We had a chat with Andre to learn about his continuous learning journey, how he got supported throughout the pandemic, and how customer recognition helped him get promoted.
What is your role and what is your day-to-day like?
I'm a Specialist Network Designer and I’m responsible for designing networks and understanding what the customer needs (in terms of LAN, WLAN, SDWAN) and meeting their expectations. I sometimes also help implement these network designs.
You’ve been with us for 6 years and recently got promoted to Specialist Network Designer. Can you tell us more about your experiences and how BT has supported your career development?
I've been working within the network and infrastructure space for almost twenty-six years. When I joined BT, I started as part of the TDA (Technical Design Authority) team in Brazil, looking after global customers in the Americas region.
My performance and the customer satisfaction from all the global consumer brand accounts I worked on was always recognised. At the end of 2021 I got promoted to Specialist Network Designer, and I was thrilled to be recognised not only by my line manager, but also by the accounts that I worked on.
How have you further developed your technical knowledge, qualifications and skillset at BT?
In our role, a basic rule is to strive for continuous improvement, due the fact that technology evolves every day, and we always need to be aware of and study the latest products and innovations. I have dozens of network certifications, I recently obtained a Cyber Security certification, and I continuously work on developing new skills every day to deliver in my role to a high standard.
At BT Group, we also have ample training opportunities to learn about new services and technology, and we have ‘learning pathways’ (i.e. a curated selection of material like LinkedIn Learning courses on a particular topic) to help us grow our knowledge.
What kind of recognitions have you received from colleagues and customers?
For all customers that I have worked with during the past six years, I have always received recognition from them in terms of quality of delivery, helping them to solve design or network issues, as well implementing new technologies.
I also created a lot of procedures to help our team or even the wider global team to facilitate and improve network design implementations for the future and avoid any interruptions at the customer’s end.
You’ve worked in the telecoms and technology industry for some time. What makes BT unique in the industry and what’s unique about its culture?
From my point of view, it's the history of BT, one of the first and oldest Telecommunications company in the UK and across the globe: a strong, reputable and trustworthy brand in the eyes of the customer.
Regarding BT's culture, one of the key points that is so important is the concept of getting things ‘right the first time’: this shows the importance of doing research about customer needs, understanding, planning and executing with no surprises, delivering a service that will make a positive difference to and impact on the customer by allowing BT to handle its network infrastructure.
What is your favourite thing about working for BT in Brazil?
For sure it's the teamwork. In our TDA Hub in Brazil, we always collaborate; exchanging knowledge and information about any doubts someone may have, trying to help each other solve the issue, understanding that one of us has already probably had a similar issue in the past.
