Bafana Sibiya and I meet in Flow’s garden on the day of our interview. As we contemplate where to sit, he pulls out a chair for me and says, “Let’s do this.”
Bafana is the senior accounts manager at Flow Communications’ sister company Flow PR. He is responsible for the day to day running of client accounts and he is also involved in reputation management. These clients include the Catholic Institute of Education, Legae Security and the Gauteng Sports Awards.
He holds a National Diploma in International Relations from the former Technikon Pretoria.
A typical day in his life begins around 8:30am when he gets to the office. He goes through his email where he checks for queries from journalists and agencies.
He then goes through those, interacts with stakeholders, responds to client queries and comes up with new strategies.
A challenging day for him would be when there is a crisis to resolve, but luckily in the two months he has been at Flow, there have been none!
So how would he cope when faced with a crisis? Bafana says he would call on the expertise of Flow PR’s CEO Shoni Makhari and together they would come up with strategies for challenging days.
What he loves most about Public Relations is the different people that he gets to interact with, building relationships, making friendships and maintaining them.
“I chose to do PR because I wanted to drive and influence people’s perceptions. I also like meeting people from across different sectors from the media to corporates.”
Asked what sets Flow apart from other agencies that he has worked in is the people, he says. “People at Flow like to interact with each other and we work as complementary teams – this is very rare.”
Asked what differentiates a good Public Relations practitioner from an excellent one, Bafana has one answer: “It’s how you manage the relationships that you have made over the years.
“Being a great PR practitioner is being able to think out of the box and being able to maintain relationships because PR is all about the people that you interact with.”
So far, working for Flow has been great, he says. “It’s been so refreshing; I love the environment and the vibe of this place. You really become creative. We bring a number of personalities to the table, some bubbly, some creative, some more reserved. Flow is a place where you feel appreciated and that your input is valued.”
His colleague, Tshililo Ragimana, describes Bafana as a good team player and friend. “He is friendly and approachable and has a immense experience in Public Relations and communications.”
Bafana says he is constantly in awe of clients who come to Flow wanting certain services, but end up wanting most of what Flow offers. ”Flow is a company with great skills and there is a lot of mutual respect for people and clients.”
In his spare time, he likes listening to smooth and contemporary jazz, attending live music shows, hanging out with friends and family and being outdoors.
Bafana says he is looking forward to growing with the company, getting more experience and hopefully branching into business soon.