Monday, August 04, 2008 ‘Care for workers, make them stay’
TO PREVENT its employees from leaving for better-paying jobs abroad, the Aboitiz Group continues to “touch the emotional side” of its workers.
“If we keep telling ourselves that we can’t compete with the pay abroad, we’re lost. We have to make decisions to attract, retain and optimize our people,” said Txabi Aboitiz, vice president on quality and people development of Aboitiz and Co. Inc.
He said that human resource managers should ask why their people are making decisions to leave for overseas jobs and recommended that the “body, heart, mind and spirit” of employees should be addressed to help pump up the company.
Several managers at Aboitiz and Co. sat in a panel during the second day of the Third Aboitiz-organized Future Leaders Summit at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino to share how good bosses, work challenges, training and fun made them stay with the company for years. Among them is Judd Salas who has been with Aboitiz for more than 12 years, He is presently corporate communications manager of the Aboitiz Transport System (ATS).
Salas said that some of the ATS’ seafarers and information technology professionals are among those who joined the “the movement of labor to other countries that is part of globalization.”
“Aboitiz…gives you opportunities to think world-class and be the best. If you value learning, there is a place for you here to make a difference in the world,” he added.
Meanwhile, Aboitiz Equity Ventures executive vice president and chief operating officer Erramon Aboitiz attributed the company’s success to “a carefully laid out strategic map (that is) skillfully executed by (its) great team of professionals.”
As proof, he cited the bottom line contribution of the Aboitiz power business, which grew to 61 percent last year from 41 percent in 1995. He also mentioned the 32-percent increase of City Savings Bank’s net income in 2007, among others.
“Aboitiz has evolved into a group totally focused on its core businesses growing its assets to P61 billion from P21 billion at the start of the decade,” he added. (NRC)
