Abigail Adebisi
How I Grew In 12 Months Working With H.C. Bonum
I was rounding up my “project”, as it is often called, to complete the requirements for the award of a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Human Resources and Personnel Management when I stumbled on the job advert for the role of Junior Consultant in H.C. Bonum. With no prior experience in the corporate world, H.C. Bonum was ready to give me a chance to start off my career. As a performance driven company, expectations of me as a new recruit were high.
Being an introvert and someone with no work experience, the role was quite challenging in the first few weeks. I needed to come out of my comfort zone, interact and network with people and of course speak out more. With the support of my lead and other team members, I was able to get work done more easily as time went on. But then, I had barely settled in when the pandemic struck, and we had to work from home indefinitely. The transition was quite smooth and with time, I got used to it.
Over the past twelve months of working with H.C. Bonum, I must say I have learnt a lot. The team spirit and family culture exhibited here is amazing. It is a great place to start off a career in Human Resources and Management Consulting which is where my passion lies. I was given the privilege to function as the Human Resource officer for the team and this made me happy. My dream of becoming a Human Resource Manager was becoming reality!
Joining the H.C. Bonum team, the first thing that stood out for me was the drive and commitment to the growth and development of Junior Consultants. Several training sessions were put together to support this, which included training in Microsoft Office applications: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. Most Gen Zs state in our CVs that we are “proficient” in Microsoft Office. However, working with H.C. Bonum has shown me that I was not even close to being proficient. Although I am not a “pro” yet, I can proudly say I am much better than I was when I joined the organization.
Something else that stood out for me was the introduction to my Insights Discovery Personal Profile. I had never used a profiling tool before and that was the first I had heard of it. I completed the online evaluator and received both my profile and a training on how to understand its content and use it as a tool for my development. The statements in my profile were so exact and I was wowed. I know have a deeper understanding of my emotions and the emotions of the people around me and use this knowledge of why people behave the way they do to improve my interaction and relationship with others. This learning experience has helped me improve my emotional intelligence.
Self-leadership is another capability I have developed working as a Junior Consultant at H.C. Bonum. Leading initiatives in the Human Resources Team and managing projects with minimal supervision, have all helped me to become more proactive, self-directed, resourceful, organized, resilient, accountable and result focused. The company does not spoon-feed its Junior Consultants and provokes us to be action oriented and self-reliant.
Now, having been promoted to the ranks of Associate Consultant, a full-time position with the organization, I can confidently say the Graduate Talent Program was a training ground that equipped me to take on the higher responsibilities now expected of me in my new role. Indeed, I have no regrets applying for and gaining the opportunity to work in H.C. Bonum. I love this family!
Abigail Adebisi
Associate Consultant
H.C. Bonum
Kome Onyoh
My Journey as a Junior Consultant at H.C. Bonum
It was 2:30pm on the 19th of December 2019 when I got the congratulatory email from H.C. Bonum. I had been selected to join the H.C. Bonum Graduate Trainee Program as a Junior Consultant. I can remember the rush of emotions I had at that very moment. You could say that I was “over the moon.” I was looking forward to the opportunity before me. In the email, I was invited to attend the company’s end of year retreat. I remember getting there and being thrilled at the level of team bonding, critical thinking, problem solving and ideation that was evident at the meeting. I was immediately convinced that this was going to be a learning journey for me.
Fast forward to 6th of January 2020, my first day as a Junior Consultant. I was thrilled but at the same time nervous. I did not know what to expect or how to act being a very shy person. I was welcomed by my new team warmly and all the Junior Consultants were taken through a series of onboarding programs in the following weeks. The first few weeks were a bit challenging because of the performance driven nature of the company which will push you to put forward your best in everything you do. Also, the team spirit and support from team members helped me to grow and improve the quality of my work outputs. The growth and development of all team members, especially the Junior Consultants was important to the company and as such we had to go through training programs, performance discussions with team leads and directors, constructive feedback from team members, accompanied by encouragement and praise.
I have certainly learnt a lot this past year despite the global pandemic and below are the top two development opportunities that I have valued the most.
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Emotional Intelligence: One of the core competencies you will be exposed to as a new recruit at H.C. Bonum is Emotional Intelligence. I was afforded the opportunity to complete a personality assessment and received my Insights Discovery Personal Profile. This profile heightened my self-awareness and gave me a better understanding of my key strengths and possible weaknesses, the value I bring to a team, my possible blind spots and ways I can develop myself. The profile was an eye opener for me and the awareness greatly improved my attitude and behaviour, as well as my relationships and interactions with family, friends, co-workers and other relevant stakeholders in my life. I have overcome my shyness and now express my views more openly in the team. Emotional Intelligence has definitely been key to my personal effectiveness in the past 15 months.
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Technical Specialty: When the pandemic struck, my company had to restructure, and this birthed an E-Learning squad. At first, I knew nothing about creating E-Learning courses but with the support of team members and training sponsored by the company, I was able to develop capabilities in creating visually appealing slides and engaging scripts. My team and I designed and developed an interactive and learner friendly E-Learning course on Emotional Intelligence that is about to be launched. I have also learnt to create microlearning videos that we use for our training programs. Presently, the organization has enabled me play a major role in the implementation of our digital learning strategy because of the capabilities I have developed.
H.C. Bonum is truly a great place to start my career. With “performance” being a core tenet of the business, I have been given ample opportunity to learn, develop and showcase my abilities whilst working with a demanding yet supportive team. This is why I am now excited to have received and accepted a full-time role as an Associate Consultant at the company.
Kome Onyoh
Associate Consultant
H.C. Bonum
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We’re a people development company that's here to change the world of work forever - and we're hiring. Fill out the form below and a member of our recruiting staff will be in touch with you soon.
COME
AND
JOIN US!
We’re a people development company that's here to change the world of work forever - and we're hiring. Fill out the form below and a member of our recruiting staff will be in touch with you soon.