It takes bravery to grow. It isn’t an easy process and it’s seldom straightforward. But with the right attitude, reaching your growth goals is attainable, and it will be a rewarding journey.

At Yoco, growth isn’t just a business goal–it’s ingrained in our team culture. We recently chatted to Cindy Prodgers, Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at Yoco, about her self-discovery and growth journey at Yoco over the past three and a half years.

Discovering Yoco

Cindy first encountered Yoco years before joining the company whilst shopping at a Christmas market. She came across some adorable hand-knitted teddies that she wanted to buy for her nieces, but realised she didn’t have enough cash.

Fortunately, the seller had a Yoco card machine - an encounter that left a lasting impression: “The seller proudly brought out this little, blue machine that looked like a mobile phone, and at the end of the transaction, asked if she could email me the receipt.”

“I asked about the machine and she told me that it had made such a massive impact in her life. It transformed her hobby into a profitable business.”

Taking card payments with ease meant the seller could turn her side project into a thriving opportunity. Seeing the merchant’s excitement about how Yoco had transformed her small business solidified Cindy’s admiration for the company.

Years later, when a Talent Acquisition (TA) Lead role opened at Yoco, the decision was easy: “It’s the fastest job application I’ve ever submitted.”

Going backwards to move forwards

Cindy secured the TA Lead role and began her journey as a Yoco employee: “I spent the first 18 months building the team, being in a recruiter seat myself, and structuring TA operations for scale. I had been leading TA teams for about 20 years and it was my comfort zone, but not my happy place.”

The nature of this role started to take a toll. Cindy says, “I was stress fatigued, I was missing novelty. I was solving the same problems continuously for years, and I’d actually lost my mojo, my passion and my drive for it.”

At the same time, she was managing the emotional aftermath of experiencing corporate bullying in a previous job.

“My self-esteem was not in a good place. And in a company like Yoco, you need to have a clear sense of self. You need to believe in your capability and find ways to be resourceful.”

Cindy realised she needed to redefine her career path, and she turned to Yoco’s internal coach. Yoco’s support helped her figure out that she needed to step back from the TA Lead role and reconnect with work she truly loved.

“I realised that I needed to go backwards in my career to move forwards again. I needed to figure out how to reconnect with the passion for the work I do.”

Growing through challenging times

By Cindy’s second year at Yoco, the company had tripled in size, and there was foundational project work that needed to be done in the people team.

“Yoco realised my strengths in getting complex deliverables over the line, and my broad HR knowledge. They asked me if I would be the people team project manager for the next year.”

Doing meaningful work

With Yoco’s support, Cindy pivoted into this new role: “For the first time in 20 years of my career, I was an independent contributor.”

“It was a space of creativity for me. It gave me space to do work I really enjoyed and was good at. And I came alive again.”

After years of fatigue and stress, this new position brought about a shift in Cindy’s career, setting the stage for her continued growth.

This was enabled by the Head of TA, who Cindy acknowledges as the best thing that happened to her: “We are a perfect pair in terms of how we compliment each other’s work styles, and she’s allowed me space to explore multiple roles.”

By the end of her second year, Cindy noticed she had started to miss engaging with the front of the business, since her work had been mostly internally-focused. Yoco had a niche hiring plan for the following year, and she was offered the opportunity to act as a TA partner, whilst continuing with internal project work.

“I had led teams doing this kind of work for years–I managed their output. So it was quite daunting to be out of my comfort zone,” says Cindy.

“I’ve never been a ladder climber. That’s never been my key motivator. What’s important to me is if I’m able to contribute everything possible that I have within me every day.”

What matters most to Cindy is what she’s learning, the relationships she’s building, and if her work is impactful to the success of the company.

Mastering your craft

Cindy’s journey at Yoco helped her focus on the work she is truly passionate about, without the pressure of having to move into a managerial position in the future.

She says, “At Yoco, we’ve designed two career tracks. One is the independent contributor and the other is management.”

Mastering your craft is a core value at Yoco, and employees are encouraged and supported to pursue this throughout their career journey - even if that path is non-linear.

Trusting the environment

Throughout her journey at Yoco, Cindy found that it was essential to trust the environment and what it had to offer. And Yoco’s environment encourages people to step outside of their comfort zones.

“Yoco calls on individuals to stretch themselves, and not to stay in one lane, but rather to challenge themselves with opportunities presented to them.”

This space motivated Cindy to explore different aspects of her role and strengths, which turned out to be a transformative experience. But she notes that she had to adopt the right attitude and mindset: “If you want to have a transformative experience at Yoco, like anything, you have to come as an open book.”

“Anything that is making you feel uncomfortable is not about the environment. It’s about what’s going on inside you, and where you are in your own personal and professional development journey.”

“If you trust this constantly evolving environment, which is driven by great values and operating principles, you’ll naturally grow alongside the company’s continuous development.”

Unlearning to grow

Cindy’s career growth came with personal growth as well: “I had to do a lot of unlearning when I came into Yoco. One thing I had to learn is that authority and influence are different.”

“If you want influence, your job title has got nothing to do with it. It’s how you show up, it’s how you act as a master of your craft, it’s how you take responsibility for your own growth, how you navigate obstacles, how you unlock other people.”

This is one of the biggest learnings Cindy has taken away from her experience at Yoco: “It’s completely changed me as a person. How I operate at and outside of work.”

“The way the founders built the company was to set up the landscape for people to perform, grow and develop, whilst being who they truly are. Real with a dash of quirk.”

If you’re looking for a meaningful work environment where you can grow both professionally and personally, visit our careers page to explore our current job openings.