Shopping Center Management Corporation -SM Supermalls - Innovation in HR Management, Planning & Practice

Name of Organization / Company: Shopping Center Management Corporation (SM Supermalls)
Category: Award for Innovation in Human Resources Management, Planning & Practice > All Other Industries

Entry Title: Leading Change in the 'New Reality'

2020 was a year like no other and 2021 is the year where we change the game. In this ‘age of urgency’ where everything is moving at hyper speed, new business models emerged due to the impact of the pandemic, the rise of new technologies, and the changing customer needs. These resulted in creating new employee roles, evolving the organization, and redesigning our on-ground and online customer experience.

Keeping the well-being of our employees as our priority, we pivoted our HR programs, anchoring on three pillars: (1) understanding our purpose, (2) honing our passion, and (3) fueling our drive for exceptional performance.

Starting with our purpose, communication was key in helping our employees understand their roles in our org and business transformation. We amplified our communication programs by leveraging technology and utilizing multimedia formats. These include:

1. HRTV – an interactive livestream broadcasted across 75 malls nationwide. HRTV widens our reach and enables our leaders and employees to connect on a deeper level, discussing pressing matters despite the physical distance.
2. Business & Operations Synergy Caravan – With the consolidation of the SM Supermalls Management Companies, we conducted a series of dialogues with our employees across all business units. The aim was to orient them on the synergized business strategies and for employees to share the best practices in their malls.
3. Leaders Town Hall - Started in July 2020, this program was amplified during this year’s internal cascades of our business priorities. This platform allows us to openly discuss organization changes with concerned people and conduct 1-on-1 discussions with employees to ensure that their voices are heard.
4. People Matters Digital Newsletter - The newsletter provides employees with relevant industry topics to help them thrive in their careers. It covers company highlights and noteworthy local and global people trends.

Despite the evolving business landscape, we continue to seek new ways to fuel our employees’ passion for learning. Through our digital transformation, we created avenues where we can foster innovation and collaboration among our people. These include:

1. Idea Bank – a platform that enables employees to pitch innovative business ideas using the SM LIFE mobile app. To date, 4 new ideas have been presented for implementation.
2. IDEATE Bootcamp – a series of online learning courses where SM leaders are given the opportunity to redesign the customer experience. The program yielded 3 innovation projects for mall operations, leasing, and marketing.

With the pandemic causing fatigue and anxiety, we had to ensure that our employees continue to deliver exceptional performance. To help them stay productive, online programs on career development and mental well-being were introduced. These include:

1. Online Mental Health Counseling - In partnership with Mind You, this online platform gives employees access to unlimited, confidential, and professional counseling sessions with licensed psychologists. It helps our employees navigate big decisions and achieve long-term happiness. To date, more than 500 accounts have been activated.
2. SM Masterclass - provides our leaders a unique platform where they can share their knowledge and skills, helping their colleagues become better leaders and mentors. Topics covered included Meaningful Conversations, Retail Trends and Innovations, Global Brands, and Digital Transformation.
3. Mentoring Agreement Program – an avenue that allows leaders to have meaningful conversations with their teams, discussing performance, targets, and action plans to achieve their goals together.

Through our innovative programs, our people have immensely contributed to restoring customer confidence and rebuilding the business. By the end of 2020, we were able to increase our mall foot traffic by 44%, maintain our COVID-19 employee cases less than 1%, and retain 98% of our high potential talents.

At any given time in this transformed landscape, SM Supermalls will adapt and evolve, creating the best experiences for our people and our customers.

Files & Links:
2021 APAC Stevies SM Supermalls.pdf
People Matters Newsletter.pdf
Innovation and Driving Change Summit.mp4
Mentoring Agreement Program.mp4
SM Masterclass Gina Katigbak.mp4