Meet the team: Ratiba
Our meet-the-team series is for you to get to know our team members a bit more.
Hey Ratiba, we'd like to get to know more about your role at Halo
What’s your job title?
Account Manager.
What sort of duties do you have at work?
Client management and project management.
What inspires or excites you, and why?
Finishing reading a book and sharing the new knowledge. I get time to digest the knowledge and share it with others.
What is your #1 tip for your clients?
Always be calm. It helps with clarity when things are not going well.
What’s your go-to productivity hack?
Writing a list of all the task I need to do a day before and ticking off the list.
What could you give a 30-minute presentation about with no advance preparation?
Speak on Leadership from organisational leadership to whether leaders are born or made.
What’s one professional skill you’re currently working on?
Honing my public speaking skills and research skills.
What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?
Managing a big revenue account from my previous job and completing it. It was really fulfilling to get compliments from the client for running it smoothly.
If salary weren’t a factor, what job would you do?
I would be back in my village doing community work. I’d like to support school kids by teaching them mathematics and science.
Tell us more about you outside of work…
Where are you from?
I am originally from a village called Ga Sekgopo in Limpopo. Interestingly, I was born at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, Gauteng, but I left when I was three years old to live in Limpopo, where I grew up. I attended all my schooling there and, after completing my matriculation, I moved to KwaZulu-Natal for university. I’ve been living in KZN ever since, and it has now been 10 years.
Do you have a nickname, and how did you get it?
I don’t think they use it anymore, but I actually had two nicknames. The first one was "Radibook," which means "the one who loves books," because of how book-smart I was in high school. The second nickname was "President," as people compared my head to that of President Zuma. Over time, I came to appreciate the nickname, as it also sparked an interest in leadership.
Me giving a speech
What wouldn’t we know about you, just by looking at you?
That I am not Nigerian.
Cats or dogs (or neither?)
Neither.
What’s your favorite word in the English language
Prosperity. At some point I called myself the word because I believed that I would prosper one day.
The best piece of advice you were ever given was …
You are great and don’t ever doubt that.
What kind of music do you like?
Gospel.
Do you like travelling? If so, what’s the best place you’ve ever travelled to?
Of course, the furthest place I’ve travelled to so far is Tanzania. I find learning about the cultural nuances there to be very fascinating.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
KFC streetwise 3 pap is the gateway to my heart.
Are you able to keep a secret
Yes, try me.
