And now, for our 3rd Staff Spotlight, let’s get to meet Akubo Bacolod’s team manager, Ina. She’s been with Akubo for quite some time and has been juggling between managing the office, planning events and getting in touch with clients.
Name: Anna Katrina “Ina” Torrejon Job title: Team Manager Has been in Akubo since: June 5, 2014 Educational attainment: AB Psychology 2005, University of St. La Salle Three words to describe herself: introvert, always hungry
Tell us about your career so far. What did you do before you came to Akubo?
Fresh out of college in 2005, I was part of a nationwide research with the National Institutes of Health for a few months before I started my 9 year career in the call center industry. After that, I joined the Akubo team in 2014.
What originally drew you to apply at Akubo?
A friend shared with me a job ad for a customer service associate posted on Facebook. I wanted work that interacted with people which was still service-related. I was no longer connected with my previous employer at the time so I said, “Why not?”
What projects do you work on?
I’m responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with clients and prospects and I also manage the Akubo team.
What’s the most rewarding part about what you do?
Serving people – both clients and colleagues.
Tell us about a typical day at work
I go through emails, check Slack (platform we use at work to communicate), Messenger (other boss prefers to communicate there), review text messages, call logs and then I update my to-do list and calendar for the day/week. Since our clients are mostly in Manila and I am based in Bacolod, I’m mostly on my laptop and phone communicating with them and addressing their needs or coordinating with developers for technical related concerns. On days that I work on office-related concerns, I would have lunch and coffee (which would usually be my day’s highlight) with colleagues. I’d also spend time with May Ann who works with me in day to day operational concerns.
How do you balance client expectations with your workload?
Set realistic expectations. You don’t want to over promise and under deliver. Delivering on what was committed is extremely important because that establishes trust between the relationship.
What do you find most challenging about your work? How do you deal with it?
Juggling multiple roles would be most challenging for me. Delegating is something that I have learned over time.
How do you define success?
Success for me is not what we do but who we become.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I came across bootcamp training exactly a year ago and I really like it. The workout is an hour and it typically utilizes functional movements such as running, rowing, push ups, medicine balls, kettlebells, etc. I like it because I’ve seen my cardio endurance and strength and body composition improve in a year of doing it.
Tell us about three career lessons that you have learned so far.
- Build good relationships with who you work with.
- Own up to failures and learn from them.
- When being assigned a task that you are uncomfortable with, ask yourself the question? “Is there something I can learn from this?” If the answer is yes, it’s worth doing.
Bonus Questions!
Favorite movie?
The Family Man
Comfort food?
Ice cream!