Employee of the Year 2018: Nick Lim

PM-turned-MarComms Lead-cum-UX Designer, Nick has always been one of the top-performing employees at Verz. Being versatile in pretty much everything with an indomitable focus, he never fails to go the extra mile for clients and fellow employees alike. Every role he has been trusted with has seen him sturdy yet quick on his feet, dependably resourceful, and resiliently passionate.

With an intuitive sense of leadership to match his capability, Nick has no doubt gained the trust and respect of everyone in the company. Mr Lim’s Employee of the Year 2018 Award is well-deserved!

Nick being Nick, he has a tendency to be curt and honest. So, when MarComms approached our team leader for an interview, his first response was as follows:

“Hey Nick, free for the interview?”

“Yes, but having an interview for this doesn’t make sense. Let’s try something special this time round? 😏“

Nick wasn’t known for following conventions anyway. So, we have decided to overturn the usual interview. Instead we will use this chance to highlight his comedic moments – anticlimactic and epic.

Fun Facts about Nick

1. He loves Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

Gifted with a desire for songs that were hits in the 80s, Nick would probably marry this song if he could. Ask him for his music playlist, and you will find that it is filled with songs your dad probably listens to. He even requested for a shirt with the lyrics printed on them for the company’s Secret Santa Exchange!

2. He’s an old soul.

Having a mature mindset for his age comes with having an old soul. He’s the only one our age we know who keeps an inventory of Essence of Chicken bottles in his drawer. Most of the time, when we’re out for meals together, he attracts almost all sorts of intimate rapport with the food vendor uncles and aunties, one of whom sent him a personal text to come visit their store!

From a brother figure to a father-like demeanour, it’s only natural he has a good mixture of cheeky pranks and uncle-ish nagging. Incidentally, Nick’s favourite drink is Yuan Yang C Peng Siew Dai.

3. He worships the ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’.

Initiated by Henry, a group of us tried out a series of book review and sharing sessions on a work by Stephen R. Covey. It takes a philosophical outlook on business, self-fulfillment and good habits to internalize in the workplace or in collaboration with others.

Nick has now been converted into a devout advocate of the 7 Habits, believing (and often preaching) that we “always have a choice”, while citing the habit of “proactiveness”. It’s also worth noting that he has joked several times about opening a church glorifying the 7 Habits mantra as a religion.

4. He’s had at least 2 misadventures in the Philippines.

A mishap took place in both of our two trips to the Philippines. The first was Nick and Bernard got lost were forgotten by everyone in the company during a snorkelling excursion around the beautiful isles of Siete Picados.

Disclaimer that he wasn’t awarded Employee of the Year because the company lost him in the Philippines!

The second was during our DnD with the Philippines Team. The fact that we’d never seen Nick tipsy/drunk to the point of K.O. only meant that he was enjoying himself that much! Not drunk, the bro says, while video-calling his girlfriend as he puked in the loo just to make sure she knew he was alright (awwww 😍).

5. He’s a self-proclaimed Champion of Empathy & Steadfast Logic

Nick is a strong advocate of human-centred thinking. This means that he takes a ground-up, inside-out, pragmatic approach to a situation or project, from the perspectives of those who experience or manage the issue at hand.

In website or UX terms, it makes him a very suitable representative for fronting UX Design via Design Thinking. In the context of collaborative working environments, he brings a team-oriented drive to the table and is great at leveraging different talents in practical ways.

In every company, its employees are one of its most important assets. People are what make a business a company. In line with our commitment to uphold our employees and galvanise new achievements to excellence, we dedicate awards and write-ups like this every year to star employees. We hope everyone’s hard work and efforts will spill over to 2019 and we’re thrilled to experience another awesome year ahead!