Mariecon Tolentino – Pacuribot HR & Admin Manager of SupportZebra
My entry into the HR Profession is unorthodox, but is a very beautiful journey that I relive day by day as I grow professionally in this career.
I am Mariecon Tolentino - Pacuribot, HR & Admin Manager of SupportZebra, an ecstatic and proud member of a growing, homegrown BPO Company in Cagayan De Oro.
I start my story on January 2021 when I joined SupportZebra. My entry into the company was for a post in Organizational Excellence. With a professional history of being an instructor in the academe, a PMO professional in the IT industry, and an Audit, Risk and Compliance practitioner in the BPO Industry, Organizational Excellence is the perfect post to utilize all of my learnings and experience for the past 12 years of my professional career, and translate them into meaningful contributions to the company that I consider my second home.
Come August 2021, I was asked to take on a challenging role to oversee the HR and Admin Team. I remember my initial reaction on one of the difficult conversations I had with my Managing Director “Sir uy, ang pagka-Psychology graduate rajud ang akong madala sa HR”. I cannot quite recall how NVD reacted to it, but looking back and seeing where I am now, I am about to finish my 3rd Certificate Course in HR and on my 7th month as an HR leader and learner.
I’ve been leading teams for almost 10 years, but leading an HR Team entailed unlearning what I know about being a leader. The adjustment wouldn’t be a beautiful journey without the support of the esteemed mentors I worked with, and the DHRM Program of Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan in partnership with PMAP, on building my HR competencies.
Do we have the right people, in the right place at the right time, with the right skills? As Dr. David Ulrich emphasizes on his learning video with regards to the Future of HR as shared during our final class in Talent Acquisition, "If we can't build the right organization to win, we are not gonna be successful. Our challenge is not only where we're going but how we make sure we get there."
In this VUCA world, the landscape has evolved and our response as HR Professionals are integral to help the business obtain its organizational goals by creating the right environment, bringing in the right talents and preparing future leaders to help drive and maintain the corporate culture.
This 2-month Certificate Course with Ms Bambi Espiritu has been instrumental in providing the basic knowledge and appreciation of the craft, industry standards and practical strategies to compete and execute the best practices in Talent Acquisition – may it be on handling our teams, on improving internal stakeholders’ experience or in ensuring
that our interactions with incoming talents help promote and maintain the employer brand.
The pandemic did not only expand HR’s corporate influence but shifted the focus on attracting and retaining the right talents for organizations. The war for talent accentuates the need to hire the right people, not only committed but connected, who can respond to the future and not the past, and help the organization to WIN! During these times where unicorn companies are emerging, start-ups providing flexible work-at-home arrangements and the pandemic changing the game in terms of attracting talents, organizations do not compete for structure anymore but on its capability – what and how are we known for in the market. How else do we get the right support as HR professionals but through continuously learning and adapting and being BOLD in our craft.
Completing this course with Ms Bambie’s sharing of her industry expertise, Mr. Pat
Picazo’s final learning session, and the weekly Saturday classes with my classmates from various industries, I can only imagine how both PMAP National and Xavier University will help hone existing & future HR Leaders, through this program, as we continue to thrive in the new normal.
I will always look back and move forward, with gratitude in my heart, for this beautiful journey is only just beginning!