This year the biggest tobacco company Philip Morris, the owner of the iconic brand – Marlboro, currently actively promoting the idea of smoke-free future, received the award of the Top Employer in Armenia. Moreover, the company has managed to hold the position of the Top Employer on a global level for three consecutive years. So what is the procedure of the Top Employer certification? How does Philip Morris work with the staff, develop their talents and help their career to grow? What are the main principles of corporate culture and what motivates the young specialists and experienced experts to join the corporate family of Philip Morris? The General Manager of Philip Morris Armenia Natalia Mayorova shared all the secrets with our correspondent.
Tell us a little about the certification of Philip Morris as the Top Employer in Armenia.
Philip Morris is currently a pioneer of changes in the tobacco industry. It is a transforming organization striving for the best, alongside many other companies in various industries. This is the first time Philip Morris has received the recognition as the Top Employer in Armenia. This is an amazing achievement; it is very difficult to get here. You see, the Certification focuses on a deep insight of advanced practices in the sphere of talent management, from personnel recruitment, its training and development, career and succession management, to compensatory mechanisms and benefits, and, undoubtedly, the culture inside the organization, based on the principles of diversity and involvement. The award of the Top Employer is an important proof that we apply the best practices of working with people, at the same time being a part of a global community of forward-looking organizations that always put people first to reach success in business.
Moreover, we were recognized as the Top Employer 2019 in Europe and a Global Top Employer: 50 countries in PMI family received the same award thanks to our talented and diverse teams in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.
This well-deserved global recognition became possible thanks to our simple motto: “Companies don’t change industries. People do”.
What are the principles of the corporate culture in Philip Morris?
I’d like to start with my favorite topic — inclusiveness (in other words, involvement) and diversity.
The topics of involvement and diversity are popular nowadays. These concepts are much more complex than just being a part of a company’s corporate culture or strategic directions. Nowadays involvement and diversity are a social imperative and the companies just follow this trend. And what is the reason?
The reason is the world itself has become more diverse and it is impossible not to respond to it. On one hand, diversity is fostered by globalization and integration of social, cultural and economic systems. On the other hand, we often lose contact with ourselves in a world where it is possible to reach a person easily on another continent via mobile applications. This indeed affects the connection with the people around us.
In a diverse world overfilled with information, we become less sensitive to each other; we shut ourselves, trying to keep our uniqueness. At the same time, we all want simple but very important things — opportunities to be accepted the way we are, perceived not as a vice, but as a virtue. However, this is impossible without openness, participation and involvement.
What are the basic principles of the idea of inclusiveness in Philip Morris?
Philip Morris is not the first company in the world to start talking about inclusiveness. Not the first company relying on the principle of diversity and encouraging the involvement in the working environment. People develop a strategy of any company. The willingness of those people to express tolerance, abilities to understand, accept and empathize undoubtedly predetermine the vector of development and corporate culture of any company. We spend the major part of our day at the workplace, and it’s impossible to ignore the atmosphere. Regardless of the type of the work, it’s important for all of us to have a friendly atmosphere, feel the employer’s respect and appreciation towards our personality, and have colleagues who will sometimes approach our little weaknesses philosophically.
In fact, inclusiveness is about everyone, the way each of us understands and accepts the right of the others to be different.
Our understanding of inclusiveness is based on the following main principles:
• Considering the diversity of opinions and people
• Eliminating borders and hierarchies
• Ability to ask questions and listen
• Creating an atmosphere where words go along with actions
• Respecting alternative opinions.
The freedom to create, to dream, look further and challenge yourself occur when there is no fear of being wrong, condemned or misunderstood. It’s really important to allow yourself the luxury of making mistakes and learning from them, and even more important to allow others to try and make mistakes. Everything each of us does today may become the best experience, innovation, know-how of the future.
Margarita Hovhannisyan: I have very full, active workdays, there is always something to learn. But with all that I managed to go on five maternity leaves and return back to my work.
Did you manage to create an inclusive environment in the Armenian branch?
Certainly. We have employees of different generations. Our most experienced employee has worked in the company for 20 years already, the youngest one – for 2 months. This diversity really enriches the working process! We apply mentoring practice to make integration into the work environment easier for newcomers and those who return after a long absence. We have also started developing reverse mentoring, when the representatives of the new generation become mentors for experienced managers. We demonstrate openness and gender equality policy: more than 40% of the employees in our branch are females. Moreover, more than half of the team’s management are females. We understand that besides business results, society expects many things from women: taking care of their families, raising children, being good mothers. Sometimes this 24/7 job takes much longer than an eight-hour working day. That is why we strive to create an environment where a woman can feel safe: for example, to go on a maternity leave, knowing that she can return to work whenever she feels comfortable. She will have a mentor who will help her adapt to new conditions. At last, a young mother will be able to work from home, if necessary. The work schedule is also flexible so that a woman is not forced to choose between her career and family. Colleagues support each other and are ready to share experiences, take on part of the duties of the future mother, while she will be busy with her child. The above-mentioned factors give results. For example, we have an employee who joined Philip Morris 18 years ago, during this period she gave birth to five children and successfully returned to work. At Philip Morris, we proved that work, if desired, could be a natural part of a woman’s life and support her as a whole, socially active person.
Nina Grigoryan: 17 years in one company and not a single day to be bored.
What opportunities does Philip Morris offer to young and experienced employees?
Not every company can boast with the fact that even experienced employees can always discover something new in the sphere of professional development, regardless of their age and previous work experience. As a rule, young employees want to try themselves in different areas, apply their university knowledge and gain practical knowledge. More mature employees value stability and consistency. All the generations at Philip Morris find something for themselves. The dialogue of generations is also important: everyone accepts and gives back, which helps to develop internally. We live in a period of unprecedented technological progress. Ten years ago, touchscreen phones could only be seen on the TV, while today a super powerful computer can fit in your pocket. This technological burst affected all the generations. At Philip Morris, we have created relevant conditions, so that different generations are able to complement each other instead of conflicting. This is achieved by providing equal opportunities, continuous trainings and upgrades, an atmosphere supporting diversity and inclusiveness.
David Grigoryan: I started my career at Philip Morris as ASPIRE intern and for 1,5 years have managed to change 3 departments.
How does Philip Morris solve the “brain drain” problem relevant in Armenia?
Indeed, in Armenia, like in many other post-soviet countries, the brain drain problem is relevant. Comparing local and international offers in the labor market talented and experienced specialists choose to work abroad. As a result, the country loses qualified specialists.
Our company widely applies the experience of long-term business trips to foreign countries, when an employee can work at a foreign branch of Philip Morris in another country, discover the culture and gain the best experience. It’s very important that the company provides the most comfortable conditions for the employee’s stay during a long-term business trip abroad: there is an opportunity to leave with family, the company covers all the expenses. In addition, a mentor is attached to the employee, who helps to adapt to the new environment.
At Philip Morris, we not only provide our employees with the opportunity to develop their professional skills abroad, but also the chance for professional and career development here in Armenia, after completing the projects in foreign country. This allows us to quickly embed the successful experience of developed countries, apply the best contemporary practices in the spheres of sales, marketing and communications, finance, personnel management in our daily work and always be in the center of global events and trends. On the other hand, employees are able to benefit from all the development opportunities that could have been obtained abroad: participation in advanced training programs and master classes, access to modern literature.
Being an International corporation Philip Morris directly provides international experience- Lilit Matevosyan
Philip Morris is a global company. Many employees of other nationalities work in the Armenian branch. This promotes the exchange of experience, but on the other hand, these positions could have been taken by specialists from Armenia. How do you solve the issue of developing local talents?
Everyone knows that there are more Armenians around the world than in Armenia itself and from my point of view, most of them dream of returning 🙂 No wonder there is this Armenian word — “karot”. Some people do come back.
I sincerely believe that the initiative to repatriate Armenians is extremely important for the future of the country, and the creation of favorable conditions for the repatriates, including job positions, tax benefits, business support etc. should be a part of the country’s internal policy.
Our company is one of the top 10 taxpayers in Armenia and from my point of view, plays a significant role in the economic activity of the country. I am very pleased to know that we have contributed and will continue contributing to the repatriation of Armenians. By offering stable and decent income to highly qualified specialists, we give them opportunities to have the same quality of life in Armenia as abroad. Recently one of the managers, who has lived in Lithuania for the last 30 years joined Philip Morris Armenia. He just packed and moved to Armenia with his whole family- his wife and two children.
Karen Nalbandian: After 30 years abroad, I repatriated to Armenia, thanks to the job offer from Philip Morris.
You announce that Philip Morris needs top talents, why?
Some time ago, Philip Morris CEO announced a change in our company’s development vector. We believe that our future is connected with smoke-free products, dictated by the development of science and technology, that allowed us to produce alternative products, as well as with the public demand regarding the social responsibility of companies.
In times of global change, one can decide to wait. Instead, we have defined a new course for the company’s development- the path of internal transformation, thereby becoming the pioneers of external transformation. At the highest level, the company has set a goal to carry out something significant.
We believe that the greatest contribution PMA can make to society is to replace cigarettes with better alternatives. That is why we, a cigarette manufacturer, are in the process of transforming into a leader in smoke-free technologies. Thanks to innovative research, we have developed smoke-free products that will please adult smokers and are a much better choice than smoking cigarettes. Our vision is that one day these products will replace cigarettes all around the world.
As you know, transformation requires talent and experience. This is the reason why we involve young and ambitious specialists, as well as experienced experts, to help us achieve our goal.
Top Employer Armenia is hiring top talents
Why should the best talents join Philip Morris?
This is a quite reasonable question, that talented specialists can ask themselves before joining us. Looking deeper, one might be surprised by the scale and success of our business, the diversity of our activity, the wide range of opportunities that we offer to our talented and progressive employees.
Visiting our offices or meeting our people, you quickly realize that PMI is actually one of the best employers out there. We’ve managed to create a fulfilling and fun work environment where all the good will certainly be noticed. Our employees can develop their skills by learning from others and participating in team projects. Opportunities for short-term and long-term international appointments allow them to invest in themselves, see the world, and make changes in our business. Annually, the company gives more than 1,000 and one opportunities of cross-functional moves, which is a perfect starting line for self-discovery and career advancement. As you see, Philip Morris is much more than it might seem at first glance.
What experience can young specialists obtain at Philip Morris?
Nowadays any young and ambitious talent can view Philip Morris as a potential employer. And not only because our company is one of the best employers providing a social package, benefits for the employees, a fantastic educational and development program… No.
Today young specialists are interested in us because we want to build a smoke-free future. This, undoubtedly, can improve the lives of millions of women and men who smoke. Actions always speak louder than words. Here, working in this huge company, that is completely transforming, they can feel they are a part of global change, they can feel that they make their contribution into those changes, and I think that it is very interesting.
Tomorrow, or perhaps later when we are a step closer to the smoke-free future, each of the employees will proudly know that they created that future. Thus, I encourage everyone who wants to be at the start and seeks something new to submit an application to Philip Morris.
Marina Aghbalyan: After working 2 years in PMA I moved to Philip Morris Ukraine, however I plan to return to Armenia after a year as we have a lot of things to do.
What makes Philip Morris a unique company?
Each of our employees. Philip Morris strives to work with the best talents. 80 000 of our employees worldwide speak more than 80 languages. Our priority is involvement, support and care towards the talents of the whole planet regardless of their age, gender, religion, sexual orientation or physical abilities. Our employees are our big strength and we are proud of our culture of openness and respect.
Everyone searches their own thing in in their lives and careers. One values decent income, someone pays attention on the attractive social package or opportunities of self-development abroad. Perhaps, someone appreciates the flexible work schedule, possibility not to choose between the work and family. At Philip Morris, we apply the reward system depending on where you are, what you have achieved and what is important for you.
