(This exclusive interview was conducted in 2008 for the cover story of the People Manager magazine July 2008 issue. Some information were updated.)
Majority of Filipino households
are characterized as extended family which consists of parents, children, and
other close relatives, often living in close proximity. For Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) President
and CEO Maria Alexandra “Sandy” Prieto - Romualdez, her family includes all the
members of the management and staff of the no. 1 newspaper in the country today.
“We kinda built already a sense
of mutual trust and respect through the years”, Sandy explains how the PDI family maintains
the harmonious relationship among their employees with the kind of pressure and
demand in the broadsheet industry.
At home, Sandy
loves to read inspiring stories like Trophy Newbery’s Charlotte’s Web to his three sons. The same way she imparts lessons from
American author, speaker and leadership expert John C. Maxwell to her people in
PDI. Call it a mother’s love to her
children.
The
Road to the Top
Sandy describes her entry to PDI as “merely
accidental.” Tragedy struck their family
in 1994 when her brother Louie, the president of the company then, met his
untimely death due to a motorcycle accident.
Her mom Marixi Rufino-Prieto who was the PDI’s Chairman of the Board
that time asked her if she’s interested to join the company to represent their
family.
Sandy is a Sociology graduate of College of Notre
Dame with a Masteral degree in Development Management at the Asian Institute of
Management (AIM) but had little background in managing a newspaper.
But she considered the fact that
her mom was not a media practitioner when she joined the Inquirer. “My mom got into publishing by chance”, Sandy narrates.
Marixi was into the real estate
business until a friend asked her to invest with PDI. The Prietos are not newbies in the broadsheet
venture. Sandy’s grandfather Benito “Bibelo” Prieto is
the former president of the Manila Times and brother-in-law of then publisher,
Chino Roces.
Her other three siblings were
already practicing their professions in other fields --- interior design, medicine
and banking.
It was not an easy decision but Sandy accepted the offer in
the end with the belief that she can combine her management skills and passion
fro social progress. When she started
with Inquirer, her first position was as the Executive Assistant to the
President.
Other family members eventually
got involved with PDI. Sandy’s sister Tessa Prieto-Valdez and cousins
Ria Francisco-Prieto are now lifestyle columnist and Beauty editor,
respectively. Her brother Paolo is the
President of PDI’s website (www.inquirer.net)
while cousin JV Prieto works as the Editor-in-Chief.
Sandy became the Executive Vice President first
before became the PDI President in 1998 at the age of 31. It was the same year Joseph Ejercito Estrada
became the country’s Chief Executive.
Through
Thick and Thin
The year was 1999. An advertising boycott was felt by the
company when the Inquirer started publishing critical stories about the
administration. Backed by the PDI Board
being chaired by her mom, Sandy
personally rallied all employees to keep their “Balanced News, Fearless Views” mantra despite a drastic drop on
their ad revenues. And at the end of the
war, Sandy and her battalion won the fight.
PDI’s circulation rose by 15%.
“What really gets me going is
this… when I can see that because of a story that we could come out, something
positive happened”, Sandy put in plain words what drives her to continue
despite of all the difficulties she have faced in her profession.
Sandy is also grateful for the fact that she has
very competent people to support her.
She describes her job as the one who “handles the business side.” She wants to keep the editorial as
independent as possible but with the assurance that what would be written are
fair and accurate.
“Operationally, I don’t sit with
the editors. I don’t choose the story
that goes on the front page. But I am
part of the editorial board”, she added
Sandy conducts an editorial assessment meeting
once a week where she could make her views on the items that were published the
previous week. She also makes sure to
regularly meet with the supervisors of different departments to know their
needs and get some feedback or ideas.
“Ideas are not the domain only of
the executives and management”, she said.
She believes that having good
communication with employees and sound people management contributed to the
remarkable retention rate of their workforce.
40% of the 440 PDI employees today have worked with the company since
its establishment in 1985 when it started publishing with less than P1-M in
seed money and a maiden issue that sold only 30,000 copies.
People
Management
The Inquirer takes pride on being
one of the few companies with a profit sharing scheme as part of the benefits
of their employees. This is just one of
the privileges that the management generously offers to their deserving staff
as part of the landmark collective bargaining agreement that the PDI union and
management signed in 2007. It was the seventh
CBA package in the company’s history. It
was also considered a historic one because for the first time in the Inquirer
history, the CBA negotiations were concluded after just five meetings.
Sandy said that it is a compelling proof of the company
unity. “People have stayed because of
the sense of family (in PDI)”, she added.
“Some even found their spouses here.”
PDI also offers a lot of “extra”
things to their hard-working manpower.
Sandy worked hand-in-hand with the HR department headed their manager
Reggie Reyes in designing their Employee
Services Development
Center. Today, they have different clubs for those
who finds interest in badminton, running, arts and other recreational
activities.
They even have a daycare center
where the children of their employees can spend time while the parents are
working. This idea, Sandy confessed, was conceptualized seven
years ago when she saw a female employee breastfeeding her baby inside the
comfort room. It was also timely because
she just gave birth to her first child that year. She admitted that such idea should have been
thought a long time ago.
The Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) encouraged companies and corporations to put up day care or
child care centers in their workplaces to form part of non-wage benefits for
workers and their families.
DOLE said that putting up
childcare facilities benefits employers, especially in those with more women
workers, in terms of sustained efficiency and productivity of workers who would
no longer be saddled by family and economic pressures in looking after the
welfare and safety of their young children while they are at work.
DOLE commends companies like PDI
and other firms who have shown their social responsibilities to their employees
with programs like this.
PDI extends their social
responsibilities to the community with advocacies like the Inquirer Newsboy
Foundation that helps poor but deserving students get a good education. Their Corporate Relations Office partners
with different NGOs like The Children’s Hour, Hands On Manila. WWF, Habitat for
Humanity and others. Sandy believes that PDI is more than just a
newspaper. It has a mission. And in Sandy’s words, “The
mission is the soul of the company.”
She is proud to say that this
passion is being shared by the whole PDI family. She considers sharing a common passion play a
key role in the working relationship in their company. Almost 50% of their employees are active
volunteers of different foundations. A good communication line has been
established in their group by conducting regular sessions. And if there is a decision to make, she wants
it to be consensus ---but with a deadline.
How
we do it
More than 90% of the businesses
in the Philippines
are family-owned. PDI is one of the
known family businesses that have survived the test of time and still
growing. Sandy shares some helpful tips to other
companies, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises, how the Inquirer
reached the top and maintains their position up to now.
First, Sandy advices all family ventures to have a
clear company vision and mission that should be imparted and practiced by heart
by both the owners and workers. This
would create the direction that the company will take to achieve success.
Each family member should also
know their responsibilities, abilities and limitations. This will result to a harmonious relationship
not only in the family but also in the workplace.
She also added that things should
not be automatic in a family business. As
an example, she said that being a Prieto should not be a guarantee for a
position in PDI. A Prieto should prove
first that he/ she is competent and qualified to hold a position in the
company.
Communication is also key factor
in the success of the business. The
family should work doubly hard in this aspect.
One should know when and how to deliver topics especially if it relates
to a family issue in order not to influence the outcome of a business decision.
Embrace complains the way you
accept suggestions. “Complains mean it’s
time to improve your business, if not your competition will grab your patron. Take time to listen”, she explained.
Stay open to new ideas. Sandy
still gets some advice from her husband Philip Romualdez, President of Benguet
Corporation, the oldest mining company in the country. Their workplace may be different but their
principles in business and people management may also bring good results if
adopted in their respective fields.
And the simplest but best advice
from Sandy,
“Love your company”
When asked how she sees the Inquirer
in the years to come. Sandy gave a big smile, paused a little and
answered, “PDI will stay with the Prieto family. It connects very much with our values as a
family.”
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