We ended last year with a fun photo contest for our agents. Photos were posted on social media and the posts with the most likes were awarded cash prizes. Having spoken with two of the contest winners we wanted to hear about their experiences with Agents Republic, their choices for their photos and what their plans are for the prize money. Hopefully this can give you insight into our company culture.
Reflecting Travel.
The winners of the photo contest reflected the idea of travel in their pictures. “I took these photos in three different islands across the Philippines,” said Arvie, an agent who works with Agents Republic. “I wanted to show people how I have been able to travel in my home country as a result of having a flexible work schedule.”
Similarly, Tammy, an agent who works with a Swiss software company, also posted a picture that reflected travel in the Philippines.“I booked a flight to Cebu during the Airline’s Piso Sale and I got the ticket for only $16 roundtrip,” she said. “I wanted to show how working from home can allow you to travel around a more flexible schedule”
Long time agents even before the pandemic
What was common between both of the winners was the amount of time they had been with Agents Republic as team members. In other words, they had been working remotely even before the pandemic.
“I’ve been working with Agents Republic since 2019, because the company gave me the flexibility I needed,” Tammy said. “That’s what I love with remote work – it makes everything easy.”
Arvie cited similar reasons for joining Agents Republic – in particular, her status as a single mother, taking care of her son. “I started at Agents Republic in 2018, in part because the work was interesting and it allowed me to spend more time with my child,” said Arvie. “As a single mother, it’s hard to commute into work, while still needing to drop off and pick up my son from daycare and still have time to do household chores like preparing dinner. Working at Agents Republic has given me that kind of flexibility.’
Covid has not drastically impacted the way our agents work either. “The pandemic has not really changed much in terms of work,” Tammy said. “My current account was started just before the pandemic, so it in no way affected me negatively.”
Remote working has helped them with stress
Even though both agents have worked in traditional call centres before, working at Agents Republic, which works entirely remotely has helped them to reduce stress, which is very common in customer service positions.
“It is certainly a lot less stressful than a regular premise-based call centre job,” Arvie said. “I used to work at a traditional call centre and every day they required you to be there 45 minutes early and they would take attendance. I used to have a four-hour commute as well, so it was very stressful.”
Tammy expressed similar sentiments. “I don’t have to travel to the office anymore and I don’t need to wait for lunch break to eat. I can eat while working on off-line tasks.” Tammy also expressed how much she enjoyed working with her client.
“Communicating with the Swiss client is easy because we have several platforms to use. We can simply post a note on the platform we are working on, and the client will reply to you directly.”
Connecting with local communities
Finally, both conveyed how they were able to better connect with their communities and families as a result of the decreased stress.
“I am able to visit family and friends even if it’s not on the weekend,” Tammy said. “Remote work makes everything easy. I now have the opportunity to travel and do errands before the start of my shift.”
Arvie also expressed similar sentiments. “I now have time to not only travel, but to spend quality time with my son and my partner. I also have the opportunity to make plans with my sister and my nephew. I don’t feel like I’m neglecting anyone.”
Giving back to the community is a way of life
When asked about Arvie’s plans with the prize money, Arvie told us how she intended to use half of it to support a child in her community.“I found him two years ago, when his mother posted on Facebook about him having Dawson Disease,” she stated. “My mother always taught me that I should always share my blessings and I felt the urge to give back to someone in my community.”
She extended this idea to her second family at Agents Republic.“I would not have found this child if his mother hadn’t posted on Facebook,” she explained.
“The world we live in is so interconnected through technology. I am able to work at a Canadian company for American and European clients from here in the Philippines. And I am able to work with people from all over the world. It’s great!”
A part of a global family
Here at Agents Republic, we pride ourselves on being a global organization that can work with people from all over the world to provide 24/7 customer support. We like to foster a culture of mutual respect and understanding among our agents and to treat each other as members of a global family.
Our vision is to make people’s lives better with remarkable customer experience, enabled by technology and remote agents with a passion for excellence. Diversity and inclusion is our DNA, our commitment to our community gives us joy.
