Ann shares her story and the top 3 things she learned in her personal change journey to find a lane she loves.
Ann Romey is a consultant serving in Business Development and Marketing at ROHEI.
Not too long ago, she was in the Guest Experience (formerly Hospitality) team. Change is a way of life at ROHEI, and for Ann, change was about experiencing three different roles in a span of three years.
While sharing her story, she’s picked out the top 3 things she learned in this journey of change and finding a lane she loves.
1. Don't be afraid to try
Moving from the Guest Experience team was not something Ann planned or initiated. Though the work was incredibly taxing, she felt very well cared for and was not looking to explore.
“I’ve never really tried to aim for other roles or try out new tasks (even though I wanted to) because I was fearful of what my bosses would say. I was scared to fail and I wasn't sure if I had a net to catch me if I fall,” Ann says.
She was happy and content serving at the Guest Experience team, giving her best in watching out for the participants’ needs, making them feel at ease during programs. Her bosses took notice of her growing professionalism, her servant heart, and attention to detail. “My boss Bhel told me during an appraisal that they saw my potential to grow more in the Business Development team. The role required someone who could handle Client Services (receiving inquiries, telesales, CRM) and they gave me the option to try out something new.” So she embraced the challenge.
Not only has Ann been able to flourish doing just that,
she also had the chance to use her passion for dance to serve clients, and help our training team. “During a program in India earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to create and train a session on learning agility using dance,” Ann shares. “I have never thought that dance was something I could do here in ROHEI!”
Ann with her team of dancers—Sherman and Czarina.
2. Be faithful in small things
Ann served faithfully in the Guest Experience team and brought the same servant heart and exceptional work ethic with her to Business Development. Ann went beyond the job scope, getting herself involved in data analytics and investigating how to maximise digital platforms that were underutilised.
It was during that season that a new consultant, who is now our Chief of Strategy, started working with Ann as she was the only one in the department who could provide the data she needed.
“We worked together and she coached me. When she came in full time, she saw the potential for me to grow in Marketing, and she opened the opportunity to me.“
Ann has now become a very crucial bridge between Marketing and Business Development at ROHEI.
“It's been a great time with Marketing so far. When the opportunity was opened to me, the first thoughts I had were: "but what about my role in Business Development?" and "but I don't have experience in Marketing," but Ann's bosses were more concerned about whether it was something Ann wanted to do.
“I told them that I could come in to help if that was what was needed. They asked again, "but what about what you want, Ann?"
“That again removed any fear from my heart. The trust they have in me assures and gives me permission to try new things—responsibly haha—and be who I want to be.”
When you are faithful in small things, you will be put in charge of more.
3. Never forget the people who helped you along the way
Our CE Rachel often shares that the purpose of business is two-fold: (1) to create products and services that enable the community to flourish and (2) to build people so they can flourish. As we provide the best services we can to our clients, it is equally important to us to see our people flourishing.
As Ann continues to her job well, pouring her heart and soul into it, the organisation flourishes. When staff love their jobs and are dedicated and hard working, it reflects in our output as a service provider. It affects how we serve our clients and perform in the industry. That’s what “when people flourish, the organisation flourishes” means. In the end it’s the people who drive the business.
“My leaders at ROHEI have supported—and still currently are supporting—me in so many ways.” Ann says. “Just them giving me the platform to learn and try gives me confidence to do so.”