Page 11 - SPiCE Magazine (September 2019)

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“MakE the unexpected happen” 90 employees. I was one of less than 20 staff members retained. I remember

By JP Reyes, AVP for Operations the mental and physical stress of being a first-time team lead. On most days,
I spent 12 to 14 hours at the office to assist my team and help them with
In his speech during the launch of SPi Global’s 40th entrusted with multimillion dollar projects, letting me their tasks. Such situations force you to grow not just as a leader, but also
Anniversary, our President and CEO Ratan Datta said create my own team structure, strategize based on as a well-rounded person. Having the mindset of responsible acceptance
that he still doesn’t know how he became CEO, which business needs, and experiment a little. was necessary and the knowledge that tons of effort and sacrifice will
got me thinking about my journey to becoming ease the pressure and eventually normalize became our redemption.
Associate Vice President. My career wasn’t always this promising, though. From
disagreements with colleagues to client escalations and Along with supportive mentors, colleagues, and clients through the years,
Over the course of 15 years at SPi Global, I am fortunate project reassignments, I have experienced any work the internal training programs at SPi Global provided me with much needed
to have experienced career progression from entry-level, challenge imaginable. confidence boost. Apart from soft skills training for leadership, customer service,
individual contributor to more senior positions. At 37 and quality assurance, I completed all aSPire medal programs, where I
years old, I am managing multiple projects that revolve After graduating Computer Engineering from MAPUA spearheaded ideation and continuous improvement projects. I also
around content engineering, supporting clients’ University, I worked as a technical support engineer – a submitted and completed Yellow and Green belt projects under
platforms, and data analytics. I provide direction to different field from software development and hardware the Lean Six Sigma program that helped our projects meet
nearly 300 employees consisting of software develop- technologies where my interests lie. Being an only child, different SLAs. I was also fortunate to be sent to the US for
ers/engineers, analysts/editors, database/full-text I’ve always had this need to be independent and help out client coordination, business meetings, and workshop.
designers, and content specialists/product owners my family as much as I can, which is why I immediately
across multiple sites to improve business services, accepted the first job offer I received. Now, I’m a firm believer in teamwork as the driver to success.
boost financial performance, and ensure operations I teach my teams to place an emphasis on collaboration,
Months into my first job, a couple of companies invited
processes are well-aligned with SPi Global’s overall visibility, and open communication in everyday leadership.
me to apply for roles in software engineering. One of
vision. Making an effort to regularly engage in team consultations,
them was SPi Global, where my initial interview did not
business review and project status meetings, and even quick
As part of the Operations team, we always need to go well. When HR informed me that they’ll “be in touch”, I chats with team members on the floor make a huge difference
find ways to improve our client services, so a big part was definite that I’ll get passed up for another candidate. in team dynamics. Communication is a two-way street, so in
of my day goes to strategizing and examining solutions
The offer from “Company B” was very promising. Equally, these encounters with colleagues and superiors, keeping both
that will make us a better business partner. I must
the position I had applied for was interesting and chal- lines open is always the best approach.
also ensure that my unit is aligned with the company’s
lenging. The only downside was that I would have had to
overall direction, including monitoring and improving my Technology and collaboration should go together. SPi Global is
travel a total of four to five hours a day to report to work.
unit’s financial performance. Thus, I usually start my day transforming to a more technology-driven company to better
reading and responding to emails, meeting clients, and The call-back from HR came several weeks later, inviting address our clients’ needs and stay ahead of the competition.
conducting team consultations. To help me prepare for me for another round of interviews. At that time, I was If these two components are not aligned, it will take us a very
tasks and manage my time more effectively, I regularly seriously considering taking the offer from “Company B”. long time to go where we are going.
check my calendar and agenda for the following days. But SPi Global was my first choice and I was willing to do
The kind of services my teams provide are better aligned to the company’s
whatever it takes to be part of the company.
My team uses automation and engages in monitoring, direction now than ever before. We are putting more focus on robust
implementation, and change management for efficient After more than six hours of one-on-one and panel technologies and best strategies that bring process improvement and value
and timely delivery of content platforms of clients in the interviews with different teams– including team leads to clients through robotics process automation (RPA), machine learning (ML),
news, business, legal, regulatory, and health sectors. and directors – SPi Global finally found a suitable and analytics. Currently, the team is in the middle of putting together a
Aside from developing conversion programs, we conduct project for me. proposal that will revolutionize a client’s systems using a new tool that has
analysis and gather product requirements directly from been created by revamping old processes and marrying them into SPi Global’s
content providers across the globe including CNN, The rest, as they say, is history. tech products. This exciting development involves a more proactive approach
Japan Times, Dun & Bradstreet, and Legal firms. We also and is going to impact how we do things.
Going to unfamiliar terrain can be tough, as you have to
cater to an analytics startup company’s software devel-
acquire new knowledge to understand processes better Reflecting on my life as an employee of SPi Global, I realize that time truly is
opment requirements.
and faster. always of the essence. Spending at least eight to nine hours a day at work must
What I love the most about my job is that I work and mean something. And it’s up to us to make them meaningful, by giving it our
In 2008, I went through one of the hardest hitting
talk with different people in our and our clients’ organi- best. Attitude is the great driver of altitude and we must keep the fire burning and
obstacles of my career, when a 10-year old project got
zations. It is a never-ending opportunity to learn from do the right thing, for it is in commitment and perseverance to excel that we can
pulled out from my team, resulting in the layoff of over
people’s experiences and skills. And I feel lucky that I am truly make the unexpected happen.