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Albert Villagracia, VP HR, RELX | Reed Elsevier, hopes for a work environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and change through psychological safety and servant leadership, and prioritises the human element in HR.
To stay competitive and drive business success, it is essential for HR to prioritise fostering a culture of giving back, empowering employees to adapt to change, and creating a positive employee experience in order to attract top talent, boost morale, and ultimately achieve organisational goals.
At RELX | Reed Elsevier, the employee value proposition of 'Valuing what matters' is what motivated the team to strive for excellence, enabling it to clinch the following awards at the recent HR Excellence Awards 2024 in Philippines:
- Gold: Excellence in Employee Volunteerism
- Silver: Excellence in Agile Talent Mobility
- Bronze: Excellence in Employer Branding, Excellence in Hybrid Working
In this interview, we sit down with Albert Villagracia, Vice-President, Human Resources, RELX | Reed Elsevier, who talks about how the organisation's focus on learning, innovation, and work-life balance led to its success.
Q. What was the motivation that sparked your passion & business case for pursuing your outstanding people strategy?
At RELX | Reed Elsevier, our motivation stems from our employee value proposition of "Valuing what matters." We value what matters now to our Filipino workforce and their needs for the future. So, while we take care of their economic, physical and psychological wellbeing for the present, we also ensure that we prepare them to have future-ready careers. Our employees use the power of technology and information-based analytics to help professional and business customers across the globe succeed in a variety of industries.
The goal is to help our Filipino talent accelerate their success, cultivate them as leaders, work with them to elevate our positive impact to the community and shape a better tomorrow with them and for them.
Q. Looking back, can you share a challenge that you overcame in your journey of HR excellence? How did you triumph?
We operate in an industry that is rapidly changing while still anchored on trust. With the advent of AI and the shift to the hybrid work arrangement, the talent market’s entropy has pushed into hyperdrive. The challenge in this environment is not just evolving our business practices, but even more importantly, equipping our employees to adapt so that no one is left behind.
Through open communication, agile strategies, and a focus on employee growth and mobility, we put emphasis on a culture of continuous learning and innovation while promoting work-life balance and creating moments that matter with our teams.
Q. Beyond the recognition, what impact do you hope your feature in the HR Excellence Awards would have on the HR community and manpower landscape?
We hope our recognition at the HR Excellence Awards will inspire the HR community to continuously innovate and prioritize employee-centric practices. By sharing our best practices and learnings, we aim to contribute to the advancement of building future-ready careers and in fostering a more engaged, empowered and inclusive workforce across industries.
Q. Could you share some advice you would give to others aspiring to follow in your footsteps?
My advice would be to nurture a work environment of creativity and innovation through psychological safety and servant leadership, enabling people to embrace change without losing sight of the 'human element' in the work that we do in human resources. Continuously seek feedback, foster open communication, and cultivate a culture of trust and empowerment.
I believe that any the success of any endeavour lies in valuing what truly matters to our customers and our people.
Q. Let's talk inspiration! Who has been a driving force behind your success?
Our success is truly a collective effort, and I am deeply inspired by the dedication and resilience of our employees. Their unwavering commitment to our values and innovative spirit have been the driving force behind our achievements. I am also grateful for the support and guidance of our organization’s leadership team, who have championed our people-centric initiatives and embraced the principles of servant leadership.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
Lead image / Provided
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