Philips People Services: Managing resources with a human touch

Collaboration, communication and change

E: What I enjoy most is the interaction with different company stakeholders, such as managers, employees and HR business partners. I get to meet many people in the course of my job. 

I also collaborate with a great team; we laugh together, grow together personally and professionally, help each other to deliver quality results, and there is energetic and awesome rapport between members!

To enable me to carry out my duties well, I am given the necessary empowerment in my job, and encouraged to ask questions when in doubt.
 

H: For me, continuously improving on the work culture at Philips is what brings me great satisfaction. When processes are made more efficient, the time saved can be used to work on improving other areas. 

It helps that my manager is always supportive and shares advice on my development plans. She's also open to new ideas and will give them a shot if feasible. In my team, no man is an island. My teammates are always positive and when faced with problems, we sit down together and discuss how to resolve them.

YL: I like the challenge that my job brings each day, and the knowledge I gain from dealing with these challenges. Our bosses also empowers us to make decisions, allowing us to learn, perform, and develop our capabilities and leadership skills.

Communication is a big part of the culture at Philips, such that any feedback is taken into consideration, and there are many channels to provide bottom-up communication to the management team, from quarterly surveys to PPM and weekly team meetings. This makes us feel important as they value our needs, perceptions and opinions.

My team is a diverse group of people who bond with a common objective – to provide excellent HR service for our internal customers. I feel very proud of my team members as they take ownership in their work and are supportive of each other during challenging times. We learn from our mistakes, and grow together as a team.

RX:  Like Yong Liang, I enjoy taking on challenges that come my way, and I take satisfaction in resolving them. For example, overseeing my team to resolve some unforeseen problems without affecting the payroll cycle.

At Philips, we are allowed to express ourselves freely, and if our proposed solutions and changes can enhance operations, the bosses will support us in implementing them.

All in a Work Day: Improving the lives of customers

E: The past year has been filled with personal development and learning opportunities. Philips transitioned to using Workday as a HR platform and Workday has made HR processes such as leave application, transfers and updating of personal information easier for managers and employees alike. As Workday is used globally within Philips, most of the HR information is managed using one system so employees can enjoy the convenience of the same system when they move between countries.

H: I was fortunate to be seconded to Eindhoven for a month to work on a project related to Workday, it has given me great insights and opportunities to learn more from my peers. It was also especially memorable for me, because Eindhoven is the birthplace of Philips and it was amazing for me to witness how the city has developed together with the growth of Philips.

Upon my return I was also involved in conducting training sessions to walk users through an overview of the modules and things to look out for while using Workday.

YL: I think it’s great that as a company, Philips is heavily invested in technology to help automate processes and as a HR function, we get to benefit and learn from this. The implementation of new Workday functions meant a more dynamic user interface and more information that could be accessed at the convenience of employees. And managers now have access to a wider range of data and reports, allowing them to spend less time on creating manual reports and more time on performance analysis.

What the future holds

E: I believe that with my experience here at Philips, I will be able to embark on greater challenges and be a role model for younger peers. And I believe that I have the right opportunities here at Philips.

H: I definitely agree with Evlynn on this. I am excited to be able to advance my career in Philips! I have witnessed peers who have demonstrated their capability and they have been recognised for their efforts. 

RX: I hope to be able to further develop myself, both within my current role and also expand my horizons. I am especially proud of the fact that I have built up a strong team and I am constantly inspired during our teambuilding activities, which help to drive greater teamwork for greater success!

YL: I was promoted recently and I am excited to take up my new responsibilities in this role! I believe there will always be opportunities for me to develop professionally, as long as I have the right mind-set and I can see myself moving across different HR departments to further expand my knowledge.