Level Seven

The Manila Diaries

Settling In

18 May 2012

88 degrees Fahrenheit, Cloudy, Chance of thundery showers, Humidity 70%

It’s been a frustrating week concerning the process of finding somewhere to live.  Using the services of a broker seemed to have slowed everything down and ended up with us losing out on two apartments, so taking things into our own hands and on the advice of others, we decided to ‘do-it-ourselves’.  We have just signed a contract today for an apartment that suits our needs with some additional benefits that we had not even considered, such as a reduced membership to the Makati Sports Club.

Again referring to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, having now met the basic needs of shelter and safety, I thought I could move onto working on the psychological needs of relationships.  So, I decided to apply to join the British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines to start the networking process and to shift my focus onto business issues.

I attended an interesting event about the growing sector in the Philippines of Business Process Outsourcing or BPO as it is commonly referred to.  The scope of this sector seems to offer advantages for companies wishing to outsource to the Philippines as well as creating employment opportunities for local people.  The speakers discussed the issues of recruitment, retention and development, not so different from the people management needs expressed by UK organisations.  It will be interesting to know whether solutions that seem to bring about positive results in the UK could have a positive impact here in the Philippines. 

Finally, I have met some very interesting and genuine people wishing to help with my queries, questions and concerns and all of whom have made me feel very welcome.

Signing off for now

Our Correspondent in Manila