For the two month Professional Attachment, I was attached to ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, and I belonged to the team that was in charge of the implementation of the SAP HR system in 10 countries in the North and South Asia regions.

As the project started in the last quarter of 2000, I only participated in the development and system acceptance testing phases. The three main areas of my work in the project were:
1) Setting up queries and reports in accordance to the needs of base HR departments
2) Testing the data generated by the “Time Management” for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the customization by the system consultants.
3) Preparing training materials for the Argus Query Tool and the Time Management module.
4) Providing end-user training in Hong Kong.
One of the highlights of my PA was that I had the opportunity to go to Hong Kong to provide end-user training. This short business trip opened my eyes to new perspectives, especially in terms of the life of an expatriate. I had to learn to adjust to the new environment, and also new colleagues. A totally new language added to the challenge. For me, Cantonese was a bit of a barrier, especially during the training sessions. I am thankful that the HK supervisor gave me a hand, by helping to recast some of my points and examples in their local tongue.

The 9 weeks’ of PA which I spent in ExxonMobil were especially exciting. The dynamic nature of the project team provided me with a good initiation to project work. Working in a team requires one to be flexible and adaptive to change. Also observed that the members in the team worked with a great deal of drive and focus, as they know that the August go-live deadline is something that they must meet.
I was also impressed with the level of autonomy that the team gave to interns like myself. They confidently gave us the responsibilities to prepare important materials, such as, training slides. Although we initially felt the pressure of such trusts, I have to admit that in the end, it increased our self-esteem, and gave us a great sense of achievement.
It is a pity that I was not able to stay to participate in the end-user training in Singapore and witness the August go-live. The training and exposure that I had for the two months of PA were indeed invaluable, and I am confident that this will give me a competitive edge in the future. Once again, I would like to thank the team and the company for this wonderful experience!