Making a ripple

Frances has been in the industry for 10 years now, but the first time she heard the term BPO, she was pursuing her pre-law degree at one of the most prestigious institutions in Cebu. Of course, she had the cost of tuition and books to think about. She wanted to be able to provide for herself and not be a burden to her parents. This motivated her to go into the BPO industry. Eventually, she went on to become a Team Lead at one of the biggest BPO companies at the time.

Everything changed when she found out she was pregnant. Due to unforeseen circumstances with her pregnancy, which was considered risky, Frances had to leave the BPO industry completely for a few years. In that time, she became the dedicated, patient, mother that she is today. These newfound traits mingled well with her already present qualities of being highly driven to succeed with a natural ability to lead.

It wasn’t until last year, 2022, that Frances took, in her own words, a “leap of faith”, to start searching for a job again. As she was searching for jobs on the internet, she found MySource Solutions. She did some research and found out that they were new to the industry, and she thought “why not give it a try?”. Her father took her to a small building for the interview. At some point, she found herself talking to owner and Chief Operations Officer at MySource, Daryl Christensen. They talked about him starting her at a higher position, but Frances insisted that after being away for quite some time, she wanted to go back and start from scratch to re-learn things.

There she was, at the bottom of the ladder. She started with MySource as an agent on a real estate account. After only three months, she was offered a position as an account manager. Without any hesitation, she took the job. Another step up the ladder. Three months later, they offered her the Operations Manager position. She was stunned. Knowing it would be a heavier workload, she asked for a little bit of time to think on it. It ended up taking her a month to convince herself that she was the right choice for the position. In October of 2022, she took the job head on. Another step up the ladder.

It is no question that Frances is incredibly good at what she does, however humble and wise she may be about it. At one point, they even wanted to give her an account that needed a lot of help and attention, and she asked the manager: “Are you really sure you want to give this one to me?” and her manager responded: “We are giving you the account because we know you can fix it”. After she rebooted it, the client ended up adding many more agents to the account. Now it is one of the most stable accounts at MySource.

But Frances’ true inspiration lies not in her ability to climb the ladder, but in her ability to be a team player, to see the bigger picture, and to see how everything and everyone is connected from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top. As she put it, “it’s not just about the management but the employees. What is management without them?”. Of course, she sees MySource as standing out in the industry, due to how they treat their employees, and give them true potential for career growth. She pointed out that the management is so often the focus, and wisely stated: “with great management, comes great employees”.

On behalf of the management at MySource, she explained that they believe in internal growth. They always see the potential within the already present team. As an Operations Manager, she said: “If there’s potential in front of you, then why look somewhere else?”. She also explained that they always make sure that agents are well-equipped before promoting them, and that when they do receive a promotion, they truly deserve it. She explained all of this with so much pride, not so much for herself, but for her team, and the company, as a whole.

Frances explained her philosophy as such: “If you pour your heart and soul into everything you do in life, you’ll find that what you’re actually doing makes a difference, not just in your life, but in everyone’s around you. I always tell my kids to celebrate the small wins. It’s like a ripple. Remind yourself that every action you make every day, makes a ripple”. Inspiring, driven, and motivational are just a few words that can describe Frances. This positive yet wise outlook has really taken her far, and truly has a ripple effect on everyone around her.

When asked what her goal or vision for MySource’s future is, she said her goal is to grow and work as a team, despite the differences that make us human. Not everyone has the same way of defining success, she explained, but at the end of the day, if everyone at MySource has the same goal, of growth, then differences can be worked out. As a small company, the goal right now is to grow bigger. “There are always going to be setbacks”, she continued, “but those make us even stronger, and that’s why we are growing”. She said people just need to learn to “embrace randomness, and not be afraid to fail or make mistakes, because that’s exactly what life is”. Most importantly, she wants people to realize that “no matter how small we are, we make a ripple”.

Frances

Frances Villanueva

Frances Villanueva is a mother, first and foremost. At MySource Solutions, she is an Operations Manager, overseeing things on the production floor and caring for the growth of certain accounts. She handles her team much like a mother: She teaches them, cares for their growth, but can also be strict, and prides herself in a super power that only a mother can really know the depths of: extra patience. In her own words, she is the kind of person that always sees herself “climbing the ladder to success”, and climb she certainly has.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *