Meet the team behind Sigma Connected in South Africa: Cobus Crous

There’s a huge amount happening across our South African operation, and in this Q&A series we’re meeting some of the people who make it all happen. Hearing about their roles, their teams and what life inside the business in South Africa is really like.

Next up, we’re heading to Diep River to meet Site Director Cobus Crous. The site supports clients across the UK financial services and energy sectors, with everything from customer service and complaints to collections, fraud prevention and specialist back-office work.

Here, Cobus talks about what gives Diep River its energy, how the team balances a strong culture with high standards, and why he’s proudest of the way people come together when things don’t quite go to plan.

Can you introduce your role and the Diep River site?

As Site Director for Sigma Connected’s Diep River operation, I’m responsible for the overall performance, people strategy, client delivery and operational governance of the site.

My role is really about making sure we deliver great results for our clients while creating an environment where our people can grow, develop and do their best work.

What makes Diep River distinctive within Sigma Connected’s South African operation?

The site is home to a really diverse mix of campaigns and functions, which means we can share best practice, develop talent across different disciplines and create broader career opportunities for our people. That diversity has also helped us build a resilient operation that can adapt quickly when client or customer needs change.

Diep River has been designed specifically to support world-class contact centre operations too. It’s open and modern, with a layout that encourages collaboration while still giving leaders clear visibility across their teams.

But what really brings the site to life is the atmosphere. There’s an energy and positivity throughout the building that visitors often notice as soon as they walk through the doors. Whether it’s teams celebrating success, leaders supporting their people or colleagues working together to solve a challenge, there’s a genuine sense of community and belonging.

The vibe is always on. It makes Diep River a supportive, welcoming and enthusiastic place to work, and that culture also helps drive the engagement, teamwork and customer focus behind a high-performing operation.

What does a typical day look like for the teams based there?

The day at Diep River usually starts long before the phones start ringing. As people arrive, you’ll find plenty of smiles, morning greetings and conversations around the coffee stations as colleagues catch up on life, the Diep River Football Tournament and everything in between. It creates a really positive start to the day and sets the tone for what’s ahead.

From there, teams come together for their daily huddles. Across the site you’ll see leaders and teams sharing performance updates, discussing priorities, reviewing KPIs and celebrating the wins from the previous day. It’s a great opportunity to get everyone aligned and motivated before the day gets into full swing.

Once the huddles wrap up, the site becomes a hive of activity. Advisors are supporting customers, leaders are coaching their teams and giving feedback, while our training rooms are always busy helping people develop new skills. There’s always something happening, whether that’s a coaching session, an upskilling workshop or someone preparing for their next promotion opportunity.

Lunchtime brings a different pace, with people gathering in breakout areas, grabbing lunch together or enjoying the spaces around the building. It’s another chance to connect, recharge and have a laugh before heading back to the floor.

It’s a place where people work hard, support one another, celebrate success together and have fun while doing it. That combination of energy, teamwork and positivity is what makes Diep River such a special place to be.

How do you create the right environment for people to perform well and keep developing?

Creating the right environment starts with genuine connection. We believe regular touch-base conversations are essential, giving every employee the chance to talk about their progress, celebrate successes and identify where they want to grow.

Those conversations aren’t just about performance. They’re about helping people take ownership of their journey at Sigma and supporting them along the way.

We encourage open and honest discussions that challenge us to keep improving. Our Sigma Connected values of #AlwaysLearning and #AlwaysBetter are more than words on a wall – they guide how we coach, develop and support one another every day. Whether it’s learning a new skill, preparing for the next role or finding better ways of working, continuous improvement is part of our culture.

Listening to our people is equally important. Through our monthly Culture Club forums, employees have a direct voice with senior leadership. They can raise concerns, share ideas and highlight areas where they think we can do better. Most importantly, it gives us the chance to listen, act and resolve issues as quickly as possible.

We’ve also taken a lot from our recent Employee Feedback Survey. People were honest about what we’re doing well and where we need to improve, and we’ve made those areas a priority. Communication plays a huge part in that, so people understand what’s happening, why decisions are being made and how they contribute to our shared success.

Ultimately, the goal is simple: create an environment where people feel valued, supported, informed and empowered to perform at their best. When people have confidence in themselves, trust in their leaders and opportunities to grow, great results tend to follow.

What kind of work do the teams at Diep River support for clients and their customers?

Now that’s a difficult question to answer briefly because the variety of work we do at Diep River is incredible.

One of the things that makes the site so unique is the breadth of services we provide across the UK financial services and energy sectors. On any given day, our teams are supporting customers through some of life’s most important and sometimes most challenging moments.

For some clients, we manage the entire complaints journey, making sure customers receive fair and compliant outcomes in line with FCA regulations. For others, our specialist collections teams support customers who may be experiencing financial difficulty, helping them manage their debt in a way that takes affordability and vulnerability into account. These are often sensitive conversations where empathy, understanding and finding the right solution are just as important as achieving the right outcome.

We also have teams delivering frontline customer service, helping customers with everything from account queries and billing questions to service requests and general support. These interactions are often the face and voice of our clients’ brands, so every conversation counts.

Behind the scenes, there’s a huge amount of specialist work happening too. Some teams focus on back-office services, making complex account corrections and resolving customer issues within the energy sector. Others work in fraud prevention, helping protect customers and businesses by identifying and preventing suspicious activity.

What ties all of these functions together is the expertise of our people. Whether they’re helping a vulnerable customer find a manageable repayment plan, resolving a complaint, supporting a customer service enquiry or preventing fraud, our teams are making a real difference every day.

That’s what makes Diep River so special. We don’t support just one type of customer or one type of service. We bring together a wide range of skills, experience and specialist knowledge to deliver strong outcomes across multiple industries, all from one vibrant and highly capable site.

How do you keep the site culture strong while still meeting client expectations and operational standards?

For me, it all starts with servant leadership. It’s at the core of who we are and how we lead. People work for people, and creating the right environment means taking the time to listen, understand and genuinely care about what matters to our teams.

Our role as leaders isn’t only to deliver results today. It’s also to help shape the stars of tomorrow. That means investing in our people, creating opportunities for growth and having real conversations about both successes and areas for improvement. We challenge one another every day to live our Sigma values, because continuous development drives both individual and team success.

Open and honest communication is essential too. We encourage our teams to speak up, share ideas and challenge us when they see opportunities to improve. The best cultures are built together, not imposed from the top down.

At the same time, there’s a clear focus on performance. Everyone understands how their individual goals contribute to their team’s success, our clients’ objectives and Sigma’s wider ambitions. When people have clarity, feel supported and understand the impact they make, great results tend to follow.

And while we’re serious about delivering for our clients, we also believe in having fun along the way. It’s part of who we are as South Africans. The energy, warmth and sense of community people experience when they visit the site is one of the reasons clients are drawn to South Africa, and more specifically to Sigma. We work hard, celebrate success, support one another through challenges and create an environment where people genuinely enjoy coming to work.

What are you proudest of when you think about the people and performance at Diep River?

Without a doubt, I’m most proud of how our people respond when faced with adversity.

Whether it’s transport disruption, severe weather, unexpected operational challenges or simply days when things don’t go to plan, the people at Diep River have an incredible ability to come together, find solutions and keep moving forward. There’s a real sense of ownership and resilience across the site that makes me proud every day.

What stands out is the Sigma Connected spirit that exists throughout the business. When challenges arise, people don’t ask, ‘Is this my problem?’ They ask, ‘How can I help?’ It doesn’t matter which team, department or campaign you belong to. Everyone is willing to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and work together to get things back on track.

I’m also proud of the trust we’ve built within our teams. As leaders, our role isn’t to have all the answers or take control of every situation. It’s about creating an environment where people feel empowered to step up, make decisions and lead when it matters most. We trust our people because we know they’re capable, and that trust gives them the confidence to perform at their best.

I’ve always believed that without trust, even the most talented person can start to feel overwhelmed or unsure of themselves. When people know they’re trusted, supported and backed by their leaders, they often achieve far more than they thought possible.

Of course, I’m proud of the results we deliver for our clients, but what makes those results special is the people behind them. The teamwork, resilience, humility and willingness to support one another are what really define Diep River.

When I look around the site, I don’t just see high-performing teams. I see future leaders, colleagues lifting each other up and a culture that consistently shows the very best of Sigma Connected.