Haraya Through The Eyes Of Its Founder

When you first hear the word “Haraya” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Some people might think the most mundane thing such as a type of coffee, perhaps? Or maybe it’s a word in a local dialect with some form of meaning related to encouragement?

Close… but not close enough.

An old Tagalog word for “Vision and Imagination”, “Haraya” is exactly the perfect word that its founder, Jackie Cañiza had in mind when she started the company in 2012.

Having initially designed her company, previously known as Business Hat, Inc. as a consulting company which merely included coaching as a service, Jackie always felt herself gravitating towards the practice and profession of coaching. So, when she brought together her partners Lea, Cecilia, and TJ, she instantly felt that they needed a fresh start with a company name that would be collectively theirs. With four certified coaches on board, what better way to brainstorm for the perfect company name than by having their own strategic planning sessions? After much reflection on their core values and main purpose, the name “Haraya” came to be.

The word Haraya, according to Jackie is perfect because not only is it a Filipino word – and rightly so Filipino-sounding, which represents pride to the Philippines, but just as well, the word’s meaning is important in that it helps people reach who they want to be – or in other words to “Be your imaginable”.

Coming out of a long HR-background, Jackie has had her fair share of experiences in finding business coaches for her employer’s key executive and key management positions. She recounted how she would go as far as flying in coaches from other countries. With her experiences, she knew that there was a gap in the market. She saw this gap as an opportunity to make coaching more accessible for anybody – not just for C-level executives but even for young adults just starting with their careers. In fact, having managed Haraya now for a few years, Jackie shares that currently they don’t just serve a certain age range – their clients range from teenagers all the way to retirees.

So what exactly makes Haraya stand out apart from its unique name and vision? Though there are not too many companies specializing in coaching in the Philippines at the moment, according to Jackie, Haraya’s greatest advantage is the fact that the company has a big pool of about 40-50 coaches with a wide range of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. This wide pool of available coaches allows Jackie and her partners to properly match the right coach with the right client and assure that there’s good chemistry in the relationship. Jackie also adds that many of the companies that also do coaching are also usually focused on consulting and training but what separates Haraya from these types of companies is that early on, they already decided that Haraya’s main core and focus will be on coaching.

With the key focus on coaching, Haraya has three primary coaching services: 1) Life coaching for individuals which can cover any aspect of life such as work-life balance, career or transitions; 2) Corporate coaching programs which involve coaching teams, leaders or executives in the corporate world; and, 3) Coach development, a certification program for anyone who would like to pursue coaching as a practice or just to learn how to become a coach for their company.

The Haraya coaches usually begin their coaching sessions with what they call a “Deep Dive” or a kind of understanding and assessment of a person or company’s current state, then use this assessment as a springboard for the outcome that both coach and client would like to work on together. The coaches use a variety of frameworks and tools that they see fit for the individual or team. From there they proceed with a certain number of sessions and maintain an open line of communication to all of the people they coach whether it be a short chat or a short text message at the end of a long and stressful day.

With a long background in the different fields of HR and having been around a variety of people of different ages, backgrounds, and personalities, Jackie highly believes in the value that coaching can bring. She communicates that finding a coach in the Philippines shouldn’t be hard or expensive. Together with her partners, she believes that any individual or any team can become what they imagine themselves to be. And now more than ever in the wake of the pandemic, Jackie and her team feels a great sense of purpose in helping not just front liners, but all individuals who have been physically, mentally or emotionally affected in one way or the other with the changes that have happened in the past few months. With this, the Haraya team continually pursues their work encouraging everyone to go beyond what they thought was impossible.

Do you have a story to tell? Or perhaps you’ve been thinking about the next step in your life? Or maybe you’re still trying to find the right outcome? We at Haraya can help you be your imaginable. Connect with us at http://harayacoaching.com/connect-with-us/.