This global organization helps you achieve that much coveted work-life balance

As it celebrates its 20^th year, Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s office in Manila promises to stay true to its commitment toexcellence, partnership and inclusion in the workplace.

People’s perspectives on what constitutes a great workplace have shifted over the years. More than just financial compensation, accessibility, and reputation, job hunters are now looking for opportunities that will enable them to achieve that elusive work-life balance. With life’s daily stresses—from Manila’s traffic-choked streets to the rising cost of living, it’s little wonder why professionals are now seeking a career that can provide them a steady source of income without necessarily burning themselves out.

Backed by two decades of milestones, Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s office in Manila takes pride in being one such organization, boasting a “people-centric” culture, one that upholds equality, diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all its forms. This philosophy allows its employees to thrive professionally and personally in a workplace where they feel safe, heard, and included. 

Exponential growth

It all started in 2003. Ronnie Mañalac, General Manager of Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s office in Manila, was approached by Chris Boughton, then Asia-Pacific managing director of Cambridge University Press. Chris, who at that time was based in Manila, persuaded Ronnie and two others to establish an office in the Philippine capital. 

“We took the chance and the rest is history,” Ronnie recounted in an interview with The Philippine STAR, together with Mark Maddocks, Chief Information Officer and Janet Scotcher, Chief People Officer. 

And what a rich history it has been—what started as a four-man team has grown into a 900-strong office a mere two decades later.

“When thinking about how the office has grown, it just doesn’t happen by magic,” shared Mark when asked about the milestones of the Cambridge office in Manila over its two-decade existence. “Somebody doesn’t wave a magic wand then ‘ping!’ There are 900 people, all working. It’s something that grows over time.”

“There is something quite important there because it started with just looking after one of our digital products for our academic division,” he added. Currently, the Manila office of Cambridge comprises several teams from software development to UX design, content to quality assurance, human resources to English language learning, among others. 

For an office that has grown exponentially over 20 years, there surely are a lot of milestones. Mark said that there is something important in their model that makes it work: “Each of these teams has a local leader who runs the team out here, and they work with a leader back in Cambridge. That means the teams in Cambridge really feel connected to the team in the Philippines. They really feel it’s their team.”

Ronnie shared that they initially didn’t grow fast. “Trust is built over time—as you deliver the value and the people in the organization start recognizing there is value in doing this.” 

“We don’t seek out projects, the projects come to us. And I’m proud to say that in 20 years we never had an expat in the Philippines. So if you can see the total trust given to you and the elbow room to manage the local operations, that’s really good,” he added.

 “One of the things, not just me, but everybody from Cambridge who visited the (Manila) office, they are impressed by the energy, enthusiasm, dedication—people put in the hours, they are very committed—and the hospitality.” Mark shared.

Janet concurred, adding that the Filipinos’ willingness to innovate, to try new things, and to solve problems “really shine through.” She added that “despite the fact that we have this big organization, we can find agility and ways of solving problems and testing things here in a way that might be more difficult to try and do in Cambridge. That goes not only for technology but for other things.” 

“I’m blown away by the level of skill and qualification that people have,” shared the seasoned human resources and organization development practitioner from Scotland. 

In a separate email interview with The Philippine STAR, Peter Phillips, Chief Executive of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, described the Manila office’s 20th year as a “real milestone”. He shared that over the past 13 years since his first visit, “things had changed and grown each time” he visited. “The last time I was in Manila before the pandemic, the team was up to almost 500 and in a smart new office. And now we have just recruited our 900th person there. It’s an incredible story.”

“I would like to congratulate all of our people in the Philippines for everything they’ve achieved over the last two decades. I remember first going to the office in 2010 just a month after I joined Cambridge. There were around 100 people at that time, in a small office buzzing with energy,” he said.

With over 900 employees in its ever growing roster, the Manila office is the biggest in the entire organization, second only to Cambridge. 

A “Great Place to Work”

One of the Manila office’s biggest achievements to date is being certified as a “Great Place to Work” or GPW, an honor bestowed only on the best of the best workplaces in the world which create an “outstanding employee experience”. 

Phillips shared how the spirit of collaboration and positivity in the Cambridge office in Manila has always been infectious. “I was delighted to see that recognized recently when the office was certified as a Great Place to Work—another big achievement.”

The certification is a two-step process that includes surveying employees and completing a short questionnaire about the workforce. With employee feedback and independent analysis determining the scores, the GPTW Certification helps job seekers identify which companies genuinely offer a great company culture. 

“I remember before we started the process of researching and applying for GPTW Certification there’s only one thing I asked of our colleagues—be honest. In my mind, if we don’t get the certification for whatever reason, at least we know the gap. That alone is already useful to me. The certification is the bonus,” Ronnie said. 

“Seeing the numbers, I was very impressed. We scored really high,” he added. “We were worried about the diminishing camaraderie because we’re now doing hybrid but we got a very high score, way better than the best 15 similar companies locally. Better than the industry.”

Ronnie shared that trust is one of the most important values in an organization, yet it is one that is difficult to measure. With the GPTW certification, he got the metrics that allow him “to act on and manage” the possible gaps. “We’re so proud in the office. We must be doing something right, I feel,” he added. 

Edong Avena, Head of Software Development, has been with the organization since the very first day, attested to how the Cambridge office in Manila is a “great place to work,” sharing that “the office promotes work-life balance by providing flexible, hybrid work arrangements and organizing employee well-being initiatives, promoting equality and a positive and fulfilling work experience.” He added that career development is also highly encouraged.

Also a pioneer of the Manila office, Jerry Lacanienta Jr. believes that the “substantial growth” in the workforce is a testament to the strong leadership and strategic decision-making that has guided the organization's expansion. “The ability to attract and retain talented individuals at such a scale reflects the trust and confidence that employees have in the company's leadership.”

More women in tech

Staying true to its promise of being an inclusive and diverse organization, the Cambridge office in Manila is looking forward to hiring more women. It is an effort to balance the field, with tech being traditionally and generally a male-dominated industry. 

Janet shared that they are already doing a lot of initiatives toward this end. “A network has been formed in the office. Lots of support given to women to think about moving around the organization. Thinking of not just moving up vertically but, perhaps, changing roles. We’re talking about having a ‘squiggly’ career, so we’re encouraging people to sort of have the confidence to ‘squiggle out,’” she shared. 

She added that they have also been tracking the organization’s gender pay gap, emphasizing that “When you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

“As an organization, globally, we’re looking much more at people skills, not just someone’s experience but what skills they have and what skills they want developed to give them the confidence to pursue their potential,” Janet explained.

Mark emphasized that having more women in the team is a reflection of the organization’s thrust to be representative of the people it serves and for whom it produces its products: teachers, students, lecturers, researchers among many others around the world. “We’re doing great things internally, but we’re not here for ourselves, we’re here for the people that we serve,” he said. “And when you look around the world at who are the teachers and the students and the researchers, most are women. So we’ve got to have an effective balance, that’s one reason.” 

The second reason, he added, is that it's important for people to realize that the opportunities are not as narrow as they think they are. “A relatively small amount of it is the sort-of geeky coding bit. There are project management roles, business analyst roles that work with other people to figure out what it is you’re trying to do and those require a different set of skills,” explained the technology leader who has over 20 years of experience in business strategy, media, publishing, consulting, and systems engineering. 

“There are a lot of reasons why all of these different things are important, because not only does it help people to develop, which is what we want to happen, but it also helps us to be successful by having the talent we need in the organization,” he emphasized.

“Greener pastures”

Adding to this, Ronnie stressed that the Manila office is primarily about people. “They are our primary asset, everything else is secondary. It’s very important that we are in the position to attract the right talent with the right attitude.”

To encourage more applications, especially from younger generations, Ronnie shared that they have developed closer relations with local universities which, according to Ronnie, have worked to their advantage in terms of attracting the talents they are looking for. “We are strongly encouraging students to take their OJT with us because that could be your entry point later on,” he said. 

More remarkable, however, is how most of the applications come from a source that speaks of how the Cambridge office in Manila is truly a great place to work: “You’ll be surprised, most of our talents are from the same network—referrals. That’s a testament to how good our workplace is, when people working in the organization start referring us to their friends and former colleagues because they’ve tested it already,” Ronnie enthused.

He recounted how some have tried working in other organizations only to come back to them. “They’re the ones who’ve been telling me the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence,” he quipped. 

Janet added that their talent acquisition team work “really hard” to make sure that even if someone doesn’t get a job, they have a good experience as a candidate so they’ll think about coming back and recommending them to other people.

“I think there is a real difference between being part of a general business process outsourced (BPO) office, and being part of the University of Cambridge. Because all 900 people here in the Manila office, they are all employees of the University of Cambridge,” Mark said. 

“The University of Cambridge is very rightly protective of its brand, of its shield, and it does not allow that to be just used anywhere. But this Manila office is part of the University of Cambridge brand and people are proud of being part of a world-leading university. I think that is important.”

To this, Ronnie added that Filipinos are used to the BPO culture, wherein employees are considered suppliers. “At Cambridge, we were never treated as a supplier. We’re colleagues. We collaborate. We work together. And there’s a big difference when we start telling them, ‘No, you’re no longer part of a BPO, this is different, this is being part of the organization.’” 

More than the prestige of working in and for a world-renowned institution, Janet said that having a sense of purpose is just as important, especially for their employees who are mostly quite young. “They’re driven to be in an organization that makes a difference, that gives opportunities around the world, that unlocks opportunities for others, perhaps in less fortunate circumstances than themselves.” 

“Education is a pathway out of many difficulties and we do that around the world. We have a project supporting refugees where we developed a learning passport for young people in refugee camps so wherever in the world they end up they have the learning to take with them. I think that would be great to have in other places. So that—knowing you’re making a difference in others’ lives,” Janet added.

Looking toward the next 20 years

Ronnie can only be happy to see the Cambridge office in Manila growing year on year. He added that there are a lot of growth opportunities and that the next five to ten years are “exciting times” for them. 

“With all the technological advancements happening, we plan to expand our capabilities, services, and products. I think we could provide diversified services for other parts of the organization, particularly on the assessment side,” he said.

Mark, believes that we are still amid “huge disruptions and transformations” and that the organization needs to adapt to these. “The answer for, how the office here in Manila may mature and develop is really the same answer for our other global offices. This is so important as the Manila office is such a large part of the whole organization.”

He added: “We have to take a long-term view of this. We are like stewards. We’re thinking about how we should adapt globally.”

Brimming with pride

When asked what they’re most proud of as Cambridge University Press & Assessment employees, Ronnie, Mark, and Janet couldn’t help but beam with pride. 

“I’m most proud of the people here who work with us. It isn’t easy, there's a lot of distance, a lot of time difference. But as I have said before, the energy, dedication, skill, and I’m hugely proud of what they’ve achieved,” Mark said. 

Janet can only be optimistic about their organization’s future. “I’m proudest of our future potential. There’s that huge sense of anticipation.” 

Ronnie, meanwhile, is “very proud” of working in a global organization. “It’s big, it’s prestigious, and it comes with a lot of pride. And the trust given is inspiring and challenging at the same time.”

The soft-spoken executive took the opportunity to show his gratitude to their UK counterparts, saying, “We’re fortunate enough to meet the right people. People in Cambridge have been encouraging us, totally very supportive. Had we ended up with another organization who didn’t have that attitude and support, I don’t think we'd be celebrating our 20th year.”

“I really owe it to colleagues in the UK who have been supporting us from day one. If not for them, I don’t think we would be standing here today,” Ronnie added with a wistful smile.

For more information and to apply, visit Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s careers pages: Cambridge University Press & Assessment | Careers, os go to the Manila office’s Facebook page.

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