How’s your industry doing these days?
From my perspective, our industry (IT Support and Development) is experiencing tremendous growth. You may have heard of several players that are either planning to come in or have already established operations in the country. For our company alone, we have grown from 30 employees to about 250 in 3 years.
What are the challenges facing your industry right now?
Finding experienced resources, retention and remaining cost effective are some of the challenges we face.
How do you respond to the challenge?
We respond to this challenge in several ways: by providing our staff a visible career path, the means to achieve their goals via training and exposure and by ensuring that we manage our knowledge capital as effectively as possible.
How do you address this challenge?
We are taking initiatives that will shatter the notion
[that gaming is just for kids]. We are focusing
on bringing content that appeals to all demographics, especially
females who are currently a small minority in online gaming.
What is your main concern right now?
One of our main concerns is the availability of certain types of technology expertise in the market to sustain growth. Another potential concern is the need to ensure that the industry continues to maintain its cost advantage.
Please tell us about your career path.
At this point, I am really not focusing on position or role. I am more interested on the types of things that I am involved in. My task right now is to enable our teams to continue delivering outstanding service to Safeway as well as to chart the course to get us to the next level.
What is your most fulfilling career experience so far?
I experience this everyday as I work with our committed and passionate team. Being able to share my experience to help people do their jobs better is among the most fulfilling aspects of my job.
How would you describe your management style?
I attempt to equip my team with the necessary tools, skills and exposure that they need to do their jobs. Then I get out of the way! I am there to support and facilitate them, but I give them the ability to define their own working style and approach - within certain parameters of course.
What are your plans for the foreseeable future?
I am focused on getting our team to the next level in terms of delivery in better value to our company. This does not necessarily mean growth in headcount, although this will most likely happen, but more importantly in terms of the function and activities we will be involved in.
How do you remain competitive as a leader in the industry?
I try to keep up to speed on latest developments in technology, management and business in general. I also learn as much as I can from colleagues – there is a wealth of experience and knowledge out there and I have found that people are willing and eager to share their experiences.
What advice can you give to the young professionals who want to be managers and directors?
I suggest that they make an informed decision about pursuing this career path. They need to be sure that they want to be managers and directors for the right reasons. I suggest that they talk to as many experienced managers and directors as they can – find out what it’s really like, its challenges, and what fulfillment can be derived out of the role. Once they have made an informed decision, then they should go all out and go for it.
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