Slotted!

Today, the manning under the new organizational structure came out. Just like the survey conducted last May, 2011, the manning was also released through the company intranet facility.

As advised around 6 weeks ago, I was slotted to handle the realigned Training and Oversight Division (T&OD). I’ve been having mixed feelings about this post ever since it was first mentioned to me. Fear being the biggest of all these feelings because, in all my 14 years of being an HR practitioner, I have always avoided being with Training. I can’t exactly say the reason why, basta, ayoko lang. 

So when my Manager informed me that I shall be heading the T&OD, all I can manage to do was give her this wide-eye, open-mouthed stare sabay hirit ng "joke ba yan?!". When that meeting ended and I got out of the meeting room, walking back to my work cube, I was kind of in a shock and my mind was like doing this rewind thing, only a thousand times faster. I was really thinking as far back as my 1^st job as HR in the private sector, trying to come up with a reason that I can give to my boss why I couldn't be handling T&OD. Obviously and sadly, I can’t find one.  As I reached my work cube, something clicked, like someone whispered: "It’s time for you to do this, Rose. You've been avoiding Training like a plague and now, there's no where else to go." Resigned to this new development and on my way out, I passed by my boss and told her, “Okay na. Tangggap ko na. This is where God wants me to be. Pero wala talaga akong background sa Training, ma’am, kaya aaralin ko pa yan.” To which she replied, “Pareho lang tayo. Sabay natin to aaralin”.  Then, I left for the day.

But from that time on, I always have this question if I came up with the right decision. For several days after that meeting, a part of me was like, “ano kaya, kausapin ko na lang ulit ang Corplan, baka may open pang slot kay Atty. Ting”. You see, I was also talked to by the 2 incoming managers of the Corporate Planning. I had reservations transferring for 2 reasons: One, I love my career as an HR. When I was asked by 1 of the incoming Corplan Managers where my heart is, “nasa HR ba, Rose?” without hesitation, I nodded; and two: There could be an effect on my supervisor’s allowance because the position in Corplan, though of equivalent rank, does not entail supervisory function, hence, I might not be entitled to RATA. So after I was informed of being the T&OD head, I was having “what if’s” about the Corplan offers which I have already turned down by that time.

That weekend, I prayed about it. And my prayer went like this: “Papa God, alam ko kaya ko naman po, kasi You blessed me naman with some intellect and a lot of lakas ng loob, madami lang talagang gagawin at aaralin. Pero ang tanong ko lang naman po, magiging effective po ba ako sa post na to? Kasi, di ba, di naman po ako teacher by nature? Wala ho akong tyaga talaga mag-teach, tapos ngayon trainor pa. Oo, facilitator lang siguro ako most of the time, pero just the same, I still have to teach my staff din about this, kasi pare-pareho kameng walang background sa training. Tapos, alam Mo naman po diba, na hangga’t maari, ayoko na ho ng work sched ko like the one I had for the last 10 years? Na-e-enjoy ko na po ang buhay ko ngayon, learning new things, nagkakaroon na po ng balance ang buhay ko between work and personal stuff. Eh para pong dito sa bagong post ko, babalik ako ulit sa 14 hours/day 7days/week na routine, sa dami ho ng aaralin.” And that prayer went on and on.

The following week, I and two of my would-be staff in T&OD were made to attend a 2 day-seminar in Ateneo Makati. The seminar, which was about computing the return on investment of training programs, is actually the last part already of a 4-part Seminar / Program on Training, in short, we didn’t get to attend the first 3 parts to complete the entire program! That’s when I got some sort of an answer to my question (if I can do this, head the T&OD): that even though it is the last part, I managed to understand what the seminar was all about. And my team (from GSIS), being the neophytes in training, were easily accepted and readily embraced by our co-participants from different companies. They readily answered our queries and were generous enough to give us copies of the training forms they use in their respective companies. Added to these is the enthusiasm I saw from my 2 staff. At that moment, I knew that I being the training head can work out.

Save for one fact, which I was able to confirm only today through the manning report posted and that is having another a staff with whom I have my reservations about, I now have the faith in myself and the incoming T&OD team which I believe is really crucial to make this work.

Lastly, this afternoon, I chanced upon the incumbents of Training Department preparing their files for turnover to us. I took the liberty of having a go-see and I was really delighted and sincerely touched to learn that they were preparing to pass on all those documents to me in proper order, even to the point of providing me an Excel file so that when a file is needed, all I had to do was press “ctrl+f” on the pc. For this, I am truly grateful to the current Training Staff.

To the incoming Training and Oversight Staff: LET’S ROLL and LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Budding Photographer

If there’s one thing I can say as a good thing in the past 3 weeks, it is the fact that I have finished a Basic Photography Workshop conducted by Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation, Inc (FPPF). And as an icing on the cake, on our final day, my entry for the Open Space category was adjudged 7^th place! Not bad for someone like me who knew barely 10% of her DSLR camera.  J

my entry for the Open Space Category
which placed 7th during our Finals

But now, here’s the thing: winning the 7^th place has sort of affirmed that indeed, I knew how to take pictures and that I have a potential on this, thus, giving me that glimpse of an alternative career. Now, this isn’t bad is it? Then again, knowing that I can have this as an alternative career only fuelled my desire to get out of my current job FASTER.

Okay, I’ll admit this now: I’ve been at a point in my career when I believe that I have reached my saturation point. My present job is the longest I’ve held ever since I graduated from college. At first, I attributed this staying with maturity and “settling down” (career-wise). Oh yeah, the salary and benefits isn’t bad as well. But this year, as I have written in an earlier entry, I promised that 2011 is gonna be MY year; work will have to take a back seat. Hence, I was able to take up Basic Mandarin and now, Basic Photography. At some point, I was contemplating taking up Make-up Artistry. But something (gut feel) held me back from enrolling in a class, but that's for another discussion.

Now, photography is something that I know I want to pursue. Oh and yeah, being in the 7^th place is the big pat I needed; one which I prayed for if indeed this is a viable option for an alternative career. The feeling of wanting to be better; to learn more; to explore more areas of photography; even to the point that I am now willing to learn Photoshop and Lightroom 3! And when I say willing, I am willing to shell out big bucks for licensed programs. Not to mention that I need to save up also since Photography isn’t cheap as the lenses, flash(es), lights, other seminars I need to take, these will all cost me money. But the excitement of trying to see what or where I can be in this field is bringing me that sense of fulfilment I’ve never had for quite a while now.

Since finishing the workshop, I now have a different reason for wanting the work week to be done and over with; yeah because its gonna be weekend, and that means I am free to go and snap away to my heart’s content.  Getting into a photography workshop has also given me the ability to see the world differently. Most things I used to ignore before, I see now in a different perspective. Take for instance my office building which stands right beside the famed Manila Bay.  For 10 years, I’d look at the bay and say, “oh yeah, there’s the manila bay”. Or on occasions when I’d get to view the magnificent sunset, all I’d just say is “ ang ganda”. But now, even on rainy day, when the bay would exhibit a dark (sometimes black) color, I’m able to appreciate it.  A single boat or ship docked on the bay, makes me appreciate it nowadays. I am excited to see more of this world in a whole new different light.

Photography has also given me the courage to be alone and yet, not feel isolated. During my recent trip, when things were already tense among us, I’d get to escape the dramas of my friends by taking pics as we were walking along the streets of Hong Kong and Macau. After the trip and looking back at the 1,000+ shots I took, that’s when I realized that I survived the trip because of my camera. There were very few pictures where I was in it. Even on my friends’ cameras, they said they have very few pics of me, because I was almost always busy snapping away on my cam!

For now, photography serves as a personal outlet and at the same time, an opportunity to explore.