Foundever Philippines has launched Hiraya, a nationwide employee rewards and recognition program aimed at celebrating professional achievements, long-term service and career advancement while strengthening employee engagement and retention.
The company held its inaugural Hiraya Awards on 28 August 2026 at Marquis Events Place in Bonifacio Global City, bringing together more than 600 employees and leaders to recognize individual accomplishments and career milestones. More than 500 employees received awards during the event.
The initiative establishes a unified national recognition system designed to acknowledge employees at different stages of their careers, from outstanding performance and years of service to professional development and internal career mobility.
Willy Lim, Vice President for HR, Marketing and Communications and Talent Acquisition of Foundever in Asia-Pacific, said the program reflects the company’s commitment to creating opportunities for employees to grow within the organization.
Having started his own career as an agent before advancing to leadership positions across different countries, Lim emphasized the importance of recognizing achievements while encouraging employees to pursue new opportunities.
“Recognition can help people see how far they have come and give them a clearer view of what they can achieve next,” Lim said. “We designed Hiraya to capture the full spectrum of our people’s accomplishments, from performance and commitment to career growth.”
The Hiraya program is built around three key pillars: performance, tenure and growth. By bringing these elements together, Foundever aims to establish a recognition framework that celebrates individual contributions while demonstrating potential career pathways within the company.
The initiative also comes amid growing recognition of the relationship between employee appreciation and workforce retention.
A longitudinal study conducted by Gallup and Workhuman found that employees who received meaningful recognition were 45 percent less likely to leave their organizations within two years. The findings suggest that effective recognition programs can contribute to employee satisfaction, engagement and long-term retention.
For Foundever, the program is intended to go beyond traditional performance awards by acknowledging the broader employee journey, including the acquisition of new skills, expanded responsibilities and progression into new roles.
The name Hiraya draws inspiration from the Filipino concept associated with aspiration, imagination and the realization of dreams. Its tagline, “Recognizing every journey. Inspiring every tomorrow,” underscores the company’s objective of connecting present achievements with future career opportunities.
“When starting out, people don’t always know or see where their journey can lead,” Lim said. “When we recognize the progress people make along the way, we can help make those possibilities more visible to others.”
Through the program, Foundever seeks to reinforce a workplace culture that values professional development, employee commitment and internal mobility.
The company believes that highlighting employees who have successfully advanced their careers can also encourage colleagues to pursue similar opportunities, creating a stronger connection between individual performance and long-term professional aspirations.
By consolidating its recognition initiatives into a single national program, Foundever also aims to provide a more consistent approach to acknowledging employee contributions across its Philippine operations.
Lim said employee recognition should serve not only as an acknowledgment of past accomplishments but also as motivation for future growth.
“When people can see what they have achieved, what they have learned and where others have grown, they can begin to see what might be possible for their own careers,” he said.
The launch of Hiraya reflects Foundever Philippines’ broader emphasis on employee development and talent retention, as companies increasingly look for ways to build a more engaged workforce and provide meaningful career opportunities in a competitive employment environment.