Victor helps employers retain talent
RIGHT GUY IN THE RIGHT JOB
THIS week we chat to Victor Mntambo (26), whose job is relatively unknown to most South Africans.
Mntambo is an employer branding specialist who helps employers retain their best talent.
What do you do?
I am an employer branding specialist and key accounts manager for Universum Global.
What does a typical day
at work entail?
A typical work day for me entails meeting clients, conducting workshops and advising clients on their employer branding strategy. Most importantly I am responsible for developing and maintaining client relations.
What does your company do?
Universum Global is the global leader in employer branding. We conduct the biggest independent research (in our field) in the world; we research university students, professionals and MBAs.
This research is aimed at understanding what is important for the different target groups when choosing a career and an employer (career and employer preferences).
We also study their expectations, mobility and satisfaction with their current employers.
Our global and local clients use this information to attract and retain the right talent.
From our research we come out with one of the best known matrices for measuring one s employer brand, namely the
’ ideal employer rankings.
Universum also undertakes consulting projects, employer value proposition (EVP) development and adaptation, custom research, communication strategy development and materials testing.
Finally we produce print, social and digital media to assist our clients in communicating with their target groups.
What has been your highlight
since joining Universum?
Interacting with and advising global and local clients on prioritising their employer brand activities in South Africa and
now Africa as we slowly move into the whole continent. My challenges are making clients understand employer branding, the topics within this subject and the importance of having a strong and distinctive employer brand, as well as a well-defined value proposition
especially now that the war on – talent is so fierce and all public and privately owned enterprises are fighting for the same best talent.
If you were not doing this, what would you be doing?
I would be doing something to do with statistics, statistical models or commercial analysis.
What did you do before?
I was a financial planner at Sanlam.
What challenges do you face? What do you like and dislike
about your job?
I like the exposure and the different challenges each day or meeting presents. What I dislike is people s igno
’ rance and some clients attitudes.
’
What did you study?
I studied economics and econometrics and I m currently doing
’ my MBA.
How do you balance
work and family?
The beauty of working for this company is that I have control over my working hours and I have the option of working from home, which allows me to attend to any personal or
family emergencies.
Any advice for young people who would like to follow in
your footsteps?
Do not only focus on what you have studied for
be open to – new things. And in order to advance your career, be open to development and be willing to learn from your leaders and managers.
mananyetsoa@sundayworld.co.za or Twitter @Mezosti