Human-centered is not fulfilling the insatiable needs of an individual, but taking the company's overall interest as a priority.
Dictated by Momo Liang, Senior Adminstration Specialist, iKala
Written by Iris Hung
I joined iKala in 2018 as an Administration Specialist. My everyday work includes minding the receptionist's front desk and telephone. I also manage the meeting rooms, maintain the equipment inside, receive guests, and deliver or receive letters and packages. I'm also responsible for preparing office events, such as the year-end parties, company trips, other celebrations, office parties, etc.
I have what people call a "mother's personality". I like to watch out for everyone, make sure everybody is being cared for. I didn't know I had it in me until I came to this job. I found that my experience in life and familiarity with these mundane daily tasks could be of great assistance to everyone. I have plenty of confidence in my ability to do this.
The harder part of this job is that there are a million little different things to do. My time each day could be spent on a wide variety of tasks. To use the making of new business cards as an example, the whole process goes like this: the coworker who needs the cards must double-check and confirm their name and job title. Then, I need to update an online form. I need to communicate with the designer who makes the cards, review the draft, upload the file to the printing company, wait for their delivery, and then pick up the delivery. It's not that these things are hard—the combined time spent on these steps may be around thirty minutes only. But there are so many different procedures and people I need to talk to, and a lot of time is spent waiting for others to complete their part of the process. So, in the end, it may take a couple of weeks to get the business cards made.
A part of my time is also spent on helping colleagues solve problems they cannot solve for themselves. So, I've developed a habit of leaving a fixed amount of time every day to deal with miscellaneous issues. The job of a receptionist can be very dull or full of excitement. People are glad to talk to me, and I'm happy to share my thoughts. This helps me understand the personality of each colleague and how they do things. That way, I can work with different people or teams more efficiently. You can even say I am facilitating the exchange of our corporate culture. I keep telling myself, I am more than a machine that takes care of miscellaneous tasks. I want to become a relay station—picking up requests and opinions from all over the workplace, and then turning these inputs into something that helps the entire company.
I am very happy working in this company. People see me as more than the "receptionist" they go to when they need help. They call me "Momo", and I can just about fix any problem they might have. In a way, the name "Momo" has become the synonym for "solutions" in the company. I am not joking when I say people really can find valuable advice and suggestions when they talk to me. This is a positive influence in the company, and I feel a sense of achievement in what I do.