Katlego Selemogwe is quite unequivocally a person who enjoys being in a support position.
She says serving the needs of others is what makes her happy, and her enthusiasm about her present position as executive assistant to Botswana's country managing director bears this out.
It is support staff like Selemogwe that enable Accenture to be a high-performance business—and thus contribute in no small measure to its ability to help its clients achieve high performance.
While the Botswana office is small by Accenture standards—with only 15 full-time employees—the work is as demanding and fulfilling as in other locations. Selemogwe says while most executive assistants serve several people, she works primarily for one person. In addition, she plays the role of general office administrator. "I am growing in my career and I have deepened my knowledge of office administration, which is a broad area," she says.
Selemogwe enjoys the interaction with Accenture's Johannesburg office that her role demands. "I'm a go-between between Botswana and Johannesburg as regards payroll, HR, marketing and IT." This is because the Botswana office in some respects falls under the Johannesburg office.
"What excites me about Accenture is the chance to be part of a global network, but even more it's the leadership in the Botswana office itself—that's what makes me wake up in the morning and want to come to work," Selemogwe says. "It's the team that we have here—Accenture is home away from home for me, a second family. I feel respected by my boss and free to approach him for professional advice at any time."
Something of a pioneer, Selemogwe was only the second pair of hands to arrive in the newly created Botswana office three years ago, the other person being Country Managing Director Bashi Gaetsaloe whom she followed from KPMG Consulting where they had both been working.
She laughs at the thought of the first few months: "We were all in a room that had been a boardroom with only a single dial-up line between us. Now we occupy a whole floor and we're planning to expand to bigger offices."
Whatever tasks Selemogwe may turn her capable hands to, there is no doubt that her central interest remains squarely on relationships. In her quest to provide a great service, she says, "Every client should be made to feel that he or she is my most important client, whether they are internal or external. That is very important for me." In line with this focus, Selemogwe says she wants to continue doing her current work while finding a way to deepen her knowledge of human resources management.
Selemogwe is the proud mother of Kgosi, whom she describes as "an energetic and adorable three-year old." One of her greatest pleasures is spending time in the company of her friends, all of whom also have young children. "Before it was all about me, now it's about my son as well," she says.