My Last Post

…on the Affinity Express blog.

If that’s not making you sad, don’t tell me. I’m immensely sad to leave: not just leave a blog that I’ve nurtured lovingly over two years, but to leave a job that I was extremely happy at, and a boss who made work fun each day and who’s become one of my best friends.

I have learned so much over the last two years: seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever learned so much in any other period of my life. It was exciting to be in this dynamic industry, to work in a business that’s aligned with my work (marketing!) so I can understand and be thrilled about the services we provide. It was a pleasure to meet (whether in person or online!) and learn from so many colleagues and clients.

And especially, it was amazing working in the marketing department with Kelly and Mel: never have I worked in another team that was so in sync (even though we’re all in different countries!); where even disagreements were fun and productive.

I’m glad we’ve found another Marketing Manager who’s brilliant and driven and fits well with the team; who has strengths different from mine and will push Affinity Express into new directions. But I’m sure Kriti will have her own post up here soon, so I won’t steal her thunder.

I’ll continue to write about marketing here and I hope you’ll continue reading me, and I’m happy to chat on Twitter.

And I know Affinity Express will continue to do exciting stuff and the blogging team here will continue to dispense great advice, so I’m definitely going to continue reading this blog. You’ll also catch me hanging about in the comments section here, so I won’t say goodbye!

What Employees Say About Affinity Express

Earlier this year, when we revisited our core values and packaged them in the new avatar of ELITE, we asked employees what they thought of Affinity Express. We wanted to be sure that we all have the same view of the company, regardless of job function.

Here are some of the interesting responses we received.

Working in the outsourcing industry can be tough: there are tight deadlines, clients to please and targets to meet. And Affinity Express provides design services, so on top of everything else is the pressure to be creative. As these employees say:

“Affinity Express is different from other BPOs. Our industry is more creative.”

“Designing is a challenge in itself, but thinking outside the box for another culture and for clients in North America takes it to a new level.”

“The expectations for individuals at Affinity Express are very high, as the company does not compromise on quality. However, it helps all individuals reach levels where they can deliver the best quality for the roles they perform.”

“It is very busy, but everyone plays by the rules.”

“There is never a dull moment.”

Employees kick back at a team party

Meet Noel Bedayo, Managing Director of Philippines Operations

Noel Bedayo was recently promoted to managing director of Affinity Express Philippines Operations. In this role, he is responsible for building a high-performing team and overseeing day-to-day operations.  He will also work to expand our interactive, editorial and newspaper teams.  Noel has joined the Senior Business Team and reports directly to CEO Ken Swanson.

Noel started with Affinity Express in April of 2008 and has built a strong rapport with colleagues locally and globally.  As the head of S.P.E.E.D. (Services and Products Engineered for Excellence and Development), Noel mentors and consults with our business leaders in the area of process planning, pricing, and metrics-driven strategies and improvements.

Noel is glad to have been part of the growth of our Manila office, and says:

Get to Know: Affinity Express Employee Charm Artiaga

Charm Artiaga (second from right) with the S.P.E.E.D. team

One of the most tenured employees at Affinity Express Philippines, Charm Artiaga was hired in October of 2007 and serves as manager of the S.P.E.E.D. (Services and Products Engineered for Excellence and Development) Team. She assists in the client on-boarding process to ensure smooth transitions and profitability and provides leadership and direction to the Operations Support Group (OSG) in generating reports that aim to standardize and improve our applications and procedures. In other words, Charm is an important contributor to our objective of being a process-driven company.

Focusing on Interactive Services

Reflecting our increased focus on providing high-quality interactive services for clients, Affinity Express hired a new director of interaction and web design.

Marisol Oberzauchner

Marisol Oberzauchner joined the Affinity Express team in September. She will oversee the delivery of interactive services and provide support for key clients.

Marisol is currently working closely with our interactive team in Manila, leading them to refine service levels, improve subject matter expertise and ensure high output quality. She is also working closely with David Kang on developing new products and services that we will offer under the interactive services umbrella.

I am very excited to announce that Marisol recently won two awards in the 2010 WebAward competition. The dDFCB website that she worked on won the award for the Best Interactive Services Website. And she was part of the team that won the award for Outstanding Website for the Brand Super Heroes Augmented Reality website. We are very proud to have someone so talented in our team!

Get to Know: Mariel Go, Quality Lead for Ad Services

Mariel Go

Mariel has been with Affinity Express since September 2007, which means she just completed three years here! Yay, Mariel!

Mariel serves as the quality lead for the Advertising Services Quality Group, a pool consisting of production assistants (PAs) supporting multiple newspaper properties. Her day begins when she gets updates on any quality issues, new client protocols, feedback or meetings. Then she meets with the PAs for team discussions or does hands-on quality analysis by getting involved in various teams’ ad production activities. She provides feedback to operations directors, managers, team leaders and PAs, as well as to upper management. Essentially, Mariel is a communications hub for Affinity Express and clients.

Meet VP of Graphic Services, Rajendra Magadum

Rajendraprasad Magadum (better known around here as Rajendra) joined Affinity Express as vice president of Graphic Production and Support Services in April 2010.

Rajendra has a tough job, responsible as he is for overseeing both operational and financial performance for  Graphic Services. But he derives pleasure out of finding new ways in which the team can improve efficiency and deliver better satisfaction to clients.

He brings more than 14 years of experience to the job, and his extensive background in program management, and driving quality and productivity improvements, is already showing results.

Here is what Rajendra has to say about his experience at Affinity Express so far:

Get to Know: Santosh Mane, Team Leader, Ad Services for Newspapers

Santosh Mane with his team behind him

Santosh Mane just celebrated his second anniversary at Affinity Express, and those two years have been anything but uneventful. He joined as a designer in Pune in June 2008, and was promoted to team leader in June 2009. He is one of the two team leaders for a 39-member team that works on ad production for a top ten U.S. daily newspaper.

This team works on approximately 800 ads per week, and Santosh supervises ad production, ensures quality, and coaches and guides his team towards continuous improvement.

He starts his day by looking at the job orders that have come in. These are categorized based on creativity and complexity, and handed out to team members based on their experience and skills.

Get to Know: Affinity Express Employee Ted Pusecker

This is the first of a series of blog posts in which we profile Affinity Express employees and their work.

Ted Pusecker has been with Affinity Express for three years. He is a production manager and works in Ohio. He and his team of three handle the processing of ads for 22 weekly publications and a parenting magazine, as well as print and deliver products. Ted also helps the NCI team with on-boarding of new accounts.

Ted feels that one of the biggest pleasures of his job is building relationships with clients. Often, it can be hard to convince new clients that the new processes Affinity Express introduces will soon become the norm. But  Ted is glad to have the opportunity to work with so many different Affinity Express team members and accounts to overcome obstacles, develop relationships and deliver results. He says: “We have a very dedicated staff that wishes to give clients the greatest chances of prosperity. Their success is our success.”