Even during the pandemic, the passion and creativity of Filipinos shone through as Teleperformance Philippines, the leading global group in digitally integrated business services, gave their employees a chance to display their talents in a competition.
To showcase its diverse employees and to spread positivity during the crisis, Teleperformance organized the COVID-19 Fight Challenge, a global talent competition held virtually for its employees.
In the local competition, the more than 47,500 employees of Teleperformance Philippines were encouraged to use their talents to express their feelings about their COVID-19 experiences and about what the future holds for all. Employees were able to submit in any of the four categories, namely, Music, Writing, Art, and Dance. Based on their originality, talent, and presentation, the judges shortlisted three finalists per category and announced the local champions via a Facebook Watch Party hosted by TV and radio personality Gino Quillamor.
The winner for the music category was James San Juan from TP Ayala, who wrote an original song called “Rise”, which is about mental health and is dedicated to those feeling alone during the pandemic. For the writing category, Santos Baudin III from TP Ayala won for his original poem entitled “Agwat (Gap)” which is all about finding love and hope amid the social distancing and reminds everyone to stay connected even apart.
Meanwhile, Carlos Ramiro from TP Fairview came out on top for the art category for his piece called “Invisibilia Inimicus (Invisible Enemy)” which portrays the heroism, sacrifice, and hope of the front liners. Lastly, Jobert Cabag from TP Davao won for his inspirational dance accompanied by a scenic music video that he says is a reminder for everyone to always observe social distancing.
James San Juan from TP Ayala, the champion in the music category, shared his experience during the watch party. “Given our situation, in our 24 hours at home, having engagements like this lifts you up somehow and inspires you to inspire others,” shared James.
The local champions received Php 15,000 in cash and had the opportunity to represent Teleperformance Philippines in the global finals, which showcased the talents of Teleperformance employees from over 80 countries.
About 17,000 TP employees tuned in to the live streamed announcement on the Teleperformance Philippines Facebook page to support their friends and colleagues, while five lucky viewers of the watch party were also treated to their own a pizza party via an electronic raffle during the program.
Mike Lytle, Teleperformance Philippines Chief Operations Officer, shared a heartfelt message to all TP employees during the announcement. “At TP, we’ve always made a special effort to provide our people with a platform for their creative self-expression. Even with COVID-19, our ability to reflect on the times connects all of us even more. I applaud everyone for believing in themselves and supporting their colleagues. You are all heroes in my book.”
The culmination of the COVID-19 Fight Challenge was celebrated with the rest of the global Teleperformance community last July 30, 2020, at the virtual TP Quarantine Awards with around 10,000 registered viewers from across the globe. TP Philippines’ Baudin bagged third place for the writing category and won a pair of Beats Headphones.
The TP Quarantine Awards show was streamed live in Telepeformance’s 21 business sites for those employees who were onsite at the time of airing. The Watch Parties, coordinated by the HR team and the Site Fun Committees, followed physical distancing rules while allowing employees to cheer for their colleagues.
Earlier in 2020, Teleperformance Philippines received its third Great Place to Work® certification for the third year in a row, which was based on an anonymous survey of over 34,000 Teleperformance Philippines employees nationwide. The survey assessed employee trust based on employee ratings of the company’s credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.