Peter Hayden: Leading Capital One’s expansion in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Capital One Philippines Support Services Corp.’s Peter Hayden may still be warming his seat as country general manager, but he has already been working hard to achieve the company’s goals. His focus at the moment: the Alabang-based global in-house contact center’s expansion.

Capital One Philippines supports Capital One’s US credit card business. It is fully owned by Capital One and is the first in-house offshore operations location and the largest single contact center location.

“I work with my senior leadership team in setting our business strategies and maintaining our well-managed agenda. Specifically for this year, our main focus is on expanding our operation here in the Philippines. We are set to open our second site in Alabang and I will oversee the seamless integration of these two sites,” begins Hayden. “We have been a captive site here in the Philippines for two and a half years and it continues to deliver amazing results for both our customers and associates.”

As general manager, Hayden ensures that everyone is committed to deliver only the most excellent service to customers, and takes care of the associates by providing them with the best work environment.

Doing the right thing

Hayden joined Capital One in 2008 and has successfully managed large teams and strategic initiatives in the company’s credit card business. Before his stint in Capital One, he was an officer at the US Navy and spent two years as a consultant serving financial services clients. He says that serving in the military was an integral part of his life because it showed him how important values and sense of service are.

“Sense of service is definitely something that will help me fulfill my duties as general manager of Capital One Philippines and it is not only in terms of servicing our customers but also in terms of servicing our associates and our partner communities,” he shares.

According to Hayden, the company’s values – excellence and doing the right thing – echoes his own set of beliefs. “I intend to continue promoting Capital One’s values to our associates. These values drive us to do better every day and deliver the best results to our customers. The Philippine team also values malasakit as part of our ‘Investing for Good’ philosophy, where we are able to bring humanity to what we do, making it even more inspiring to be part of an organization that truly cares.”

Workplace of choice

There is no stopping the growth of the Philippine IT-BPM industry and its role as a major driver of the economy. Experts cite the importance of talent development and retention programs as key factors to the industry’s success. 

“Capital One Philippines is dedicated to being the workplace of choice for Filipino talents,” asserts Hayden. “Through our efforts in giving them the best work environment, we are able to contribute to the growing talent pool of the industry. The Philippines offers a whole suite of highly-educated and talented individuals and their work ethic is really admirable. People come to work and they work hard. Combine that with the concept of ‘malasakit’ for each other and the communities we serve, then we get amazing results.”

Its Contact Center Readiness program, for one, is an effective tool in meeting the industry’s growing demand for talent. It trains young Filipinos and provide them with employment opportunities after completing the program. It is the first TESDA-accredited program of its kind that provides underprivileged Filipino youth a better chance at life.

Hayden, who adores Filipinos’ humility and happy disposition, vows to continue making Capital One Philippines the workplace of choice.

In terms of talent development, the company is proud of its MyLearning program, where the management analyzes the associates’ needs by identifying roadblocks and areas of improvement to create training curriculums. There are also One Up and One Up+ Roadmaps for newly promoted managers or supervisors and Be Well seminars that focus on associates’ health and fitness.

Capital One Philippines also has a holistic approach to talent retention. It puts premium on the associates’ safety, especially those on night shift schedules and during natural calamities.

“The foundation of my management style is practicing service leadership and my job here is to serve the site and serve the associates. Part of that is taking the time to walk the floors, talk to the agents, stop by on a daily basis, and meet new hires for me to fully understand what’s going on in the business. I want to make sure that the associates are well taken care of so they can continue delivering fantastic results for our customers,” says Hayden.