Best practices and people power
THE IMPORTANCE of human resource and effective employee management is increasingly being felt by the business community. Recently, global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group conducted a study that explored key trends in people management and found compelling evidence that investing in the right people and managing employees well lead to better economic performance.
Among the findings of the report, which surveyed 2,507 respondents across 101 countries, was that companies that have strong capabilities in human resource topics — such as talent and leadership, engagement, behavior, and culture management — significantly perform better financially than companies that are weak in those aspects.
In detail, companies that performed worst financially showed a greater need for action across 27 human resource subtopics, which include talent management, training and learning, leadership, strategic workforce planning, and diversity management. The lowest performers particularly scored poorly in subtopics like behavior and culture, employee engagement, talent management, and human resource and people strategy and needed support in areas like rewards and recognition, human resource organization and governance, and employer branding.
In the country, educational institution Lyceum of the Philippines University ( LPU) is among the private organizations recognized in this particular field.
Investors in People ( IiP), a best practice people management standard that offers accreditation to organizations that adhere to its framework, gave LPU Batangas and Laguna the IiP Silver Award when they were re-accredited last February. According to the accrediting body, it made them the first organizations in the Philippines to be awarded such level of international accreditation, and the only higher education institution in Asia to hold the Silver Award.
“LPU’s most valuable resource is its people,” wrote LPU Human Resources Director Myrna G. Reyes in an e-mail to BusinessWorld. “It is important that we continuously invest time, effort, and money to ensure that we, its people, offer consistent effective, efficient, and quality service to [the] stakeholders.”
Ms. Reyes said that they try to inculcate in their people the passion to serve above self, and make them realize that at the end of the day, it is them who can further improve LPU’s organizational and financial performance.
Besides these, the core values championed by the school include love of God, professional integrity, unity, nationalism, justice, perseverance, and leadership.
According to her, during the IiP assessment for certification, as well as when the People Management Association of the Philippines assessed the school for the Employer of the Year and People Program of the Year awards, the assessors noted the strong familial spirit observed from LPU’s top management to the rank-and-file employees.
Ms. Reyes shared, “LPU is a large family [in which] the president, Atty. Roberto P. Laurel, is the head, the visionary; supported by the Vice-President for Finance and Administration Mrs. Sarah LaurelLopez and the Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. Conrado E. Inigo, Jr. The administrators or the ‘senior leaders,’ in LPU parlance, who are assigned in the different colleges, departments, and units in the organization are all responsible people managers, each taking care of the younger members of the family, looking after their physical, mental, emotional, professional and spiritual needs.”
There is mutual trust and confidence among the members of the school, she said, and they all believe in the kind of leadership that “sets clear directions, objectives, and goals.” She believes that the employees tend to thrive in this kind of atmosphere.
At present, the vision of the school is to be the leading university in Asia-Pacific by 2023.
“This vision is cascaded down the line; each [employee] is cognizant of his or her role, tasks, and responsibilities to make this vision a reality,” she said. “Generally, the human resource management infrastructure is in place. Policies and procedures are laid out and [made known] to the workforce; compensation and benefits are within the industry practice; and workplace learning and development programs — institutional and departmental — are running to keep the workforce engaged and motivated.”
Ms. Reyes further shared that continuous improvement has been part of the university’s culture.
“There is always a better way of doing and performing a task, implementing a program or a project. People are always on the lookout for new and better things that will improve the process and delivery of services to our most important stakeholders, the students and parents.”