Philip Morris' affiliate in Nigeria, Philip Morris Limited has been recognized as a Top Employer in Nigeria for the 5th year in a row.
"Being certified as a Top Employer showcases an organization's dedication to a better world of work and exhibits this through excellent HR policies and people practices", said the press release of the Top Employers Institute,
A global independent organization specialized in best practices in human resources.
Established over 30 years ago, Top Employers Institute has certified over 1857 organizations in 123 countries/regions.
This certification is the result of independent assessment led by the Institute. It "certifies organizations based on the participation and results of their HR Best Practices Survey. The survey covers 6 HR domains consisting of 20 topics including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Well-being and Diversity & Inclusion and more."
In this context of global health and economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this accreditation may have a singular meaning. Khady Mbacké Ndoye Sarr, Human Resources Director of Philip Morris Limited says:
"Attracting and retaining talents in our company is crucial in this more than ever competitive environments for talents as they are longing for meaningful jobs that matches their values and aspirations for them, their families, and make a real impact on society. We stand out when it comes to the work environment we offer, the values, the ethics and integrity, diversity and inclusion and we also offer an exciting journey to turn world into a smoke-free one".
As part of the certification process, PMI was required to demonstrate to independent Human Resources (HR) auditors that it excelled in six HR dimensions by answering 400 questions backed up with evidence. These dimensions included:
- Steer: Business strategy, people strategy, and leadership
- Shape: Organization and change, digital HR, and work environment
- Attract: Employer branding, talent acquisition, and onboarding
- Develop: Performance, career, and learning
- Engage: Wellbeing, engagement, rewards and recognition, and "offboarding"
- Unite: Values, ethics and integrity, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability
In fact, a number of human resources studies have shown recently that what drives employees is the possibility to spend their time doing meaningful work in a responsible company.
As a historical leading tobacco company which for a few years now has started its transformation journey to become a smoke-free business, PMI had to shift from the inside out. The company is committed to delivering a smoke-free future as soon as possible by focusing its resources on the development, scientific proof and responsible commercialization of non-combustible products that are less harmful, with the goal of completely replacing cigarettes as soon as possible.
Since that announcement, PMI has made significant progress towards achieving this goal.
"The negative health effects of smoking are top of mind when society looks at our business. For us, this translates into a heightened sense of responsibility as to how we can bring solutions to the table. Developing innovative products that have the potential to reduce risk for smokers and population harm compared to smoking combustible cigarettes (Reduced-Risk Products or RRPs) is also critical to sustain and grow our business over the long term"says Bahman Safakish, Managing Director Managing Director of Philip Morris Limited in Nigeria. "We simply call for a balanced and science-based dialogue with regulators. We want to tell them that we are transforming and that we can't do this without the support of all parties", he continued.
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Since 2008, the company has invested over USD 8 billion in product development and scientific research and in 2009, opened a state-of-the-art R&D center in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Within R&D PMI has over 930 R&D positions including scientists, engineers, technicians with a diversity of backgrounds ranging from materials science and consumer electronics to clinical science and systems toxicology. PMI estimates that there is 20.1 million legal-age that use its smoke free product IQOS. They further estimate that 73% of this total—or 14.7 million adult smokers—have switched to that alternative and stopped smoking, with the balance in various stages of conversion. PMI's smoke-free products are now available in 67 markets—of which over half are outside the OECD (figures as of July 2021).
PMI's affiliates were also recognized as leading employers in 44 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.
