‘Listen to your employees,’ and other lessons from Best Employer awardee SMDC
With a focus on active and consistent employee engagement through meaningful activities, SM Development Corporation (SMDC) has been acknowledged by several award-giving bodies as one of the best employers in the country.
SMDC named The Global Best Employer Brands by the 16th Employer Branding Awards
Continuous Recognition
For the second year in a row, SMDC is recognized as the Philippines’ Best Employer for 2024 by Statista and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The list was chosen based on an independent survey from a vast sample of more than 16,000 employees working for companies employing at least 250 people in their operations in the Philippines.
Additionally, SMDC has recently been awarded The Global Best Employer Brands by the 16th Employer Branding Awards. The awarding body featured the top organizations with exemplary Human Resources (HR) initiatives.
Employee-centric Culture
For SMDC, the several recognitions are a reflection of their efforts to provide their employees with a “more meaningful stay” within the company.
Mental Health Talk
“Work can become very hectic, which is why as much as possible we try to organize activities at least once a month to engage everyone,” says Jose Mari Banzon, SMDC President.
These programs are a mix of simple activities, such as posting #ICherishYou appreciation messages online on Valentine’s Day, answering trivia contests, and creating #SelfieChallenge contests, and more complex activities, such as a month-long Sportsfest for basketball and volleyball in May, and a jam-packed Employee Appreciation Week in September—which are also the two most popular events among SMDC employees.
Banzon says that even with the company now fully back to working at the office, they still saw it fit to retain their monthly online activities so that even across their different property sites, employees could still engage with one another and form connections across departments.
“We hold these engagement activities to also promote work-life balance among employees,” he adds.
Cheerleading Competition, Sportsfest
Encouraging Inputs
Ultimately, Rhoneil E. Caimol, SMDC Vice President and Head of Corporate Services says that for any company to succeed in creating the best workplace environment, they should always make it a point to be receptive—and respond to—employee feedback.
Further, the Global HR Excellence Awards 2024 Most Iconic Global HR Leader and The ETHRWorld Southeast Asia HR Icons 2024 awardee adds, “Whether through our benefits or engagement activities, it’s important that we listen to what our employees have to say.”
SMDC also makes use of Employee Experience Surveys to gauge employee sentiments. Insights from these surveys reveal that employees take pride in their work at SMDC, citing the positive impact they make in the communities they serve and their clients. They appreciate the culture of inclusivity and have a high confidence level in the leadership team.
Thanks to this positive workplace environment, SMDC employees become committed to the organization; have a high sense of personal accomplishment and productivity; and are open to innovation and improving their ways of working.
To know more, follow SMDC on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok, or visit the SMDC website.
ADVT.
