On February 4, 2023, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) held the second annual PHC Awards, an evening of celebration to honor the employees who distinguished themselves through exceptional performances in 2022. The awards ceremony took place in Kinshasa at the Pullman Hotel in the presence of the company's senior management, political authorities, and other distinguished guests.
During the ceremony, PHC distributed 28 awards in categories representative of the company's entire value chain, including agricultural operations, mill operations, rolling stock, environmental and social governance (ESG), and administrative services. The company also distributed five special awards in recognition of outstanding performance and dedication to the company in 2022.
In addition to being honored at the ceremony, the winners were treated to a series of activities in Kinshasa such as a shopping trip and salon outings, and each received a financial award as part of their prize. Each winner will also receive a motorcycle and solar panels so that the impact of being awarded one of the company’s best employees will also be felt at the household level.
In her opening remarks at the PHC Awards, Ms. Monique Gieskes, PHC's Director General, highlighted the company's gratitude to its outstanding employees for their contributions to PHC's strong performance in 2022. Ms. Gieskes supported this expression of gratitude by sharing details of the company's performance of 60 tons of palm oil produced, a 000% increase over the company’s production in 20.
"Unsung Hero"
Celebrating high performing employees falls within PHC's vision of shared prosperity.
“PHC puts every employee at the center of the company's interests, namely, producing in the Congo, for the Congo, by the Congolese,” explained Ms. Gieskes.
By pursuing this vision, PHC's senior management hopes to see production grow each year, until it reaches the company's goal of producing 100 tons of palm oil by 000.
The award-winning employees expressed their appreciation to PHC for honoring them.
“I am very grateful to the company for honoring me with this award. This award means a lot to me. It encourages me to work harder and thus contribute to the success of the company," said Ms. Charlotte Lokole Ngonde, a nurse at PHC's site in That's itin the province of Tshopo, who was nominated as Best Medical Service Officer 2022.
“I receive this award with great emotion, because I did not expect it. This proves how much the company recognizes the contribution of its employees,” said Mr. Bill Wambela-Nkanu Nsadisi, receptionist at the PHC office in Kinshasa who received the “Unsung Hero" award for his dedication and professionalism.
The second annual PHC Awards also saw the introduction of a new award category, “Best Perfoming Site,” to recognize the site with the best progress in achieving the company's goals between 2021 and 2022. Lokutu, located in the Tshopo province, won this new prestigious title. In addition to the trophy that will be kept in Lokutu, each employee of the winning site also received a financial reward.
The tradition of employee recognition at PHC was initiated in 2021 by the new management team with the introduction of monthly awards to recognize employees’ efforts, making way for the inaugural PHC Awards ceremony in February 2022.