After two months from my last blog post, I was hired by a Japanese IT company. It was only a subsidiary office here in the Philippines but its coverage and scope in the country is vast since they handle almost half of the established Japanese companies here. It was an excitement for me being hired in this company not only because of the good salary and benefits they can give but I also have a positive feeling that everything will be alright. However, the downside that I was surprised to is that the company is more than 20 years in operations already but no existing system yet. Everything is in manual process in all their transactions. Data privacy wise, the company sucks! All files are being shared in network via folders wherein everyone has the access to in modifying and copying. All reports are made in excel especially the monitoring reports. Not to mention, the reports are not detailed and organized. No clear service level agreement on the document management. Engineers can even prepare PO & DR, managers can prepare POs and negotiate with vendors. It’s been a very disastrous experience for me since scoping of work is not organized and aligned. As for me coming from companies with technologies and systematic process, it would definitely be a BIG adjustment for me! But, I look on the bright side of it during my first week. I told myself, that if this company will go into system, I would definitely be a part of it and would be a good project for me.
Eventually, weeks pass by and everything is not falling in to its places. The Japanese bosses are highly demanding on data analysis whereas their source data are not even accurate to analyze. Not to mention, two of my staffs had resigned (due to toxicity of the Japanese colleagues) and leaving my department with only two heads – me and my Assistant Manager. It was really a very devastating situation for me since I’m barely new to the company. I have no choice but also to do the leg work. And because of this, I’m not functioning as the Procurement Manager anymore. Instead, I’m just a Procurement Staff who do the quotations, purchase orders, and monitors deliveries. This has been my expected tasks during my stay. My Japanese colleagues became very demanding on my deliverables and don’t even respect my designation. I was demoralized! And I can no longer feel my worth to the organization.
My 5th month to the company came (November 2018) and I was evaluated already for my regularization. And up to this time, still no additional staffs were hired for my department. My group became very lame already that I can no longer go on leave and even do my functions as a manager. I don’t what happened, but my Japanese boss had evaluated me very poor on my performance. The key performances that he based on are on the quotation & PO preparation, and delivery monitoring. I got mad on the evaluation results! Very mad! First, these are not my KPIs and not on the Job Description details that I signed when I was hired! Second, considering that 2 of my staffs resigned, it means I’m doing a job that is not my KPI! Third, what about other areas of my KPI? Where did it all go???
The time that the evaluation was handed to me as we spoke inside the conference room with the presence of an HR personnel, it was a dark moment for me. Though I’m prepared on the possibility that I will not be regularized by this company, the moment still came to me as a hurtful surprise. I was not prepared to lose a job (because holiday season is on the air) and I find the evaluation very unfair for me because it was only one-sided and very subjective. I was evaluated on a very staff-level performance.
Going back the past months, I recalled all the events that happened to me in this company. How those people I trusted to had became traitors to me. Giving the chance that I’m home-based now, I can easily remember all those events and analyze them accordingly on how my final verdict happened. On my second month of say in the company, I can say that everything is going smooth. However, I have this feeling that my colleague, my Assistant Manager is doing some stuffs that are bypassing me as her manager. At first, I ignored it but as time passes by and every time that she mentioned that the Japanese people are not satisfied on my performance, I find a little doubt on her. It was unlikely to know that our Japanese colleagues are telling her some issues about my performance and even my Japanese boss is also having issues on me. I know that she has an established relationship with our Japanese boss already because she’s been under him the past years even before I was hired. So I really don’t know what’s happening between them. Of course, our Japanese boss would trust her more than me. What I’m not sure of is that how she talks behind my back every time.
At first, I gave her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she is being asked by our Japanese boss first since she is the one I’m working with directly. Maybe just a little feedback from her will help the boss know how I am as a worker. I still analyze it…is it right? That the boss gets feedback from a staff under the Manager’s supervision. I don’t know if it’s right but in that company, it matters a lot. Until such time, that the Japanese boss had only listened to what she has to say. Whatever she mentioned to the boss, days before my final verdict was, it makes sense now. She ditched me! I don’t know her exact reasons but I know she’s full of insecurities. I don’t want to elaborate more on her insecurities but for sure she sees me as a threat in everything. Whatever it is, I put everything to God. It’s been painful for me because somehow I trusted her.
Maybe that woman thinks that she’ll replaced me when I’m gone to the company but her plan did not succeed. The Systems Engineering Manager had acquired my role and responsibilities. Everything was transferred to this manager. It’s another side of the story for this manager but just the same he also ditched me. He was also one of those people who ditched me to the Japanese boss. Because according to a source, this man had been dying to get the role of Procurement Manager for many years already. The reason is only thing and that’s COLLUSION with the vendors. Same reason of that Assistant Manager who ditched me. They both know that with my presence in the company, I would definitely put restrictions/policies on vendor’s accreditation and selection.
This experience had been a nightmare for me. I’ll just charge this to experience and moving forward not to trust much on the people. Being in this very bad company had teach me lessons that CORE VALUES and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT are very important for an employee to have. Having such would surely guide every employee on how to work inside a corporate environment especially on dealing with fellow colleagues. You can just bypass and accuse against your colleague if you want to. A company that is bounded by rules, policies, values and development has better employees. And corporate attitude and practice is highly practiced (somehow).
After almost two months of being home-based, I was able to find a new job. But before I find this new job of mine, I’ve been through series of interviews, job offers and explorations. And God has been good, I was able to finalize a job offer just before Christmas and my 40th birthday. It was indeed the best gift ever. Now, I believe good karma are given to those people with good heart and no other bad intentions towards others. This time, I’m now in a new industry. A hospital & healthcare industry. It’s a sure challenge for me and hopefully this is the place for me already. Their contract was good including other benefits and compensation. Salary is competitive as well. Once I’ll be regularized here, I will stay here until retirement. I’ll continue to hope and pray that God will grant my desire.