PhilHRG Kicks off Sigma-Design Sprint on Its 1st 2018 Learning Session

In 2017, the Philippines HR Group announced its commitment to provide consistent and quality learning sessions to the HR community throughout the year. This year, they delivered this by having its first Learning Session which was entitled “Lean Six-Sigma for HR & Design Sprint Methodology”, which was held on March 3, 2018 at D’Cup Coffee Republic located at the 2/F Pioneer St. Market Reliance Street, Mandaluyong City.

The event was attended by almost a hundred participants and volunteers. The concept of Six Sigma and Design Sprint for HR is quite young in the Philippines but, despite that, the support provided by the community is not short of overwhelming. Our invited speaker is premier in the line of Six Sigma Methodology Mr. Rex Jayson Tuozo, CIE, MBB, CMP. He talked about the different concepts of Six Sigma and its importance as a Tool for the Human Resource Professional. He taught several concepts during the session in which the crowd’s favorite was about SIPOC (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer). Our speaker for the Design Sprint Methodology is Mr. Arthur Flores, Jr. who is known as the “Sprint King” was our second speaker. He talked about the 5 step methodology of Design Sprint and taught the community how to use this tool in their HR processes. Both speakers provided not only an interesting talk about their respective topics but also a quick workshop to get everyone more accustomed to the concepts and tools being introduced to the community. It was an afternoon filled with valuable information and the community can’t help but feel that they want to learn more.

The Philippines HR Group has also sold T-shirts and gave away lots of goodies. They provided freebies as well from those who came from far provinces such as Quezon Province and Ilo-ilo. Inclusive in the prizes were books from Ms. Sha Nacino “Money and Me”and “Mission Happiness.” You may recall that Ms. Nacino was our guest speaker from the very first #InspireHR of the Philippines HR Group last February 2017. There were also mugs from our sponsors that were given away. Not only did everyone go home with new knowledge at hand, they also have new goodies with them. Once again, the Philippines HR Group has successfully gathered our community for another session of learning and getting-to-know session. There were several repeat attendees, and the PhilHRG Inc. Board Members are truly happy about this, too.

Attendees from the Board Members included Mr. Neil Lumacad, Ms. Nhess De Jesus-Lumacad, Ms. Abigail Hernandez, Ms. Jocelyn Morales, Mr. Michael Natividad, CHRP Ms. Joseline Alosbanos, and Mr. Philip Nucleus Sia I, CHRP, who was also the host of the program. Founder and President Mr. Darwin Rivers was also in the event and gave the opening remarks of the program. The volunteers who assisted in this event were: Lanie Santos, Michelle Morales, Bryan Aquilino, Arvin Jessy Del Rosario, Kristine Martinez Bagalawis, Marilyn Magallanes, Raul Polo Devera, Rosalie Joya, Janette Aliwanag Pagadduan; Rolan S. Cayton, Charlie Mae D. Manaligod, Haidee V. Palacio, Nica Mariz G. Ignacio, Margie M. Orate, Marvin Zoilo, Catherine B. Garcia, MBA, Brian P. Guzarem, Jesica R. Cedillo, Maria Cristina C. Lascano, Kristine Comia Mercado, Kashmire Eldrimar Alfaro, and Sheila Espadero-Saberdo. The pool of volunteers is truly growing.

The Philippines HR Group has once again proven that they are a game changer in the HR Community. Their advocacies bring quality but low cost programs that facilitate in the growth of HR professionals all over the country. This 17th of March 2018, the PhilHRG Inc. will once again hold a learning event entitled “TRAINing on Labor Law,” which will include the Data Privacy Act of 2012, TRAIN Law, Labor Essentials, and Latest Labor Decisions and Jurisprudence. More power to the PhilHRG Inc. in bringing these valuable programs available to a larger audience.

We support the advocacy of the Philippines HR Group in providing high-quality training for working professionals in the Philippines but COMPETAD is a separate entity from the PhilHRG Inc. Look up our Leadership Training Session this 2018 if you would like to have a glimpse of our programs, too.

For other training inquiries and sponsorship for any of our events, you may also call us at COMPETAD Training and Professional Development through (02)4333342 or thru (0998)5624984 to 85. You may also send us an email at training@competad.com and we will always be happy to help. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/competad

PHRG Pursues Its Aim at A.I.M. Makati

The Philippines HR Group has just held its second learning session for 2017 last 24^th of June at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati. We can recall that aside from building the largest HR network in the country, the organization aims to provide its online members an access to value but cost effective education to enhance the HR leadership and practice in the country. This event is another milestone in the public learning sessions of the PHRG. This session’s topic was Talent Management and Organizational Development. Recalling the previous sessions in April, Mr. Darwin Rivers has highlighted that the core members and volunteers work on the advocacy out of the love of the Human Resource profession. Despite not receiving any monetary compensation for their work, they have truly delivered in this session just like every other. The speakers were Ms. Michelle Garcia-Cordero, Ms. Penny Bongato, Mr. Edwin Ebreo, Ms. Daphne Granfil and our very own Managing Director, Mr. Philip Nucleus Sia I.

Ms. Michelle Garcia-Cordero started the session with a talk about Disruptive Innovation. She highlighted that the current generation should not be thinking out of the box, instead totally remove the box. She described disruptive innovation as that which creates market and value network and eventually disrupts existing markets and value networks, displacing market-leading firms, products, and alliances. She spoke about work that were not existing 10 years ago that are highly demanded in today’s business world. She also said that there are more new opportunities as we change the meaning of work from a place we go to into something that more integrated to our daily lives.

Ms. Penny Bongato discussed the different facets of employee engagement. She said that we can engage our employees by making them enjoy what they do. People need to believe in what they can do and feel valued for it. Ms. Bongato said that engaging people means making them feel satisfied. As people are the biggest drivers for success in a company, she discussed that there are six critical levels to address in order to engage them. These are: Engagement Surveys and Analysis, Coaching and Performance, Employee Communication, Learning and Careers, Rewards and Recognition, and Health and Well-Being.

The next speaker Mr. Edwin Ebreo focused on the right mindset toward Training and Development. He stated that while most companies have training programs and may even outsource training services, they see it as a commodity that they can readily buy. However, he encourages that companies and HR take a look at the bigger picture. For instance, he stated there were companies who request for customer service training for the frontline staff but does not involve their managers in the undertaking. Mr. Ebreo encouraged the HR professionals to include the leaders in such because transformation can only be achieved when the leaders support it and know it as much as the rank and file.

Our Managing Director, Mr. Philip Nucleus “Nuke” Sia I, was the next speaker and he talked about how to measure training programs. He discussed the “Four Levels of Training Evaluation” that was developed by Donald Kirkpatrick. Afterward, he also gave the crowd an overview on measuring training and making proposals using ROI. He provided a sample scenario on how to compute ROI. While he said that there are times that we may not need to measure ROI, he ended his session by highlighting that if we truly want to consider training as an “investment” when presenting it to managers, businessmen, and investors, it has to be measured in the same way that we do any other investment – by the returns it gives to the company.

Ms. Daphne Granfil ended the session with a bang. She did a full training hour complete with some musical intermissions and activities to liven up the crowd. She discussed how to present a training proposal to decision makers. She said that one important way of doing it is by presenting it as a story. According to her, communicating your proposal isn’t just about your idea. It is also about how you make other people see its worth. Ms. Granfil said that preparation is the key in communicating your idea.

The Philippines HR Group is in the process of collating feedback gathered from the participants during the event but, even before they could, email has already poured in from the HR community thanking the group for the valuable session they have conducted this 24^th of June. To further forward its aims and advocacies, the Philippines HR group will hold another learning session this coming 22^nd of September and will have its 2^nd Annual HR Summit on November. The specific date for the summit has not been announced yet, but its founder, Mr. Darwin Rivers has said that they will release the information as soon as it is available.

Aside from the learning, there were raffle items from the sponsors and souvenir shirts available near the registration booth. It was a great opportunity to learn, meet new friends, and connect with others in the HR community. If you have not been part of this learning session and would like to be part of the next, you may contact the Philippines HR Group through facebook or email (philippineshrgroup@gmail.com).

PHRG’s Largest Public Event Shook the Ground at 5.6 Magnitude

Not even a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in the afternoon of the 8^th of April was strong enough to shatter the participants’ enthusiasm and eagerness to learn as the Philippines HR Group (PHRG) held its most recent and largest public event at the Philippine Bible Society in UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila. This is the second run of 1^st Quarter’s topic, “Strategies on Prominent Labor and Employee Relations Issues for 2017”. The learning session was attended by 314 participants from all over the Philippines, with some as far as Negros. COMPETAD again participated in the volunteering advocacy as a minor sponsor, with its Managing Director, Mr. Philip Nucleus Sia I, being the master of ceremonies. Our Lead Sales and Marketing Officer was also a member of the event coordination team and ushering committee.

Mr. Darwin Rivers giving an opening remark to the participants of the learning session.

The event started with some fun and games to warm up the early participants then was opened by the Philippines HR Group founder, Mr. Darwin Rivers. After sharing a little history of the organization, his message was about the passion and volunteerism of the team that has put together the event. He emphasized that the volunteers have organized it to truly give back to the community. He also invited the participants to attend the upcoming learning events in June and the PHRG Summit in November 2017.

Mr. Neil Ryan Lumacad, PHRG Core Group Member, giving a prize to a winner of the Early Bird Activities. Our Managing Director at COMPETAD, Mr. Philip Nucleus Sia I, behind them as master of ceremonies.

The first speaker of the day was the Regional Director for the Department of Labor and Employment for NCR, Atty. Johnson Canete. He spoke about the 10 new provisions of the DO174 and how it impacts the HR community. He also talked about a few cases to help everyone understand the prohibition on “Labor-Only Contracting.” This way, HR professionals will know how they can help their companies become compliant. He emphasized that non-compliance to many issues such as not paying the minimum wage requirements, not paying overtime, and other such simple regulations have always plagued the DOLE with complaints from the labor sector and he urged everyone to make a difference. Atty. Johnson has set the bar high for the event has he spoke with passion, humor, and enthusiasm that emanated and connected to the crowd.

Atty. Pol Sanggalang was second to take the stage and shared that the right mindset an HR personnel should have when disciplining employees is their good faith. He elaborated that disciplining shouldn’t be punitive, rather a means of achieving good employee relations, adequate compensation and benefits, good leadership, and supportive training programs. He said that disciplining must be embedded in the company’s policies and must be coherent with an employee’s constitutional rights. For habitual offenders he suggests that documentations of progressive discipline and evidence are a must to ensure that no rights will be violated. His session was a truly valuable and informative segment in the event.

In the afternoon, Mr. Allan Cañete, also a member of the Philippines HR Group, gave a heart-felt but entertainingly witty presentation about how companies can proactively create harmony by adopting an employee-centric culture. He highlighted that the existence of unions indicate a potential dysfunction in the corporation as its need usually arises when employees’ woes are not heard by the management. While he does not discourage the creation of unions, he offered an alternative mindset which he calls POGI (Power of Gratitude Intelligence). He said that by having a positive mindset and actively encouraging a “thanking” attitude in everyone, we can have physiological and sociological benefits both for the individual and the company that will increase the likelihood of a cooperative relationship between employee and management.

Mr. Jaime “Ka James” Estrada ended the day by sharing his experience from his four-decade long journey as an HR professional. He has shared some of his challenges and the ways that he overcame such labor relations issues in the practice of his Human Resource career. He ended his presentation with a touching video clip showing photos of his experience, which gave a melancholic throw-back feel to everyone. It was awe-inspiring.

The audience during the Philippines HR Group Learning Session on Strategies on Prominent Labor and Employee Related Issues in 2017 (April 8, 2017)

Aside from the new knowledge and ideas, the participants of the event also went away with some prizes and freebies from the event’s sponsors that included mugs, umbrellas, a book on Performance Appraisals, and Free Passes to future learning events. The event also encouraged participants to take snapshots with these three official hashtags:

#PhilippinesHRGroup, #PHRGLearningSessions, #PhilippinesHRGroupEvents

Winners will be drawn after the event and shall be posted at the Philippines HR Group Facebook Page. This has truly been a great success for the Phillippines HR Group and a milestone of great magnitude and proportions.