Hectic days and the Bitter Ocampo’s

I was really busy these past two weeks. I was pre occupied with finding CVs from GulfTalent and Jobstreet.com for vacancies within our Group and for some of our operating companies. For those who haven’t done recruitment, it’s really a daunting task just searching for the right candidates. At times, the candidates that we searched are not anymore available or simply are not interested. The only consolation that we have and what sets us apart from others is that our Company has a good reputation. If we request for an interview with a prospective candidate, they’ll most probably reply positively.


Finding the right candidate for the right job is not just enough. They may be the right candidate for the job but we also have to consider the pay package. Each of our departments and Operating companies has its own salary scales and budgets. Sometimes, the best candidate in the market is already enjoying a good compensation package from his present company. The most difficult task is how to make the candidate happy with the job offer. As my colleague in HR said, the bottom line would always be the money. It’s not always the career path, professional growth or company.

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I’ve already accepted that we could not please everybody! It’s a fact that all HR practitioners should realize. Despite the fact that our management sanctioned performance based increase of 5% of the payroll budget, some of our employees are still unsatisfied. The bad thing is that majority of them are Filipinos. Why can’t they just be thankful of what they’re receiving? Mahirap na talaga kung ang mga tao ay nilamon na ng bitterness. Why can’t they just count their blessings?

That’s not the only good news that we received last week. The management once again gave away performance bonus for the Financial Year 2009. Since it is performance based, the ranges in the bonuses were determined by the Performance Evaluation. So, ito na naman marami na namang unhappy na mga kabayan. They should be thankful that they received something since most of them are the best performers in their respective appraisal groups. Pero ito na naman ang walang katapusang reklamo.

Our HR team decided to send out bonus notifications to all employees so they knew early that they’ll be receiving bonuses. It’s hard work on my part since I have to do all the mail merging in both letter and the labels. I also have to discharge the letter right before the cut off. I did great I guess since it only took less than a day to finish everything, from preparing the letter, labeling and then distribution.

The story should have ended there but then again, our kabayan from Accounts learned that their supervisor received a supplementary bonus from the management. They questioned the abilities of their boss whom they addressed to as very stupid. Since I’m the face of HR in the Corporate Center, I was the first one that they approached. They asked why he (the supervisor) was given preferential treatment over them. I told them that management is not tasked to justify their decision to a lowly employees like us. If they want to question the authority, they better go upstairs at the executive office and try asking the CFO. That is, if they have the guts to go there and ask.

Nakakairita na kasi na akala ng ating mga kabayan na sila lang ang magaling. I will not dignify their bitterness until bitterness consumes them. If they’re really unhappy, they could resign anytime. Sabi nga nila, why prolong the agony?