Books covering the Filipino business landscape and its practices are hardly a new idea, yet there is still much left to be desired. For example, although there are books talking about what it may take to run and start a business in the Philippines, there has yet to be extensive work covering the field of Human Resources. “The 50: HR Leaders Reimagining the Filipino Organization” aims to do exactly that.
“The 50” is a project commissioned by cloud-based payroll software provider Salarium, in partnership with HR Nation Philippines and end-to-end marketing studio Ambidextr. “The 50” showcases insights from 50 HR leaders from all over the country on what makes a good HR strategy and was officially launched on November 28, at the Chardonnay by Astoria Hotels and Resorts.
The book is composed of 50 chapters, with each chapter featuring an HR leader from companies such as Ayala Corporation, SM Supermalls, Penbrothers, Foodpanda, and so much more. Yet whether they work in a long-established conglomerate or an up-and-coming startup, “The 50” talks about a wide variety of HR-related topics such as recruitment, employee engagement, talent development, and workplace culture being just some of the aspects of HR that are covered.
At the launch HR leaders featured in the book arrived at the event on a rotating schedule, where they claimed their copy of the book and mingled with other HR professionals (while still following COVID-19 health and safety protocols).
“We’re definitely proud to not only play host to the launch, but to also be part of the book as well,” expressed Romulo Alarcio III, Corporate Director for Human Resources at Astoria Hotels and Resorts, in reference to his feature/Astoria’s inclusion in ‘The 50’.
“We felt that the book perfectly captured what Astoria stands for and how the company’s HR strategy is distinctly unique,” Alarcio continued. “Speaking for Astoria, our people found the book enlightening, allowing us to learn how other organizations see HR.”
Of course, ‘The 50’ was also published with the aim of imparting valuable HR-related insights to as many people as possible. According to Judah Hirsch, Founder and CEO of Salarium, “HR is the backbone of many organizations, which is why we’re proud of all the hard work that went into ‘The 50’. Whether it’s a management-level leader looking to improve their company’s ways of working or just a fresh grad looking to establish a career in HR, ‘The 50’ is a book that’s sure to have learnings for everyone.”
“Producing this book is very timely. A lot of topics covered in the book tackles the question of managing employees amidst a pandemic,” explained Pancho Dizon, co-author of ‘The 50’ and writer at Ambidextr. “Some of those featured talk about keeping up employee engagement as employees work from home or keeping staff motivated despite business difficulties. Thus, the book is a great guide not only for practicing HR as a whole but even for adjusting to new ways of working under the new normal.”
Indeed, “The 50” sheds much-needed light on a field that has arguably gone unappreciated in the world of business literature.
“We’re hoping that the book’s impact will continue to be felt even decades from now,” expressed Dizon. “After all, no matter what changes we may see emerging from the new normal, managing people will always be crucial. That’s exactly where HR steps in and why we knew ‘The 50’ had to be done.”
‘The 50’ is available for pre-order here.
Liked this post? Follow SwirlingOverCoffee on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
