A Shattered Life

Last Friday, Oct 31, the whole Information Services department of my current employer had its quarterly meeting. It’s like a townhall meeting that is done to update the employees on where the group (and the company in general) is heading. I must admit that I was awed with what was presented by head of the department(Alex) and his deputy(David).

The activity was opened, as usual, by Alex with a inspiring story and then together with David, they gave us a sneak preview…. no, a considerably detailed preview, of the things to come the organization. Unlike the previous meeting, the duo has presented a coherent plan on where to bring the organization. It embodies the SMART planning which is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Based.

Foremost of the plan is the implementation of critical success factors. Some of them were already implemented and basically, there’s much to be done. And I was impressed with how they embedded work-life balance in the plan. They clearly laid out what they want to achieve, how to achieve it, and how all the stakeholders(especially employees) will benefit from it. There’s also a mention of salary and benefit adjustments though it was also stated that based on the latest studies, the company is still on top percentile rank in terms of employee compensation and they plan to continue to be there.

I hope I can get a copy of the slides presented by David and share some of them with you. I also didn’t get the chance to jot it down as I was afraid that I miss something with what David is telling us. But one important part of the Critical Success Factors presented is the need to change. The need to break the status quo. We need to challenge ourselves to continue to perform better and provide better value to the needs of the company and its customers.

This type of townhall meeting is one of the things what my former employer failed to deliver to the employees. Yes, they tried but I think they need to try harder. MG tried and continues to try but the culture in the company is a big stumbling block getting on his way.

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Rant 1:
Oh well, I don’t know why but on my first year with my former employer, they had this Project Unison that was implemented with Accenture. It involved sweeping changes in the processes that did not sit well with the ‘veterans’, especially the whiners. It’s a pain in the ass but in the end, it made us perform better. We delivered tangible results to our customers and put us on our toes all the time. It was an endless step up but it helped put us in a better shape and ready to face the world. After all, the best practices implemented help the organization achieve CMMI level 1. And though they did not apply for higher level of certification, I think they already achieve that. It’s just that they have to maintain what they achieved and continue to step up because clearly, there’s much more that can be done. I say ‘They’ because I’m no longer part of that organization.

And guess what, my current employer is going into that direction (CMMI) in the next few months. Luckily, I am better prepared. Oh, did I tell you that I’m working with Accenture right now? They are the vendor for the CRM project and as part of the participation of the company in the project, they lent some of their IT staff. That included me. And yes, I’m reporting to an Accenture manager.

Rant 2:
I remember in one of the “coffee meeting with the GM” in my previous employer, the HR manager revealed that they want to be at the 70% percentile rank in compensation. According to them, the company is at the 90+% level and the management isn’t happy with that. That meant less increase and less benefits. And here in my employer in Singapore, the company want to stay at the top and keep their employees happy. I’m not basking my former employee but I’m just presenting a fact.

It’s my first day of work here in Singapore. Honestly, it’s a great first day. Considering that it’s my first time to be employed outside of the Philippines, things went smoothly. I got my office supplies(notebook, puncher, rulers, ballpens, erasers, pencils, etc) immediately and had my own PC as well as phone. Not bad, right? On my previous company, I never had a puncher nor a stapler issued to me. Maybe my previous employer wanted to promote paperless office. J

No, I’m not basking at my former employer. To be honest, I love that company. As a matter of fact, I guess it’s my experience on providing onsite support in various countries that helped me make myself at ease here in SH. Of course, there will still be a lot of adjustments to be done. Though their processes are similar to my previous employer(let’s give a pseudocode of AIU), there are obvious differences.

Beside that, I’m a programmer here. Some of the people I knew would raise their eye brows but that’s true. I have fewer responsibilities here now, something that I have been longing for so long time already. I’m actually very happy to tell you that in the last 6 years, I think this is the first time I received so few emails in a work day. However, I already have three tickets (work requests/incident requests) waiting for me. As the saying goes, “Send Me To War!!!” But I’ll take it slow. I already set to my mind that I won’t be ‘Totoy Bibo’ here. I’ll try(just try) to be a little passive for some time but I’ll also evaluate the situation from time to time.

On a separate note, I’m now officially part of the Bagong Bayani (New Heroes) otherwise known as Overseas Filipino Workers. I’m officially part of the millions of Filipinos working abroad. Once I start sending money to my home country, a couple of thousand dollars will be added to that more than $1B monthly being sent to the Philippines.