Lifestyle

Eastern Communications is pleased to declare that it has received its 2024 Great Place To Work® CertificationTM, a distinguished honor determined by employee input. Remarkably, 92% of Eastern’s workers said they felt welcomed when they first started working there.

The certification is based on real-time employee feedback about the company culture and the leadership practices that have been shown to produce market-leading revenue, employee retention, and greater innovation, according to Great Place To Work®, the world’s foremost authority on workplace culture. By receiving this honor, Eastern Communications is now recognized as one of the best places to work in the Philippines.

“Great Place To Work Certification™ is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience,” says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, the Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasizes that Certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Eastern Communications stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees.”

“At Eastern, we make sure we build a transformational community, one that cultivates our employees’ growth while celebrating each employee’s unique talents and skills. Our culture thrives on the strong connections between our team members, and earning the Great Place To Work Certification™ affirms all our combined efforts. This recognition belongs to our incredible Ka-Eastern family—whose dedication, passion, and relentless hard work truly make us a great place to work,” said AC Cometa, Eastern Communications’ Human Resources Head.

Ka-Eastern: Employees at the Heart of Eastern Communications

Eastern Communications, a pioneering Philippine telecommunications company, bridges high-tech with high-touch, emphasizing human connections. This 145-year-old telco champions a people-centric approach, deeply valuing its employees, known as “Ka-Eastern.”

The company’s Heart of Service value encourages employees to go beyond their tasks, fostering meaningful interactions with customers and stakeholders.

Eastern’s dedicated Learning & Engagement team alongside an internal core committee organizes various activities that focus on generating camaraderie, supporting a healthy lifestyle, and increasing employee satisfaction. These activities, such as fun runs, online games, community engagements, and celebrations, are done both virtually and in person. Through its Longevity Awards, the company also recognizes employees who have dedicated many years of service to Eastern.

Eastern Communications invests in the growth of its people through regular skills training sessions. By providing valuable learning tools and opportunities to enhance their skill sets, the company boosts productivity, empowers its team, and ensures everyone feels valued and appreciated.

Empowering its people also earned Eastern Communications recognition at the 2024 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards, where the company won two Bronze Stevies for thought leadership and infrastructure initiatives.

Join Eastern’s Growing Team!

Job searchers are 4.5 times more likely to discover a terrific boss at a recognized workplace, according terrific Place To Work study. These companies also pay their workers fairly and have higher employee satisfaction and advancement rates.

Are you hoping to progress in your career with a company that values its employees? Go to Eastern Communications Careers Careers to view our careers page.

In its 14th Institutional Investor Corporate Awards, the Hong Kong-based journal Alpha Southeast Asia named SM Investments Corporation the Philippines’ top company with the Strongest Adherence to Corporate Governance.

SM has already won the aforementioned category nine times, with 586 investors and analysts from Southeast Asia, the US, and Europe casting their votes.

“At SM, we uphold the highest standards of corporate governance in keeping with our commitment to attain shared value for our stakeholders – towards responsible and sustainable development for the communities we serve,” said SM Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio.

SM Investments secured its 13th victory in the Most Organized Investor Relations category and placed among the top five performing businesses in the Best Strategic CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) category.

Fund managers with investments in Southeast Asia, big institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, hedge fund funds, private banks, equity and fixed income brokers, as well as buy- and sell-side analysts, were among the participants in the Alpha Southeast Asia survey. This year, the top 38 publicly traded businesses in Southeast Asia were identified based on their exceptional performance in the areas of corporate governance, investor relations, disclosure, transparency, financial management, integrated reporting, corporate social responsibility, and/or dividend policy.

For more information, please visit www.sminvestments.com

For inquiries, please contact: [email protected] 

The country’s leading consumer finance company on empowering and enabling Filipinos to live more rewarding lives on its 11^th year of business in the Philippines

Home Credit Philippines (HCPH) serves a diverse variety of Filipinos, accounting for 78% of its sales from consumers who live outside of the National Capital Region. The company has over 10 million clients. Aware of the diversity of its clientele, Home Credit has created offerings that speak to different markets and strive to improve people’s lives. I, for one, can say that Home Credit is such a reliable ally for all our needs. I have been in circumstances where home credit has given me so much help and comfort. Throughout the years, they have proven their worth and are still improving it for the convenience of every Filipino. I have also been using Home Credit not just for my lifestyle products, such as my gadgets, but also for my online shopping and transactions these days.

Sheila Paul, Chief Marketing Officer of HCPH, stated at a recent event that the company runs three year-round major campaigns where customers can purchase products at great deals, including 0% interest installment rates. The campaigns are called the Summer Campaign, Back-to-School Campaign, and Holiday Campaign. HCPH does this to provide financial and credit opportunities to Filipinos during peak shopping seasons.

“We create campaigns with our diverse customer base in mind. Our initiatives to make financial solutions more accessible through our campaigns enable them to live the life they desire. We are grateful that our efforts are well-received by our customers, and we consider their recognition of our campaigns as a testament to our commitment to providing only the best initiatives that can truly benefit Filipinos,” Paul added.

Trusted partner for lifestyle products

Over the years, the increasing trust of Filipinos also meant an increase in demand to finance more and more commodities and high-ticket items for its customers. What was initially just four commodities—smartphones, televisions and computers and laptops—grew and diversified to more than 80 types of commodities now, the widest selection for any consumer finance company in the country. Some additional commodities include tablets, e-bikes, motorcycle necessities, musical instruments, furniture, farming equipment and medical needs, among others.

This growth in the types of commodities financed over the years were driven by strong partnerships with the most trusted brands and retail stores in the country, some of which were present as collaborators during the event to celebrate HCPH’s milestones and welcome its new decade: Abenson, Acer, Cellboy, Digimap, Imperial Appliance Plaza, Octagon, Power Mac  Center, Samsung, and Silicon Valley.

Top-selling commodities over the years

In the past years, the commodity with the most units sold by HCPH is mobile phones, with over 12 million units sold. In 2023 alone, the company facilitated installment financing of 12.5 million units of mobile phones worth P30 billion, with iPhone being the top brand sold, accounting for P6B worth in overall sales.

Apart from mobile phones, HCPH has also financed three other top commodities over the years: televisions with 1.2 million units sold, computers and laptops with 900k units sold, and aircons with 500k units sold.

These remarkable numbers are driven by the company’s 0% interest deals across its product range. For instance, Home Credit’s introduction of its Summer Campaign’s 0% interest promo on cooling appliances and other home essentials helped Filipinos survive the unforgiving heat through the 1000+ per day air-conditioners that the company has sold since the middle of March.

New way for Filipinos to shop

Filipino customers’ shopping behavior have dramatically changed over the years with online shopping becoming a preferred way to get information and buy products. According to a study conducted by Agile Data Solutions Inc., Filipinos’ consumer behavior prefers in-store shopping over online one, with 77 percent of Filipinos still prefer in-store shopping for unknown products.  The recent pandemic, however, has also opened them to the world of online shopping deals, where customers utilize online shopping platforms to do price research and get deals, and do physical shopping for sensory appeal and visceral experience.

As Filipinos increasingly adopt the digital lifestyle, Home Credit also underwent a digital transformation journey to enhance its customer service and provide easy access to its products, deals, and locations of partners shops via mobile phones. HCPH introduced Shoppingmall.ph, an online platform where customers can discover over 50,000 deals and select them from over 500 merchants, in three easy steps.

Shoppingmall.ph gives customers the opportunity to look for the commodity they need, search for the best deals, and choose their preferred store from HCPH’s more than 50,000 partners shops nationwide.

The goal of Home Credit, which is to empower more Filipinos through more financial options, more shop locations, more cutting-edge technologies, and more customer-focused services, is still very much in line as the company approaches the next decade. It will stay every Filipino’s financial ally, para sa life, and keep making credit chances more accessible.

Go www.homecredit.ph, the official website of Home Credit Philippines, to learn more about the most recent developments. Its official Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts are also open for visiting. Consumers can also peruse the most recent 0% interest offers by visiting Shoppingmall.ph. They can also download the My Home Credit App from Google Play to start the application process for an installment.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have granted Home Credit Philippines the necessary licenses and supervision.