Pawan Rochwani: Hello, and welcome to another episode of people led show by inFeedo. My name is Pawan Rochwani, and I'm interviewing CHROs and people leaders from Southeast Asia in this series. Today, I have the opportunity and the privilege to interview a CHRO who is not only about people but also about analytics data and newer technologies. And I am so glad that we had this conversation with me, who is the CHRO of MDI Novare Technologies from the Philippines. And we talk a lot about newer AI and automation trends, and not only just about people-centric leadership but also about how technology does elevate the entire HR function.

Pawan Rochwani: She has a career of more than 2 decades across the tech industry. And I think she personally is passionate about innovation and, you know, deep understanding of people analytics and how she can implement technology within the HR department itself. I had a very fun time doing this conversation. I hope you all also enjoy this conversation. Please feel free to suggest us if you have any suggestions or recommendations of people that we should post on the show.

Pawan Rochwani: And if you need to know anything about inFeedo in general or about this series, please feel free to just drop us a comment or an email and we'll be happy to talk to you. But for now, I hope you enjoy this conversation. This was prerecorded in the month of January. So some of the context or topics might be relevant to that period and not when you're watching this. So hope you enjoy it. 

Pawan Rochwani: Superb. Thank you so much, May, for doing this, and I'm glad we are recording this conversation and hosting you on the show today. I'm really, really thrilled to have you with us on the show.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Thanks, Pawan, for inviting me. I'm truly honored to be part of this show. Looking forward.

Pawan Rochwani: Super. WelI I ask all my guests 1 question before we get into the recording, which is, what do you do outside of work and who is me outside of work? What are you doing when you're not working? Because we just don't wanna know about the work side of your life, but also just to get to know you better.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Oh you know, Pawan, our work is really a lot of mental. You know? It requires a lot of mental work, and you're confined in a building for, like, 10 hours a day. So outside work, I really wanna spend lots of time outdoors and with nature where I can be mindfully present and feel the sun, the wind, the ground underneath me. So I really like to immerse myself something more physical outside work.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: I even, in fact, I have to also sometimes force myself that, you know, go out there and, like, just just be with the nature or, you know, get out outside the screen or the desk that you are because that becomes very important even for work.

Pawan Rochwani: So thanks thanks for answering that, me. And to get into this entire conversation, right, I I wanna start with what are, let's say, your top 2 challenges that you face as a CHRO?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Like, what what is something that is, like, the top 2 priorities that you're trying to solve in this year? Okay. So there are a lot of challenges, but I think the top 2 that comes to mind would be creating that signature employee experience for our people. And to get to create that ex experience, we really have to be able to effectively define what that signature employee experience means. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Because our organization is very varied. It's diverse between different career levels and various teams, and it's important for me and my HR team that we can actually capture the hearts of our people. And we know also for a fact that we cannot delight everyone. Right? So I guess the key here is to actively listen and listen very well to what our people are saying, to what matters most to them.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: I think that's very key. Another challenge I constantly face as a CHRO is managing the balance between business needs and employee needs. Right? Being able to champion your employee process and preferences does not mean these align or fit our business needs right now. Yeah.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: For example, Pawan, I'm sure you know about this, and people have been, you know, incessantly talking about this. It's the hybrid work setup. Okay. That's that's the topmost preference of our employees. While we do support that in principle, what happens is that when the clients we serve mandate a return to work.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So what how does it so HR heads need to be able to strike that balance of business and employee needs. 

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. So actively listening and also balancing business and employee goals and happiness. I think it's every every CHRO out there is trying to solve for this, and and I'm glad that we have addressed this in the beginning itself. What is that 1 thing that other organizations from Philippines or across the globe can learn from Nuvar's people culture?

Pawan Rochwani: What what do you think is unique about the culture that you're building that other organizations can learn about? 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: You know what,Pawan? We pride ourselves for having a high innovation and continuous learning culture. We have a thrust to build an ecosystem of world class Filipino talents. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: We pride ourselves about being world class, best in class. So we embody that continuous improvement and collaboration as our basic standard of working. Our culture also speaks of what matters most to us. So we have all those guiding principles, our core values, integrity, grit, respect, innovation, and excellence. So this is how we actually work with 1 another, with our clients, stakeholders, and the communities around us.

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. Got it. And like, I've I've known quite my friends also who live in the Philippines, and they look up to MBA and ORE as, like, the technology champion in Philippines. 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman Oh, thank you so much. Yeah.

Pawan Rochwani: And I'm sure you folks have set, like, a benchmark of excellence. Could you, like, share any insights about your role and the impact of, you know, building this culture that has led to the business excellence as well as the excellence of the workplace that you have built?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman That's right. You know what, Pawan? Like I mentioned, excellence is part of our 6 core values, our guiding principles in MDI, Nubari.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So what we do is do we embed it in our systems, processes, and our daily team interactions? Actually, good question, Pawan, because this year, 20 24, 1 of our focus areas would be to refine our processes, ensuring that there's alignment with our core values and driving operational excellence. The organization has grown so much at the speed we are challenged with so far Pawan, it's very difficult. And I think it's also pipeline that we revisit our internal processes that serve our purpose in achieving excellence. So it's really a collaborative effort, not only with our compliance teams, but from every memory of our organization.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: But, Pawan, I'm sure you know this. Driving excellence may also mean incidents of failures, of incidence of falling through the cracks. But Mhmm. That is also okay. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Because that means you learn from these failures, you rise to the level of excellence that only past experience can best teach us. Yeah. Yeah. And we I'm I'm sure, like you know, running a technology first company is you have to put your people at the core of it. How do you perceive your role as you know how how do you see your role evolving as the CHRO?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Because like, talent is the key driver of the transformation. Right? Like and so in what way strategically you have integrated the agenda with business agendas is is what I would want to, like, learn from your experience. I'm glad, Pawan, that you mentioned that talent is at the center of any transformation agenda because our thrust here, our mantra, our vital cry in MDI Novaria is that our work talent transforms technology. So we believe that talent transforms technology.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So the evolving role of the CHRO is really centered on crafting that effective talent strategy amidst the dynamic changing landscape on which Emile Navarro operates in. Right? We are an IT industry, and the pace of change is so fast. And our talents need to adapt and understand the impact of that change in their own individual work. So committed to change fatigue and still enabling high productivity and engagement among our teams, developing that effective balance strategy and that agile balance strategy to these changes will spell out any success for any HR leader.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So just to summarize it, the CHRO really now becomes at the front and center of any transformation agenda because it is really indeed our people and teams that are at the forefront of the any transformation journey. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. And I'm glad we brought in the word agile because I've also observed here in India when technology startups they have to be agile. They have to be very adaptive in nature with their business, with the mindset and the culture also that they're building. Because in a fast paced tech industry, agility is crucial.

Pawan Rochwani: So how does the HR function really incorporate these practices to quickly respond to changing business needs and also, like, support agile development within the organization. Is there something in particular that you do to make your team ready for any any of these changes? 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: That's right Pawan. So we advocate agile methodology versus the waterfall methodology. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: And we need to drink our own Kool Aid. Right? So we have to practice what we preach. So having said that, our HR programs and processes are never really static. They are always based on business needs and employees' voices so that it's really important for our HR team to be relevant and impactful.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Hence, we revisit our policies and programs such that we are able to respond to organizational needs like what you said. Right? Yeah. Maybe 1 example is when we cascade our talent management programs, wherein we really have to tweak the tempo or we differ our style depending on the audience profile or the role profile or any other nuances that we have to consider to customize or act in an agile way. So, Pawan, we have a saying here in HR.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: We should never fall in love with our standard templates. Right? Because we have to be nimble and agile to address all those organizational needs. Yeah. Yeah.

Pawan Rochwani: And I remember we were talking just a few minutes back about, you know, adapting to if the client is, you know, coming to office and if we are remote or hybrid, we have to adapt to that. And I'm sure there are many other policies that you would have set in motion for employee well-being. And and and I'm sure employee well-being is very subjective to different organization, the industries that they are in. So it it is challenging in some way or other. So what are some initiatives or policies that you have implemented for a healthy work life balance or you know, to support the well-being of employees in your organization?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: You know what, Pawan? We are cognizant of the challenges in operating in a post pandemic world. I mean, the world has changed when we gone out of our remote workplaces, right, 3 years after. Hence, we are we have introduced our hybrid work setup that's in place. We are also implementing a lot of mental health programs for the workplace via coaching, counseling sessions.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: We even had to employ a mental health professional just to be able to address those needs of our employees. Physical exercise is also key for us so that when you engage in the sports you you release those happy hormones, right, so to speak. So we have all those sports employee resource groups that's all in place, our LGBTQ clubs, our motorcycle clubs, and the like. We have all those things in place so that our employees feel supported and valued in our organization.

Pawan Rochwani: Wow, If I was there, I would have definitely enrolled for the motorcycle. Sure. So I'm glad that there's something like this. Yeah. And any specific measures that you take to embrace equality or, you know, diversity and inclusion, especially regarding women because I have observed in India.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: I'm not commenting about Philippines, but I've observed that the male to female ratio in a very tech specific company is you know, not not like how you would aim for. So anything that you have improved in the processes or implemented in the processes to maintain equality? I'm glad you mentioned that because we do not see this inequality, especially regarding women, as an issue in the organization at So when it comes to our processes and programs in the organization, we are very conscious about removing biases when it comes to hiring and screening women. We also promote women based on their performance and capacity and skills. We give equal career progression to the women in MDI Novarias.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So I think that's pretty much in place in our organization. 

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. Super. I have my 2 most important questions. 1 is about employee experience and feedback in general, and the second 1 is about GenAI.

Pawan Rochwani: To begin with the first 1, I wanted to understand how do you gather and act upon employee feedback because it's it's very important to show the action on your feedback for building that trust with their employees and also for continuous improvement in HR policies, processes, and the overall employee experience that not anybody would feel at any organization. So but especially within the tech and IT industry what are certain processes that you follow that have helped you get better at employee feedback and employee experience in general? 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Yeah. Today, we are a thousand strong headcount in MDI Nubare. And to be able to hear from these people, and we value their feedback, we have a quarterly employee full survey to be able to identify what are those pinpoints that our employees experience, even their suggestions. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: We are very open to suggestions, recommendations, and making our workplace a great place. So we do that quarterly. And once we get the results of that survey, we really act on it. So we have a science in making sure that these feedback are really categorized in relevant buckets.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: And we assign an intervention, even an executive sponsor to make sure those things move, right, that they are launched, that they are implemented, and we review it. And we say, oh, the interventions we made are actually effective. And if we don't, we pay that? So that's how active we are. And then on top of that survey mechanism, we also enable our managers, our line managers, our people managers to always do touch points with their 1 downs and to ensure alignment on goals and check if the employee is still engaged and happy with the company.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So those things go hand in hand to make sure that we hear our people and we act on what they say and what matters most to them. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. Yeah. I think that feeling that their employees should feel heard is really, really important in any organization. So that's definitely great out there.

Pawan Rochwani: And this is something that I recently saw on your LinkedIn that you are actively implementing AI technologies in your HR function within the culture itself. Of course, it should be there in the DNA because you are a technology company. But what kind of automations or other chain AI techno technologies have you implemented within the HR function or in general for employee development? I would love to hear about that. 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So you're right about that, Pawan.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Being in a tech company we also have motions around assessing available Geni tools, their copilots with our tech partners such as Microsoft and Salesforce and the like. But we are also assessing, right, motions around developing our own use cases as well. We have an r and d team. We are very strong on innovation. We see an opportunity around using in an integrated automated tool that maps employee performance, mainly vis a vis drivers such as training and coaching.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Right? So still a lot of developmental work as of now. We are investigating, exploring, and it's good that you mentioned this because we just launched our AI rebate program. So that's why we really changed the mindset of our people and just really collaborate on what kind of what does it mean for us when this Gen AI is really upright here on if other work basis. Right?

Pawan Rochwani: So Yeah. Yes. That's great, actually. I've met quite a few, you know, CHROs from Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and I can tell this that you are probably at the forefront of really implementing Gen AI within the processes itself. Of course, everybody is trying to, you know, use it within the tech side of working, but not at a very org level.

Pawan Rochwani: So I'm glad to see I'm speaking to somebody who's who's at the the forefront of this. Yeah. Maybe if we talk a month from now, I'll be able to share more about that. Yeah. Yeah.

Pawan Rochwani: My last few set of questions, and this is more from a very, you know, maybe futuristic purpose or just in general, how how do you feel about a creative child leader? What are some trends that you are anticipating within the HR function for the tech and IT industries you know, are you aligning your HR strategy with these future trends to stay ahead of the curve? 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman:You know what? I see that careers and jobs will start or continue to be redefined in the dynamic hybrid work setup and Gen AI era. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: I think this will put pressure on a lot of organizations to take a hard look at their workforce planning and how to attract and retain and reward their key talents. So, again, we are grounded on our high innovation and continuous learning culture to ensure that we stay ahead of the curve. So right now, as we speak, we are revisiting our career models and make sure that they are relevant to deliver our commitments and with them as necessary. 

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. Okay.

Pawan Rochwani: And what do you think are, like, 2 traits that make a great HR leader? And this also is with respect to, let's say, the coming years that you see how the the function of HR or the responsibilities of HR might, like, evolve in the coming years. Because it's not just about, you know, people function, but it's it's also about how you align business goals with it, business changes with it. So what do you think are, like, the top 2 traits that make a great HR leader?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: I think the first 1 is there are multiple hats that an HR leader wears all the time. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: It can be the change catalyst hat, a business operator hat, a trusted adviser, a coach, a friend, a strict boss, an emergency responder. So multiple hats. Right? Mhmm.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: I think the hats that CHRO wears every single day can be very demanding and daunting. And as a great HR leader, I may say is that 1 HR leader who has the ability to wear these multiple hats and the agility to shift from 1 hat to another as the situation calls for it. Right? These shifts can happen in a 5 minute encounter with a boss, with a colleague, a board of director, a staff, what have you. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So I think that's very important to be personally affected. And, 1, to be personally affected, it's really shifting from 1 hand to another. Yeah. The second trait that the CHRO should possess or I believe is a great trait is authenticity. To be able to show times of vulnerability and humanness is a strong trait that makes a great HR leader relatable at the same time, inspirational and aspirational.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: So I try to be authentic, and I think I'm I'm getting there. So thanks for that question, Pawan. 

Pawan Rochwani: Got it. And may my last question and this is I will again, how we started on, you know, let's say, a little light note. I also wanna end this on a light note.

Pawan Rochwani: As an HR leader, what is 1 thing that you believe in that probably other HR leaders don't believe in or don't agree with you? It could be about the processes. It could be about any of your ideologies or philosophies. But what is something that you believe in that other HR leaders don't believe in? 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: You know what?  I gave that question a lot of thought. And to be honest, I don't have a straight answer. Maybe I don't know. Maybe it's being just your authentic self. 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Some HR leaders I know are stoic. Mhmm. Strictly stoic, and they're expressionless. Right?

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Yeah. For me, as you see, I'm very how do you say that? Active expression full. So I think that trait Yeah. Can be very effective when you manage your team, when you manage your C suite stakeholders, when you manage your board of investors.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Right? Because, like what I said, authenticity is 1 of the great HR leader traits Yeah. That can be imbibed today. Right? So it doesn't have to be story.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: But I'm Pawan, I hope that answers the question. 

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. No. Definitely. I think you know, because we are in the people function, you being authentic also just like health because they should be able to trust you and, you know, they should be able to know who you are as a person as well.

Pawan Rochwani So I think I definitely invite that in my role as well because how you are as a person, I I think nobody else can be that way. Right? So I think just embrace your authenticity and the originality and that that can bring the innovation and uniqueness also. So I'm glad that you answered that and you have addressed that. 

Pawan Rochwani MeI think I've I I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and, you know, I I see this often that when when the conversation goes very smooth and nicely, you don't realize where the time has gone by.

Pawan Rochwani But because we had limited time for this conversation, I'm glad we were able to cover all the points. And I'm so grateful and thankful for you to be part of this. I'm sure when when I'm in Philippines, I'll I'll definitely meet you. 

Mai Beltran-de Guzman:We'll Yes, please. 

Pawan Rochwani Figure out something, and I'm  really happy that we did this. Thank you so much for your time and for you know, giving all these insights and thoughtful answers to us.

Mai Beltran-de Guzman: Thanks, Pawan. And when you visit the Philippines, we'll go to the beaches. We'll sing Karaoke overnight. Alright?

Pawan Rochwani: Yeah. I definitely have a more casual case. Thanks so much. I mean, I wish we had more time, but thank you for this opportunity. Super.