At Asticom Technology Inc., our employees are at the core of our business. This has been true since before the pandemic and much more so during it. The top mandate of our Human Resources department is always to provide the best possible employee experience not only in the operational context but also in the aspect of work-life balance. The CEO meets with the employee engagement team on a bi-monthly basis to discuss the programs as well as new policies for implementation; Policies such as “Zoom Free Fridays” and “Malasakit-at-home” campaigns that promote work-life balance and safety. As Friday schedules have cleared of work-related meetings, this provides an opportunity for HR to launch weekly engagement activities.

Even during the pandemic and other companies were forced to shut down or reduce their numbers, we were able to stay true to our mission of keeping our employees at the center of our business. All our employees were well-prepared to implement a work-from-home setup in less than 72 hours. We additionally released various work-from-home essential content and offered prepaid WIFI services to help improve the transition into a new, hybrid workspace.

The company used the shift from onsite to the virtual setup as an opportunity to consistently engage its employees through weekly activities and consistent management presence. One such activity was a webinar where we learned more about ergonomics in the work-from-home setup. This made our employees better equipped to transition to such a setup and to be more mindful about back and eye support.

Employees became more engaged as the WFH setup normalized. These activities also became avenues for employees to reach out to top management including the CEO. This was reflected in the increase of the response rate for the employee satisfaction survey from 32% in 2019 to 62% in 2020. The consistent engagement of employees and the launch of new employee programs also resulted in a significant increase in employee satisfaction from 54.3% to 83.9%.

While this helped current employees adapt to the new normal, we still sought ways to improve the lives of every employee, including those that were unfortunate to lose their jobs to the pandemic. This gave way to Project Alalay. This initiative was designed to provide jobs and livelihood opportunities to “no work, no pay” employees. With this, despite the limitations that lockdown imposed, Asticom was able to generate almost 3,000 opportunities for our employees. While creating online job fairs and interviews for job seekers, we were also able to launch AstiCareers, which is our internal hiring program to empower our employees in enhancing their careers in the comfort of their own homes.

Here at Asticom, we take pride in the fact that we keep our employees at the core of our business through rain or shine. Whether it’s working at the office or working at home, you can always count on Asticom.