Agile From Anywhere With KBTG: Work in the USA With Tawan, Chief Technology Officer
In September 2021, during our quarterly townhall, KBTG employees received wonderful news from the group chairman, Krating Ruangroj Poonpol. Thanks to the newly implemented “agile from anywhere” policy, we can now choose where we want to work! We can agree with the team whether we want to return to the office, work from home, or go for the hybrid option. The choice is ours and will remain so even once COVID-19 has passed.
This policy is designed to benefit every employee, especially the ones who reside outside of Bangkok. Speaking of, how has the work from home policy been treating them so far? To find the answer to that, I’m bringing you overseas to talk to Tawan Jithavech, Chief Technology Officer of KBTG, who’s been working from home in California, USA since the beginning of the year! How does he adjust his lifestyle to accommodate KBTG’s work schedule? Let’s check in with him.
WFH Veteran
I’ve actually lived in the U.S. since I was 24 years old. In September 2019, I made a major decision to join KBTG/KBank, where my arrangement is to station in Thailand with a possibility to return to the U.S. for two weeks at a time, three times a year. During each stay, I would spend one week working. and take the other week off.
When COVID-19 first hit Thailand in 2020, it completely disrupted my plan. I got to fly back home only once before the border was closed. It wasn’t until early 2021 that I was able to come back to U.S. again. However, just when I was preparing to fly back, COVID has once again resurfaced. With KBTG reverting to the work from home policy, Mr. Krating, along with Ms. Kattiya Indaravijaya, the CEO of KBank, agreed that it might be best for me to remain with my family and continue working from my U.S. home since we won’t be returning to the office anytime soon.
Working 6pm — 6am
Before, I would start working at around 6:30/7:00pm (8:30/9:00am in Thailand) until 7:00am every day (9:00pm in Thailand). Now that the daylight saving ended, the schedule has moved up one hour earlier, hence a 6:00pm — 6:00am schedule. Being a part of numerous committees (e.g., IT strategy, security, procurement, etc.) means that I have to attend a lot of meetings. There are also weekly meetings with the management committee (MC), the KInfra team, and individuals who report directly to me. Another part of my job, which consumes lot of my time, is to keep up with technology. I will frequent meet with vendors to discuss technology trends, roadmap and advancements. It’s extremely crucial that I stay up to date with every facet of IT. To help growing our employees, I also allocate my time mentoring DMDs, AMDs and the head of departments.
In terms of my day-to-day responsibilities, right now KBTG is carrying out the KInfra transformation project. It’s my duty to keep track and check in with the team to see what support they need. There are specific days of the month where our war room needs to stay on high alert, namely lottery day, pay day and double-date discount day. If an issue arises, we need to act fast. I’d normally help the team investigate the root case and find preventive measures. Another team that I recently start managing is the data team, so I had to meet with KBank’s data governance department frequently to lay out the new data strategy. We are also solidifying our role as KBank’s strategic partner. Though the process is fairly time-consuming, being involved in the project early on would certainly benefit every stakeholder. Once a month, I have a session with Dr. Pipatpong Poshyanonda and Mr. Pipit Aneaknithi, the presidents of KBank, to provide update on how we’re doing. Apart from all of that, I sometimes speak at industry events on topics relevant to our work and strategy.
Once the day is over, it’s bedtime for me. I usually sleep until 1:00pm. My wife works a day schedule from 8:00am-5:00pm, so sometimes we get to have lunch together. At around 3:00–4:00pm, I’ll head out to pick up my daughter from school, and then the entire cycle is repeated. Despite this irregular schedule, I don’t generally feel sleepy at nighttime because the gears in my brain are always turning. I need to pay attention at every meeting, especially during the session with MDs. You definitely can’t afford to fall asleep *laugh*
The Challenge of WFH
From my experiences, all remote works share the same pain points. First, it’s the culture. When new people come on board, they won’t be able to experience our culture as a whole. Despite online townhalls, they just don’t have the same atmosphere as the in-person ones. As a result, they might feel some invisible barrier between them and the organization, finding it hard to grasp what people are thinking exactly. To resolve this matter, we try to increase communication 10 times more than normal to help them bond with each other through various activities, offer them chances to talk to the management team through round tables, and learn from the best in the organization through mentoring sessions. Employees’ well-being is our top priority. To make sure that we’re heading towards the right direction, our next action plan is to find a practical way to measure the success of our company culture. We’re trying to cope the best that we can so that we can survive this pandemic together and finally reunite in-person.
Secondly, brainstorming process becomes trickier. Sitting in the same room together, you can just draw on a piece of paper or a whiteboard to explain your thoughts more clearly. The conversation flows smoother as people interact more dynamically. People often find online channels lacking that. To fix this, we try to equip them with all necessary tools. For example, there’s a whiteboard feature in MS Team that allows everyone to collaborate. I also encourage all employees to turn on the camera during meeting session to promote an interaction.
Finally, it’s almost impossible to control the amount of meetings each day. This struggle is perhaps the most common one. From morning till evening, there are barely any time to work because the day’s filled with meetings. For this, we try to teach everyone to respect others’ personal time by avoiding scheduling a meeting at noon or after 7pm. Lots of meetings might seem inevitable at times, but I don’t want it to be a norm as it will lead to burnout. Right now the MC are planning to organize an employee voice session, where we invite 50 of our employees representing every company under KBTG to share how to best prevent this.
Free Time Activities
Life in the U.S. is almost back to normal. During my free time, I like to go biking with my daughter since that is her favorite hobby. If we have a free schedule during the weekend, my family and I would take a small trip to a town nearby like San Diego, Santa Barbara or Napa Valley. Once in a while, my wife and I would carry out a work from home from somewhere else. We would rent an AirBnB for a week, where I get to enjoy a beautiful sunset at seaside while working.
Speaking of hobbies, mine is definitely cooking. When I was a student, I used to be a sous chef working at an Italian restaurant, cooking pasta all day long. To me, cooking is therapeutic and something I can do with my daughter. She likes when I make steak whereas my wife prefers pasta with a really simple recipe — just toss the noodles with olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, a pinch of chili flakes, then place a piece of grilled salmon on top. It’s a very easy, yet super tasty dish.
Agile From Anywhere
In this era, the “working anywhere, anytime” concept has become a new normal and is now considered permanent in many organizations. At KBTG, we recently announced the “agile from anywhere” policy that allows everyone to select where they want to work, whether at the office or at home, since our employees have demonstrated their capability to deliver great work and provide excellent customer service no matter where they are. Our culture has now transformed to “work anywhere, together.” If you’re interested in pioneering in this new era, check out the available positions on our website and come join us!
After hearing the story on how we agile from other country, next up is how KBTG agile from other provinces. Stay tuned for part 2 to learn more!
If you want to read more interesting stories like this or learn about the latest innovations, check out KBTG’s official website at www.kbtg.tech
