Faces of HR: Maria Rubi "Bing" de Dios on creating a 'Circle of Happiness' at work

For the Megaworld L&D leader, building a culture that everyone buys into is an important factor for engagement and commitment at the workplace.

A workplace culture becomes meaningful when it is reflected not only in organisational values, but also in the everyday experiences of its people. For Maria Rubi “Bing” de Dios, this means creating an environment where employees feel connected to their work, their colleagues, and a shared sense of purpose.

At Megaworld Hotels & Resorts (MHR), this is captured through the “Circle of Happiness”: a culture guided by "Love for Self, Love for Work, Love for Family, Love for Country, and Love for God".

Bing brings more than three decades of multicultural hospitality experience to her role as Group Learning & Development Director at MHR. Her career has included HR and L&D leadership exposure across Asia, China, the Middle East, and the Americas, as well as work with brands including Banyan Hotels and Shangri-La Hotels.

Ahead of her session at Transform Talent 2026 – Philippines, she discusses with Mary Ann Bundukin how culture, regular communication, and coaching-led leadership can help strengthen engagement, and why leaders must remain committed to developing people in a changing world.

Explore her approach to building a happier, more connected workplace below.

Q What does a great day at work look like for you, and how does it remind you why you love HR?

A great day at work includes opportunities to commend at least one person, solve at least one issue that is either people-related or operations-related, work on a system that embeds a best practice, coach a leader towards developing a more engaged team, a one-hour walk/run in the evening, and a cup of good herbal tea in the evening.

Q What's one strategy you've found most effective in keeping employees engaged and committed?

Building a culture that everyone buys into is an important engagement/commitment factor in the workplace. My current organisation works around a culture which we term as the “Circle of Happiness,” with five pillars: 'Love for Self, Love for Work, Love for Family, Love for Country, and Love for God'. Our employee activities are crafted around these pillars, and metrics for both leaders and associates include minimum requirements for active involvement in these activities.

"Continuous communication – be it structured or spontaneous – is a critical factor in fostering engagement at all levels."

In my current organisation, we do quarterly hybrid organisation-wide townhalls to provide opportunity for a majority of our 3,000 employees to join and hear updates on organisation performance, strategies, challenges and wins, and allow mini celebrations of exceptional achievements across 15 hotels in NCR, Iloilo, Boracay, and Cebu.

We also send out 'The Daily Packet' that features recent events across the group, mini reminders of brand standards that can be referenced for pocket training sessions, and spiritual/thought leader words of inspiration. These are on top of daily, weekly, monthly meeting schedules managed by each hotel.

We incentivise leaders to be coaches, counsellors and mentors. We have required training for leaders to support performance management that develop rather than punish.

Q In three words, how would you describe your leadership philosophy?

I am a mentor, using a systems-approach in my advocacy to grow future leaders.

Q Could you tell us one thing about you that people might be surprised to know?

I allocate schedules for solo travel as my antidote to stress.

Q As a speaker at #TransformTalentPH, what is the #1 call to action you hope for attendees to take away from your session?

Work may evolve in content and approach due to technological and environmental changes, but the core of a leader’s work as “builders of men” shall remain and continues to be relevant in any era.

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