At 24.com, we don’t just employ people because of their excellent skillsets. We look for employees who love what they do because when people have a passion for what they do, they consistently produce excellent work. In fact, a study by the University of Southern California found that those who love what they do learn faster, make less mistakes, are more productive and more optimistic.
Here we speak to five 24.com employees about their roles and why they love being with us.
Sven Schoof – Product Team Lead
Sven describes his role as “being able to work with a skilled team that creates delightful, mobile-first user experiences that turn users into fans”. That may sound like a mouthful, but it’s also him being the kind of leader who trusts his team’s capabilities. He and his team work on News24, Netwerk24, Landbou, as well as SNL24. Sven says the job is unpredictable, with no one day resembling another as he and his team continue to develop the Media24 digital landscape
Why I Love What I Do
“I just passed my 10-year milestone at Media24 and the reason why this has been my longest career stint is easy: the people! Our culture and values are unparalleled. We are truly a people-first organisation built on kindness, honesty, integrity, respect, accountability, courage, and excellence.”
Eduard Strauss – Team Lead DevOps
Eduard says he does “a bit of everything”. But as a team lead and DevOps engineer, “a bit of everything” is maintenance, monitoring, project management, security, end-to-end implementation of new infrastructure or applications, and automation – among a host of other important things. More than this, his job involves intense and continuous research to ensure that every product the team implements is correct and secure.
Why I Love What I Do
“I love the automation of day-to-day processes and the freedom we receive from management to explore new ideas. The team is also open to finding solutions that are fit for purpose and can change direction quickly based on factors like the availability of new infrastructure or services. There’s an excellent relationship between the different teams that makes collaboration easy and enjoyable.”
Monica Mayeka – Lead: Data Engineer (Data Science & Engineering)
The cloud is a big deal in business and personal computing these days, and it’s the core of Monica’s job. She works with the cloud platform tools like Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to design as well as organise large amounts of data to solve complex data issues and ensure data security and compliance. She also works hand in hand with cross-functional teams to support data-driven decisions and bring them to fruition.
Why I Love What I Do
“I love this role because it involves working with the latest technology, solving interesting problems, and offers lots of opportunities for learning and growth.”
Eldon Swart – Associate Manager: Fullstack Development
Eldon has been with Media24 for 15 years. He has won respect among his peers and colleagues and has proven time and again that he has a mind for ideas. Most important is his ability to guide his team with the technical implementation of his ideas. Another key part of his role, he says, is to create a close-knit team that communicates well and solves problems together.
Why I Love What I Do
“I love my role not just for the problem-solving and leadership components, but the way we work and the culture that drives us. We’re inclusive, all opinions and ideas are valued, and we encourage collaboration that explores these ideas. We implement solutions as a team; peer programming and collaborative feature development is at the forefront of our approach to product delivery. We have fun. Even when tackling challenging tasks or navigating complex situations, we keep things light-hearted.
Nico-Ben de Villiers – Associate Manager: Mobile Engineering
Working in mobile engineering means Nico-Ben deals with the proverbial nuts and bolts of 24.com’s technical projects linked to its various apps. He describes his role as “broad”, as it includes being involved in the codebase and sharing his thoughts and ideas on project architecture.
Why I Love What I Do
“My role demands a lot of management as we must balance the priorities of all stakeholders while ensuring our people are having a good time working here. This is one of my favourite parts of my role. The opportunity to work with people as closely as I do now wasn’t something I expected to love, but it’s turned out to be exceptionally rewarding and I've learnt that I love it. Our mobile apps are technically challenging and demanding, which I love – the constant technical challenge keeps me engaged. Our products play a significant role in the lives of so many South Africans. It’s gratifying to know the work you’re doing is important to so many every day.”
