Raising the bar in human resource development

MANILA, Philippines - At the GlaxoSmithKline Philippines (GSK) office complex in Makati, there is an almost tangible energy. It’s most likely the sweet after taste of victory.

After all, GSK Philippines had just received the 2010 Employer of the Year Award from the People Management Association of the Philippines.

It also bagged the 2010 People Manager of the Year for GSK Vice President for Human Resources Lito de Guzman.

The Employer of the Year Award is said to be the country’s most coveted recognition in the area of human resources and is given for successful management of people.

In an interview with The STAR, GSK Philippines president and managing director Roberto Taboada said the company is very pleased with the recognition.

“This is a great honour for the company and reaffirms our belief that the best asset any company has is its people. It also raises the bar for continuous improvements in the way we engage with our employees and with our customers as well,” Taboada said.

He is more than thankful that PMAP judges have recognized the high level of quality of GSK’s people and its “high level of motivation.”

“A recent internal survey showed that more than 90 percent of our employees feel engaged and empowered and an incredibly 98 percent feel proud of working in GSK,” he said.

However, Taboada said PMAP won’t be resting on its laurels even with its latest achievement.

“We will continue to work on our ‘Best People Strategy’ which is the pillar of all our people development programs,” Taboada said.

Initiatives include competency building, looking at innovative rewards program, winning environment and a robust career progression, he said.

There would also be a lot of development programs, he added.

Furthermore, Taboada said GSK would continue to work very hard to continue to “realize its vision of being the leading provider of quality and affordable health care solutions for more Filipinos.”

In early 2009, GSK took a bold step to expand access to its medicines and vaccines by significantly lowering their prices so they can reach more Filipinos who need them.

Such a transformation required selecting and recruiting the right people to drive the expansion, as well as having robust training and development processes to ensure they’re ready to carry out our new vision.”

“Now, not only has our company experienced steady growth, all our employees have a renewed sense of pride and purpose because of what GSK is working to achieve,” he said.

For GSK Philippines Human Resources Vice President and PMAP People Manager of the Year 2010 Lito De Guzman, delivering the numbers happens by delivering the people.

“Raise the bar when it comes to developing people and the numbers will follow,” he said.

In a separate statement on the award, De Guzman said this belief is what brought to life a concept which he dubbed as ‘HR Business Partnership.’

“This is a mutually beneficial concept that creates an HR partner to be an integral part of different GSK units, unleashing each of the units’ potential while elevating the HR practice from functional to strategic. Because learning and building relationships within GSK are also crucial ingredients, the Learning Organization was born,” he said in the statement.

As such, under the initiative, once an action is done, there must be reflection to facilitate real learning.

“Critical thinking is strongly encouraged in the Learning Organization. It is the element that drives innovation,” he said.

Other GSK HR programs include a GSK Leadership Experience Program and the Personal Resilience Program which aims to reach optimum performance in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level.

As such, GSK said that despite tough market conditions, GSK continues to grow faster than the market and its key competitors.

“Indeed, GSK Philippines recognizes that continuing its winning streak is more than just setting the right goals – at its core should always be its people. With this in mind, GSK Philippines continues to nurture the capabilities and potentials of its people knowing that in turn, they can conquer greater heights as they strive to make a difference in the lives of more Filipinos,” it said.