What is it really like to work at Gungho? Cathy Blackman, a seasoned Discovery Agent, shares an insight into her day…
When did you join Gungho?
I joined the Gungho family in August 2018. I had come from a consumer magazine publisher where I had been the Head of International Licensing. I’d been with them for over 20 years and I’d been looking for something fresh when I came across Gungho.
What’s your favourite thing about Gungho?
I was attracted to Gungho because of the diversity of the team and the chance to use my French, German and Italian language skills. I love the vast range of people who work here, from college leavers to those who are beyond retirement age. I value the fact that Gungho’s recruitment is non-biased and non-discriminatory. They aren’t looking for a particular profile of person, only for good communicators. It means we aren’t all carbon copies of the same person. We all bring diversity and a variety of skills. We have a professional scuba diver to a former ferry stewardess on the team!
What’s a typical day like?
I work 9 am – 3 pm Monday to Thursday, which means I’m working flexibly around my family life. Mornings are busy getting me and my family ready for a day of school and work. Luckily, I only have a 20-minute country drive to work, which is much better than my previous commute of over an hour into a busy city. Once I’m at work, I check emails and salesforce.com, I review my calling lists and workflow to decide who to contact first.
I usually start with the early time zones – for me, it’s the Nordics, Germany, then onto France later in the morning. I systematically work through the companies we target and liaise with colleagues so we don’t cross over. I’m then able to dip into the UK when Europe is on lunch. I leave my standard emails and admin until the end of the day.
What motivates you?
I’m a bit obsessed with my dashboards and hotlists. I like seeing how quickly the data can move with a bit of effort. If I’m having a tough day, I look at the dashboard and figure out my next move. The great thing about working at Gungho is that it’s really varied and interesting. It can be challenging keeping on top of the RegTech industry and all the different clients that we work with, but there is always something new to learn and lots of variety.
Tell the truth, are the targets achievable?
*Laughs* Yes, the targets are fair and proportionate. The business has been running long enough to really understand the industries they work in and can assess past campaigns and success rates. They are then able to set targets that are stretching but achievable. For the first few weeks when I joined, I didn’t quite hit my targets. I was supported to systematically research contacts and develop my approach on the phone. The results built up and then snowballed! I really like the fact that we have team targets and personal goals to achieve. When I hit target, I feel like I’ve contributed.
What do you think of the 4 day week at Gungho?
I love having Fridays off work. I get to catch up on my chores or go for a long run. I get a day for me so I’m properly relaxed come Friday evening. It just leaves the weekend free for my family and gives me a long break from work.
You can find out more about working at Gungho here.
