Two months of zero sales due to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)—what should an entrepreneur of over 1,800 employees do? “Initially, we gave out an advanced half of the 13th month bonus for March, so they (employees) could have some money to spend,” says Ever Bilena president and chief executive office Dioceldo Sy. Dioceldo Sy But the extension of the ECQ until April 30 made him worry about his staff even more. “It became a heart-over-mind decision. It was tough. After I prayed about it for a couple of days, I then got an answer from my prayers—I should help my employees,” he says. He called his daughter Denice, chief sales and marketing officer and Manila Bulletin Lifestye columnist, to relay this critical decision of his.

Heart over mind

Dioceldo has always disseminated his announcements through all possible mediums, including a Facebook post of his letter addressing his employees. This time was no different. In the letter, he announced that despite cash flow being tight, he had decided to extend financial support by giving all them their full salary for the month of April, whether or not his employees report for work. It never occurred to Dioceldo that this announcement would go viral since it was normal for his company to issue statements. The difference, this time, is that this letter is now forever ingrained in the hearts of his employees and all the Filipinos who have read and shared the letter. “I don’t want to see my people go through hardships. I don’t want to see my people becoming jobless,” says Dioceldo, adding that he didn’t accept offers to buy him out of his company. This is what he also tells his children from time to time: “These are the things that make money become secondary. It’s the love and appreciation of our people that should come first before the profit.”

A thoughtful reminder

His employees have already reached out to thank their CEO. “For the first time, this (letter) has been received so warmly by our people that they shared it with their friends,” he continues. “I can feel the appreciation of the people. They themselves offered to me that they will work hard.” He also believes that they will come back stronger, and that his staff will care more about the company. In the meantime, he wishes for everyone’s safety and to use their allocated salary for April wisely. “This money is not for happy spending. This is for a crisis. They have to know how to budget,” explains Dioceldo. Having heard stories of Filipinos who finished their claimed financial aid of P5,000 to P8,000 from the government in two to three weeks, spending on pizza and beer, he reminds his staff not to commit the same mistake. “You just budget it and buy what you need—basic (essentials) such as homecooked food para mas tipid (so you get to save more)," he says. "Rather than buying delivered food, which is more expensive and might not last you that long. One month is a long time.”

Help is on the way

With over 1,800 employees, Dioceldo reveals that only one percent of the staff is working, especially because beauty consultants make up more than two-thirds of his company. Only top level personnel such as marketing and design departments are working from home. A few members of the staff stay in the Ever Bilena office in Caloocan to do the necessary documentation and messengerial duties. Quarters in the office have been provided for them. Other than that, he has asked a few of his employees to help prepare bath soaps and the antibacterial hand sanitizer Deo Splash for donation to Caloocan and San Juan. Ever Bilena has stopped producing its own items since 2008, and has subcontractors from Manila or abroad such as China, Indonesia, or Korea. But despite limited resources, Dioceldo has plans of mobilizing to help the nation. They will continue to deliver soaps and alcohol to those who need them. Donation drives for essential goods for Pasig General Hospital will also start soon, and they will be working closely with Lazada for fundraising campaigns to help the Philippine Red Cross and the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation.

Surviving the crisis

Dioceldo foresees that it’s going to be tough and challenging. “We will be having zero cash flow in the next three months, so I am expecting my finance department to have a hard time,” he says, worrying about his suppliers too. “We have to support them, we have to ask the banks to help us by providing additional capital. These things are not normal to us. I believe I might have to extend help to our suppliers, otherwise, we will also have a hard time also in our operations.” Dioceldo also likens what the whole world is going through with World War II. “Everything has been destroyed, so there will be rebuilding, and we will help in rebuilding,” he says. “There will be opportunities in any crisis, so as long as we survive this, we will be okay. So I’ve told my people we should work harder.” The 9/11 crisis in 2001 was nothing compared to what we are going through now, a reminder he would tell his children. “The US started the strict implementation of traveling with a lot of security checks, but this is worse," he says. "I feel bad and sad that this has to happen during our lifetime.” Dioceldo doesn’t want to believe in the rumors of countries China and the US as the reasons for this pandemic. Whether true or not, he hopes that all the nations can learn to live in harmony, “Instead of fighting, we should all walk together,” he says. As for the lockdown, he feels that one month is more than enough. “Let 50 percent of the people come in, then start increasing it (the number of people) as we go on to the next couple of weeks,” says Dioceldo of this mandated standstill. “If we get back to normalcy, that’s the time we know how to adjust to the situation.”

Taking care of one’s herd

Ever Bilena’s president shares that the company's human resources and finance teams will report for this week to process the salaries of all the employees. He also hopes that other companies will join him in his efforts to save Filipinos in every way possible, starting with taking care of their own employees. “They should do the same, so that their employees will love their companies more,” he adds. When asked how he feels about receiving so much praise for his decision to help his employees, Dioceldo says, “I am humbled. This is not me. I am just being used by our Lord to do this. Ever Bilena is a God-given gift to us. We come and go empty handed. We are a steward of his resources so our thinking should be different, not as an individual but for the company as a whole.”