Rhesa-Moile Giebels on the early years of Buckaroo
This year, Buckaroo is celebrating its 20th anniversary in style. It's a great moment to recognize colleagues who have been contributing to our organization for a long time. Today we're talking to Rhesa-Molie Giebels. He has now worked at Buckaroo for 15 years, after previously working at several other organizations. “What I did before is too much to list, but among other things I worked in gaming and in government. I used to be a real job hopper. I think that's also what makes IT fun. You can go in any direction in terms of industries, so you learn a lot of different things.”
Coming up with a solution and building it during a phone call
When Rhesa started at Buckaroo, the work was much less structured. Sometimes a solution was built and tested on the spot during a phone call. It was then put live and the customer was asked whether it worked. That's how he started in the IT department at Buckaroo, where you mostly had to figure things out yourself. That “figuring out” mainly involved credit cards. Some of the knowledge had been lost through staff turnover, so it really had to be worked out from the source code. In the end, it all worked out fine.
Checking and helping each other
Looking back on that time, Rhesa sees that a lot has changed. “The company has grown considerably, which has led to several departments that each have their own real expertise. That brings a lot of advantages. The big difference is that people know what they're talking about. That was already the case back then, of course, but not like it is now. It's simply much more professional. People check each other's work and help each other. There's more structure and more gets documented.”
“The company has grown considerably, which has led to several departments that each have their own real expertise"
Fewer nerves and less stress
“In IT, it used to be that when you “fixed” something, there was a fair chance it would go wrong and you'd broken something. For me, that caused a lot of stress and nerves. That pressure is gone now. Now you've first looked at it together as a team, it has already gone past a tester, and we all guide the release together instead of you doing everything on your own. That obviously makes the chance of errors many times smaller.
Grown as a person
Rhesa recently moved into the role of Technical Analyst, after working as a Developer for 15 years. He learned a lot during that time, even though he didn't change roles over those years. “I've only stopped being a Developer in the last few months. I don't think I've grown corporate wise, but I have grown as a person. I now work in a much more structured and careful way. I also understand why certain procedures matter. Whereas I used to think: ‘procedures, let other people deal with those’. I've also grown on a personal level. A lot has happened in my life over the past 15 years. Now, when someone makes an unpleasant remark, I can think that there may be something behind it. I have much more understanding for that and I let those kinds of things pass. Whereas in the past I might have taken it much more personally, or maybe even reacted negatively.
Things should just work
When asked which milestones have stayed with him, Rhesa has to think for a moment. With his down-to-earth view of work and life, he isn't really used to celebrating milestones. “I'm not someone who celebrates things very quickly. On the other hand, I think a lot of IT is taken for granted, because things should just work. " Still, Rhesa says he sometimes comes across his own work in code he once helped build, and thinks: “we really did a nice job building that back then.”
Motivated colleagues
According to Rhesa, the fact that Buckaroo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year is mainly down to the dedication of its colleagues. To the careful way people work and the way we accommodate merchants. That's also why he likes the slogan “Paying Attention”. “It ties in with what I said earlier. That we've grown a lot in terms of procedures and things like that. But also that we pay attention to what merchants tell us, what they ask, what they want, what they're able to do and how we can respond to that.”
Just make sure your work becomes truly enjoyable
We were curious whether Rhesa has a wish for the future of Buckaroo. He immediately thinks of his colleagues' job satisfaction and how important that is. “There are two things I would always urge everyone to keep in mind. First: figure out for yourself what makes your work enjoyable and do more of it. Just make sure your work becomes truly enjoyable. I believe there are many people at Buckaroo who want that for you and who can help you with it. People who can give you advice, who want everyone to enjoy themselves and to be able to use their own strengths in their work, or maybe even in a different role or department.
“Just make sure your work becomes truly enjoyable. I believe there are many people at Buckaroo who want that for you and who can help you with it"
You sometimes see your colleagues more often than your family
The second point Rhesa wants to share is that you need to be considerate of each other at work. “If someone reacts differently for once, there may be more going on than just a work-related issue that isn't going smoothly. It's good to realize that there might be something else behind it. You don't have to put your arm around someone straight away, but at least let it go and give them some space. Then I think everyone will enjoy coming to work and can really find satisfaction in what they do. I think that's important, because you obviously see your colleagues a lot. I sometimes see my colleagues more often than close family members. And I think that's true for a lot of people.”
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