Staff Corner

How Infobuilder’s HR
Put Normal in The New Normal

Posted on September 25, 2020

No matter what walk of life you come from, the pandemic has been hard on all of us. But to the people who not only need to worry about themselves but everyone else in the company, it is undeniably a burden. Not only are Human Resource managers concerned about employees’ health and well-being during the pandemic, but they are also solely responsible for processing the paperwork and providing solace to the millions of workers who have been laid off or furloughed. If that isn’t overwhelming enough, HR managers are liable for keeping their workers productive, motivated, engaged, and connected.

Over the past few months, our very own HR consisting of Valerin Gale Robles, our Senior HR Generalist, and Christine Joy Maulion, our HR assistant had become essential in our company’s success of shifting from the old normal to our current work from home set up. Despite the challenges that they had faced as an HR, employee, and individual, they managed to not only become a helping hand to every single staff, they steered us into a path filled with ease and contentment.

One of the challenges which they faced during the quarantine is how to maintain employee engagement which is unfortunate since for our HR, employee interaction is very crucial. Even before the lockdown started, they would always come up with engaging activities and ways to motivate us. Earlier this year, they set up a fun system to make us come earlier to work, clean our stations, and dress in formal wear even in the blazing heat of metro manila. They would give us stars like we were in kindergarten and somehow it worked. Everyone looked pristine coming to work in their neat stations.

So when the pandemic started, Miss Val said that it was hard for them since support was difficult to receive in order to continue with their planned activities, events, and programs. But instead of sulking, they launched our company’s internal activity called, “Online Hangout” a few months back. Every week, all the employees would get together on Zoom or Microsoft Teams for an hour or so of laughs, catching up on each other’s lives, and a different kind of game, activity, discussion, etc. So far, the list includes a talk about relevant topics like maintaining your mental health during a pandemic, ZoomBa, Bingo, Film Showing, Pajama Party, Guessing FAQs about each other, etc. 

We asked some of our employees about their thoughts on the Online Hangout. One of them said that it is enjoyable in such a way that it separates the stress out from the work because sometimes it’s hard to do so, especially when work and rest cannot be physically separated. Another one said that they really appreciate the Online Hangout because they can take a break somehow. For at least an hour, they can take a break and their mind is taken away from the stress of work.

Safe to say that the Online Hangout, being one of the many things that our HR does for us during this pandemic, is a success in its goals. When asked why is it important for our HR to always come up with these fun activities before and even during the lockdown, Miss Val and Cj had the same answer despite being asked separately. It all came down to their prioritization of employee morale. Moreover, Miss Val said that it has always been HR’s goal to take care of the employees while being supportive of the company’s goals. Having well taken care of employees can result in having a better output and increased motivation and performance. She added, “We’ve been there also. We felt the need and the crave for fun activities.”

In a time when the HR of every company has more weight on their shoulders and even rethinking their vital roles for the organization, Infobuilder’s HR is not just doing the bare minimum. They are doing above and beyond what is written in their responsibilities. As much as they take care of us, we can only hope that we can give back equally by doing our jobs and not giving them any problems. This week, we are also celebrating International Human Resource Day so from all of us at Infobuilder, don’t forget to see that your HR is well-appreciated for all their hard work and sacrifices. Take care of the people who never failed to take care of you. 

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