George Cox: Exploring life and work in a new country with redk

In the second of our Life at redk blogs, we talk to Project Lead George Cox.
George focuses on Zendesk customer service, looking for solutions on processes, systems, data, or analytics to deliver the best product.

But that’s not what he initially joined redk for – he now finds himself in a different role, and in a different country from where he started with us. George told us in his own words about the experience of moving from the UK to Spain in the middle of the pandemic.

A Shifting Professional Trajectory

When I first joined redk four years ago I was a business analyst. But as my career has progressed, I’ve moved into a project lead role, taking on consultancy responsibilities. This happened naturally as I’m quite a confident person and I’m happy to comb through the details to try to understand customers’ problems.  

I was really the first person in the UK team to work on Zendesk customer service, giving me an opportunity to be creative. We have now seen this team grow from just myself to 4-5 people with different roles and experiences, which I am proud of.  

My role allows me to come up with my own ways of working, adapt what other team members had done on other products or services, and test the water for what works and what doesn’t. 

Big Changes at an Unusual Time

From a business perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic meant a lot of our customers shifted towards online customer service. And as I have always been focused on professional growth, I never had the opportunity to travel much – so I mentioned to the redk senior staff that I was interested in moving to Madrid and ready to take on a new challenge.  

To my surprise, they said yes. Which then meant, I packed up my whole life within quite literally a fortnight in the middle of a pandemic and moved to Madrid. And to this moment, I’ve never looked back. It’s been daunting, but also exciting and amazing. 

Professionally, it hasn’t had much of an impact – with the world being so online, I’m still able to continue my day job as if I were in the UK. If I have to visit customers or events, it’s easy to just hop on a plane. I’ve learned a lot about myself, more than I ever thought I could.  

Openness, Trust, and Support

Having the company so willing to say ‘yes’ gave me a lot of freedom. I think the key word in all this is trust: redk trusts that making that decision won’t impact you negatively professionally or personally.  

In fact, the decision has improved me professionally and given me more motivation.  

The team at redk recognised that I wanted to grow, and they’ve allowed me to do that. When I have reached out for support, they’ve offered it. Not just in the move, but also in other personal things, redk have been more than supportive.  

I can’t really thank the redk team enough or ask for anymore. If you’re thinking of moving abroad, do it! You have to weigh up the pros and cons, but always ask yourself, what’s the worst that could happen? In my situation, there was always a base I could go back to, but I’m loving it in Spain. 

Growing within redk

When I started, I was quite junior, but I was allowed to recognise those areas in need of improvement, which has enabled me to grow into a senior role. The nature of the role, the company, and every day here are so different. I think a lot of people say that in their industry, that’s quite normal. But with the variety of clients we have, the topics we love and follow on a day-to-day basis, and working with companies or topics you never knew existed, it really allows you to learn. 

I’m learning about different industries, how different people communicate, and how to work with and challenge different stakeholders. All of this enhances communication, which I think is the biggest thing in life, so growing that skill is important to me. 

Joining the redk Team

If you’re thinking about starting your career with redk, don’t be afraid – be comfortable in who you are. Express yourself confidently, and if you have questions, people will support you.  

Come with ideas – we know the world changes, and with that so do the team, people, and processes.  

And if you don’t know something, raise your hand and I, or one of a million other people, will always be around to support you, now or in the future. 

We at redk are grateful for our staff and love hearing their stories. If you’d like to find out more about joining our team of consulting and digital experts, reach out to us today. And make sure to stay tuned for more redk stories to be featured in our Life at redk series.