How would you describe your current role to a HR outsider?

Our goal is to strive to keep making the day-to-day easy for our employees. We recognize that their work is already difficult so we continuously find ways to adjust, adapt, and be aware of their needs to discover ways to create HR services that are truly useful. We build strong partnerships with the business leaders and design programs that are grounded in their context to hopefully bring smiles to their faces as often as possible.

What is a common misconception about the work you do?

I understand when employees think that HR's role is to be the "big brother", waiting on the sidelines with watchful eyes. Times have changed and HR continues to evolve to become more responsive to what is truly valuable for an organization. It is the "human" aspect of human resources that makes being in HR exciting and dynamic.

There is not one formula of success that fits all organizations. There is always an opportunity for new discoveries.

How did you get started in your HR career?

I stumbled into my HR journey when I got hired to be a trainer for a company. I just went with a friend who was applying for a trainer role and he asked if I wanted to apply as well. I got hired instead of him. Before this, I was a teacher for many years and the transition from academe to corporate was smooth because the core skills required for both were similar.

I also pursued a career in Marketing and Business Development and to this day, I apply marketing principles in all facets of my HR work specially when introducing changes. From Marketing, I went back to L&D, moved to Talent Management, then Business Partnering, which opened a wider door bringing me to where I am today.

Describe the most impactful HR project you've personally worked on.

90% of our employees are shippers spread all over the country. The job requires both mental and physical stamina. Common issues are fast employee turnover high percentage of cash shortages weekly. When I joined, I re-organized the HR team and created service clusters to customize HR services in each warehouse, re-designed the shipper training into a bootcamp instead of static lecture format, and launched an engagement program to reward good behavior and performance.

All these plus other initiatives, resulted in a decrease in attrition in most warehouses and zero cash shortages in some areas on a month to month. This is an ongoing program and I am hoping to achieve 100% cash shortage and further bring down attrition in the coming months.

What is one HR/future of work trend or change you're not convinced will work for SEA startups?

In our business, remote work will never be a substitute for a face to face interaction. Physical presence, being able to be with the employees where they are physically located, can have a huge impact in employee performance, development and engagement.

What is one HR/future of work trend or change that you hope to see more of at SEA startups?

I am excited about discovering the many ways of how AI can improve employee experience.

What is your favourite HR resource that you would recommend to this community?

I listen to a lot of podcasts; here are a few: Wharton Business Daily; HBS Managing the Future of Work; The Josh Bershin Company; Coaching Real Leaders, HR Chat podcast.

Lastly, where are you based, and where would you take friends visiting your city for the first time? 

I am based in Manila, Philippines. Food trip around the metro for sure!