Innovation

"I did not intend to become a businesswoman. I felt this calling to harness the power of the printed page and to influence school children through the power of printed pages". With this as the soul of her advocacy, Nomee Dizon-Canlas, the CEO of GTPI, started her publishing journey in 1995.

Coupled with her calling, aside from producing crafted student textbooks, in 2000, Mrs. Canlas incorporated educational support into its business aimed to provide quality education to its employees and their children.

The company considers educational assistance as a driver in addressing quality education and the challenges individuals face in competing in a competitive environment. Over the years, education support has become part of the benefits GTPI employees are receiving. The company provides education support depending on the needs of its employees.

GTPI, through this initiative, has been providing its employees with growth and comfort. Employees who aspire to reach more in their profession are sent to universities to earn a degree. There are instances where employees also need temporary shelter while they continue with their studies; GTPI offers and converts one room in their office into a flat for employees to live in temporarily. The company also grants its employees to only work thrice a week, without compromising their salaries, to help them adapt to the difficulties of juggling both work and studies. Additionally, to help its employees compete in a competitive environment, GTPI encourage and support its employees to take licensure exams and other certifications beneficial to their degrees and profession.

And since the company publishes textbooks for students, their employees also receive books published by GTPI, gadgets, and other school supplies children needs for their education.

"Although it is not a full-blast educational support, if we can, we help. We assist our employees and provide the needs of their children."

This initiative of GTPI addresses the UN SDG of Quality Education (SDG #4), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG #8), and No Poverty (SDG #1). GTPI has been fighting for quality education and growth through this initiative.

An Endeavour to Harnessing Impactful Learning

Inspiration

"My dream is to situate my employees. I want them to feel that they are not just working. I want them to have the pride in saying I’ve worked in GTPI." – Nomee Canlas.

During the interview, Mrs. Canlas shared that her goal is to situate her employees. As a business owner, she took it to heart that running a business is coupled with taking care of her human resources. And working with her employees every day through ups and downs made her see their desire to do more and reach their ambition. Hence, Mrs. Canlas opened her door to support her employees realize their aspirations.

Aside from the current innovation, Mrs. Canlas also shared her desire to see her employees have their own house and lot before she retires.

"Right now, my dream is to situate them and secure them with house and property" – Nomee Canlas.

Overall impact

GTPI's education program has made an impactful contribution to the lives of its employees. Since the beginning of this initiative, GTPI has been able to help two of their previous employees earn their college degrees, and around 30 children received textbooks, gadgets, and other school supplies they needed for their studies.

"We had two employees who finished their studies, one is now employed in PLDT, and the other is now working abroad."

Furthermore, the company currently supports one of its employees in preparing for her CPA board exams. The company has funded her through board and lodging, internet connection, exam fees, and other expenses she needs for the exam. The company is also helping 2 of their employees' children on their journey to education.

So far, the company has partnered with several schools in the country to supply their textbooks. The most significant impact of this initiative is that it has contributed an increase to the company's inventories and sales. During the interview, Mrs. Canlas delightedly shared how this program motivated her employees to perform beyond expected. For a small entity, with the help of its motivated employees, GTPI was able to produce more than 2.2 billion worth of K-12-compliant textbooks last year.

Business benefit

The benefits of GTPI's initiative are as follows:

Increased Business Competitiveness

During the interview, Mrs. Canlas stressed the difficulties that the K-12 curriculum and pandemic imposed on the entire GTPI. At these times, the company's future suddenly blurred, and employees became the most significant contributor to GTPI's recovery. The opportunities the company provided in terms of education have brought positive changes vital to the competitive ability of GTPI. What seemed a downslope for GTPI suddenly turned into a positive bottom line. The company managed to produce more than 2.2 billion worth of compliant student textbooks, which established colleges are utilizing to this date.

Employee Motivation

"Although our program is not full-blast support, it motivated our employees to perform better, and the impact on company profits is not quantifiable."

Educational support shows that GTPI is willing to invest in its employee's future. With employees receiving support for themselves and their dependents, their desire to do and achieve more increases, making them eager to learn things beneficial to the growth of GTPI.

This benefit is evident in the robust nature of GTPI. Despite many challenges, such as the sudden shift to the K-12 curriculum and the pandemic, the company continues to stand firm and deliver quality materials to shape learners.

Employee Retention

Staff education is one way to show employees that they are valued. Most employees receiving educational opportunities feel more satisfied with their work, are more engaged and motivated, have more morale, and more contribution to the company's advantage.

During the interview, Mrs. Canlas shared that the employee she hired in 1997 received support from GTPI in finishing her studies. This employee has seen GTPI's lowest of the low and held hands with the company in rising from its hardships. But with a heavy heart, in 2018, she had to let go of this employee as she would be starting a new endeavor outside the country with her family. This 21-year-long relationship is immeasurable proof of how GTPI and its people worked hand-in-hand in achieving its mission to lessen the burden of educators during the most challenging times.

Social and environmental benefit

Education support improves the overall performance of employees in an organization. The intangible benefit of educational programs is that improved employee morale increases employee motivation and satisfaction. This will boost the productivity and performance of GTPI employees, which creates value for the company as these employees continue to contribute to the goal of GTPI of achieving a higher output level. Furthermore, employee motivation contributes to a higher level of creativity and innovation, making it easier for GTPI to deliver its commitment to its stakeholders.

Another benefit of GTPI's program is that it improves the overall quality of living for GTPI employees, provided there is equitable access to high-quality education to grasp the rising inequalities in society. GTPI, through these efforts, achieves shaping and preparing the younger generations to become critical thinkers and socially conscious individuals. This equips people with abilities to compete in a society and an environment full of uncertainties.

The owner of GTPI constantly notes that her employees desire to do more, contribute more, and achieve more in life and their careers. The lack of quality education hinders these individuals from realizing these aspirations.

Overall, GTPI's sustainable solution shapes and develops people to reach their full potential. With this, people will embrace promising employment opportunities, resulting in an improved quality of life. Furthermore, this will equip people to resist society's most pressing challenges.

Interview

Nomee Dizon-Canlas, CEO