Meet Celeste Hidalgo, Senior HR Manager, APAC, in our Singapore office! Celeste brings a wealth of HR knowledge to her role and helps ensure our APAC employees have a great experience at AdColony. She’s a podcast junkie and has been playing a lot of Nintendo Switch with her kids lately. Get to know her better in this week’s AdColonized!
What exactly does a Senior Human Resources Manager of APAC do at AdColony? What’s an average day like for you?
In a nutshell, my role is to support AdColony to maximize the value and take care of its most important asset and its competitive advantage in APAC – its employees.
My day is wide-ranging, as there are days that I focus on recruitment or concentrate on a specific employee engagement initiative. I might prepare for a talent development program or carry out usual HR operations processes.
Tell us a little about your experiences prior to joining AdColony and how they have prepared you for your role here.
I have been part of much larger IT organizations (IBM, Dell EMC, BlackBox) that are 10x to 100x the size of AdColony. These companies have HR best practices and systems which I try to implement in AdColony whenever possible if it can provide additional value to employee experience and engagement.
What makes AdColony the right fit for you?
I like planning, creating, and implementing HR programs so I am enthused that I can do those types of work a lot in AdColony. HR team members are also seen as trusted partners by the management and leadership teams, and that makes my contribution feel valued.
AdColony values employee development. How do you keep growing and learning in what you do?
I listen to podcasts or watch TED talks by various leaders and organizational psychologists on leadership and best HR practices. I read leadership and management books. I am subscribed and regularly receive articles from Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and McKinsey & Company. I maintain my international HR certifications and membership with SHRM and HRCI, which are two known international HR certification organizations. I have to complete accredited trainings or sit-in for recertification exams to ensure my knowledge is up to date, especially in the ever-changing landscape of human resource management.
How do you act as a resource for the rest of your team?
I am always inclined to share knowledge and information with the team. It is both exciting and inspiring for me to help anybody develop and learn from whatever knowledge I can impart.
Is there someone you turn to personally or professionally?
Professionally, I turn to one senior HR leader. He is an experienced CHRO and also a leadership coach, and he has agreed to do pro-bono coaching with me. I have learned a few key principles from him that I apply in my work which I think have improved my stakeholder management and work style.
Many global AdColony employees are still working from home. Do you have any work-from-home tips for success you can share?
Make a list of your tasks and projects you need to complete and make yourself accountable to meet the deadline. It is easier to write them down be it in electronic or physical form (Todoist is my fave app for this) so you don’t have to worry about missing something and you free up your brain to think about other valuable ideas.
What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing on the weekends or after work?
I look forward to spending time with my two kids or curling up and reading a book while listening to music. Lately, we’ve been playing a lot of games on Nintendo Switch. We recently finished Luigi’s Mansion 3 and my 4-year-old boy is so ecstatic defeating King Boo. He was Luigi and I was Gooigi and he knows the game much better than me!
Which app is keeping you engaged lately? Why?
Elevate for brain exercise, Jefit for workouts, and Pinterest for anything and everything.
What is your favorite moment you’ve had with the AdColony team so far?
It was early this year when we went to Bali for our APAC Brand Kick Off. It was fun organizing the two-day event, especially our team building activity where we had to build kids bikes for donation. We had to complete a series of team challenges (perform a traditional Balinese dance, play Bongo drums to a certain tune, take a pyramid selfie, etc.) to get some bike parts. We were in meetings for the most of the two days but it felt fun and not laborious.
What are you listening to lately (music, podcasts, etc.)?
HR Leaders Podcast, HR Leaders with Chris Reiney, HBR Ideacast, WorkLife with Adam Grant, Revisionist History – listening to any topics on HR or leadership is fun for me!
I listen to mostly folk, indie, and alternative music when I am working or reading a book but my jam is mostly pop songs if I am at the gym working out.
What are you looking forward to most in the next 5 years?
I am looking forward to seeing how my kids will grow up and I’m excited to see how they mature and learn in life. I am also thinking of going to graduate school by next year so that’s pretty exciting.
About AdColonized
Each AdColonized feature shines a light on a different member of the AdColony team. From favorite apps and hobbies to fun facts, we cover it all! Who do you want to see on the next AdColonized? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
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