One thing I learnt earlier on in my working career was the
futility of complaining and complaining and not taking necessary action. In
December 1997, I joined a South African owned insurance company as a trainee
underwriter and I was going to earn Z$3 000.00 and this was slightly more
than what I had earned as a temporary teacher and almost three times what I had
earned as a printing apprentice. After leaving teaching I had started work as
an apprentice in the printing industry in Harare. I had wanted to be in Harare as I was then
pursuing my studies with CIMA and I wanted to access their library which was
very difficult to do from Murewa where I had been teaching. I quit within 5 months as I realised that it
was a waste of my brain. I remember telling my aunt Mrs Maphosa within a month
of starting at the printing company that I would not stay in that role for
long. The apprenticeship role would have suited someone with only 5 O’Levels.
However when we went for an interview with the Human Resources Director of the
American company that also supplied ATM machines to banks, they insisted that
they would only employ people with 3 A Level passes and two of us where
recruited
My problem towards the end of 1997 was that after the unwise
decision by Robert Mugabe of awarding war veterans the unbudgeted gratuities the
Zim dollar had fell sharply against major currencies in the previous months and
life was getting tough. I could no longer afford to finance my accounting
studies that were payable in British Pounds. Fortunately the insurance company
could give me a loan to pursue an insurance qualification. I then embarked on my insurance studies that
were also payable in foreign currency. For the rest of the 1998 we were not
awarded any salary increments because we were trainees even though we were now
doing the same work as the experienced staff. 1998 was one of the toughest
years for me because after paying for the study loan I barely had enough to
survive and I could not afford to buy furniture or fancy clothing. I remember
visiting a workmate at his rented house in Zengeza, Chitungwiza and it was
fully furnished and I compared to my room where the only furniture I had was a
bed and a cheap kitchen table with 4 chairs which I had bought so that I could
use for studying. After having failed to secure a place at the University of
Zimbabwe when I finished high school, I had made up my mind that once I started
working I would sacrifice everything and make sure I got a tertiary
qualification a decision which in hindsight was wise because in 2007 when the
Zimbabwean economy tanked it was easy for me to go to the South African embassy
in Harare and apply for a work permit and within a few weeks being able to escape the
troubles in Zimbabwe.
In January 1999 despite the ravaging inflation in the
country at the time we were awarded a 20% salary increment and after we
complained it was adjusted to 40%. By that time most of my group started
leaving. In May 1999, I joined a local insurance company for a salary of Z$8 000.00
and I was lucky in July they increased my salary to Z$9 500.00. The day my
probation ended, I had another offer at another company and I accepted the
offer and I only worked at that company on the first day from 8am to 10am
before the General Manager of the previous company phoned me and I got a counter
offer and I was now earning $13 500.00. In April 2000 I then joined an
American Insurance company in Harare in the claims department for a salary of Z$20 000.00.
During my 2 and half years stay at that company it was a time of personal growth
for me. By the time I left I had moved from farming claims and now doing corporate
claims. At that company whenever one passed their professional examinations
they would write off the loan and by the time I left I was about to finish my
Associateship examinations. The only
reason I left was that I realised there was no growth as the company was busy
shrinking for example when the violent land reform started in Zimbabwe they had
stopped insuring farms and they had retrenched about 40% of the staff and also
the branches now only had skeletal staff. By end of 2005 the company shut its
doors in Zimbabwe and would merge with the company that I was now working for
in 2005.
At the end of 2002, I got a job as a junior manager at a
local insurance broking company and the following year I completed my
Associateship examinations. Towards the end of 2003, a friend of mine who had been
the best man at my wedding told me that the then second biggest insurance
company in Zimbabwe was looking for an underwriting manager who would be in
charge of their biggest insurance brokers and he encouraged me to apply. I did
not think that I had a chance nevertheless I applied and I was surprised when I
got the role. This was a daunting role.
I remember during the first management meeting at the company there were
almost 20 managers and the boardroom was almost full. In the management team you had chartered accountants, renowned
insurance practitioners, lawyers, marketers, IT people, human resources,
Internal Auditors etc. I had excellent support and I prospered. The following
year, I got an offer from a competitor they wanted to appoint me as their
branch manager in Bulawayo. I was not interested in the job but nevertheless I used
the offer in order to bargain for a better company car and other benefits. In
2006 after the merge with the staff from the American company, I lobbied to be
transferred to Bulawayo after the managing director turned down my request for
voluntary retrenchment.
In life there are two types of people, those who complain and
those who do something about it. I strongly believe that if you are not happy
about something take some action and take calculated risks. Sure you will make
mistakes but when you make mistakes you learn from them and grow as a person. One
must keep on doing their work properly even if you are not happy but only you
can change your situation. A lot of people complain about their governments
here in South Africa and in Zimbabwe but how many people actually vote? Surely I
got judged a lot about my job hopping but if I did not do so I would not have got the positions and the experience. If you
are in an environment that is stifling you by all means leave, you are not a
tree and try something else because if you keep on complaining and slacken your
performance as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow they will fire you and you
will struggle to get a decent job due to bad recommendations.
