Calaidescope World

A Whole New World

I started working at Chevron (Caltex is the brand) a month ago. Yes, I only had less than a week off after my last day at Watson Wyatt. I'm insane. But I couldn't make Chevron wait any longer after I had asked for an extension to wrap some stuff up with Watson Wyatt.

Chevron is a company steeped in history. There is much to be proud of, and its surprisingly low employee turnover is proof of that. There are also many things going at all levels of the organisation- in the Philippines, the biggest are the change in name from Caltex Philippines, Inc. to Chevron Philippines, Inc. and the introduction of a new gasoline ingredient: a cleaning agent called Techron (it has been in the US for over a decade and has finally made its way to Asia). There are other change initiatives that I can't disclose - I've once said that Chevron is a consultant's dream but a line manager's nightmare - although NOW is a very exciting time at Chevron! It's one huge clean up!

So how has work been? Fun! Line HR is just as tiring and demanding as consulting, but it's very different. I find it exciting. I'm forced to think and work outside my comfort zone, so I'm on my toes all the time. The real challenge has been to stop talking HR speak and to drill concepts down to a level that everyone can understand and appreciate. I need to speak slowly, choose my words carefully, and drive messages across in simpler ways. The issues are something else, too. I don't get questions like "What is the median?" and "When are the survey results coming out?" anymore. What I do get are "When are our bonuses going to be paid out?" and "Are we getting salary increases this year?". Of course, during a program roll out earlier this week, the question I was most comfortable answering was "How was the salary survey conducted and how reliable is the data from Watson Wyatt?"

The people I work with are cool, too. Most of the time, they're funny! I miss my old officemates (especially Arlene Y.'s and Marimar's effeciency!), but my new ones have made the transition so much easier. It's really quiet at Chevron, though (ask JM). I miss the noise at Watson Wyatt.

All things new are generally good, and this was a good move. No regrets...so far! Hahaha! If only we could all be happy with what we do. This happiness had better last!

posted by Calai @ 6:10 PM