Ely Adora: Confidence Beyond The Comfort Zone

Describing himself as a ‘shy type’, Ely has levelled up his skills through the years to become an effective Team Leader at EML BAS. As his career grew alongside ASW’s success through the years, Ely is thankful for the support and the valuable lessons he has learned to become a dependable leader to his team.

Hi Ely! Tell us something about yourself.

I’m Elizalde Adora, Jr but you can just call me Ely. This November 2021, I’ll be celebrating my 9th year with ASW. I’m one of the Team Leaders for BAS RTWSS handling the Onbase Team.

I used to play basketball but two years ago, I had surgery on my right knee which prevented me from playing. So I shifted my focus to cycling instead. During the weekends, I bike with my friends to different places in our area. I also like to collect football jersey shirts and listen to different genres of music.

Can you tell us more about your role here at ASW?

I am part of the production team for BAS RTWSS, handling a total of 16 data entry agents. Our work involves identifying and handling different types of documents that we receive. We also do other tasks aside from our core duties such as processing of payments and indexing.

Can you tell us what your career was like before coming onboard as a Team Leader at EML BAS?

Before my career started with ASW, I was a data controller for a company that developed the revenue computerization project of Manila. Then I found a job at an outsourcing company as a Content Analyst. My last stop before ASW was working as a Distribution Specialist.

Then on November 2012, I applied for a job opening that looked promising to me as it was a start-up company. It just so happened that one of my former colleagues was hired there as well. We ended up being teammates in ASW and the rest is history!

What are the usual challenges of being a team leader?

As a team leader, the usual challenge for me is how to motivate your team members. They have different goals and it’s my job to help them focus on one common goal for the benefit of the team. Especially during this pandemic, they have different issues — whether it’s mental or emotional. I have to check on them and assure them that we can survive whatever issues they are going through.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

A positive organisational culture is key to feeling motivated and inspired at work. I work full-time on a shift schedule and my boss trusts me to produce high-quality work and results. I work hard to maintain that level of trust, which keeps me engaged and excited. At the same time, I love that my job enables me to enjoy my other passions in life. I love my job because people care about me as a person aside from my professional growth as well.

You’ve been with ASW for almost 9 years – that’s almost the same age as ASW! How do you continually find ways to be better at your job after all these years?

I think for me it’s the people within the team. You have to be always a step ahead and learn other things so you can share your knowledge with them. A team that always works together will always support each other no matter what happens. It’s the established culture that keeps me going. The support that I get from the management all the way to my team is great.

How would you describe yourself when you started at ASW 8 years ago versus how you are now?

When I was just starting with ASW, I was a data entry agent back then. I didn’t have any goals yet for myself. But when I got to know some of the people within the company and the culture, I realised that I want to be like them too. By talking and learning from them, it helped me gain my confidence. Personally, I’m really shy and I just work quietly.

Now, I’ve learned to get to know most of the agents before they are assigned to their respective teams. I guess I am more confident now compared to before, especially now that I’m handling a team and everyone has different personalities. As a leader, it helped me to be more patient and to always think about your team’s welfare, compared to before when I was only thinking about myself and how am I going to meet my KPI’s.

What important lessons have you learned in your 8 years with ASW?

For me, the greatest lessons I have learned from being here at ASW is that you have to love what you are doing because everything will just fall into place. The support that we have been receiving from the company is great. It’s the result of everything that I have worked for in the past 8 years with ASW. You have to inspire other people and show them the right way that will lead them to their goals. It makes me happy to see some agents who were from my team are now part of the management team.

Thanks for your time! Is there anything else you’d like to share with your fellow ASW colleagues as we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary?

I look forward to more growth and learn new skills to enhance my career and to mentor some of my team members for their own career growth within the company. I’m excited for more company events in the near future when the pandemic is over.