MEET THE STAFF SERIES

The Company Will Excel if Everybody Takes Ownership of the Business…..Tommy Ogunsola

CCD: Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

AO: Tommy Ogunsola is a young man from a humble background, I have a degree in Management Information System and MSc in Management Information Systems; I have some other qualifications like NIM, National Institute of Management and BCS, British in Computer Society. For my work background, I did four years in HSBC Bank in UK as a Senior Customers Service/ Data Analyst; when I left, I worked for five years with Lloyds Bank Group in UK as a Data Analyst and now in Kaduna Electric.

CCD: How did it start with you at Kaduna Electric?

TO: I joined Kaduna Electric in February, 2018 as a Data Analyst in the Commercial Department, it began with mixed feelings; shock, anxiety, optimism and so forth.  From what I mentioned earlier, where I worked before, to me Kaduna Electric is still a child, there is a lot that need to be done in terms of getting all the data ready, ethics and so on.

CCD: What specifically is your responsibility?

TO: I am a Data Analysts; the importance of the accuracy and integrity of data in an Electricity company cannot be over emphasized. Once you get your data correctly, then you can go and chase the money out.

My job specifically is to manage the data of Commercial Department, I do that by joining the existing data and making sure there is data integrity. I ensure all the reports they send to us on daily basis tally with what we have, for instance on a bulk code we have a number of DTs. DTs are like transformers, we have up to one thousand and there are labeled with names. They must match with what is on our system, with what people are reporting from the field. Any one that is taken out we must know, so we don’t expect revenue on those that have been taken out, all the time we struggle enough with the input. 

I am proud to say 2billion Naira revenue collected last month was hit for the company and for June, we did a lot of data plan. We have engaged sales reps on SMS being sent to them, we are tracking every movement of all the sales reps through irecharge devices. The devices have a tracker which I am managing, so I can see their movements and payments on my dashboard. At the end of the month I send the report that XYZ did not use their device and they will be cautioned for not using it.

CCD: How can your role as a Data Analyst help to block revenue leakages in the company?

TO: My role as a data analyst, is helping the company block revenue leakages. Because what I understand is that Kaduna Electric has never had a way of reporting daily sales to let their sales reps on the field know and see what is ahead of them. There is a link between what they report to Hafsat and accounts unit. So, what I do when I get data from Hafsa and accounts on daily sales, I compare it with their target, you may think you hit your target. But I created a template where I put the data and send it on daily basis to sales reps for them to see what they have done so far. So basically, data plan helps and I am still doing a lot of data plan.

CCD: One of our major issue is the ATC&C losses, what do you think need to be done to minimize the losses?

TO: Once we improve collection we can manage to reduce the loses and these can be done by everyone, taking charge of what they are assigned to do, like if I am giving ten clusters, I should make sure all the customers on that cluster pay their bills and shouldn’t be less than their current charges; we cannot manage our infrastructures without getting our money and we can do that with commitment. Our strategy team have been doing our home work because a lot of people assume that Head Office commercial team rest a lot. Though, is a free world, we allow you say whatever they feel is right, we don’t need to talk, we let the numbers do the talking for us. Kaduna Electric as a company, from the public era to private have not seen the changes we put in, nobody else need to prove a point to anybody since in the history of Kaduna Electric, Kaduna Electric have never hit the 2billion.

CCD: Appeal/suggestion to the Management or staff?

TO: everybody should take ownership of what you’ve been given to do and make sure you do it to your best and please if an email is send or receive, show acknowledgement.