Sumira Vasudev, now Junior Manager in the Control Of Responsible Enterprises (CORE) Team, started working for Deloitte South Africa straight after university and came a long way since. Metaphorically speaking after two promotions, but also literally. In october 2019, she packed up her things (and dog) and moved to Amstelveen with her boyfriend. Transferring to the CORE team ‘At the same time I was finishing my migration project, my manager Lionel Prinsloo moved to Deloitte Netherlands. Shortly after his move, he asked me if I wanted to come over as well. And so I did. It was a big transition, but we’re very much settled now and enjoying our life here. Both personally and professionally.’ ‘Working for Deloitte South Africa was my first job after university (2014), providing operational support for a team of sixty people. When a part of the Cyber Risk Services Team merged with the IT Audit and Assurance team, my role changed. There was already a support system in place. It was the perfect moment for me to shift my role and change my work. I wanted to operate in a more client facing role, advising on and handling ERP security system implementations. So when the opportunity presented itself, I took it. That was the S4Hana Public Cloud migration. I never figured my first client would be my employer, but the experience was great. Based on that experience, Lionel asked me to come over and join the CORE team. It was actually a big compliment, as I only had limited experience. But working on multiple large scale SAP audit projects, proved to be an added bonus when the opportunity of moving and joining the SAP advisory team came along.’

Manager role ‘I started as a Senior Consultant in a team of twelve. We are now with over fifty colleagues and I am now Junior Manager, soon to be Manager. In my first promotion I believed I was ready and went for it, my upcoming promotion was suggested by my business area leader. She encouraged me to go for manager. ‘Try it, and we will see what you need to reach that goal’, she said. I was not aiming for it, but she saw something in me. I love how Deloitte gives you the possibility to lead and therefore the opportunity to grow like this. You work towards this new role with professional guidance. I actually stepped in as manager when a colleague left and I remember being doubtful, and the client being hesitant about having a manager with little experience succeeding one with so much more. But it has been going so well, we get nothing but compliments from the client.’

Working at Deloitte CORE ‘The projects I work on focus mainly on SAP advisory and implementation, and when necessary I help out with IT audit work, where I fulfill the role of IT Auditor. I test the general IT computer and automated controls, managing and supporting junior staff on audits where required, chairing audit interviews as well as audit support work. My current client is in the Bio-chemical industry, where we provide input into a SAP S4 Security Authorizations and Design model. I am the project manager on this, which means I manage senior consultants and report to my Senior Manager. I am all about getting the team to move forward and deliver: I chair a daily stand up call with the entire authorizations team to track and update required actions for the week and on a weekly basis, I lead the authorization status meeting to the Vice IT president at the client.'

Like more implementation projects, this project is also rolled out in waves. The benefit to rolling out in waves, is that we can spread out the impact on a company and its teams. By taking the time to implement these changes, managers and employees can adjust to new ways of working. For my current client, I onboarded in the second wave: the hypercare support period. This phase is essential to secure that changes are adapted by everyone in the team. Waves and duration of projects can vary from anything between a couple of months in small companies. to more than a year for larger companies with complex changes.”

Growing and exploring ‘As for my role as manager, I am still growing and finding out what kind of manager I want to be. I think there is a fine line between being a friend and being a manager. I want to help my junior colleagues move forward. Help them in their personal development the same way I was helped. Deloitte is a progressive, supportive and inclusive workplace. Leadership supports and engages everyone, stimulating open and honest conversations in a way that really keeps you motivated to achieve more.’

Work-life balance It has been almost two years since Sumira moved to the Netherlands and a lot has happened since. Not in the last place because shortly after arrival, the world went into lock down. ‘We used to have friday afternoon “borrels” with colleagues and then all of a sudden we couldn’t. The move was a big change, and most of all a bit of a culture shock in regards to little things, such as cold breakfast and no sun. Lionel was a great support within the office and was always open to give advice, also some based on experiences he had already had. Since the time i joined, the team has grown almost three fold, and we are an extremely diverse team, including many more expats than when I first joined. And for all the little things I (used to) miss about South Africa, there is one major change that I appreciate the most: the great work-life balance and the importance of having it here in the NL. I also appreciate and value the hands on approach and support system that we get, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The way my manager is keeping an eye out for everyone, is the absolute best here.’

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