Cebuana Lhuillier’s success story hinges on good corporate culture
Cebuana Lhuillier’s rise to become one of the Philippines’ strongest financial services companies has been impressive. The company’s corporal and service expansion strategies; technological initiatives; corporate social responsibility policies; integrated marketing communications campaigns; and other strategic programs have all greatly contributed to Cebuana Lhuillier’s success. Another major factor for Cebuana Lhuillier’s tremendous growth is its commitment to always provide valued clients with the highest standards of experience for any transaction, at every time, via every channel, and through every employee.
In essence, it is Cebuana Lhuillier’s core values of Respect, Integrity, Teamwork, Excellence, and Social Responsibility that have guided the company towards progress and development. These core values are what Cebuana Lhuillier strives to instill in all its personnel to enable the evolution of a company culture that ultimately best serves its mission to be the Filipino’s most trusted financial partner.
A few years ago, Cebuana added another core value to its roster: Innovation. This was included to better face the fast changing corporate and social changes brought about by factors like modern technology, social media, globalization, and other disruptors. Through innovation, the three decade-old company understood that quickly adapting to economic and social changes would be crucial to the company’s continued growth as a future-ready organization.
Innovation has been embedded in the company’s culture for decades already long before the formalization of its inclusion in the core values a few years ago. Annual Internal programs encouraging innovation among employees such as EUREKATHON and ISIP (Improvement in Systems, Improvement in Processes) are favorite competitions among different groups in the company where innovative ideas commence and ultimately explored to fruition. These ideas led to Cebuana Lhuillier introducing apps such as eCebuana which allows clients to access and request the most common transactions in a few taps; and, platforms such as ProtectNow, an easily accessible online insurance marketplace; Cebuana Lhuillier Jewelry Online, where clients can instantly buy pre-loved authentic gold jewelry; and, Cebuana Xpress, the first online pawning app in the market, allowing clients to do their pawn transactions quickly and efficiently.
Continuous learning and skills upgrade is another important aspect of the Cebuana Lhuillier culture. Aside from the Cebuana Lhuillier Academy, which hosts all its training initiatives, the company introduced Cebuana Lhuillier Academy Online (CLAO), an online learning academy which houses carefully-curated courses corresponding to the professional advancement requirements of its employees. On top of this, the company also partnered with noted and internationally-trusted organizations promoting continuous learning including IVY Teams which provides Executive Leadership Programs for the company’s senior and middle-managers. Recently, it partnered with Tom Oliver, world-renowned author, motivational speaker, and consultant to some of the world’s Top 100 companies, on a series of learning workshops involving the company’s management committee, as well as other members of senior leadership.
“We at Cebuana Lhuillier understand that for us to serve our clients the best way possible, we need to make sure that our best assets as a company, our people, are aligned with our company’s mission and vision. We really make it a point to inculcate to them the company’s core values that guide them each day in their work, whether they’re our frontliners serving our clients, or they are from the head office doing their respective jobs. We also ensure that they are given the opportunities to upgrade their skills and knowledge as often as possible”, said Jean Henri Lhuillier, PJ Lhuillier, Inc. (PJLI) President and CEO
This year, Cebuana Lhuillier’s culture campaign is called Intertwined. It follows some of the company’s best cultural campaigns in recent years, namely: Be the Best, Tatak Cebuana, Isang Bangka, , Bolder, Better, More, and One Cebuana. Intertwined is a campaign about diversity, inclusion and celebrating individualism and the workplace.
“Even before this year’s Intertwined Culture campaign, Cebuana Lhuillier has been about diversity, inclusion and celebrating individualism in the workplace. We treat everyone with respect knowing that our employees are the bloodline of the company and keeping them happy is key to the success of the company achieving its mission and vision,”said Jo-Ann Tacorda, First Vice-President and Chief Administrative Officer for PJLI.
Beyond lip-service, the company has taken great strides in ensuring that representation is observed. For one, close to 40% of its Management Committee are women. It also prides itself for having a gender-neutral uniform and comfort rooms, as well as an open-minded, accepting, and nurturing approach to employees from LGBTQ++ and differently-abled communities. As an organization, it thrives on its emphasis on excellence, teamwork, and continuous improvement, regardless of the orientation, leanings, beliefs, or personalities of its more than 9,000-strong community.
Cebuana Lhuillier believes that developing a company culture that embodies its core values has contributed greatly to its enormous growth. With visionary leaders and a strong workforce who have turned the company from a pawnshop with four branches to one of the biggest names in the microfinance industry, Cebuana Lhuillier’s vision to empower and include all Filipinos through financial services, anytime, anywhere is nearing fruition.
ADVT.
