[B-SIDE Podcast] Building a great place to work

Teleperformance Philippines (TP) received its fifth consecutive “Great Place to Work” certification this year, based on responses from a 2022 trust index survey conducted by the Great Place to Work, an international institute that does research on company culture.

In this B-Side episode, TP senior vice president for human capital resource management Jeffrey Johnson tells BusinessWorld reporter Brontë H. Lacsamana how companies can keep a human touch in a hybrid workplace.

“It’s really important that you listen to employees because the employees will tell you what it is they want when it comes to engaging from a digital perspective,” he said.

“As long as you’re listening and then actively applying solutions for that, I think that’s a key success factor to making sure that you’re able to drive the right engagement.”

TAKEAWAYS

Train employees to have a continuous learning mindset.

“You need a lot of training to understand the changing situation at work. That can be both self-driven and organizationally driven,” said Mr. Johnson.

TP, which has more than 55,000 employees, understands that each person in its organization learns in different ways and encourages them: some may prefer to read and process on their own while others might want to take an e-learning course.

“When you have that culture, people are more likely to succeed,” said Mr. Johnson.

Upgrade programs, policies, and partnerships to suit the times.

On a macro level, a large organization can influence the local community by improving its policies, implementing new programs, and entering public and private partnerships.

Teleperformance Cloud Campus, for example, is a long-term remote work solution that connects employees through a suite of software for those working from home. There are also hubs and microsites for those who want face-to-face meetings, training, and support.

TP just opened its first microsite in Laoag City in Ilocos, with the next one slated to open in General Santos City in Mindanao.

“We fully support the efforts of government and private telcos to make sure that digital penetration reaches as far into the countryside as possible, and it is reliable, consistent, and fast — all the things you need in a digital world,” he said.

Employee feedback is the north star for better policies.

For an information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) company to provide good services, its employees have to be taken care of.

This means leaders must ask each team member how they want to engage and connect, said Mr. Johnson. Meanwhile, on a company scale, sentiment and satisfaction surveys will give important insights into what policies can be improved.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, for example, have been found to address concerns about maternity leaves for men and women, and healthcare benefits and restroom access for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT+) employees.

“We make sure we go back and listen. Once we make adjustments, what do employees say? Then change course and correct,” Mr. Johnson said. “It’s a constant process.”

Recorded remotely on August 11, 2022. Produced by Earl R. Lagundino and Sam L. Marcelo.