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It’s often said that people leave due to bad managers. This could be the same for people managers. And what companies or its employees fail to ask is if these people managers are provided with the tools and skills to do their jobs well?

Hybrid working arrangements can vary according to time commitments, work types, worker categories, and location-flexibility, and it’s worth noting that employees are aware of the benefits for each and that there is an urgent need to come up with a proper hybrid work structure and channel strategy–because hybrid work is definitely here to stay. Are our organizations ready? or even better, is the C-suite ready?

The new ways of working not only proved to be challenging for employers. Employees also found themselves in a new era of workplace disruption, a world with hybrid working models, and communication problems. Some of these employees lasted. Some didn’t–to the point that the Great Resignation happened. It’s a worldwide phenomenon that everyone, most especially organizations, became very concerned about.

From the rise of social networks to noisy organizations and to prioritizing people in the midst of a pandemic, businesses are seeing another new shift and challenge in terms of managing internal communications. If last year was all about refocusing efforts to benefit employees’ wellbeing, this year is about how businesses should be looking into ways to preserve it.

Because a big part of the decision making process is employee-centric, companies can expect the benefits of financial gains, productivity improvements, and employee engagement and retention, particularly when Flexwork is executed seamlessly and systematically. But before you decide to implement and make flexible work a part of your culture and operations, there are several factors that companies must take note of to ensure that the Flexwork is a fully defined and scaled process in order for it to be effective and to avoid the possible pitfalls along the way.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have learned to value and prioritize employee experience, and many have grabbed this opportunity to finally do their employees right. The flexible work arrangements have been put in the spotlight, and they are seemingly meant to stay.

By designing and cultivating communications and messaging that excite, engage, and inspire, an organization is able to foster a meaningful employee experience. Especially during challenging times in all kinds of businesses, there is a need to craft and amplify an inspiring story that would help employees feel good about their professions, so the positivity and the drive can be radiated to everyone associated in the company–from customers to shareholders.

Many businesses ask, “Has Covid-19 changed workplace benefits forever?” At this point, with the constant flux of change, on one knows the answer. However, there’s a better and more concrete question we can ask, which is: “Has Covid-19 changed workplace benefits for the better?” Well, most likely.

Retention efforts are not like they were in the pre-pandemic era. If business leaders think pre-pandemic rewards like compensation bonuses and recognition programs are the only necessary ways to keep employees, they will fail miserably. These are not ordinary times. Applying broad and generic solutions won’t work anymore. Business leaders need to identify rewards that provide a more meaningful experience to people, and those would be rewards that are values-based and would, at the same time, promote a sense of belonging and well-being.

What’s a leader? Some people would say that a leader is somebody who helps and guides his or her people to be their best selves and to do their best work to reach company success. Others could expand the definition to be somebody who provides direction for the people while striving to maintain a level of performance and motivation. In a sense, both are correct.

Every business’ key to success roots back to people. Without people, every product and service, patent and trademark will have little to no value. But what some businesses may overlook is the fact that “people” do not only mean the customers that have the purchasing power to keep the business profitable or, at the very least, running. Businesses should be all about serving people beyond customers. They need to be mindful about their employees, too. Employees are the people that actually execute and do what it takes to make a business successful, making them every business’ most important asset.

When businesses initially set up their work from home systems at the start of the pandemic, only a few imagined that they would still be implemented a year after. Despite a few challenges, the shift in the workplace benefits has not only shifted dramatically but is expected to be here to stay.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses have struggled in keeping employees engaged. They have been taking sick leaves often; they have been lacking in initiative and interest; so on and so forth. When these happen, employers must understand certain drivers of employee engagement, and make sure they are met.

Experts say we were in the midst of a mental health crisis even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit most of the world in 2020. The past two years expedited that foreseen crisis, and possibly even worsened it. In fact, the World Health Organization reported that although 89% of countries mentioned that mental health and psychosocial support are part of their COVID-19 response plans, only 17% of these countries have the full funding for them.

Two years of COVID-19 has definitely altered the way we live our lives -- especially to those who have been work-from-home all this time. We’ve narrowed down five of the most prevalent shifts brought about by COVID-19 that every company or employer must take note of.

The employee and employer dynamics are changing. In the Philippines, we have seen that employers are now looking into initiatives that answer more than direct financial returns and basic core benefits to attract and retain their top employees. Specifically, more and more companies are now investing in and expanding their employee benefits in ways that are relevant, competitive and innovative.

Post pandemic- An important question for businesses, big and small: How can they foster an environment where their employees are motivated enough to stay committed and perform during tough economic times associated with the pandemic?

If we need to manage our costs, is cutting out people your first choice? As an HR practitioner, I would throw caution to this knee-jerk reaction. Investing and developing people costs money, not to mention the cost of executive and managerial time in ensuring inculturation of your human capital. If you have invested strategically in your people, you have to think twice (or even thrice) before cutting anyone out to ensure good bottomlines for your organization.

“IF YOU TRAIN YOUR BRAIN, YOU CAN CHANGE.” This was one of the key messages two weeks ago by Dinah Salonga, Yogaplus Managing Director, thought leader on management, entrepreneurship, yoga, and energy healing, as she led an exclusive roundtable conversation with over 50 C-level officers at “Mindful Leadership: Leading with Kindness and Compassion,” in partnership with bnfts.ph, PhilPacific Insurance Brokers & Managers, Inc. (Philinsure)’s flagship platform for risk protection and benefits programming for corporations and SMEs.

It comes as no surprise that, in the light of the global health crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought, several industries have found themselves scrambling for ways to stay alive. Practically nothing could have prepared the world for the debilitating effects the pandemic caused globally. Aside from lives lost, the world experienced an unprecedented overall economic shutdown, as national governments tried to keep the coronavirus from spreading.

Almost a year since COVID-19 changed the life of every Filipino, the virus remains a threat and in increasingly different ways. When quarantine measures began to be implemented in March 2020, businesses started halting operations, and people holed up in the safety of their homes.

Traditionally, the notion of working or reporting for a job in the Philippines entailed leaving ones home, getting into a car or using public transportation, going to an office from 9 a.m., and heading back home by 5 p.m.