Brendan Whyte, the late husband of Trixie Whyte, the Founder, Chairwoman and President of Q2 HR Solutions Inc., once said “people are our greatest assets” and this still holds true today. This August 2020, as Q2 anticipates its 20thanniversary in the industry whilst in the middle of an unforeseen pandemic, the company achieved the “We invest in People” Platinum Accreditation for the second time. Q2 HR Solutions Inc. is the first and only company in the Philippines to receive back-to-back accreditations, and it did so during a global pandemic!

At the heart of this company are its People and they are not just considered as great assets but also as the biggest investors.

“We invest in people accreditation” has been developed and refined over nearly 30 years to help companies, leaders and employees work together to create better and more productive workplaces.

In consultation and collaboration with the Investors in People team, the leadership team of Q2 thoroughly applies the best practices tailor fit for “The Quaeritans” – the workforce of Q2. In their years of experience, they have proven to themselves that this is an effective framework. By doing so, the company is assured of leading and supporting people plus continuously improving the business.

Since 2006, the company has not missed an accreditation from Investors in People. The first accreditation came in 2006, one of the first in the country, gaining the standard again until 2013. Q2 achieved the level of Gold accreditation in 2013. Continuously improving, one of the companies constant drive they decided to go to the accreditation, the next challenge. Receiving the Platinum accreditation in 2016 was the culmination of hard work and determination. Every 3 years a company who is Investors in People accredited needs to undergo the next review. In late 2019 the company invited the team back, Being awarded in July 2020 was such a thrill for the whole company. It is the silver lining in the dark clouds.

Q2 agreed that 2020 would be big. Q2 was expecting a huge celebration to commemorate 20 years in business with the “we invest in our people” Platinum award but then, who knew that all our lives would be so shaken, not just the Philippines but world-wide. Who knew this Pandemic was coming? Who knew it would cause a crisis that has changed our lives forever? As a company they know what they can control and that is that as an Investors in People accredited company, their goal is the same -- leading and supporting people, and continuously improving their people and the business.

As a Platinum awardee, Q2 has numerous programs both for engagement and learning. There is the very intriguing Happiness Index Survey that is an employee pulse tool to keep track of the employee’s wellbeing, happiness, and satisfaction with the programs, management, and company. The House Points System that recognizes and rewards employees for going above and beyond their call of duty at work not just encourages the teams but also aims to increase camaraderie, healthy competition, motivation, drive, and creativity. This system is similar to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts house system. How it works is that the workforce is randomly distributed and divided into four teams (Aria, Aqua, Pyro, and Terra) and employees get opportunities to be nominated for house points through their own job accomplishments, employee engagement opportunities, the Annual House Olympics, or for being pro-active and joining different project groups. These are the many programs that Q2 has established and continue to develop. The company also has a Learning and Development Journey for employees where they can learn via the “Q2 Campus” that consists of the “Excite”, “Exceed”, and “Excel” levels of training. The Q2 Campus helps equip and support the employees for future positions they can be promoted to. With or without the pandemic, Q2’s best practice is to always go back to the global framework of the Investors in People to assess, check, and benchmark their people programs.

During this pandemic, only one thing changed about Q2’s employee engagement; Simply the how. Q2 managed to immediately pivot its strategies during the early days of the crisis, keeping employee engagement as a top priority. 

Recognizing that people will always be the heart of the company -- the biggest investors of Q2 -- it was and is the leadership team’s job to make sure that everyone is safe, physically at home, and safe from any mental health concerns.  With this in mind, the Company shifted the traditional people programs to be delivered remotely and online: more check-ins are being done, a weekly virtual town hall are conducted, employee engagement programs focus on mental health and ensuring the sense of belonging of each person. On the other hand, the Learning and Development programs cascaded are more relevant and impactful for the employees in the “new normal”, such as equipping managers to lead remote teams, and upskilling employees to perform remote work better, focusing on the outcome. 

There is no perfect time to receive such an accreditation. Now more than ever, they rely on their biggest investors, the people. Q2 HR Solutions is committed to continuously improving for the development of its employees, that in turn yields positive impact to our clients and network.  We are bigger than this crisis as long as we continue to put our people first.