Life at Local Measure with Rani Sur, Global Head of Implementation

Tell us about your career journey so far.

I've been with Local Measure for almost three years and trust me when I say it's been the best decision I've ever made. My journey into contact center solutions really started in 2018,  prior to that I was in the UK and I specialized in pensions, personnel and payroll solutions. I worked for a software house initially and then moved into working for third-party administrators who look after pensions for large blue chip customers. From day one, I guess you could say I've always worked in customer-facing roles, and it's almost as if this type of role is part of my DNA because I don't see myself in any other role. If you were to pigeonhole me into another role, I probably wouldn't be able to do it!

What have been your top three career-defining moments?

I came to Australia for a holiday and fell in love with the country. When the opportunity presented itself to allow me to work in Australia I took it. It was hard initially, having left my family behind, but I met a family here who practically “adopted” me and that made it easier for me to adapt to the new lifestyle.  I am very grateful to them.

Another major moment would be moving into call center solutions. I had always worked in pensions, data auditing and data risk, call centers were a completely new industry for me! Although I had all of that customer-facing experience and I was dealing with customers on a day-to-day basis within the UK market, the experience that you get when you are delivering call center solutions is so different because you can actually see and experience the magic happen.

My third defining moment I have to say is joining Local Measure. Honestly the experience I have here of wearing different hats even though my role is in Implementations, is amazing. I get to work with Product, with the Engineering team and Solution Architects. Each day is different and with every challenge you collaborate with various teams to deliver a solution. Every day is different, exciting and rewarding.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

I generally wake up at 5:00am. And as much as the world thinks that you shouldn't pick up your phone and check what's happening overnight, when you're in a global role, you can't help it! So I do a quick check of Slack messages to review what's been happening overnight. Then I log off, have a cup of tea and spend an hour working out in the morning. It's a must for me because it sets me up for the rest of the day. I try not to have meetings between 6:00 and 7:00am in the morning. That's my time. And then from 7:30 am my day starts with going back to the Slack messages, responding where I need to, picking up emails and responding to those and then waiting to touch base with the team in America before their end of the day.

Then it's time to wait for APAC to come online. I'll check in to see how things are going throughout the day. Are there any client challenges that we need to address? What are we due to deliver? Are we running on time? I stop for lunch around 1pm for about 30 mins. I leave the afternoons relatively free to allow me to focus on the things I need to get done before our team in South Africa comes online when APAC and South Africa teams meet to discuss current deliverables, blockers, and new work. My day  comes to a close around 6pm however, I do continue to check messages and if needed attend any team or client meetings until around 9pm when I finish up.

What do you like most about working for Local Measure?

For me, it's how we work as a team. It doesn't matter which business unit you're in - whether you're in implementations, in product or in engineering. I love the way everybody just pulls together at Local Measure when something needs to be done. It's quite refreshing to come to Local Measure and see that when you ask a question someone is always going to be there to help. That’s the Local Measure culture!

What are you most excited about for Local Measure as a business moving forward?

Well, firstly, our recent award, winning AWS Marketplace Partner of the Year APJ at re:Invent 2023 was just amazing and it’s so good to see. It's very rewarding for all of our teams. All their hard work has paid off. I’m looking forward to the overall growth of the business. Being part of the Implementation Team, I'm seeing the growth with the range of customers we are  winning. I’m excited to see where we go in 2024 and beyond.

What advice would you give to anyone pursuing a career in Implementation?

I would say, focus on your goal. You need to identify what the goal is in an implementation project and laser focus it, identifying the best ways to achieve it while maintaining open communication between yourself and the customer.

I always aim to overachieve. So if I'm beginning a project I try to make sure there's a little bit of fat in the timeline and then strive to deliver ahead of schedule. For anybody pursuing a career in Implementations, as long as you've got project management experience and you're able to work with the customer and deliver to the discussed timeline, you're well on your way. Taking any mishaps in your stride and having open communication with the client is also a must!

What resources do you follow to stay on top of emerging trends and industry news?‍

Of course I follow AWS on LinkedIn and I'm forever scrolling through to see what new features they have released and what they have done. Sharing those with the Implementation and the SA team is crucial, to make sure they are aware of the latest developments. I also follow our customers to stay in touch in their space and, of course, also what is going on in the contact center space and with our competitors.

Lastly, what do you do to unwind and what do you like to do outside of work?

My main time to unwind is over the weekends. I love to meet and feed people so I go to my local temple every now and then to help cook. It’s a full house on Saturday evenings and Sunday morning - up to 300 people for prayers followed by lunch or dinner. All are welcome to walk in and have a bite to eat. I like to go and help with the cooking when I can.

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