When people return to Avanade, they come back for all sorts of reasons. But Tannya Follington’s is particularly unique: A 12-month soul searching journey led her back home. 

Tannya first came to Avanade in 2011 to do some contract work after she left her role in financial services – role in which she had actually been a client of Avanade’s. 

“I had built an amazing relationship and was just so happy as a client for the talented resources and services that I was receiving,” she recalled. “So when Avanade reached out to me and said, ‘Are you interested in coming to do a small piece of work for us?’ I said, ‘Yeah! Absolutely, I would.’” 

That small piece of contract work turned into a full-time role that would keep her at Avanade for over five years before another opportunity “lured” her away. The transformation director role excited her – she would be working on an enterprise strategy to consolidate multiple technologies under one centralized model.  

But Tannya would very quickly realize the grass was not greener (or oranger, as it were) on the other side. 

“The organization that I went to had a completely different culture,” she said. “It was a bit of a culture shock for me. As an organization, they needed to change, but they didn’t want to change. It really made me realize and have a greater appreciation for the sheer talent of change agents that Avanade attracts, and the talented people with the highest of values, integrity and morals.” 

Ultimately, the fit wasn’t right and Tannya resigned and embarked on a year of self-discovery. 

“I took 12 months out of the corporate world,” Tannya said. “I tapped out to really find me again and to find what I valued in a working career and what I wanted to achieve.” 

What did that look like? She pursued higher education in digital marketing, digital photography and social media; she recommitted herself to health and fitness and become a competitive powerlifter (she recently broke three Australian records!); she volunteered as the head of strategy for Powerlifting Australia. At the end of the experience, she had a startling realization. 

“When I was able to choose how I wanted to spend my time, I was still out learning, still out in the digital world, still contributing at a strategic level,” Tannya said. “It was a real eye-opener for me to see what I truly love. That really aligned with me coming back into Avanade—all of this is what we do at Avanade.” 

So when the right role opened up, she jumped at the chance to apply. Now back at the company as a Director of Business Development, Tannya said she feels more blessed than ever to be working at Avanade. 

“Coming back, when I walked in the door day one, I had friendly, familiar faces, saying, ‘Welcome home.’ That was extraordinary. I never expected that,” she said. “The DNA inside Avanade is like nothing I’ve experienced at any other organization. Particularly now that I’ve gone back out into conservative, corporate Australia, I was yearning to come back into an organization that truly lives and breathes their values.”