Just Passing Thru: July 2014

Beautiful and Healthy Beginnings for Your New Home: The Avida - Unilever Partnership

5:06 AM

Nothing can be as exciting as taking your first step inside your new home. It signifies the fulfillment of one of the foremost dreams of Filipino families which is owning a home. With that excitement comes the hope of leading a fruitful and healthy life. Now you and your family can start right with Avida, Domex, and Cif.

Your new home will be like a blank canvas of unlimited possibilities, waiting to be filled with your ideas and personal preferences. As you add your personal things one by one, you complete the picture that has been in your mind for quite some time. You realize soon after that you will need to maintain your home mainly by cleaning and proper sanitation. Your decision to buy an Avida home just earned you a ticket to healthy living via a cleaning caddy containing a range of Unilever's household care products such as Domex and Cif. Homeowners can also look forward to a series of educational talks about cleaning and sanitation in partnership with communities' respective homeowners associations.

The Avida - Unilever Partnership

Avida Land is a subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc. that provides thoughtfully-designed homes in secure communities. Unilever Homecare is a leading manufacturer of quality products for the home. Together, they aim to work hand-in-hand in promoting healthy living and proper hygiene among Avida homeowners . This is primarily through creating awareness on the use of household cleaning products and encouraging the development of the habit of keeping homes clean.

The partnership was sealed through a simple ceremony where Unilever was represented by Dennis Chua, Domex and Cif Brand Manger and Avida was represented by Tess Tatco, Head of Avida Corporate Marketing and Nancy Delegencia, Customer Care and Product Delivery Head. When both parties were asked as to why each chose the other for this partnership, their answer was simple. Both believe in helping Filipino consumers live a quality and healthy life. They also happen to target the same market - the middle class.

My Say

It would take more than cement and wood to create a truly beautiful home. Happiness of the occupants is the main element. It would require many things to make families happy but the most important is good health. Everything else though still important is secondary.

That said, as new homeowners settle in for the night and see the fruits of their hard work in their new home, there is satisfaction in having dreams fulfilled slowly but surely. This is only the beginning.

home and living

Taking Care of Home Repairs Before They Result to Major Damage

9:31 PM

All homes are bound to have some point of weakness in the face of natural disturbances such as storms. It is important that these points are taken cared of before it is too late. More so if there are obvious repairs needed to be done. Failing to attend to this immediately could easily result to more damage than expected.

This polycarbonate roofing in our garden seems to the weakest point in our own home. It was almost lifted off during the last storm. My husband had to tie it up and put metal clamps on it at the height of the strong winds. It was a good thing that it held up but we may not be as lucky the next time.

Without this polycarbonate roofing in its place, our side door will be fully exposed to the elements. Rain will be able to seep in without difficulty, not to mention that the roofing itself can cause further damage when it slams on another part of the house, or worse a neighbor's house or car. We know we need to find a more permanent solution for this especially since we are expecting many more typhoons for this year.

Taking Care of Home Repairs

1. Conduct regular inspection of all parts of the house ideally during cleaning time. This will ensure that no area is left neglected. Homeowners are often surprised by big repair requirements in areas which are not regularly checked.

2. Address minor repairs at once so they will not become major repair issues. A leaking faucet for example does not only waste water. It can also damage house parts that are reached by the seeping water.

3. Get the services of professionals for major repairs. A botched job of an amateur can easily result to more expensive return jobs. The services of licensed workers will be needed for house concerns related to safety like electricity, plumbing, and permanent structures.

My Say

Often, homeowners tend to delay repairs arguing that they have no time or funds for it. While these challenges are real, the problems that can possibly result from delaying needed home repairs are likewise real. Home maintenance is actually an ongoing thing. It never gets to be fully done.

That said, for the sake of protecting our loved ones and our properties, we need to give time for home repairs.

adulthood

A Lesson in Adulthood Through Typhoon Signals

8:59 PM

BPO companies

What People DO NOT Understand About Being a Call Center Agent

10:23 PM

I have never worked in a call center company, never.

So what gives me the authority to talk about this topic? It is being a mother to a daughter who has probably made the rounds of the best BPO companies in the Philippines before working in a foreign land beckoned to her. During her time, call center companies were just beginning to be known among the new graduates and not-so-new as possible places of employment. I have to admit that I was among those who did not fully understand what it meant to be a call center agent.

Allow me to enumerate the misconceptions many of us may have with regards to the job of a Call Center Agent:

The Job

I don't know whether my daughter purposely showed me the easy side of being a call center agent so I wouldn't worry or if she found it really easy. All I knew was that she went to work excited and went home as sprightly as ever. It was easy enough, so it seems.

But in the way that only a mother can know, I knew it wasn't. She went through all the possible time shifts I could imagine working in. She had to acquire a British accent for her UK accounts. She had to master the art of dealing with all kinds of people including the outrightly obnoxious and unreasonable ones. When she went home teary-eyed one day due to work pressures, we finally settled that it was not easy being a call center agent.

It was physically, intellectually, and emotionally taxing but did she back out? Nah...she decided she'll stick it out to learn and then went on to build her career, challenge after every challenge. Never the less, being a Call Center Agent is not easy.

The Standard

Many people entertain the notion that the call center industry is where people who have nowhere else to go for employment can go. While it is generally flexible when it comes to educational background, gender, and age, among others, this does not mean that call center companies do not select their employees using set standards. Being employed particularly in a reputable call center company provides pride and satisfaction in being part of it.

My daughter puts it quite nicely. A call center company is not a place for losers. For every single day that she worked in one, there is always something new to be learned, always a new goal to be achieved, always an opportunity to be better. A call center agent will always have to look for such opportunities while giving the best to each and every client. A company supportive of employee development is a company that's worth sticking with and building a career on.

The Demographics

During the course of her work in the first call center company she worked for, she asked me if I wanted to be a call center agent as well. I immediately dismissed her suggestion as nonsense because of my age. I was under the impression that all call center agents should be young but apparently, I was mistaken.

She had several co-employees who were actually my age then, and some older, who actually found working as a call center agent very productive and suitable to their work preferences. I think one of the reasons why the call center industry continues to attract new work applicants is the fact that age, race, appearance, are not major obstacles to work effectively in it. However, my daughter thinks having a pleasant professional voice is a plus factor.

The Money

It is not a secret that reputable call center companies offer impressive salaries and benefits to their agents. This has of course attracted many applicants since one would be crazy not to want all that. This has resulted to some misconception that call center agents are in it only because of the money.

My daughter attests to the fact that no matter how attractive the compensation package is, you wouldn't last a minute longer being a call center agent if you are not a "service person", without making your life miserable. Unhappy employees usually end up leaving eventually. Those who make good and stay happily doing the job are those that have real passion for it. It is not always about the money.

The Purpose

Answering calls or making calls is seen by some as a social job. What many people do not understand is the essence behind these calls. It is worth noting that companies like Sykes was created to connect "people in need" with "people who are willing to help". This company was borne from the owner's passion for helping people.

The job therefore asks for genuine service to be rendered. Some call center agents may have misled people from thinking that the job is all about partying by the way they present themselves in social media and other forums. The job itself however, is far from being a reckless party. It is a serious business of helping people in an atmosphere of genuine fun and camaraderie.One more thing, my daughter says it's not true that agents only get yelled at by irate customers and stressed bosses, they also get praises and rewards validating their hard work.

My Say

I don't think many people can imagine climbing the ladder of corporate success through the job position of a call center agent. We have to remember though that all people in top positions in whatever industry, occupied a starting position somewhere below, during the early part of their careers. Even natural heirs to a business can benefit in starting from the bottom.

That said, you need to start working on your career dreams right now because they won't work unless you do. If you wish to succeed in the BPO industry, work on it as dutifully as you would for your dream job because it can be for the right people. Take it from the mother of a proud veteran BPO employee. It isn't for everybody. Do you think it's for you?

This is an entry to the Sykes E-Recruitment Blog Giveaway