Monisha Waghmare is senior principal engineer at REPL Group, part of Accenture - a consultancy and technology group that helps clients to reimagine their supply chain, people and store technologies to become more efficient and meet new customer needs.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR CURRENT JOB? I’ve been with REPL Group for the past four years, but have over 17 years of software development experience working in the US, UAE and UK – from a Silicon Valley start-up company to a Fortune 100 company.
HOW HAS YOUR COMPANY HAD TO RESPOND TO THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS? We became much more flexible with where and when people worked, and that’s something we continue even now as we’ve enjoyed the flexibility of working from home and fitting work around our lives. Now that we’re part of Accenture, we’ve got access to additional locations across the UK so we have even more opportunities to come into the office and work together. We try to weave in social events to office days too!
HAS THE LOCKDOWN PRESENTED ANY OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS CHALLENGES? Our development services department was extremely busy around lockdown. We had to implement lots of enhancements for customers in response to the pandemic in a short space of time, including one feature involving labour planning based on the number of customers allowed in store, following Covid restrictions, and its floor size.
WHAT DO THINK THE CURRENT CRISIS WILL MEAN FOR YOUR INDUSTRY IN THE MONTHS AND YEARS TO COME? The two areas heavily impacted by the pandemic were supply chains and the need to digitalise operations. For supply chain challenges in the longer term, we need to have better planning tools using artificial intelligence, ensure that the dependency on resources is not limited to one country, and focus on renewable energy and sustainable production. Innovating and digitalising processes, moving from on-premise to Cloud, will ensure people have access to all they need to keep operations going without having to be physically present in the office.
I believe we’re at the precipice of a new era of innovation and creativity. Over the last 15 years, artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain have matured from a proof of concept to dependable tools for modern problem solving. I’m excited to see how these technologies will touch and enhance everyday life for everyone.
HOW DO YOU GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR STAFF? Culture and employee engagement are really important to us at REPL and critical to our success. We make sure all our team members feel safe, empowered and engaged and have a variety of active network groups and communities across REPL – created and run by employees. There’s the Wellbeing Group, Ethnic Diversity and Active Inclusion (EDAI), CSR Network, Pride Network, and Women in Tech group – which I’m an active member of.
Representation matters to me and so I make sure I’m always there to support other women in my teams, at REPL and beyond.
HOW MANY EMAILS DO YOU TEND TO GET IN A DAY, AND HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE TO READ THEM? I receive over 20 emails I have to action each day, but if there are any issues the number can easily multiply. To ensure I’m up to speed, I allocate 30 minutes twice a day to checking my emails but if anything critical arises, I may have to ignore them.
HOW DO YOU HOPE YOUR COLLEAGUES WOULD DESCRIBE YOU? I’d hope they would not only recognise that I lead successful projects, but that I build strong relationships and lead by example for women in the industry, helping to ensure there’s a strong pipeline of women getting into tech.
HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? My biggest achievement is joining REPL, which has given me the platform to be the best version of myself. Thanks to REPL, I’ve been part of a pilot programme with Birmingham City University and Aston University mentoring students. It’s now open to anyone in the company to mentor a student who has no background in IT/engineering to learn about the industry and the different roles available to them.
ANY PARTICULAR FAUX PAS OR EMBARRASSING MOMENTS IN YOUR CAREER YOU WOULD PREFER TO FORGET? For a software implementation, there was a workflow which required approval from the finance team. The application would display a message saying this process requires a finance approval and an email would be sent out. I had made a typo in the message which instead read “Waiting for a fiancé approval”. This was demoed to the customer, and everyone started laughing.
PET HATES? Lack of clear requirements or acceptance criteria from the customer, and not being focused while in meetings.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF SOME WISE ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?Nothing is impossible. You might fail once, but it’ll work out if you persevere. In boxing, you don’t lose because you fall. You lose if you don’t rise.
HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM WORK? I enjoy going out on hikes and travel. Connecting to nature and exploring new places helps me unwind.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM BUSINESS COMMUNITY? It is tirelessly working towards creating a business hub in the Midlands. It has already successfully managed to attract big companies, creating job and growth opportunities for the region.
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY WOULDN’T KNOW. After completing my Master’s program, not a single company showed up on campus for recruitment due to the dot-com bubble bursting. This was a major blow, with no sign of hope to get into the workforce. The only opportunities were to join a call centre but I was determined to pursue my technical dream. Instead, I became a freelance software developer and managed to rank within the top 200 coders globally on RentACoder.com. With a steady stream of work, I went ahead and formed my own company employing three software engineers.
YOU CAN TAKE ONE BOOK, ONE FILM AND ONE CD ONTO A DESERT ISLAND – WHAT WOULD THEY BE? Book: Becoming by Michelle Obama; flim: Cast Away; CD: Live at the Acropolis by Yanni.
YOUR FIVE DREAM DINNER PARTY GUESTS, DEAD OR ALIVE? Michelle Obama, Indira Nooyi, Rafael Nadal, Ada Lovelace and Satya Nadella.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO EAT FOR YOUR LAST SUPPER? Corn soup.
