Born and raised in Hillcrest, near the city of Durban, Brandon Aitken has always known the potential of the region for global corporations to thrive. And in 2021, some 22 years after he left to pursue a career in the United Kingdom, the opening of Webhelp’s newest Durban-based operation makes a return to his home city a new highlight to his career.
“Durban has been one of the South African BPO (business process outsourcing) industry’s great secrets. Its youth have a strong reputation for high work ethic and great track record in customer service so it was inevitable that more international companies would establish themselves here,” said Webhelp South Africa’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). “For me, the move was personally significant; having grown up in Durban, but the city has also in recent years enjoyed tremendous growth in BPO, so it was a natural progression that we added Durban to our South Africa portfolio.”
andon has honed his skills working in the customer experience (CX) and BPO sector, leading international cross-functional teams to build outsourcing strategies over the past 20 years. As Webhelp’s CCO, he has helped drive business growth, with the organisation more than doubling its turnover since it launched in South Africa in 2014. Starting off with 1 400 employees at its Cape Town and Johannesburg offices, the organisation now has more than 4 000 employees and continues to add to its list of 18 international clients.
In October, Webhelp will officially launch its KZN operation at its uMhlanga-based office, introducing 300 new job opportunities for Customer Service Advisors looking to work in an international organisation that puts its people first. The timing is particularly welcome in a country desperate for jobs, following the release of Bloomberg’s survey which tracks employment rates across 82 countries. South Africa currently has the highest rate of unemployment, having risen to 34.4% in the second quarter from 32.6%, with youth accounting for just under 50% of the workforce.
Brandon said he has a passion for driving inclusive youth employment in South Africa, and as Webhelp establishes its Durban operations, its focus is on sourcing candidates from previously disadvantaged communities will be prioritised through the organisation’s effective impact sourcing models: “Giving young South Africans the opportunity to upskill in a supportive environment is what makes the BPO sector such a powerful vehicle for change.”
| Brandon, who has been residing in Cape Town since 2012, arrived in KZN the Sunday night before the lootings that devastated towns and cities across KZN and Gauteng. However, despite the civil unrest, he said that Webhelp’s investment stakeholders remained unanimous in their decision to move forward with the new venture.
“While incredibly sad, the looting didn’t actually impact the stakeholders’ confidence in the region, if anything, they were resolute in keeping the programme moving forward,” he said. “Now, more than ever, Durban needs to continue to attract new hope through investment and the creation of these 300 jobs will go some way in assisting the local economy and alleviating the unemployment situation.” Webhelp is a leading global consultancy and customer experience (CX) organisation with a ‘people-first’ approach. As a community-driven company, Webhelp forms strong ties with local non-profit organisations and communities, contributing to the upliftment of the region wherever possible. “In addition to our impact sourcing success, which has already empowered Webhelp to uplift over 1 000 local youth excluded from work opportunities, as we establish our presence in Durban, we will work with our new colleagues to identify the most suitable and meaningful initiatives to benefit local communities,” concluded Brandon. To find out more about Webhelp, visit https://webhelp.com/. Anyone interested in joining this dynamic workplace to work with some of the world’s most exciting brands can view the latest vacancies at webhelp.com/careers. All images are complimentary for media use, provided the correct photographer credit is included and the images are published in conjunction with the content supplied. (Images: Supplied by Webhelp) Link to download high resolution images: https://we.tl/t-4YKhUwUpMD Brandon Aitken, Webhelp South Africa’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
About Webhelp Making business more human for the world’s most exciting brands We live in an era of fast connectivity and AI. Today, human experiences have even more power to make businesses come to life in customers’ hearts and minds. Webhelp is committed to making business more human. It’s through this commitment that Webhelp enriches customer experience, and designs business solutions that create value for the world’s most exciting companies. Webhelp is a partner across a range of services including customer experience solutions, social media moderation through to payment services. Hundreds of brands across the world trust Webhelp because of their people, the culture they work in, and the ideas and technology they put to work. Webhelp believes that Emotional Intelligence creates a lasting impact, and their skill in marrying a differentiating human touch to the right technology is what makes a real difference for their clients. By choosing Webhelp they access the passion and experience of over 75,000 game-changers from more than 170 locations in over 50 countries. Each one determined to bring their own intelligence, empathy and experience to the table every day. Webhelp invests in people and the environment they work in, because they know that when people thrive, it has a powerful impact on them, their customers and on their partners’ business. Webhelp believes that making business more human leads to a better customer experience – and a healthier bottom line. Webhelp is the European leader in their industry, with a revenue of €1,6B in 2020, and aims for a global leadership position. Webhelp is currently owned by its management and GBL, a leading global investment holding, as of November 2019. More information can be found at www.webhelp.com |
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