of our work on.  He taught and upskilled me, he is one of the reason’s I am as good as I am at what I do

How do you find balance between work and your private life?

My girlfriend actually works for WNS as well and we have our “How was your day?” discussions in the car on the drive home but once we get home we try not to talk about work.  Finding a balance between work and home is only difficult when you bring your stress home with you.  If you have things going on at work deal with it at work not when you should be enjoying life.

What is the NUMBER 1 tip that you have for young people considering a career in BPO ?

My number 1 tip would be to toughen up.  This is not the easiest of industries to work in but it is definitely character building. This industry is world-wide so if you work hard the benefits are endless.

Meet Ghadijah Du Toit: Sr Analyst MIBI at WNS SA (Pty) Ltd.

“I started with the WNS family in 2012 and held various roles from being an agent right through to a team leader. I have since moved into the data science team and absolutely love the environment. I lead across 6 international campaigns from a reporting front and find what I do extremely rewarding.”

What do you love most about your job?

Every single day holds new challenges and opportunities to learn. It has been just under a year since moving into the MI environment and not once have I left work without learning something new.

How did you get into this position, and did you have any formal training or work experience?

I started off on a developmental role within the cube and with a lot of perseverance and the willingness of everyone here to teach, I managed to land a permanent position as a Sr Analyst

What challenges did you face along the way?

Moving into the world of data science I had zero experience and needed to grasp an entire new world in a short period of time.

Does your company offer training for career advancement?

Yes, it does. I have gone through plenty of these opportunities

What career path options are available to you in this industry?

There are many from database developers, to reporting managers, analytics analysts, visualisation & dashboard experts, software designing, graphic designing

Tell us about a typical day at work

No day is ever the same. I work in a continuously changing environment, but this is required to ensure we always deliver the best outputs. The people I work with are simply phenomenal and well the stress and pressure is very different. I do think we are the most engaged department across WNS.

Would you recommend this industry to other young people?

It is challenging and opens a wide range of opportunities for you to grow in not only in your career but as a person.

What advice would you give others to deal with work challenges?

Take the leap. From the outside the data science team seemed to be a male-dominated environment and out of my reach. But we are now lead by a strong, ambitious, woman.  I am well on my way to growing into the position I set my sights on. Way beyond what I thought was possible 12 months ago!

What has been your proudest work moment in the BPO industry?

Publishing my first client dashboard.

Do you have a role model or work mentor, and if so, how has he/she inspired and helped you to grow professionally?

I do, he is the person I turn to when it seems the world does not understand me. He is also the person that took the leap of faith in me and always willing to push me further than I ever imagined.  He is the reason I have come this far in my career.

How do you find balance between work and your private life?

With great difficulty. Honestly, when the pressure is on I tend to work a little too much, but I have learned to draw the line.

What is the NUMBER 1 tip that you have for young people considering a career in BPO?

It is going to be challenging, it is going to be nothing like you have ever experienced before, but don’t give up.
The biggest leap is breaking into the industry, like everything else in life, you will need to work hard and be prepared to sacrifice to reach your goals and get to where you want to be within the organisation.