“The moment we stop learning is the
moment we start failing.”
When
I saw the opening for a trainer in VCC-Link, I was not really looking for a
job. As a mother of two, I was happy
then working from home for a year as an English tutor. But something sparked in me that day and I
just could not set aside that sort of “calling” I felt when I saw the
posting. It had always been my dream to
train; it was the same reason I entered the call center industry way back in my
College days in the first place. I
remember looking at my past trainers in the call center thinking, I can do
that; someday I will do that. And so, that
posting made me feel that maybe, after a lot of reroutes, that was it. That was
the chance.
To
be honest, I really thought my chances were slim. I really thought, in my own assessment, I
kicked ass (sorry for the expression) during my interview, but Sir Paolo did
not seem convinced. He had a lot of
rebuttals, and no matter how hard I tried to rebutt his rebuttals, his face
still did not look pleased. I remember
him saying, “If we call you, then good. If not, we found someone else.” I told
my husband then, well at least I tried. But I had not even left Cityland then
when Ms. Marianne called and told me that I had to do a demo class. And so after several more processes, the
mother/tutor became a trainer.
Training
was everything I hoped it would be and more.
I was in my element. I felt
alive. It was the opportunity to meet a lot of people from very different walks
of life; to know their stories, their experiences, their goals and dreams and
seeing them slowly reach their dreams.
It was seeing the changes in them, and for some, the complete
metamorphosis, from a dreamer to a go-getter.
It was far more rewarding than I have ever hoped for; the endless
gratitude, the appreciation, the tokens of thanks, the new friendships, the
privilege of having a hand in changing someone's life. I got all these from being an in-house trainer
in Bayan Academy for VCC-Link.
During
my last class, I had my trainees write a paragraph on why they chose to stay in
training. It was all the same great
reasons that made me strive to work hard for seven months, only that time it
was different because it was going to be the last time that I can get to do
that, the last group I was going to watch achieve their dreams. That was enough to make me a bit emotional.
Even yesterday, towards the end of the day, fixing my things, it made me
emotional because I was not just leaving a job, I realized I was closing a
chapter of my life that meant so much to me.
So
I guess, my greatest learning from being an in-house trainer is this: it is not
just a job that you do to earn a living, it is in fact, sharing what you know
and then influencing others to get to a goal, or to improve and enhance
themselves. The rewards that I will
bring with me as I leave is not the material sort, not the self-serving
benefits of finding better careers or opportunities. It is the sort that will stay with me long
after everything else is gone, which is the privilege to have influenced others
even in the simplest of ways. My Facebook page has been brimming with thanks
lately, whether it be through a public greeting or a private message, from
trainees past who learned about me leaving. Some of them went out of their way
to visit (actually, they often do). These are things that I definitely did not
expect, but because of these, I am leaving with joy that I succeeded in aspects
that truly matter to me.
Each
trainee I have met enriched me in different ways. Whether they be young or old, I learned from
each and everyone of them because they all have their experiences, they all
have their strengths to share.
That
brings me to another great learning which is RESPECT; respect for anyone no
matter the age, educational attainment, social status, or any other
demographical make up there is. Each one of them deserved my respect because
they would always have something that they are better at than me. A way to practice this is through listening;
I have to make it a point to listen to everyone when there is something they
want to say.
Also
another learning that I want to impart is this and this is important: We should
not count what we have already done and then expect returns equivalent to what
we have counted. Often, this rouses
issues because people would often think, I deserve this, I don't deserve that.
I have observed this a lot from different people, not just in this
company. This often leads to thinking
that they deserve more but they are not getting it so they would NOT DO
more. This is disastrous because it
veers us away from doing what really matters, and that is to deliver excellent
performance each and every single time, not because you will be paid or
rewarded for it, but because it is your job and you're proud of it. I apologize but I would like to quote a
previous employer from whom I also learned a lot, our client, Accenture, “High
Performance Delivered.” Doing a great
job all the time not for anything else but because it is your job to perform.
And
so I say goodbye. Though sad to leave training, I feel like I have my own small
personal wins as well. I am happy to
have been able to contribute in my own simple ways.
