I Wrote This

I saw this on eCentral today.

No credit given to me, but then this is not an article, its just a profile of our program. I wrote this on my last day with my team. Remember I said I went back to the office and stayed until six in the evening? This was one of the things I worked on.

I hope to find something interesting to contribute to eCentral. It would be nice to see my name in an official eTelecare article.

Decisions, decisions

I need to make a decision soon. For years I’ve been waiting for a support post outside of Ops to clear up. Now that there is one available and I finally have the permission to leave Matrix, I find myself confused. Our site’s HR Officer is resigning. I’ve been allowed to submit an LOI. At the same time, XPS is looking for a SOIC. Both will require me to undergo an assessment but I have no clear idea which way to go.

A few months back I went through a SOIC assessment. After a written assessment, I made the final three. That should give me confidence, but I am scared to go through another interview. And honestly, I feel that there are other leaders who want the job more than I do. I wish I were tougher and more agressive. If I were, I’d say yes to a chance with the XPS panel. But I’m a wimp, and all these insecurities are creeping up. What do I know about being a SOIC? I have very high expectations from my leaders, surely there would be equal expectations from me if I were the SOIC. I wish I were more like Erika, who would never back out from a chance to move up. Yes, I would like to get to that position, eventually. Why not now? Because... because I’m a wimp. I don’t want to be labeled as the dumbest SOIC, I guess. I don’t want to bug everyone around me when I don’t know what to do. So maybe I ought to choose the path outside of Ops.

HR Officer. I never imagined myself working in HR. I’ve had my chance in recruiting (as a recruiting specialist in Asia Food, and a screener in eTel after my maternity leave), and I didn't really love it. It was the same thing day in and day out. But what prompted me to consider it is the normal nine to five deal. Why is Camille resigning? I’m sure there’s not as much pressure in HR compared to Ops, but am I cut out to be a “berdugo?” “Berdugo” is a harsh word, but it takes a toughie to go through all those dismissal cases. I recall crying like a stupid ass when I served dismissal papers to a team member last year. Great. Now I feel like I can’t be an HR Officer too. So maybe I ought to stay put.

Decisions, decisions.

The Write Up

Last week, Jon, Tin and I were obsessing about our TL kits and write ups. We are due for STL (Senior Team Lead) assessment (yey), and as usual, we were comparing notes.

Here’s what I came up with:

I never imagined that I would become a team leader when I first stepped in eTelecare. In my stay here, I discovered that this company gives much trust to its employees. I say this because I had no professional leadership experience when I was entrusted to support my very own team.

It was through the leadership development modules and the support of my colleagues and superiors that I was able to help my team members achieve their goals. With this I realized the value of interdependence. I could not have survived without asking a few of my co-team leads how a few things are supposed to be done. Now that I am one of the tenured team leads, I am always happy to answer questions raised to me by our younger TOICs.

I’ve learned that building a solid relationship with the team members has many rewards. For one, the fun and friendship we have cultivated keep us going to work, even during those inevitable “down times.”

In the workplace, some stand out while the others just blend in the background. As a TL, I believe in rewarding those who work hard to meet and exceed their targets. I also believe that it is my job to make sure no one is left behind. As the leader I am responsible for my team and what I would like to see is for everyone to have a special role. Nobody is left watching. Everyone should have a chance at a task, no matter how small it is. This promotes ownership and further enhances relationships within the team.

Three years of team handling has allowed me to see different personalities in my team members. They taught me that there is no one way to handle them. Some teams long for a gentle hand, and some pursue an iron fist. I assure myself that whichever way I take is fine, for as long as I am able to accomplish my purpose. And that is to bring out the best in them.

I’ve come to know that sacrifice is necessary in this line of work. Years after having graduated from calls, sometimes I still find myself on the other end of the line, trying to figure out a way to resolve an internet connection issue. When service levels are at stake, we have to do what we can to make the load lighter for everyone. Sacrifice has many faces. Sometimes it’s called right-sizing. It is always sad to lose a team, but being open minded about it helps. Looking at the glass half-full made me realize how much I gained being assigned to work on a special project and being cross-posted to a different department.

The role of a leader is both challenging and rewarding. It’s a learning process that has made me a better person. I have given out much as a team leader, but the experience has given me so much more.

Whacked But Happy

Friday has got to be the most stressful day of the week for me at work. Actually, it’s Friday night and Saturday morning. It’s my first day back from my days off, and the moment I sit in front of my workstation, I am practically useless to my team until the end of the shift.

First thing I do is sort through email that I received during my rest days. This can take a while since a lot of those dreaded email are To Dos or updates for immediate cascade. Apart from my daily tasks as a Team Lead, Friday night until Saturday morning is spent collecting weekly and month to date scores to be presented in our weekly shift meeting. The meeting is always at 5:00AM, Saturday.

My shift is from 10:30PM to 7:30AM. I logged out at around 10:15AM today. It’s not unusual for me to stick around after all my team members have gone off. After the long shift meeting, I have to be back at my workstation to complete all the deliverables I wasn’t able to work on because of the prep for the meeting, and the actual meeting.

I just have to mention that I was in the office since around 6:45PM last night. I’m no saint. I didn’t start working when I got to the office. Normally, I would be at home reading, typing, playing QuadraPop or WTA Tour on my Sony Ericsson mobile phone, just doing anything that will tire my eyes until I fall asleep. But last night was a special case. Denver emailed me late afternoon, pissed at the whole world. My wifely instincts urged me to get up and come to his rescue.

As promised, I was there before his lunch hour. I surprised him with his favorite chocolate mousse and got us both Jollibee Value Meals. It may not seem much but I know I was able to give him some comfort in one of the worst days in his career.

I wasn’t able to get a minute’s sleep, I reprimanded the Jollibee food attendant for giving me chicken breast, I had nothing to eat in my own lunch hour, my team must absolutely think I am worthless, I am exhausted and starving right now, but I say it was all worth it. In my husband’s dilemma, I found a good opportunity for us to connect. Stars for me! He always complains about me being mostly apathetic when he has issues.

I am so whacked, but I’m just so happy to cheer him up.

The G.R.O. Party

eTel had its annual Christmas party on December 17 at the PICC Forum. I’ve been meaning to post a picture from this event but it took a while for me to get rid of the ugly usiseras in the background.

Like most people I know, my main motivation for attending the Christmas party was the raffle. The company was giving out P50,000, trips to Hong Kong, and gadgets I can’t afford. I won a rice cooker in the 2003 Christmas party, and since then I always have this feeling that I’m going to win in any raffle. I never won again but the feeling just won’t go away.

Anyway, the party sucked. First off, there weren’t enough seats. Did they expect us to have dinner standing up? We managed to sit on one of the stairs near the buffet. The food wasn’t all that great too. As for the program, I stopped paying attention shortly after getting to the venue. I could hear the host speaking but I couldn’t understand a word coming out of his mouth. Must be a problem with the sound system.

The event really was a G.R.O. party of sorts (heavy make-up, short skirts, scarred legs, dark knees, just a bunch of wannabes in every corner).

The only good thing that happened on that night was seeing old friends. This picture is a mix of my old and new teams… Groove Armada, Alpha Trion and my very own AfterBurn. I wish more of the old and new members were in this picture.