Her way
Credit to Author: ANNA CAYCO| Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2019 16:18:46 +0000
“I enjoy driving. I don’t get stressed with traffic,” Sarah Rodriguez says.
She is one of the handful of Filipinos who are actually at peace while crawling through standstill traffic in Metro Manila. For as long as she has the music of her favorite 1990s bands, such as Oasis and The Cranberries, playing in the car, Sarah doesn’t mind braving the snail-pace drive from her home in Quezon City to her office in Bonifacio Global City.
Being unfazed by the gridlocks in Metro Manila is a requirement of her position as country manager of Waze, the Google-owned traffic navigation mobile app that 3.1 million Filipino users depend on monthly.
The convenience provides motorists driving routes that seek to outsmart the ubiquitous Manila “Carmageddon.” As the first of its kind, users are encouraged to report the traffic situation as they make their journeys, alerting their fellow Waze users of incoming choke points, on-road accidents, road work and more.
Sarah says: “Waze’s purpose is different for the Philippines. It has the spirit of helping one another get through the day — through this commute.”
“Every drive that I take is inspiring all together,” she adds. As a Waze user, the executive gains daily customer insight and motivation on the road. This has led her to make a priority being responsive and respectful of the needs of every Waze user.
Since driving in Metro Manila is probably like no other in the world, Waze considers traffic rules and regulations specific to the capital. An example would be that routes are given according to the license number coding system to help users with coding cars avoid national roads. Compared with the global average 15 minutes, the Philippines’ average Waze usage is 1 hour and 28 minutes.
But even if she faces one of the country’s premier region’s most enduring and tiresome headaches, she remains at ease and poised to tackle it from different angles. “Being the source of truth is one thing that Waze offers. But it being actionable has to involve other partners,” Sarah states.
A day in the life of the 38-year-old manager involves meetings with her global counterparts via video call and with the various traffic groups to monitor and improve the commuting situation in Metro Manila — also known as their Connected Citizens Program. She says: “Currently, we are talking to DoTr (Department of Transportation) and MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority). They have access to Waze data real-time and this is something they can compile to have a historical view [of the traffic situation].”
The work is not without its frustrations.
Sarah and her team experience intense reaction from Waze users at the slightest misstep. “Now that Metro Manila has one of the worst traffic in the world, sometimes, the platform is the object of intense backlash,” she says. Yet, with the patience of a saint, she brushes such episodes off and continues her pursuit to educate and empower Waze’s users.
Sarah shares an insight from a former boss. “Before I do something, is this the right way of doing it or is there a better way pero mas mahirap lang (but it’s just harder)?” she says. Even when she travels using ride-sharing vehicles, Sarah engages drivers to enlighten them on how to utilize Waze more efficiently.
Bridging the gap between technology and daily life has been Sarah’s mission since graduating from the University of the Philippines with a degree in business economics. A look into her background shows that she has always championed bringing the country toward a new digital age in various industries, from print as a digital sales and marketing manager for Summit Media to television as the head of digital sales for ABS-CBN.
She says: “I had to come in and not only stand for digital but also defend and wave the digital flag.” One of the innovations Sarah has been pioneering in the country is mobility-based marketing through Waze, which is marketing altered and contextualized to a person’s daily commute.
“I don’t want to bring it (marketing) out of the core purpose of Waze, which is mobility — bringing people from one location to another. If you translate that to business, our main purpose is still mobility, but this time it’s bringing Wazers (Waze users) to brand stores or locations.”
As she battles the behemoth that is Metro Manila traffic, Sarah’s smile and her cheerful personality barely falters. “Stress is different per person,” she says. Talking to different government agencies and company clients tends to spill over her working hours. But Sarah doesn’t mind this at all. “Because within the day, I still find time to really balance it out.”
In the morning, she ensures that she spends enough time with her 10-month old daughter Cassie even if it means getting ready for work in the car instead. This includes going through her daily checklist, which is organized into task levels with respective time frames.
In the evening, Sarah joins her 15-year-old daughter Sofia for dinner to catch up on life and unwinds with playtime with the baby and her 12-year-old cat Chloe.
Sarah does not just pioneer for a better future for the Philippines, but also looks back to honor its history. A native of San Carlos, Pangasinan, one of her advocacies is to contribute and aid in the historical preservation of the city. Sarah says: “The first half of my life I spent in my hometown. I always love to look back and give back to my province.”
Her mother, Maria Lourdes Reyes, heads the Binalatongan Historical and Cultural Association, and together, they aim to establish museums to safeguard the city’s legacy.
Her next step as country manager is to simply to continue the good work they’ve been doing and to encourage the trademark bayanihan (community) spirit among Filipinos commuters. Soon enough, Waze will be collaborating with individual cities to tackle traffic on a smaller scale with the bigger picture in mind.
With such a daunting task ahead of her, Sarah still remains cool and collected. Her motivation and determination are fueled by the knowledge she is part of a digital solution that goes beyond one’s phone screen to impact society.
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About me
ROLE MODEL
No one in particular, but I do get inspiration from former bosses and the clients I work with.
GOALS
To reduce traffic along EDSA and to talk to individual cities on their traffic needs
FIRST PAYING JOB
Account executive and training manager at MediData
MORNING ROUTINE
I spend time with my baby daughter Cassie and then do my morning preparations in the car.
SPECIAL SKILLS
Playing the piano and the guitar by ear
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
I spend two hours a day.
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