Office managers serve a critical role in a company. They can streamline day-to-day operations so that others in the business can perform their jobs effectively and keep calm in a busy environment.
Despite her busy calendar, Jasmin Oracion (Jas), Beehive’s Office Manager, found a few spare minutes to answer some questions about her role at Beehive. Jas plays an important part in supporting not only the company’s daily operations, but also its continuous expansion into other countries.
Hello Jas, can you tell me a bit about your background?
I came to Dubai back in 2013 and I got a job as a Receptionist-cum-Secretary in a contracting company. While working there, a friend referred me to one of the directors of Beehive as they were looking to recruit. Back then, Beehive was just starting; peer to peer (P2P) lending and FinTech were brand-new in the UAE and I was eager to find out what all the fuss was about.
I was one of the lucky few who got interviewed and hired directly by no less than our Founder and CEO, Craig Moore, and I’m one of the proud pioneer employees of Beehive from 2014.
Knowing that P2P was new not only in the UAE, but in the whole MENA region, what made you decide to join Beehive in 2014?
I was drawn to the challenge of building a company from scratch with the founding team. I had heard about how P2P was breaking through in other regions and knew it would be a success in the UAE, so I thought I must join the bandwagon… and the rest was history.
It was such a bold, but smart move! What do you like best about working there?
Having worked at Beehive since 2014, I admire and applaud the resilience and dedication of everyone in the team. My favorite part about working at Beehive is its people – everyone has a different background and yet we co-exist in harmony in the office.
What’s the culture like on the team?
The office environment is open, and people are very friendly. Colleagues become your friends and eventually become your family.
Great! Now let’s talk about your role. What are your main responsibilities and in what circumstances should I come to you for something?
People come to me for help and assistance in all sort of things: HR, office purchases, payment requests, and even personal problems. I’m always ready to lend a helping hand to my colleagues so they can all work comfortably and effectively.
Aside from managing the office, doing PRO work and assisting other departments, I also run errands for the top management as their personal assistant.
How do you effectively juggle your day to day tasks?
I always create a checklist so I can manage and prioritise my work, that way my time in the office is spent efficiently. Also, I always try to follow the four-way test in decision making: (1) Is it the truth? (2) Is it fair to all concerned? (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendship? And lastly (4) will it be beneficial to all concerned?
What’s keeping you occupied outside of work?
As we are all working remotely now, whenever I have free time, I keep track of updated regulations from DIFC, Dubai SME, and the government. I see to it that I am keeping the team and the management up to date with new regulations as well as news about the COVID-19 pandemic.
While staying indoors, I have more time to connect with my family in my hometown. I love travelling to other countries and exploring new sights and eating different cuisines. I’m hoping that as soon as this pandemic settles down, I can travel to other countries again that are on my bucket list.
Thank you for your time, Jas. I know you still have a lot of tasks to do so let’s finish with this one. Do you have any interesting facts that you wouldn’t mind sharing with us all?
I’m a very artistic person and used to paint a lot when I was studying, but now the idea is just wishful thinking. More recently, I have started learning how to mix tasty drinks rather than colours!
