While working in their office, we were able to observe their work setting, how they do their tasks, their attitude towards work and colleagues, and saw for ourselves how busy they are. Every second counts and the quality of work absolutely matters, therefore as their “assistants” we learned we should always be mindful of how efficiently we work on our tasks.

Communication-wise, being onsite with them is definitely easier for both parties especially when working on tasks.

Some of the things that are common to our clients when we shared each of our experiences are:

– They seldom wear casual clothes at work
– Their offices are very quiet when it’s work hours
– Non-work-related chit-chats are very minimal
– They are very polite
– They treat each other with equal respect

We couldn’t help but compare what we witnessed to our own setting – but realised that it is incomparable. “To each his own”, as they say.

While we appreciate the formality and quietness of their office settings, we couldn’t deny that we are still comfortable with how ours is. We admit that we sometimes get a bit loud and that’s something we need to improve more but the culture that we have which we integrate into our work environment is just right for the type of people that we are, yet still maintaining professionalism.

We confirmed that the assistance we provide them greatly impacts their workflow, i.e. the amount of workload taken off them is a big scoop out of their bowls. Aside from getting their own tasks done quicker, we give them more time doing client focused work thus better supporting the planners with their own clients. Seeing this first hand gave me a much deeper appreciation of our business in general, and how we make it work.

We were also able to confirm what we already knew, that having a good relationship is essential because apart from all these work-related experiences and observations, we were also able to have times off from work together and bond with our fellow team members.

We had meals together, went sight-seeing, and even shopped together! So yeah, we got to see their more “human” side.

It’s humbling to get to know them more than just professionally because just like most long-distance relationships, misunderstandings are very common, and being miles and miles away, this is mostly true especially in CSRs whose clients seldom communicate face-to-face in venues like video meetings, etc. It is not uncommon for written words to be misunderstood, most especially, if you do not know the person well.

All in all, the Oz trip was both a fun-filled and learning experience for all of us. It taught us to value even more – not just the clients but also the work we do for them. We could never thank our big bosses, VBP as a whole, and our clients enough, for making this possible, for choosing us to represent the company and giving us this opportunity to be one of the first few to have this experience.

For me personally it was a tick off my bucket list – being able to visit one of the best countries in the world, and was awesome to be able to meet our wonderful clients!

Through discipline, responsibility, and good relationship with clients, Chyrell Eliza “Chy” delos Reyes bagged the first VBP Employee of the Year Award held in August 2016 at the Mandarin Plaza Hotel.

Chyrell shared her road to success on what she believed it takes to become a great CSR (Client Service Representative), which is to balance work and life.

“When it’s work time, then focus on your work. When it’s break time, then take a break. Give time for yourself to unwind because not all of your time is for work. You just have to balance them out,” Chy said.

She also enumerated some tips for new CSRs on how to excel in a workplace like VBP which include:

• Take time to learn the intricacies about their job.
• Mingle and learn from other CSRs. Learn about the challenges they’ve encountered and how they’ve overcome them.
• Take responsibility for your own development. Discover things on your own pace, but make sure that you don’t get left behind.
• Most importantly, build trust and a professional relationship with your clients.

Among the tips she mentioned, she greatly emphasized the importance of having a strong relationship with clients. For her, CSRs must know how to keenly observe the details of their clients’ attitudes, characteristics, behaviors, and their preferences in work. In addition, she added that CSRs must know how to be themselves in communicating with their clients.

“We have to adjust to the way our clients behave and sometimes we tend to mimic them. In all instances, we should learn on how to limit ourselves and to not go over to the point that our way of dealing with them would sound inappropriate and unprofessional. We should keep harmonious relationships with them,” she expressed.

Chyrell, 31, has been working with VBP for more than a year as a CSR dedicated full time to her client. She said that one of the biggest challenges she had faced with her client that other CSRs might have also met is communication. According to her, late replies and responses from clients confused her whether to jump into another task or to wait for her client’s instructions on how to proceed with difficult tasks. Chy surmounted this challenge by learning on how to become persistent in asking how to go on with her tasks without being annoying.

“I use Skype in communicating with my clients, but when it comes to sensitive and complex information, I use email. I ask via email for things I am doubtful of. I also make sure that my content of my email is easy to understand which is why I always use bullet points and numbering to be more comprehensive,” Chy explained.

She further concluded that good communication and effective task management leads to a strong foundation of CSRs’ relationships with their clients.