First Balfour has been awarded the prestigious Platinum accreditation by Investors in People (IIP), the highest accolade that can be achieved against the IIP standard and is currently held by only 2% of IIP-accredited organizations. This achievement makes First Balfour the first and only IIP Platinum accredited engineering and construction company in the Philippines.
Building on the success of its IIP Gold journey in 2020, the company decided to aim for a higher accreditation reflecting its continued commitment to becoming one of the best employers to work for in the country. First Balfour Head of HR Organizational Development Ma. Victoria Aquino shares, “The decision to go for the highest accreditation level was primarily driven by First Balfour’s massive growth strategy this 2024 and beyond. To become a truly high-performing organization, we had to adopt the right framework and best-in-class people practices through IIP.”
Senior executives, management committee members, and project managers committed to supporting the new accreditation target by doing the Push for Platinum pose during the 1st Leaders Conference for 2024 last Feb. 16
The internal campaign, dubbed “Push for Platinum”, was launched in August 2023 and involved a series of activities including mock surveys and interviews, roadshows and cascades, and the distribution of materials such as fact sheets and campaign-branded tokens. Campaign lead Ronna B. Anasarias shares, “I got to witness First Balfour’s journey against the earlier IIP standards over the past decade but this is, by far, the most satisfying win. From having around 500 employees years ago, we now had to engage close to a thousand CBEs (core business employees)! We were also allowed to be more creative and innovative in our campaign activities this time, ensuring everyone is informed and involved in a fun but relevant way.”
Project management teams from Polaris (top left) and MAGBU (top right) join the activities during their respective projects’ IIP roadshows; Some cascades were also done online (bottom left) while contest winners and active campaign participants are given Push for Platinum-branded items (bottom right)
Within each of the four standards of accreditation, IIP has four levels of “maturity”—developed, established, advanced, and high-performing. Organizations seeking accreditation are assessed according to 9 indicators, scored by maturity level. First Balfour earned its Platinum standard having achieved “high-performing” level in 7 out of 9 indicators. Benchmarked against other organizations that have completed the survey globally, First Balfour finished with a score of 727 out of a possible 900 points. This is close to the average industry benchmark for construction of 730, placing First Balfour 3rd out of 78 other companies of the same size in the construction sector. This survey result highlight is one of the items discussed in the 46-page assessment report sent by IIP.
Head of Human Resources Carlos Pedro C. Salonga proudly shares, “Achieving this award is the culmination of the collective efforts of our leaders and employees in building and preserving a high performance, high engagement culture. It is a testament to the shared aspirations of the entire organization in creating a work environment whose main differentiating capability is its people practices, setting it apart from its competitors. And as we celebrate our 55th anniversary this year, we continue to look forward to more exciting innovations from our employees and co-creators that enable our company to fulfill its mission and commitment to a sustainable future.”
Developed in Europe during the 1990s, the IIP standard defines what it takes to lead, support and manage people for sustained success. Awarded with the standard accreditation in 2010, IIP Bronze in 2013, IIP Silver in 2017, and IIP Gold in 2020, First Balfour now joins a small group of IIP Platinum-accredited companies in the Philippines including Q2 HR Solutions, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, NLEX Corporation, South Cotabato Integrated Port Services, Bounty Agro Ventures, and TaskUs Philippines. With this recent milestone, the company solidifies its commitment to the development of its people–the driving force behind its success.
