Putting values at work at ARC

MANILA, Philippines - The daily grind can take on varied meanings for different people. For some who live to work, there is a challenge in the everyday bustle at the office. For those who work to live, it is toiling through another 8-to-5 shift for the needed paycheck. But those who look beyond the daily grind and live out their core values find real meaning and purpose in the workplace.

Recently, Asiawide Refreshments Corporation (ARC), the licensed bottler of RC Cola in the Philippines, gathered leaders for a values enhancement program dubbed “Living the Core Values” in collaboration with the Evangelion Foundation Inc., a long-term partner NGO of ARC that provides seminar workshops on living Christian values at the workplace. ARC has long put a premium on values and knows that core values not only define a person but also give him purpose. ARC believes that an alignment between an individual’s core values and those of the company plays an important role in both the growth of the employee and the organization.

“At ARC, we are guided by the five GREAT core values of Good Governance, Respect, Excellence, Accountability and Teamwork,” says Raul D. Villapaña, assistant vice president for HR and corporate communications at ARC. “We believe that we must build a strong foundation from which we can draw forth guiding principles in going about our business practices and the way we deal with our employees and partners. Essentially, we would like to provide a working environment for our employees that nurtures the personal values that guide them in making everyday decisions.”

Villapaña notes that because core values are working behind the scenes, however, they are not often expressed explicitly. As individuals, there is a need to examine the values one brings to the workplace. Through discussions and structured learning exercises, the LCV program — which first targeted leaders to help them become more effective in managing their people — allowed them to have a strong sense of spiritual-based values, aptly called “RICHESS,” and what it means to actually live out Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Humility, Excellence, Stewardship and Service at ARC. More importantly, it gave them a better understanding of how ARC’s five GREAT values reflect these inner values, thus fostering commitment and opportunities for employees to grow with and contribute to the goals of the organization.

“It is undeniable that a great number of any employee’s waking hours are spent at the office,” says Villapaña. “This is why it is increasingly important for our employees to see ARC as an extension of themselves, where both their hearts and minds are engaged. In turn, they can meaningfully put into action their core values as they carry out their duties and responsibilities in the company and truly be ambassadors of ARC’s GREAT values at work.”