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Humans of RCL FOODS: Betty Bila
The woman who opens doors: Betty Bila
Maintenance Administrator | Bread, Buns & Rolls, Bushbuckridge
“Sometimes what feels small to you can change everything for someone else.”
There are people who chase opportunities, and then there are people who create them for others. Spend just a few minutes talking to Betty Bila and you’ll quickly realise she’s the second kind. Long before she joined RCL FOODS, Betty had already learnt what responsibility looked like.
Raised by her mother and grandmother, life changed dramatically after her mother passed away. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about getting herself through each day. It was about helping her five siblings too.
“My grandmother’s pension wasn’t enough for all of us,” she recalls. “So from the age of seven, I started doing people’s hair. If someone gave me two rand or five rand, I’d use it to give my brothers and sisters pocket money for school.” It wasn’t much, but it taught her something that has stayed with her ever since: “We only had each other.” That belief still shapes everything Betty does today.
When a neighbour woke her one morning in 2010 and suggested they “go and try their luck” for promotional roles at what was then Foodcorp, Betty had no idea she was about to begin a career that would span more than 16 years. Nearly 500 people applied, and only six were chosen. Betty was one of them.
“I always say I was lucky,” she laughs. “I didn’t even have a phone back then. They called my friend’s number to say I’d been selected.” Starting as an in-store promoter, Betty spent six years connecting with customers before an unexpected conversation changed the direction of her career.
Her General Manager asked if she’d be willing to manage the cleaning department. She had no experience, but she said yes. “It was bravery more than certainty,” she smiles.
Leading the team wasn’t easy. Many of the employees were older than she was and questioned whether someone from sales could really understand industrial cleaning. Rather than trying to prove herself, Betty chose to listen. “I learnt from them. I listened to their challenges. I never wanted to judge people.”
Slowly, trust grew, and together the team worked towards one goal: passing every audit with no findings. “We won,” she says proudly. Years later, many of those same colleagues still ask her to return as their manager.
That ability to see potential in people didn’t stop with her own team. As an Employment Equity Committee member for almost a decade, Betty found another way to champion opportunities for others. She remembers questioning why one department couldn’t employ women in driving roles when women across South Africa were already driving trucks every day.
“I kept asking, ‘Why not here?'” Eventually, women were appointed into those positions. “That’s when I realised Employment Equity isn’t just a policy. It can change people’s lives.”
Betty carried that same philosophy into her own leadership, regularly encouraging members of her cleaning team to spend time in her office learning administrative skills. “‘Tomorrow isn’t promised,’ I’d tell them. Learn something new.” Not everyone accepted the invitation, but one person did, and today that colleague has grown into a leadership role at another bakery.
“I didn’t do it for recognition,” Betty says. “I just wanted someone else to have opportunities too.” Her own learning has never stopped either. Over the years, Betty has completed courses in Total Quality Management, food safety, SHE, first aid, firefighting and ISO standards, constantly preparing herself for the next challenge.
Today, she works as a Maintenance Administrator and is already planning her next qualification in maintenance planning because, as she puts it, “there’s always something new to learn.” Her journey has taken her from promoting products in-store, to leading a cleaning team, to working in maintenance, but Betty’s willingness to keep learning has remained constant. Each new role has simply been another opportunity to grow.
Ask Betty why she’s stayed at RCL FOODS for more than 16 years and she doesn’t mention promotions or job titles. She talks about culture. “The RCL Way isn’t just something written on paper,” she says. “It’s how people should live. Respect each other. Work towards your goals. Help where you can.”
Outside of work, Betty is happiest surrounded by family, friends and music. She laughs often, and her friends call her “the glue of the group.” Her children have an even better description: “They call me the water in the plants.”
It’s an image that feels surprisingly fitting for someone who has spent so much of her life helping the people around her grow. Whether it’s encouraging a colleague to learn a new skill, advocating for opportunities for women, or simply being the person others turn to for guidance, Betty believes in making a positive difference where she can. It’s a philosophy that extends far beyond her working life.
When asked what legacy she hopes to leave behind, she doesn’t hesitate: “Ubuntu.” For Betty, it’s about the impact we have on one another, often without even realising it. “If you’re a good person and you treat people well, you leave something with them. For you it might seem small, but for someone else, it could change everything.”
