BPInoy Opens Nomination for Biggest Yet Search for Outstanding Pinoys Abroad

Do you know an exceptional overseas Pinoy? The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) now opens the nomination for outstanding overseas Filipinos (OFs) for the 6th BPInoy Awards, an annual recognition for Pinoy achievers in the global platform and the biggest one yet to happen in its history as BPI celebrates its 160^th year this 2011.

This year’s awardees will be joining the roster of past BPInoy Awardees such as White House executive chef Ms. Cristeta Pasia-Comerford, BBC news presenter Rico Hizon, internationally-acclaimed fashion designers Monique Lhuillier and Josie Natori, and world acclaimed Lea Salonga and International signing sensation Charice Pempengco.

“We commend the Filipinos who take risks in a far away country wearing his distinct nationalism as his pride and honor. In turn, they become global achievers and continue to bring pride to the country with their achievements. Through the BPInoy Awards, we recognize these Filipinos, our country’s pride and modern heroes that today’s youth can also look up to,” says Teresita Tan, BPI EVP and Group Head of Overseas Banking and Channel Services Group.

Individuals of Filipino heritage, regardless of current citizenship, and of good moral character, may be nominated for their outstanding achievements as long as they have lived and or worked overseas. All nominees will be evaluated by the BPInoy Awards Steering Committee based on criteria that include top-of-mind awareness and societal impact of achievements, among others.  Two awardees will be chosen for the Arts and Media or Sports Category and Business or Science and Technology Category.

Nominations may be made by any Filipino individual or organization based locally or internationally, by sending a short article about the nominee, specifically on his/her accomplishments that have brought honor and pride to the country which answers the questions:

·         Why does the nominee deserve recognition as a BPInoy Awardee?

·         How have the nominee’s efforts made a difference for the betterment of the Overseas Filipino community abroad?

·         Is there anything else that makes the nominee exceptional or unique?

Entries must be submitted on or before May15, 2011 to bpinoyawards@bpi.com.ph addressed to Ms. Athena G. Balleza, Marketing Department, Overseas Segment Division, BPI.

For more information about the BPInoy Awards, log on to www.bpiexpressonline.com

The Heat is On

Just when everyone thought that summer would be sprinkled with intolerable amount of rain and that going outdoors would not be ideal, I and my fellows went on and seized summer 2011. Summer experience could never be more satisfying than basking under the heat of the smiling sun and getting refreshed with the cool warmth of the water.

The Cebu mainland as seen from the ferry going to Lapu-lapu City
(Mactan Island). Boat trip is a very good alternative for those who don't want
to deal with heavy traffic jam. Beaches and resorts around the Mactan Island offer
good escape from the bustling life in Cebu.

A watchtower welcomes every visitor to Lapu-lapu City. 

 The following pictures were all taken at Agus Hotel and Resort in Agus, Mactan, Cebu -- just few minutes drive from Lapu-lapu City's port. For a minimal cost, everyone can enjoy summer while in Cebu. Renowned hotels and resorts in the island like Imperial and Shangri-La are still recommended and on top of the list, of course. 

Cebu Trivia Nights at Alejandro's

Trivia night organized by iSee events. Photo from
www.everythingcebu.com

The latest craze among popular bars in the metros has been in Cebu and I just knew it yesterday while eating out with my team mates at Alejandro's Filipino Resto at Don Jose Avila Street in Capitol Site, Cebu City.

"TRIVIA NIGHT AT ALEJANDRO'S" has been happening every Wednesday since February last year at Alejandro's. The first in Cebu, this fun and educational night should have been loved by infoholics of all ages. And this only means one thing: I need to roll up my sleeves and get ready to dig my long lost wits factory. However, I happened to glance at a poster which said that the place is WiFi spot so I could perhaps ask for Mr. Google's assistance just in case everything goes to worse but I know it's not a good plan. 

I should be there in one of the trivia nights this month and learn new facts and not-so-factual stuffs. What a great diversion for emptied mind. See you there, folks!  

What it takes to be a call center agent?

photo credit: www.holldon.com

"Many are called, but few are chosen." 

Most Christians are familiar of that verse in the Bible but those working in contact centers or in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies could relate more than the traditional Christians.

In the Philippines, the contact center (call center) is one of the industries that stabilize the economy of the country. In fact, it's next to the overseas employment which bring bucks to the Philippine economy through the remittances of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Money and benefit-wise, working in a call center is the next best thing to being an OFW. However, getting into the industry is not that easy and sustaining the tension after you get hired is much more difficult if you do not possess the right attitude. 

Everyday, hundreds of people undergo job interviews to get into the industry but at the end of the day, only very few of them end up being hired. According my site director on his short speech during our graduation day for the Product Specifics Training (PST), only three to five percent of the applicants get hired and only one to two percent get into the account where I am right now (something that I could really brag about because I am one of the 3 % and nevertheless 1%... hahaha!). Not only that. After more than a month of handling calls on a training atmosphere, roughly only sixty percent of us were endorsed to the production where everyone is being observed for three months before regularization. And yes, everyone is expected to deliver the highest possible satisfaction to our clients and to their customers. 

Now what does it take to become a call center agent? Well, just in case you would like to join the industry and enjoy the benefits that people in the clan are enjoying, here are some of the things that you might expect and get through.

1. Expect for the highest possible kind of intimidation. However, always believe that we'll not get intimidated without our consent. Let's turn intimidation into something that would help build or attitude and character. They'll help in the long run. I realized they're not meant to intimidate anyone but build anyone through constant challenge.

2. Of course, there will be English Only Policy (EOP). It is stressful if you are not used to it but remember that there's no other way to improve our grasp of a second language but by constantly using it. Call center agents were being tagged before as Over Acting Animals (OAA) by their insecure counterparts because of the EOP but according to my Communication and Culture Trainer, language has never been and will never be OA(A) as it is neutral. However, people can be. It's never been bad to speak the language which enables you to earn higher than what others are earning.

3. You'll be in a DOG EAT DOG SOCIETY. The pace of the job is really fast. By the time you sit and take calls expect that work would be uninterrupted within your eight-hour shift. You're so lucky to get ten minutes avail time. However, it keeps your work attitude healthy as you will never have time to gossip with your workmates. 

4. Diversity will be the best policy. People in the industry are so diverse. There are those who are so professional, not so professional and not professional at all and you need to get into each level in order to succeed. On the other hand, everything has never been personal as you are all there for work. After all, there are rest days and off schedules. But if possible, try to get along with your team mates as diversity makes this world go round and so your head!

5. There are rumors and they are all true. You'll be cooked inside a pressure cooker until you get soft. The company will give you their expectations which are really high and your customers whom you are in direct contact with would expect higher from you because to them, you are the company you are talking about. Can you imagine it? They're all there and that's part of the job. You can never get rid of those metrics but you can control them. With the right attitude, beat all of them. In the end, expect a higher pay. Challenge those people and you will surely get what you want -- even the ones you never signed for -- a day in a five star hotel, a trip to a foreign land or to the beauty spots of the locality, a movie or food treat or even both, an appliance or gadget you ever wanted, a party and, of course, cash!

6. You'll learn to do a couple of things at the same time. Multitasking is a specialty for most of the call center agents. One needs to listen (attentively), document (correctly), speak (clearly) and read and understand (accurately). None of those things  should be missed!

7. Patience will always be a virtue. Imagine irate callers coming in and yelling about their dissatisfaction. Sometimes, they will shout at you or even curse you. However, none of them is personal as each and every person calling do not personally know you and if there's any reason for their anger, that should not be you. One of the good things I learned from such is the value of patience. I thought my former students stretched my patience to the farthest end already but my customers lengthened it to eternity. It's a matter of focusing on the problem rather than the person as the problem is the root cause for such negative behavior.

Convergys Services Philippines is one of the leading call centers
in the country serving most of the top companies in the United
States including financial firms, telecommunication companies,
network providers, etc. This picture is one of Convergys' sites
located in i3 Building, Cebu IT Park, Cebu City.
(photo credit:  www.flickrhivemind.net)

Once you get in, you're never assured that you'll be retained as the industry has a very strict compliance to the standards set by their clients. In return, they set high expectation among their employees to make sure that they will deliver what they have promised to their clients or even go beyond. However, every mistake is valuable in the learning process so be positive in taking feedback and  learn from every speck of coaching session from your mentors. It's all about maintaining a humble and grateful heart and a happy spirit!

I know all these things are easier said than done. However, they could all be cultivated with constant practice. Now if you think you have the right attitude and skill and has always been wanting to join the BPO industry, join the country's leading industry.  Cultivate that skill and attitude which would enable you to land a slot in one of the Philippines' highest paying industry. Join us! I'll be more than willing to assist you through our Employee Referral Program (ERP). Just ping me HERE.  

From the sides of the world to the Pinoy Expats/OFWs Blog Awards 2010

It’s been more than a month already since I scribbled a post for this blog. It’s not that I had nothing to write about or I had no time to do it. Shaking off a topic to write is such an understatement as my euphoric wits and spirits normally make sense of anything and everything in between – even the things not worth thinking about. The truth of the matter is, my psyche was too preoccupied with a bundle of things worth writing and again, I failed to put first things first. I did not fail to think but I failed to do.

Recently, I had thoughts of writing about my recent experiences in my new job as I went in contact with our client’s customers. They were really overwhelming that I thought I should not mind writing about it anymore for they would only cause misery in my mind. But before that, I wanted to write about the glorious and gentle victory of Manny Pacquiao in his recent bout with Margarito but I thought it’s been the talk of the town and my additional comments would only be a cliché.

The boycotting of the Philippine government to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Award in Norway as a gesture of support to the Chinese government also caught my attention. However, I wanted to spare myself from the issue although I would not deny that I was dismayed for such decision of the Aquino administration. Whatever their reason is, the mean would never justify the end and vice versa.

With all the happenings in the world, what was very frustrating was the fact that there were lots of children who became victims of the transgressions of the adults. The recent celebration on the awareness of violence against children which hopefully opened the eyes of every waking man was a great reminder. I hope that we did not just change our profile pictures for the sake of doing it but we would also live with the essence of doing it. With that, all I hope is we could hand this world out to the next generations for them to enjoy and not to suffer. That one day, birth would still be a joy of humanity and not a pain that every newborn would have to endure.

In the brighter side of the world, beyond those happenings, I was so glad that I was invited to judge this year’s entries for the Pinoy Expats/OFWs Blog Awards wherein I had to rate each blog and pick my top ten from the nominees under the Supporters Category. This category is intended for Philippines-based bloggers who have affinity with Overseas Filipino Workers. Some of them have family members working abroad and so you know how heartwarming their stories are. As former Overseas Filipino Worker, I experienced the difficulty of working and living abroad and as I read the blog of these people who have loved ones working in the other country, I realized that there’s always another side of the story. The pain that they have been going through thinking of the sacrifices of their loved ones abroad has never been easy. With our attention directed to those Filipinos working abroad, we failed to see the even sacrifices of their loved ones left here.

It’s never been easy to rank those blogs as I had to toggle my mind from one school of thought to another. Although it placed some pressure in my part, I also had a great time reading and learning from the posts of the nominees. Eight of my top ten picks made it and some of them were adjudged as the best blog in different regions. Indeed, a very good book can be published out of the heartwarming stories I read which never failed to inspire. The winners were announced last night at the Teatrino Promenade in San Juan City, Manila.

My salute to the organizers, nominees and all the other people who did their part for such endeavor. Although I was not able to attend the awarding ceremony and rub elbows with the dedicated people behind PEBA 2010, I know the event was a huge success. Congratulations everyone!

 The full result can be found here.