FPLA espouses performance based rewards in the workplace

MANILA, Philippines - The First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA), the corporate university of the First Pacific Group of Companies and a leading provider of leadership & training solutions for the academe, government and business sectors, in partnership with the Meralco Power Academy and Towers Watson, recently conducted a learning session attended by HR leaders and practitioners from various industries. The forum featured best practices on Performance-Based Rewards and live cases shared by Towers Watson, Meralco and FPLA.

Roy Agustin K. Evalle, Executive Director of the First Pacific Leadership Academy stressed the importance of engagement and people leadership as one of the four dimensions that make an excellent leader. 

“We, at the FPLA, know how important engaging employees are to any organization. We believe that our employees are our most important asset for they are the lifeblood of our companies.  How we engage our employees will spell either the success or failure of our institution’s endeavors towards the bottom line.”   Mr. Evalle further accentuated the importance of motivating and enabling the workforce by “enhancing performance both through the individual and collective terms, by identifying development needs, building capability and establishing strategic partnerships.”

Mr. Evalle underlined the benefits of PBR in the workplace by citing the Performance Management System programs that the First Pacific Leadership Academy has conducted for various corporate clients throughout the years.  “Team Enhancement, Training the Trainers, Training & Development Modules are just some of the People Engagement Programs we have provided for our business partners and clients.  Among the programs of FPLA are courses on Leadership and Management, Coaching and Mentoring, HR and OD programs, Advocacy and Learning Events.”

Stella J. Garcia, Towers Watson’s Senior Consultant for talents and rewards invited the audience to start and continuously celebrate and reward employee engagement.  Her presentation on the “What, Why and How of a PBR System” illustrated the effective linkage of performance management and rewards while relating its successful implementation to companies’ high business performance. 

Garcia cited various methods of PBR such as merit & promotion increases, short-term and long-term incentives, profit sharing and recognition programs while further emphasizing that based on her 20-year experience in HR management, a rewards program not effectively linked to performance leads to wasted resources and eventually, employee disengagement. 

“An effective total rewards strategy optimizes the total rewards portfolio to meet business and workforce objectives.  Keeping the employees highly engaged through performance based rewards helps ensure that the organization will be high performing as well,” Ms. Garcia said.

Ramon Segismundo, SVP and head of Meralco HR, shared with the group Meralco’s own experience on implementing a performance-based rewards system.  “With the increasing demands and expectations of customers and more stringent regulatory standards, Meralco carries the challenge of a strong financial performance through a robust and engaged workforce.  The new Meralco mindset on rewards is lodged on four aspects: pay for performance, focus on value creation and cost effectiveness, change resiliency and being globally competitive,” Mr.Segismundo shared. 

Key elements of Meralco’s PBR Program include a merit increase, salary review, an annual bonus plan and a long-term incentive plan.  He further adds that “With Meralco’s ongoing journey and success in implementing the PBR, it is important to simplify and communicate targets, clarify how each organization can contribute, empower employees to deliver, establish a credible measurement system and make payouts immediate to make the PBR meaningful and significant.”

The learning session has inspired and made the audience realize a new perspective on a performance-based system.  Armed with a deeper understanding on new approaches and strategic business benefits, participants were motivated to align PBR with their business strategies.  

To know more about FPLA’s leadership and management programs, please call 632-8111 or log on to www.fpacademy.net.  FPLA is located at Km. 27, Sumulong Highway, Antipolo City.