It’s often said that employees are a company’s number one asset. This belief resonates loud and clear at Universal Robina Corporation (URC), where “Put People First” is one of its four core values.
“We left no stone unturned in our efforts to help and guide our employees’ transition to the so-called new normal,” said Lisa Abalajon, URC’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
URC’s Chief Human Resource Officer Lisa Abalajon
As early as February 2020 - a full month before a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization - the company had already developed guidelines relating to employee safety and health in response to the brewing COVID-19 crisis.
Working from Home (WFH), a catch phrase that defined work arrangements during the pandemic, was another idea that URC implemented way early before the buzz started in early 2020. This concept was originally part of a hybrid work arrangement that allow employees based in URC’s headquarters to work flexibly anywhere, at any time, for one day of the week. The scheme swiftly evolved to a five-day arrangement as soon as the lockdowns were announced.
“It’s proven that URC employees remain highly productive with the WFH arrangement,” Lisa related. She added that URC is considering the WFH arrangement to be a permanent program.
However, there are employees whose physical presence at work is indispensable like machine operators, technicians, and other skilled workers at URC’s production plants. For these employees, finding transportation during the height of the pandemic was especially challenging. URC responded by provided lodging for workers within the plant facilities, housing around 600 employees in safe and sanitary conditions at one point in time. This arrangement also provided an extra layer of safety as their outside exposure to the virus was minimized,” Lisa said.
URC also provided free shuttle services (there were nearly 100 shuttles operating at one point) to those who chose to be go home every day, again with everyone’s health and safety in mind.
The focus on implanting safety guidelines and proper hygiene as a means to prevent COVID-19 was emphasized and communicated early on to the employees. Each one
received a hygiene kit containing face masks, a face shield, alcohol and packs of Vitamin C. When face shields were not yet commonly available, one of URC’s factories was converted into facility that produced face shields, which were handed out to employees and frontliners.
According to Lisa and her team, they’ve noticed that employees seem to be working even harder than usual during this pandemic. While productivity is paradoxically high, one possible trade off of WFH is the decline in camaraderie that comes with working closely with colleagues in an office setting. To counter this, URC has rolled out programs aimed at keeping employee engagement high. These include URCircle, a private Facebook group where employees can connect with each other, share what they’re up to, and celebrate important events. URCircle now has more than 1,400 employees signed up.
URCFit, another important program that existed prior the pandemic, has proven especially relevant during these times. The holistic program seeks to sustain the physical, mental, and even financial health of all URC employees. The physical aspect is taken care of by yoga, Zumba, and other exercise classes that are done online. The mental health is addressed through webinars that delve into employees’ emotional or spiritual state, and by providing free mental health assistance and counselling to employees.
URCFit’s take on financial wellness goes beyond the usual introductions to investment and insurance. True to the entrepreneurial spirit of the late John Gokongwei Jr, the company founder, URC encourages its employees to become entrepreneurs by becoming distributors of URC products such as Robina Farms eggs and meat or Baker John bread.
Despite the pandemic, URC managed to improve on its bottom line simply by putting people first – taking care of its workforce in every possible way. Lisa believes the company has found a winning formula to success More importantly, it can be shown that people truly are at the heart of everything that URC does.
URC Agro-Industrial Group employees
