The bridge to success

Sam started in the BPO industry when she was just 18. Now, with over 10 years of experience, MySource being the third BPO company she has worked for, she reflected on her career during our conversation. At the time she started her journey in BPO, her priority really wasn’t her career, it was her family. She saw a job in the BPO industry as the best and most stable opportunity to make a living, and thus provide financial support to her family. She went on to work for two of the largest BPO companies in the Philippines, before landing at MySource. 

Originally from Bacolod City, it was MySource, that brought Sam to the city of Cebu. A colleague of hers, whom she had worked with on an international travel account, moved away to be a part of MySource. A few years later she invited Sam to join. Sam initially declined the job offer. However, when the pandemic happened, with travel limited across the globe, the international travel account was downsized. She decided she wanted to explore other options, and like a “blessing in disguise” she said, her old teammate reached out again. This time, she said yes to the offer, and in the year 2020, she flew to Cebu to become part of the MySource team.

Originally, she started with the company as an onboarding trainer for new hires. Eventually, management decided to position her as an account manager. All the accounts that were under her management were quite successful. After some time, management decided that Sam would be effective as part of the operations team, so they promoted her to Operations Manager, which is where she sits today.

When asked why she thought she was put in this position, she explained that before this, she was the initial point of contact for new clients, which involved setting expectations, communicating what MySource and its agents need from clients, and of course, what the clients need from the agents. She referred to herself as “hands-on” with both the client and the agents, thus acting as a sort of bridge between the two that helps communications run smoothly. She said that if a client needs something, emails, or asks her to call, it has always been her standard to take care of it right away because she never wants clients to feel neglected. It is something that has always helped operations run smoothly, maintain consistency, and garnered positive long-term working relations with clients. As a strong communicator, Sam has a knack for really helping to build the relationship between the agent and the client.

Sam makes it look easy, but it isn’t always smooth sailing, and her current role has proved to have its own set of challenges. Some OM’s handle just one large account, but Sam oversees many smaller accounts. As each account’s structure caters to the client’s needs, they all have different policies and processes in place. Due to this, her main challenge with this role has been maintaining consistency across the board when it comes to the quality of service coming from the agents that work under her. This is an important. challenge to her, because no matter the size of the account, whether they are using 30 agents or 3, there is no compromising on quality of service. This struggle has put her experience and knowledge to the test, but with careful thought and consideration, she has overcome it. It’s a lot to keep track of, but to help her out she has two account managers under her, as well, that she really appreciates.

Some other things she does that help operations run smoothly are one-on- one coaching sessions with agents, from time to time. As someone who started out in the industry as an agent, she really understands them, and knows how to communicate with them mentally and emotionally. She said, “I know they are not here just taking calls or doing their admin tasks, they are not here as robots”. She went on to say that she knows how they feel, especially if a client is giving an agent negative feedback, and they are aware of it. Automatically, they will feel initially demotivated. So, her very first protocol in those situations is to go and talk to the agent directly, as soon as possible. This way, once she talks to the client, she has a complete idea of what is going on.

At the end of the day, she understands that this is business, and the clients need to be taken care of, but on the flip side, the people putting in the hard work must be taken care of too. If they are in the wrong, then that has to be corrected, but she believes in commending agents for what they are doing positively, no matter how small it may seem, it can make a difference in their overall performance. Sam has the ability to put herself in the shoes of clients and agents. She has the skills necessary to keep up with both, as well.

She spoke about how MySource as a whole keeps operations running smoothly, explaining that one thing the company really does differently is cross-training. So, she is very strict when it comes to having her agents trained on multiple accounts, aside from things that require a high degree of specialty skill. This way, it doesn’t affect operations as much if an agent needs to go on leave, for whatever reason.

She spoke about MySource and her career: “I’m at the part of my career where…I’m happy. I’m happy my career is really growing”. She really appreciates MySource’s positive work environment. She has great relationships with her colleagues and feels that upper management really values the staff. She commended management for their approachability, with an open-door policy, which allows for employees’ voices to “really be heard”. After being in the industry for over ten years, and with MySource for over three, Sam can truly say with confidence: “This company really has a heart, they really do appreciate the hard work”. As mentioned before, Sam left Bacolod City, where her family is, to join the MySource team in Cebu. That is why she said “MySource is really my second home, my second family”.

Success is a funny thing sometimes. Although having a successful career in BPO wasn’t Sam’s goal at 18, at some point she found herself appreciating the environment, and enjoying what she was learning in the industry. She said it built her confidence, especially in interacting with people. Her social skills were boosted, and she now has the ability to interact with a diverse group of people with a wide range of characteristics, backgrounds, and cultures. With English as the second language in the Philippines, it also improved the way she speaks and writes in English. She has even received leadership training, which improved her management skills, as well. Eventually, Sam realized something: “maybe this is the right seat for me”.

As for her vision for MySource’s future, Sam wants to see the business continue to grow, and hopes that through that development there can be even more stability for the people and the company. She said she is doing the hard work, not just for her own growth, but for all of MySource. She said: “If I am successful with MySource, then, of course, I want MySource to be successful, as a whole”. Sam has an ability to really see the big picture, and think about her team, the company, and the client. This makes her a selfless leader who really cares about the well-being and success of those around her, whether family or colleague.

Overall, being an Operations Manager in the BPO industry can be a challenging but rewarding role, that involves maintaining relationships, being a bridge between the client and the agents, and accomplishing a lot in a short time while still maintaining consistency and not compromising the quality of service that clients are expecting. For those like Sam, who are up to the challenge, it can be a rewarding career path.