5 Minutes With…Erin Padilla

Having just wrapped up the celebrations to mark the Lunar New Year, Accela CEO and Co-Founder Erin Padilla reflects on the crazy Year of the Rat and her hopes for the Year of the Ox.

Can you sum up the year of the Rat in three words?

Tumultuous

grounding 

… and supportive!

Obviously, last year was really chaotic - true to rat form! But it’s been really amazing to see how everyone supported each other; from the team, to clients, to the wider business community.

I think of 2020 as being a massive global team-building exercise that no one saw coming. It stress-tested everything – people, businesses and politics. It exposed the strengths of teams, communities and nations. And it exposed their weaknesses, too. To emerge from it all as a strong team feels amazing. 

Can I add another word? Reflective! The Year of the Rat was also a chance to pause and take stock. Personally, I thought about what I really value. As a team, we thought about what areas we could evolve to really add value to our client partners, and I’m excited for what’s ahead in the Year of the Ox! 

They say the rat – 2020 – was such a year of learning. Can you talk about some personal revelations/discoveries? 

As a foreigner who has set up a business in Singapore and calls this country home, this year affirmed that this is an amazing place to be. It continues to be a really attractive place for people to do business, with lots of opportunities both domestically and in the region. 

2020 also made me fall in love with the team even more – everyone is so resilient, positive and caring about each other and our clients. 

Can you think of a few words that describe what you hope Year of the Ox to be?

I hope it’s all the things the Year of the Ox is supposed to be. I hope it’s steady!

It would be great if things continue to recover slowly and surely in 2021, with no enormous changes. Singapore has done a great job of steadily opening the country, which means we aren’t yo-yo-ing like other countries that have been jumping between lockdown and almost complete normality.

I hope the year continues to be reflective. I think we are now more aware of the importance of regularly stepping back to look at the bigger picture, rather than running on the hamster wheel.

How do you expect ox qualities to impact Accela's work, and the markets Accela operates in this year? 

Accela is all about modern ways of working – we’ve had a flexible, collaborative approach, and we have been early adopters of business-related technology. 

But the rat is all about challenging the way you do things, and we definitely took the time last year to do a full audit of our systems and processes, getting rid of the ones we didn’t need and making the ones we did work even better for us. We know this will provide better outcomes for our client partners, and I see us doing more of that, being more inventive with the ways we operate. 

COVID has also shown us the power of partnerships, and our Communications team in particular has been really enjoying even more collaborations with other agencies outside the market, as well as brand partnerships domestically.

What is your personal focus for the Year of the Ox?

My personal focus for Accela is culture. People need to heal after 2020 - so we are focusing on ensuring the team is happy and fulfilled. 

2020 drove home that you spend a lot of time with your colleagues – it’s a significant support system. So we are looking at investing in people not so they are better at their jobs but so they are happy humans. That might mean upskilling in areas that aren’t related to their roles, and decentralising the fun parts of a business – for example, our CSR & Engagement committee is spread throughout the departments and teams. 

For me personally, a big focus for this year is to maintain connections. I would love to see my family, and friends overseas, but with that not possible, I want to ensure we keep up the regular Zoom calls that we enjoyed so much in the year of the rat.

I’m also aiming to read 24 books in 2021 - I’m already six down!

I’m also trying to do one new thing in Singapore per month – it’s so easy to stick to the usual haunts we know and love, but there is a lot to do and discover here, so I’m enjoying that.

And I am trying to teach our new puppy, Waffles, one trick per month.