For Human Nature, gone are the days when new team members are welcomed to the company with just a mere PowerPoint presentation and onboarding meetings. Instead of the usual orientation, we embraced a unique approach and got our newbies to #ShareTheLove on their first day at the company!

We welcomed our new hires in the most inspiring and heartening way that we know: by bringing them to Gawad Kalinga Munting Pamayanan Village in Project 4, Quezon City last August 16, 2023, for a meaningful donation drive.

A New Kind of Welcome

It’s not everyday that you participate in a volunteer activity on your first day of work! Not only does this serve as an impactful experience for them, but it is also a refreshing introduction to the company values and culture.

We started the immersion with another company advocacy which is our Breakfast for Neighbors: a morning activity held by different departments where we give out free hot coffee, warm pandesal, and eggs to people living in nearby communities. This activity has been feeding the tummies and hearts of the givers and receivers alike since 2012, keeping the Filipino value of “Walang Iwanan” alive.

A little after Breakfast for Neighbors, we took a short drive to the village, picking up the donations to be repacked along the way to continue our advocacy-filled morning. Greeted by warm smiles, we stepped into the community filled with colorful houses, playful little kids, and adults with the most hopeful looks on their faces.

The Gawad Kalinga Munting Pamayanan Village isn’t just home to a remarkable and unique group of individuals, but also a place for nurturing one of Human Nature’s core advocacies and values: Pro-Poor and love for neighbor.

Once the boxes containing instant noodles, various canned goods, and fresh raw eggs were unloaded, we started repacking them in equal distribution. We were able to repack a total of 100 donations–the exact number of families living in the village. No family left behind indeed!

The residents were called according to their building letter order and were given the repacked goods along with a whole sack of rice.

Never mind the hot and humid weather: our new hires enthusiastically joined forces to make sure each family received their food supply.

We came to the village with a mission to repack goods and #ShareTheLove to those who are in need, and this task was met through a collective effort and wholehearted dedication.

More Than Just Giving: Redefining “First Day” for New Hires

For Human Nature’s Human Resources Officer for Employee Advocacy and Engagement Rick Laping, the main goal of this employee engagement is to actualize the company’s advocacies for a new hire as early as their first day.

“By showing them what we do as a company in realizing or actualizing our core values, we keep them more engaged,” he said. Actions truly speak louder than words, and this is just one way to prove it.

While donating in this particular GK Village is done monthly by Human Nature, this doesn’t erase the fact that it left an impact on both the new hires and the residents. Not only are the residents thankful for the employees’ presence, but this also helps put the hearts of the newbies in the company’s place–allowing them to witness the company’s values firsthand and perhaps, giving them a new reason to stay in Human Nature for a long, long time.

A Lasting Experience for The Newbies… and Me!

This immersive experience was much more than just an introduction for the new hires to their new workplace.

As I worked side by side with them, I felt a shift in the atmosphere–it was almost as if I was a new hire myself and am only just getting to know how the core values of Human Nature works.

I entered Human Nature in 2021, a little over a year since the pandemic started. Strict laws such as wearing face masks, social distancing, and limited people in enclosed spaces were in place back then, so I never had the opportunity to participate in a volunteer activity when I was new. But when the rules were lifted and we started living in the new normal, I was finally able to take part in quarterly volunteer activities with my team that ranged from tree planting, feeding programs, and even as interesting as repainting community basketball courts!

I wish there were better terms for “thankful” and “eye-opening” to describe my experiences in this company, but I guess those will do for now. My entire stay in Human Nature has opened my eyes a bit wider and made me believe that we’re all capable of contributing to a better world in our own way.

Our new hires started their journey with a day of sharing, compassion, and giving, and I cannot be any happier for them. I do hope that as long as they’re in this company, they realize that they’ll be leaving an impact on the world at large and that success isn’t just about profit–it is also about being able to make a positive change in others’ lives.

Sending the warmest of welcomes to Human Nature’s newbies!