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Winning Secrets: How prioritising people and trust made EastWest Ageas Insurance's L&D strategy a success

Winning Secrets: How prioritising people and trust made EastWest Ageas Insurance's L&D strategy a success

"We know that through an inclusive and personalised learning and development programme, we can build a workforce that is more engaged and productive, and holistically, also happier members of their families, peers, and communities", Lois O. Dalida, Chief People and Culture Officer, EastWest Ageas Insurance, shares.

Learning & development (L&D) programmes that are specially curated for its people and their needs, is essential for fostering a more engaged, productive, and inclusive workforce. By recognising employees as individuals with unique interests, learning needs, and development goals, organisations can tailor L&D initiatives that resonate on a personal level, driving higher job satisfaction and performance and creates a positive ripple effect in employees' personal lives and communities. 

For EastWest Ageas Insurance, leaning on its people has allowed the organisation to create personalised and thoughtful L&D programmes that enables them to be equipped with the right skills, and therefore, allowed them to clinch the Bronze medal for Excellence in Learning and Development at the HR Excellence Awards 2024, Philippines.

In lieu of the win, HRO catches up with Lois O. Dalida, Chief People and Culture Officer (pictured above) at EastWest Ageas Insurance to learn about how she and her team place focus on the power of trust and a supportive culture in driving excellence.

Q. What was the motivation that sparked your passion & business case for pursuing your outstanding people strategy?

Our employees are always at the heart of our decision-making. We believe they are our best ambassadors and the enablers of our business. Our inspiration in pursuing a premier internal development programme is ensuring we include everyone in the journey. We designed a programme that will have bespoke experiences and topics depending on where you are in the organisation. 

When they joined EastWest Ageas Insurance, they committed to helping us deliver our ambitions for our customers, and in that regard, we also made a commitment to equip them with the right skills and mindset to do so. 

Q. Looking back, can you share a challenge that you overcame in your journey of HR excellence? How did you triumph? 

As a young organisation, there were doubts on whether we will be able to compete in this arena. We understood our internal challenges and for a short moment, we reflected on our capabilities. But one of the roles I play in our company is to be the number one fan and believer of our products and people. 

This is especially true when it comes to my team. Knowing in my heart how our learning and development participants feel about our programmes, looking at their assessment ratings, and evaluating the impact of their output to our business, that doubt did not win us over. 

Trust is powerful.

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 that our award propels the inclusivity agenda in the workforce to expand beyond gender or age. We strongly advocate seeing employees as individuals with different interests, learning needs, and development appetite. We know that through an inclusive and personalised learning and development programme, we can build a workforce that is more engaged and productive, and holistically, also happier members of their families, peers, and communities.

Q. Could you share some advice you would give to others aspiring to follow in your footsteps? 

Being in the field of human resources, we need to have a purpose in mind for the people. It is but human to feel excitement and joy to win awards, but let’s focus on why we do what we do. Keep that purpose, let it serve as your north star, and be sincere in wanting to elevate the lives and experience of employees and the recognitions will follow. 

Q. Let's talk inspiration! Who has been a driving force behind your success? 

My team in EastWest Ageas Insurance has always been an inspiration. I know that my words and actions greatly influence how they interact with the rest of our organisation. I am inspired to always be brave and optimistic, and to always be an example of authentic stewardship of our values. 


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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