The benefits of society and customers are the benefits of PNJ company.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are now celebrating a peaceful Tet holiday. To achieve this normalcy, what did PNJ have to do and how hard did it try, madam?

Thank you VnEconomy for asking me about a story that has passed but is still not old. It is true that the epidemic period is really haunting. Never before has our country faced a crisis like the Covid-19 epidemic. For PNJ Company, of course, there are many difficulties and challenges.

As soon as we realized the bad developments happening in China, we planned and prepared for the worst possible situation. The best options to deal with the worst situation were activated. I still remember clearly, in mid-March 2020 when Covid-19 broke out, on March 14, 2020, PNJ leaders sent a message of “keep calm” to all officers and employees.

Soon after, the remote work plan was activated. To work effectively, businesses must have a strong enough IT infrastructure. Fortunately, PNJ has been digitally transforming since 2018 and 2019, so the work assignment during the pandemic has been much smoother than other businesses.

By July 2020, Covid-19 broke out in Da Nang , at that time we asked the question, if the epidemic spread in Da Nang and spread to the whole country, what would PNJ have to do? Fortunately, after many months of effort, Da Nang has controlled the situation, but we are not subjective but prepare an action scenario if the epidemic spreads nationwide. PNJ even predicted the worst scenario that the epidemic will not be controlled until 2024. When the whole country began to restrict travel and contact, online sales campaigns were organized and implemented by PNJ very quickly and effectively, even one campaign (online sales on Valentine's Day 2020) was set up in 3 days. If before, when there was no epidemic, it would take a whole month to prepare.

Thanks to a strong information technology platform and rapid digital transformation, the entire system recorded an increase in online indicators in a difficult context. Customer traffic indicators on the website, hotline calls, social media inboxes, etc. all increased 3-4 times, corresponding to online channel sales. For the above reasons, PNJ did not face a crisis during Covid-19, and we even grew quite well, so the company used its resources to support workers and poor people who were facing difficulties.

Especially in 2021, the program we worked on throughout the epidemic season with the longest and strictest social distancing, PNJ staff and workers joined the company to make the "0 VND" supermarket program. The program was effective and made a very good impression in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and many epidemic areas.

In general, through these very big events that can affect the survival of the business, PNJ Company has more reason to believe that to overcome the storm, just looking at financial potential is not enough, the business needs to have a strong cultural foundation. With these two important factors, the business will be able to withstand major crises well.

It is known that PNJ has organized many social activities, towards the community. In general, what philosophy is PNJ implementing these campaigns?

Unlike most businesses, PNJ has had a sustainable development orientation from a very early age. Since its inception, PNJ has consistently implemented the philosophy of putting customer interests and social interests into the interests of the business. We have actively implemented many specific action programs through annual corporate governance renewal and innovation, and standardized sustainable development activities according to international standards. In particular, the establishment of the ESG Subcommittee under the Board of Directors has marked PNJ's strong commitment to sustainable development.

From very early on, PNJ has paid special attention to the "body - mind - spirit" of its employees. A series of specific programs were launched to unleash the inner energy of employees such as F5 - Press the Regeneration Button, Comprehensive Health Strategy for Employees... along with many training programs for the entire team to take the lead in digital transformation, the digital economy approaching the world. PNJ proactively increases diversity in the human resources system through innovative thinking, welcomes many employees from multinational corporations, empowers young people to assert themselves in senior management positions, attracts and retains talent with many policies.

A highlight of this year’s Sustainable Business Awards, PNJ was recognized as one of the Top 5 companies promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality in the workplace. This prestigious category recognizes PNJ’s tireless efforts in establishing gender equality and promoting the role of women.

For a long time, the Company has focused on building 7 principles of women's empowerment with typical contents such as: establishing senior leadership principles for gender equality; encouraging education, training and career development for women; developing businesses, supply chains, marketing activities to promote women's empowerment... Currently, female leaders at PNJ account for 56% of the company's leadership structure; The proportion of female employees has always remained above 60% in the period of 2018 - 2021.

Our female employee care policies are constantly being innovated through the issuance of special day benefits. In particular, with an open and progressive mindset, PNJ has built a culture of respecting differences with many activities supporting the LGBT community and intersex love...

How do you predict Vietnam's economic scenario will develop in 2023?

In 2022, looking at the world's economic situation getting worse, the aftershocks of Covid-19 are still severe, the economy has not recovered, tourism has not recovered, the Covid-19 epidemic has not completely passed, the crisis between Russia and Ukraine continues to occur, leading to fuel shortages and inflation, Vietnam is not out of that spiral.

European countries assess that the recession leads to a decrease in consumption. This decrease has a direct impact on the economy and our businesses. Orders for businesses are getting fewer and fewer. In the new year, I do not want to give out any bad or unpleasant information about the economy, but that is the truth and we need to look at it to have the best adaptation plans.

If you have a message to send to readers of Vietnam Economic Magazine - VnEconomy on the first day of the new year, what would you like to convey?

The Covid-19 pandemic is a huge challenge for everyone, but thanks to our efforts, we have overcome it. In the post-Covid-19 period, the challenges are purely economic, and if there are any difficulties, they cannot compare to the time when the whole country was isolated and completely closed to the outside world. As the new year comes, we will certainly have more opportunities and new chances. I believe that all difficulties will soon be resolved so that our whole country can develop more strongly.

Vneconomy