and Roam Africa at large. I was previously a customer success manager at an integrated CX organisation, and before that I was in sales. I lead a team that supports customers in their journey with Brighter Monday. Customer experience strategy formulation and implementation falls in my docket.
What lessons have you learned through the experiences?
My team and I are constantly putting the ‘voice of the customer’ first. We’re listening across channels. We’re soliciting feedback directly and indirectly from both internal and external customers. The answers and ‘silver bullets’ are in feedback. We’ve learnt to huddle together in agile cross-functional customer rooms, where we resolve customer issues and implement solutions based on our deep-dive sessions. It’s a continuous learning process. We celebrate customer centricity.
How is Brighter Monday fairing amongst its competition?
Brighter Monday is resiliently supporting its customers, especially during these Covid-19 times. We had a ‘Unity In Adversity’ campaign from April to November of 2020, where we gave organisations access to advertise their vacancies at no cost. From then on, we’ve accorded a hands-on approach to enabling our customers to utilise the Applicant Tracking System in positioning themselves as employers. The job market is an ecosystem where the best-fit talent who optimise their profiles are visible to employers; and so, we are continuously fuelling the supply and demand of talent in East and West Africa alongside Job berman, as part of the Roam Jobs vertical.
Which careers are currently in demand locally?
The current job market is strained. We have entire sectors that are near collapse, and have had to shift their core business to supporting the essential services sectors. The careers in demand have pivoted towards technology and tech-supported innovations and partnerships. Fintech, EduTech and Health Tech definitely take the lion’s share. And so information technology professionals, data scientists, business analysts, business development professionals, digital marketers, medics and customer service roles are most in demand.
Are skill-based careers getting the employers’ attention, and do we have enough skilled people?
Yes, skill-based careers are a specification for employers. We’re now seeing employers utilise the Skills Assessment tool that Brighter Monday provides. We have customers who identify talent fit based on the assessment performance, married on to the shortlisting process. Yes we do have the talent pool. We’ve observed a trend where candidates have training and academic qualifications, but face a challenge in demonstrating their acquired skills.
Most will ignore mentioning their transferable skills, yet this is what employers are really looking out for.
According to an International Development Research Centre study, Africa has already lost one third of its human capital and is continuing to lose its skilled
