For the fifth in our “Getting to Know” series we spoke with one of our Consultants Vith Kuganathan, who speaks to us about his motivations, his parents inspiring journey to the UK and departs some noteworthy advice.

1. What is the most interesting role you have had to date?

Outside of Finyx, I would say as a CX Consultant for a 6 week assignment at UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration). I identified customer experience transformation opportunities at both the Service Point and the call centre through process analysis, employee surveys, calls and call data analysis. After doing so, I wrote a report which summarised my findings and recommendations. It was my favourite for the reason that it had the perfect blend of quantitative analysis and qualitative writing. I had the opportunity to interact with agents and understand more about the processes around applying for a visa as well as the multitude of associated obstacles to overcome in these processes.

2. How did you get to where you are now?

I could talk about myself and my determination, but honestly the biggest reason I am where I am is because of my parents. This may sound cliché, but when your parents escape a civil war, with limited English and money, to a foreign country where everything would have seemed alien to them, I really must praise them for their struggle and sacrifice, to provide the life and opportunities that they have, for me.

3. What are the different types jobs that you’ve had? Anything unusual?

Nothing too unusual – at least I wouldn’t say so. I’ve worked as a paper boy, a sales assistant at a newsagents, a junior accountant and now a consultant.

4. What motivates you?

Self-development. I have always found learning about new concepts, industries, clients, products and even people, both interesting and rewarding. Being an inspiration to my younger brother and younger cousins also spurs me on to keep pushing myself.

5. Advice for people starting their career?

I would say don’t rush; take a step back and really think about what motivates you. From there focus on creating goals, developing strong relationships with your colleagues and clients, and the magic ingredients are hard work and resilience.

6. Are there specific qualities you look for in people that join your team?

The answer is in the question to be honest – they need to be a team player. Someone that can not only work well alone but also interact with myself, others in the team and relevant stakeholders. Next, hard-working, resilient and reliable – those are non-negotiables. Bonus points if they can make me laugh or have similar interests.

7. What is the most exotic country you have been to for work?

Haven’t really had opportunities to work abroad yet. So far, the closest example would be a 1-day work conference in Paris.

8. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

This will come across as a boring answer but honestly, London. It’s a city I’m familiar with, the majority of my family and friends live there, it has great infrastructure and a vast range of restaurants/places to visit and activities to try! If not London, maybe Toronto, because there is no language barrier there like with London, I have family there, and it’s a beautiful place with large housing.

9. If you could have lunch with a successful business person who would you choose? e.g Sheryl Sandberg, Jeff Bezos, Bear Grylls etc

Sundar Pichai (CEO of Alphabet Inc and its subsidiary Google). The main reason being he is of Tamil descent like myself. I think it would be quite an inspiring conversation and would love to dig into the details surrounding his background and the subsequent journey he embarked on. He was also involved in a hearing with Congress where he was asked a range of questions on bias, user privacy etc. which I think would be interesting to hear more about.

10. Tea or coffee?

Tea. I hadn’t tried coffee until a few years ago and I disliked it after the first few drinks but to be honest I became a fan over time, so can testify to it being an acquired taste. Would still pick tea over it though.