People-First Culture
Highlights
One of the World's Best Companies in 2023
by Time Magazine
94% Sustainable Engagement Score
for Ayala Corporation
Leadership Commitment Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
from the Ayala Group of Companies
4.8M direct and indirect beneficiaries
served by Ayala Foundation
Ayala adopts a people-first culture that translates to meaningful and dignified work for employees and a thriving populace for the communities affected by its businesses.
Beyond the organization, Ayala also reaches out to communities through Ayala Foundation and various community outreach programs. By doing so, the company remains true to its social ambition of being good members of the communities where it works and lives, thereby enabling Filipinos to thrive.
Talent Planning and Recruitment
Ayala sees to it that the job offer reflects a compensation and benefits package that is commensurate to the talent’s qualifications and experience. To align with the employee’s career expectations, the hiring team also explains the job profile and responsibilities and discusses potential career paths.
To ensure that it hires the right people
for current and future business
requirements, the company regularly
reviews its strategy and benchmarks
the same against industry best
practices. It also collaborates with
the Talent Network, a group of more
than 70 Human Resources (HR)
practitioners across the Ayala Group,
to share learnings and insights on
talent management.
Ayala also recognizes the
importance of nurturing young
talents and shaping a bright future
for them. Through the Ayala Group
Summer Internship Program
(AGSIP), the company offers a
unique learning opportunity for
college students nationwide by
immersing them in one of the
business units within the Ayala
Group. They are assigned daily
tasks and special projects and are
encouraged to come up with an
innovative solution to an identified
gap or improvement area in their
host company. In 2023, a total of
38 participants benefited from
this experience.
Management and Development
In view of the changes and opportunities that are shaping the future of workforce, Ayala is rethinking its strategy on talent management. Whereas linear is the path that traditional career management pushes for, Ayala now adopts a dynamic and agile approach where promotion is no longer the only indicator of career growth. The company believes that its talents are active participants in their professional development and works with them to explore and co-create their growth path systems.
Ayala’s talent management and development programs are strategically planned based on two factors – the business requirements, as well as the general and specific needs of its talents. As the company builds more businesses, it keeps track of market trends and the skills associated with new requirements and develops its employees accordingly. For example, generative artificial intelligence (AI) recently saw a boost that disrupted how traditional business activities are carried out. To keep up with this development, Ayala studied its impact on the workforce and offered programs to train employees on the effective use of AI. As well, the increasing importance of data analytics in business necessitated certain talents to undergo a certification course to fully understand its applications to Ayala businesses.
Ayala regularly reviews its talent profile,
identifies common development
areas and builds a training program
– either internally or in collaboration
with a reputable academic institution
like Harvard University – for targeted
participants. The company also makes use of digital learning platforms such as
Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Emeritus
and Skillsoft to make training programs
accessible to more employees. For
employees with specific learning
needs to address deficiencies or to
fast track development, Ayala offers
other intervention such as coaching
or mentoring, project immersion and
assignment to a new role.
Another key component of Ayala’s human
capital management and development
strategy is succession planning and
management. Cognizant of its importance
in ensuring business continuity and
success, the company is quick to address
talent or skills gap and is in constant
communication with company leaders
to identify talents who can fill in the role
immediately or in the short- or medium term.
Special programs such as the
Leadership Acceleration Program (LEAP)
and the Emerging Ayala Group Leaders
(EAGLE) were developed by Ayala for
this purpose.
Engagement and Retention
Engage
Ayala’s employee engagement approach involves more than just holding special events and company-wide activities. While Ayala celebrates special occasions such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day and applauds big and small wins with employees, it gives more importance to building a strong culture and work environment where workers feel valued, seen and heard.
Central to Ayala’s engagement philosophy is respecting the unique situation that employees are in. Some may be raising small kids, while others prefer to be childless and focus on their career. In other cases, some may want to move up the career ladder, while others are happy with where they currently are. Also, some employees may be sports enthusiasts, while others prefer a different hobby outside of work. The important thing for Ayala is to create policies and programs that factor in the diversity and ensure that they are inclusive and beneficial to all segments of the workforce.
Despite adopting a hybrid and flexible (hyflex) work arrangement, the company continues to provide opportunities for employees to collaborate and socialize through fACetime Wednesdays and other regular meet-ups.
Enable
As a top employer in the Philippines, Ayala views it a privilege to be able to support the growth of its talents through a work environment and culture that advocate productivity and performance. The company’s career management principle is focused on nurturing synergy and agility to empower the employees’ dynamic and professional development journey.
The HR team, through the line managers, works closely with talents and guides them as they curate their own career experience. Employees take control of developing their career plan, while the company supports them through capability-building accelerators such as training, peer and experience-based learning, coaching and mentoring and other development tools.
Another way by which managers and employees work together is through performance management. This process involves planning, monitoring and reviewing a talent’s work objectives and overall contribution to the company. By doing this, talents are able to determine where they are in their career journey and what skills they need to bridge the gap to their destination. It is also in these conversations that employees are encouraged to share their experiences so the managers will know how to help make their career journey more fulfilling.
Moreover, the results of performance appraisals guide the company in identifying talents for promotion and those who will receive merit-based increases or bonuses and incentives. These outcomes are on top of the regular pay and non-salary benefits like medical assistance, insurance coverage, loan facilities and leave credits that Ayala provides its employees as part of its total rewards system.
In recognition of their loyalty, dedication and exemplary performance, senior executives and key talents can also avail of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The grants are given on a deferred basis following a three-year vesting schedule from grant date. If an employee is separated for cause, the proportionate unpaid deferred portion of the grant allocation is automatically forfeited in favor of Ayala while the paid portion will be subject to Ayala’s right to repurchase.
Energize
Ayala recognizes that its strength as an organization is contingent on the overall well-being of its employees who carry out the day-to-day tasks. For this reason, the company endeavors to provide its employees with a supportive, safe, healthy and happy work environment. It also promotes a lifestyle that will result in a healthy physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being among its workforce.
For more information on the company’s health and safety programs, see Health and Safety discussion below.
Ayala Group of Companies DEI Leadership Commitment Statement
Our purpose is to build businesses that enable people to thrive. This means building businesses that are sustainable, equitable and inclusive.
Our strength and longevity owe much to contributions from a diverse set of stakeholders. Equitable and inclusive treatment of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives makes us stronger. Employees and customers that feel a sense of belonging, whatever their circumstances, make for a stronger Ayala.
We view diversity, equity and inclusion as fundamental to Ayala.
We aspire to:
- Create shared value with our stakeholders by actively listening and providing the space and environment for diverse voices and ideas to be heard.
- Build an inclusive workplace culture that recognizes and values all backgrounds, voices, roles and contributions.
- Foster practices to help us build a diverse workforce, empowered and supported to perform at their highest potential.
- Hold our leaders accountable for developing diverse and inclusive teams, making decisions equitably and transparently and modeling inclusive behaviors.
As we work toward these outcomes, we will hold fast to our promise at the Ayala Group, you can be YOU.
This commitment to DEI is present in Ayala’s HR policies and progress made on DEI is tracked as part of the 2023 ENGAGE employee engagement survey. The company’s recruitment policy, for instance, states that “in hiring, the company does not discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, marital status, disability, economic status and political affiliation.” Instead, Ayala chooses the best candidate based on qualifications and values.
In 2022, updates in Ayala’s benefits were implemented in consideration of the diverse needs and conditions of its workforce. For example, employees’ medical benefits and insurance coverage now recognize same-sex and common law partners as dependents, as well as expanded age coverage for dependent parents of single employees.
In addition, Ayala maintains a healthy ratio of male to female employees at the Board level, as well as in the senior and middle management levels. Equal opportunities are made available to all employees regardless of age or gender.
To ensure that everyone in the organization understands the significance and implications of DEI, the company will conduct training and awareness sessions for all employees within the Ayala Group. Ayala will also review current programs and policies with a DEI lens to remove any biases.
Ayala’s employee demographics by gender, age group, and rank are shown below.
Focusing on employees’ health, Ayala launched Wellness Program 2.0, an experiential-based program that aims to improve the overall well-being of employees through crafts and hobbies, personality development, sports, physical, mental and spiritual wellness and other activities that can complement traditional medical management. Apart from physical health, the company also advocates for mental health by including mental wellness in its medical programs, providing regular access to a psychiatrist and Mind You, an online wellness platform and making available leave credits which can be used for mental breaks.
As for the safety of office premises, the OSH team regularly inspects each floor Ayala occupies in the building to address any identified risks or unsafe conditions. Ayala coordinates with the building administrator, as well as the other tenants in the building, to align emergency and disaster protocols. The company also partners with the local government units and national government agencies such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in carrying out fire and earthquake drills and disaster response operations.
To achieve a culture of preparedness and ensure that everyone in the organization conducts activities in a safe, healthy and responsible manner, the company informs and trains its employees on health and safety, incident management and disaster preparedness. Ayala conducts at least two emergency drills annually and has a group composed of volunteer floor marshals. The company also has six certified Safety Officers Level 2.
In 2023, 83 personnel participated in the mandatory OSH training.
Ayala’s Crisis Management Policy and Governance and Crisis Management Plan guide employees on what to do before, during and after a crisis. The preparation steps include ensuring that their company-provided emergency Go Bags are ready for use, registering their office-issued mobile phones to the Ayala Sign-in System for Immediate Support and Tracking (ASSiST) app, knowing the emergency exits and routes, as well as the proper use of resources like fire extinguishers, first aid kits and automated external defibrillator units. When faced with a crisis, Ayala personnel must activate the call tree, report to the Ayala Crisis Coordination Center (AC3) and await further instructions. AC3 also sends out advisories via ASSiST if there are threats or hazards. Affected employees may seek support from the AC3 as it serves as the 24/7 help desk.
Ultimately, Ayala’s people-first culture means prioritizing the health and safety of its employees and it influences its business units to do the same. Given the varied nature of the businesses within the Ayala Group, the business units have their respective OSH policies, systems and processes, with some implementing a certified OSH management system.
Following the human rights policy, a framework and process for human rights due diligence will be developed next to ensure that Ayala can work with its stakeholders and partners to uphold the same commitment to human and labor rights across various touchpoints and interactions.
While the company’s policy on human rights is underway, Ayala continues to uphold its stance against child labor and forced or compulsory labor and to protect and respect the rights of indigenous people and other marginalized sectors in the communities where it operates.
At the workplace, Ayala remains steadfast in its aspiration to create an environment free from any form of harassment and a space where its employees feel safe and respected. The company counts on its personnel, business units, partners and suppliers to likewise champion human rights in their respective communities.
Ayala does not have a labor union. However, the company influences its business units with labor unions to always maintain industrial peace and open communication with them. They are expected to comply with labor laws and regulations at all times.
Ayala hopes to expand not just its business footprint, but more importantly, its social reach by working closely with local governments, leaders and associations to improve the quality of life in their communities. The company consults them to identify possible synergies and to seek their input and feedback on which issues to prioritize. This strong partnership with local stakeholders enables Ayala to be among the first responders in times of disasters and to coordinate efforts to provide community assistance.
Ayala’s community engagement initiatives are driven by the collective effort of its employees. Through the WeAreAyala Business Club (WAABC), for example, employees across the group actively and regularly participate in community programs outside Metro Manila as their way of giving back. In effect, they become ambassadors of the Ayala brand. By bringing Ayala businesses together at the regional level, the group is able to create greater value and extend a more strategic assistance to communities in need.
Saludo sa Serbisyo
Apart from local communities,
the company also aims to support
often undervalued groups. Ayala’s comprehensive and sustainable needs-based
program for uniformed personnel,
Saludo sa Serbisyo, is an example of such
an initiative.
To show its appreciation
for the service they have rendered, the
company extends health and wellness,
financial education, livelihood training and
home and car ownership programs, as
well as special discounts on its products
and services to members of the Philippine
National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast
Guard (PCG), AFP and BFP.
Ayala Foundation
In 2023, Ayala Foundation stepped
up its efforts to serve some of the
poorest communities in the Philippines
while growing its beneficiary base and
sustaining operational efficiency. In
addition, measures to more accurately
reflect the impact of its programs in
Community Development, Leadership
Development, Arts and Culture and
Corporate Citizenship were put in place.
Ayala Foundation served a total of
4.8 million direct and indirect
beneficiaries in 2023, representing a
26.3% increase from the previous year’s
3.8 million beneficiaries, while keeping
operational efficiency above target.
Performance Indices
Ayala uses as references relevant GRI Standards in disclosing the group's performance across material topics.
Learn more about Ayala's Social performance in the 2023 Integrated Report.
Learn more about Sustainability at Ayala
Climate Action and Resource Efficiency
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Sustainability Blueprint
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Responsible Business Practices
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