breakfast with my prince

challenged by the simplest

i was kind of hoping i will not talk about work again. but the sad truth is..that is what’s filling my brain and fuels my fire..today is a different story..as you might not know…our management team has been, for the past good 8 weeks, fighting long and hard for one battle..that is asking the agents 3 key things – to capture the customer’s email, verify specific information when needed, and document all information that they have discussed on their notes. 3 simple things that 6 of the most competent operations managers in our company could not win over. we have tried several analysis, different management principles, and have even skipped levels down to get to the root of it and hopefully nip it. it’s our 9th week on the battle, and we have not own. there are still agents forgetting to capture the email, not phonetically spelling it right, and agents unable to document the right information. you might wonder, how can a very simple task, could be such a great challenge for very “seemingly” great leaders of the company? today, i have found the answer.

we are quite blessed with an awesome vendor manager. he sat with us today, together with my co-OM (operations manager) and asked very simple things – how many outliers do you have in email capture? how many in call logging? what are their names? what have your team leaders done yesterday to address these outliers. Dumbfounded, i am not able to answer all questions. I have claimed to have studied maxwell, blanchard, and the greatest leadership authors of our time. I have spent grueling hours studying the six sigma principle and how i can actually apply it at work..but come to think of it, i was not able to apply it. Zero defect is about being able to control the controllables. The art of war taught us that calculated victory is the key to success. I felt cold water splashed on my face because the answer is staring right in front of me…name your outliers, and address it. In addressing it means, diligently monitor and control that X agent is able to capture the email on each of his calls. That is called discipline and focus. That is what we have been campaigning to our agents to ensure they are able to comply and yet that is what we’ve missed.

Tomorrow as i face my team, i am confident that the battle is soon to end. We have the strategy that will end this battle. It’s in our hands, and it’s about time that the dust settles so we can start executing.

nasaan kana ely buendia?

isa po akong kilalang eraserheads fan…naubos ang 4 na taon na anking ginugol sa high school kakaisip, kakahabol, at kakatankilik sa aking pinakamamahal na bandang eraserhaeds. sila ang nagpapaikot ng aking mundo. gaya ng kahit na anong pangarap, kapag may sapat na dahilan at tiyaga na mataim, ito ay hindi malayong mararating.

nakilala ko ang banda nung sila’y gawin kong tmapok ng aking term paper bago ako makatapos ng 4th year high school. disisais palang ako nung hinabol ko sila sa chatterbox para sa isang interview. sukdulan ang aking galak ng ako’y kanilang pinaulakan. walang kapantay na ligaya ang aking naramdaman sa aking unang pagkakataong makapanayam ang bawat isa – si marcus, buddy, raymond, at shempre si ely. mahaba ang aming paguusap…parang walang katapusan..at hindi lumaon, yun ang simula ng sunud sunod na pagsasama…

naging bukas ang komunikasyon ko sa banda…maraming tanghalan ang aking napanood na kasama silang bumyahe..maraming kuwento..kurukuro…etc etc…

2003 kami nagkita ni ely sa bicol.1 year after mawala ang eraserheads…nakakatuwa..hindi na nya ako kilala…nagkausap kami ng matagal tagal ng panahon na iyon…nalulunkot sha at lahat ng kabanda nya ay umusbong na sa larangan ng musika…sha nalang daw ang nanatiling sha parin…

at ngayon..makalipas ang labing labindalawang taon, sumasagi sa aking isipan..nasaan na kaya ang ligaya na nagpatibok ng puso ng libu libong pilipino..paano ito nalunod ng alikabok ng panahon?

nasaan kana ely buendia?

coaching

How wonderful it is that an industry called call center can actually create millions of dollars by the quality of coaching it is able to deliver…it is quite an interest to see how one person mature over a period of time…through the magic of coaching..

coaching – the act of mentoring or counseling another person by a credible and authorized person for a specific goal that should be achieved over a period of time through a series of action plans.

it shakes my brain a little bit to know how great companies that i have worked in the past have not realized the power of coaching. companies such as mccann or unilever never thrived on feedback mechanism but solely relied on an employees’ eucational background and stature to determine leadership potential and capabilities. if you’re from ateneo or la salle, (just like seiko) you must be good.

i personally have fallen in love with the call center industry by the mere fact that it’s system is embedded with growth for its people. It’s contrary to what many people believe in that it is for brainless telephone operators who wants the quick buck. it is a dynamic and fast growing organization that is rooted in a value such as sincerely helping its people bring you to the next level.

i was an agent in march 2005. 6 months after i was a team leader. 6 months there after, i was a quality supervisor, 3 moths, a training and quality supervisor. On september 2007, i am an operations manager. There are quite a few reasons for this growth. it is not only intense hard work. it is because i was coached, and i learned to coach others.

monday afternoon

got back from work.. my son asleep..he got a huge bump on his forehead..that’s why my hubby had to rearrange the room again. i had it changed yesterday to make it look more like a room…but he had to re-do it coz my kid bumped his head on the corner of the wood of the bed…we don’t have a pretty room yet..coz we haven’t bought a nice king size bed…have to spend so many things pa…anyway…our yaya has not gone home for 2 weeks now so the laundry is over and above my height…:P…she said she’s going back later…urrr..so hard to get a reliable, dependable nanny…anyway…it was a long tiring day…i’m quite agitated today coz i started a new box of diet pills…maggie fitness essence…i hope it’s effective..my throat is just dry the whole time…i drank like 2 gallons of water today…gulp gulp gulp…

talk to you tom…

its sunday again

trying to catch up with my kiddo…im still occupied new revalations from yesterday’s trup..i cant believe that one of my closest guy friends is a gay.

tagaytay yesterday..