Recently, the HR and Corporate Communications Section hosted a visit for students currently following the MCAST – Pathway to Independent Living course. This is the second time that Pathway students visited our offices, following a similar initiative last year. This time, after a highly enjoyable ice-breaking activity, a total of nine students, together with their teachers and co-ordinators were shown around the three floors, participated in question and answer sessions with a number of employees, and attended a presentation that included information about our company.

The visit came to an end at around 13:00 with the MCAST students enjoying close-up views of the SmartCity Laguna. A big thanks from the HR and Corporate Communications team goes out to all the staff members who assisted in any way for this visit to be a success.

(During the walkabout.)

(Christine Apap, HR & Corporate Communications Manager, delivering the presentation.)

(During the Presentation.)

(Rodianne Galea, Payroll Administrator, during the Q&A session.)

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We may have been missing a yodelling contest at this year’s Oktoberfest activity held in the Lounge Area but the other elements typically found in the Oktoberfest Beer Tents in Munich were all there: traditional Bavarian food, games and competitions, fun and partying, and, of course, tons and tons of beer! The Oktoberfest activity has become an annual tradition here and has been held for six consecutive years. The timing of this annual activity is often challenged – if it’s called Oktoberfest, then why is it being held in September we are often asked!

Well, the answer to that is that the tradition goes back to when celebrations were first held in Germany as part of the wedding festivities of a Bavarian King and his wife who got married on 12th October (wait for it!) 1810! Because the weather tends to become quite cold in Germany by mid-October, over the years, Oktoberfest activities started earlier and lasted for longer too. Nowadays Oktoberfest festivities start in the third weekend of September and end in the first weekend of October. History lesson over.

For those of you who couldn’t be with us on the 30th September, you can still have a look at what went on in the Lounge Area that evening… and for those of you who were there, you can relive the laughs and the thrills of the beer competition!! Exclusive video of the event on the right.

(From Left to Right: Nadia Tabone, Jessica Vella Parnis and Jelena Djurovic, during the Oktoberfest event.)

(A glimpse of the wholesome homemade food available at the Oktoberfest event.)

(During the event.)

(Exclusive video of ‘The Oktoberfest’ event.)

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Once again another tournament organised by the Sports and Social Committee (SSC) came to an end, and a new champion won the coveted title. This time, Kristov Cassar from the Youtravel team left all opponents behind him, as he advanced to the final match and won the FIFA 16 tournament against Warren Cardona from Meeting Point International.

The tournament attracted 24 participants in total. For those of you who are familiar with the Champions League Cup, the tournament had a similar structure where two participants from each Group went through to the final. After the Group stages, those who qualified entered the elimination stage, leading to the final. On behalf of the SSC we would like to congratulate Kristov for winning, and all other participants for the effort shown in the tournament.

(From Left to Right: Joshua Dalli, SSC member, together with Kristov Cassar, winner of the tournament, during the presentation of the cup.)

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Without any doubt, the month of October is associated by many with the National Breast Cancer Awareness month, an annual international health campaign organised by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the illness and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. In the light of this, we couldn’t but support, again, this noble cause and organise, for the second consecutive time, the FTIAS & Meeting Point (MP) Pink October Campaign.

Various initiatives were coordinated at our offices. We kicked off with a Cake Bake Sale, with part of the proceeds going to Europa Donna Malta. The next event was Pink Wednesday, where everyone was asked to wear a pink garment or a pink ribbon. Last but not least, some of our employees took part in the Nestlé Walk for Life event, organised by Pink October Malta.

On behalf of FTIAS and Meeting Point, we would like to thank all our employees for supporting our Pink October initiatives. Without you, all this couldn’t be possible.

(A glimpse of some of the lovely cakes and muffins donated by the staff for the Cake Bake Sale initiative.)

(A shot of the table, displaying all the cakes and muffins donated by the staff, before the start of the Cake Bake Sale initiative.)

(A glimpse of some of the lovely cakes and muffins donated by the staff for the Cake Bake Sale initiative.)

(A before and after of the table during the Cake Bake Sale initiative.)

(The Customer Relations and Payments Control team posing for the photo on the Pink Wednesday initiative.)

(A behind the scenes shot of the FTI Supplier Relations team having the group photo taken during the Pink Wednesday initiative.)

(The FTI Supplier Invoice Processing team posing for the photo on the Pink Wednesday initiative.)

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Are you keeping up to date with the latest news and updates at FTIAS? The latest FTIAS Newsletter is now available. It will give you in-depth information on what’s happening inside our company. Read more here… www.ftias.com/about-us/company-newsletter/

The post FTIAS Newsletter – Volume 7 Edition 10 appeared first on FTIAS.

The new year will see the introduction of a Country HR concept for Malta that will provide HR support and services to FTIAS Ltd, Meeting Point Malta and Meeting Point International.

The idea behind having a Country HR is to have a common understanding between the three companies that will serve to streamline FTI Group policies and guarantee common guidelines that would be applicable to all three companies operating from SmartCity Malta.

Pietro Princi, who has been forming part of the HR Section for over a year now, will be taking on the new role of Senior HR Officer – Meeting Point and will become the focal point for Meeting Point Malta and Meeting Point International (Malta) staff members. He will continue to be based at the HR & Corporate Communications Office, currently on Level 5.

(Pietro Princi, Senior HR Officer for Meeting Point Malta and Meeting Point International (Malta) staff members.)

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During the past few weeks, FTIAS’s management team participated in training sessions about the use of the new HR Software Management System for the FTI Group, ‘engage!’, which is currently being rolled out in Malta. The first module to have gone live is the Applicant Module and in fact the entire recruitment process has now been migrated to the new system.

In the coming weeks, team members from the Projects and the Human Resources Section will be travelling to the FTI Group Headquarters, in Munich, to participate in a workshop dedicated to training for the second module that will be going live locally in ‘engage!’, namely the Employee Module. Training will also be subsequently given to all staff members here who will need to use this module. engage! will improve the FTI Group’s Human Resources processes, making them more efficient, whilst also enhancing the current reporting procedures. In the coming months engage! will also be rolled out in a number of other subsidiary Companies of the FTI Group, after the international rollout had started with Malta.

(engage! HR Software Management System’s home page.)

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Without any doubt, the month of November is associated by many with the International Prostate Cancer Awareness month, an annual international health campaign organised by major charities every November to increase awareness of the illness and to raise funds. To this extent we couldn’t not support this noble cause and organise our very own Movember initiative. Where all male employees at FTIAS and Meeting Point (MP) were invited to take a group photo with a giant moustache, measuring 1.7 meters in length, to be posted on the
Company’s social media platforms. With the ultimate intent of raising awareness about this noble cause.

We would like to thank all FTIAS and MP Mo Bros for supporting our Movember initiative. Persons interested in additional details can check the website https://uk.movember.com/ or visit their Facebook page www.facebook.com/MovemberUK/.

(FTIAS and Meeting Point male employees preparing to take the group photo, holding up the giant moustache.)

(FTIAS and Meeting Point male employees preparing to take the group photo, holding up the giant moustache.)

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The Maltese calendar is jam-packed with feasts and it comes as no surprise that all too often traditional foods are associated with them too. Truth be said, here we have nothing against this. On the contrary, being that we all know what a sweet tooth we have, on the 18th November the Sports and Social Committee (SSC) collaborated once again with Baron Confectionary who supplied us with the traditional bone shaped sweets, linked to the month of November, mostly known to us as ‘Għadam tal-Mejtin’. Similar in taste to the traditional Maltese Figolli prepared during Lent, ‘Għadam tal-Mejtin’ are loved by many and although we agree that they may look or sound creepy, their taste is divine! One last thing, as a Committee, we would like to apologise if, in any way, we might have tempted you to break your diet.

(From Left to Right: Brenda Santonocito, SSC member, distributing the ‘Ghadam tal-Mejtin’ delicacy to Kim Busutil, FTI Suplier Invoice Processing.)

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Earlier on this month, FTIAS has launched its new careers portal, on the Company’s website, called “FTIAS Careers”. It’s now illustrating the Company’s job vacancies in a more attractive and professional way whilst also making it easier for potential candidates to browse through the job specifications of the vacancy and to apply if interested.

Because today everyone is so active on different social media platforms, we made sure to add a Facebook and LinkedIn share button on our Careers portal, making the sharing of our vacancies easier at a click of a button.

All that needs to be done is to:

1. Find the required vacancy in the Company’s career portal which can be accessed here: www.ftias.com/careers/job-vacancies/, and click “More”.
2. Scroll down to the end of the text, and you will notice a button named “Share this Job”. Click either on the Facebook or LinkedIn icon.
3. A new window will open and all you need to do is click on the “Post to Facebook” or “Share” button for Facebook and LinkedIn respectively.

And that’s it! You are now able to share a job vacancy among your Facebook friends or LinkedIn contacts with just three simple clicks!

(Step 1.)

(Step 2.)

(Step 3.)

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Are you keeping up to date with the latest news and updates at FTIAS? The latest FTIAS Newsletter is now available. It will give you in-depth information on what’s happening inside our company. Read more here… www.ftias.com/about-us/company-newsletter/

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Are you keeping up to date with the latest news and updates at FTIAS? The latest FTIAS Newsletter is now available. It will give you in-depth information on what’s happening inside our company. Read more here… www.ftias.com/about-us/company-newsletter/

The post FTIAS Newsletter – Volume 7 Edition 12 appeared first on FTIAS.

Are you keeping up to date with the latest news and updates at FTIAS? The latest FTIAS Newsletter is now available. It will give you in-depth information on what’s happening inside our company. Read more here… www.ftias.com/about-us/company-newsletter/

The post FTIAS Newsletter – Volume 8 Edition 1 appeared first on FTIAS.

Are you keeping up to date with the latest news and updates at FTIAS? The latest FTIAS Newsletter is now available. It will give you in-depth information on what’s happening inside our company. Read more here… www.ftias.com/about-us/company-newsletter/

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The year 2017 started off on a very positive note for all FTIAS and Meeting Point staff members, with the introduction of the “Employee Assistance Programme” (EAP), offered by Caritas Malta, and funded by FTIAS and Meeting Points. Caritas Malta will be offering support on various types of challenges that staff members could be facing that may include marital issues, financial difficulties, unmanaged emotional stress, gambling, drug and alcohol abuse, and much more.

FTIAS and Meeting Point will be teaming up with Caritas Malta to raise awareness about the pitfalls of substance misuse and other social problems that could adversely affect one’s personal and social lifestyle. Staff members can either contact Caritas Malta directly for assistance, on the details found at the bottom right of the page, where one-to-one sessions with the right professional will be set up or else they can liaise with Rodianne Galea, from the HR Team, who can be reached on ex. 7506 for further guidance. Strict confidentiality
will be respected at all times.

Workshops that will be tackling topical issues are also to be organised, with the first workshop, held on the 7th February, related to Social Media, and the discussion revolved around how to use such a medium in a safe way and in moderation and also how it is affecting our daily lives.

(Marica Mizzi, Caritas Malta PR and Fundraising Officer, during the Social Media Workshop, conducted on the 7th February 2017.)

Workshops that will be tackling topical issues are also to be organised, with the first workshop, held on the 7th February, related to Social Media, and the discussion revolved around how to use such a medium in a safe way and in moderation and also how it is affecting our daily lives.

(Some of the attendees during the Social Media Workshop, conducted on the 7th February 2017.)

Workshops that will be tackling topical issues are also to be organised, with the first workshop, held on the 7th February, related to Social Media, and the discussion revolved around how to use such a medium in a safe way and in moderation and also how it is affecting our daily lives.

(Some of the attendees during the Social Media Workshop, conducted on the 7th February 2017..)

Workshops that will be tackling topical issues are also to be organised, with the first workshop, held on the 7th February, related to Social Media, and the discussion revolved around how to use such a medium in a safe way and in moderation and also how it is affecting our daily lives.

(Marica Mizzi, Caritas Malta PR and Fundraising Officer, during the Social Media Workshop, conducted on the 7th February 2017.)

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Following the first Customer Relations workshop, given to FTI Supplier Relations (SR) team, back in July 2016, another workshop was organised, this time for the BigXtra SR team. The workshop, which was held over two days, was split into two sessions, of three hours each. The main focus of the workshop was the quality of the service FTIAS provides to its stakeholders. Both workshops were chaired by BigXtra Manager, Maria Calleja, and Customer Relations Manager, Carlo Ciscaldi.

The workshop kicked off with a close look at the Company’s mission statement, subsequently leading to a clear identification of what the core values at FTIAS are and what they really stand for. This was followed by a brainstorming session where the Officers were asked to list three tasks (out of the many they carry out on a weekly basis), and explain why they have identified them as most ‘important’. A very interesting debate regarding the priorities identified by the individual team members ensued.

The second and final session focused on ‘Attitude’, ‘Work ethics’ and ‘Time Management’ which when mastered not only make the place of work more enjoyable to be in, but also help create efficient and effective teams. The workshop was also supplemented with a fun game using playing cards, where participants had to arrange the cards in a predetermined order in the least possible time frame. Attendees were divided into two teams, with each team having two chances to arrange the cards. The exercise was followed by a discussion on the importance of communicating effectively with each other, especially when working in teams, in order to achieve the best possible results. The idea is to continue these type of workshops since interest and participation in these initial sessions was very encouraging, whilst giving the opportunity to the Officers to express themselves on subjects that are really important for their personal development.

(BigXtra Supplier Relations team during the group exercises.)

(BigXtra Supplier Relations team during the group exercises.)

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Earlier on this month FTIAS Ltd., for the very first time, participated in what has become a tradition in Malta, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Day 2017, with 15 companies, totalling 300 volunteered employees, joining forces to help and support Non-
Govermental Organisations (NGOs) on the day.

The initiative kick-started at the President’s Palace, at 0800 hours, at San Anton Palace, Attard, where attendees had a quick tea/coffee, followed by a short speech by Her Excellency, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. After that, each company headed to its respective project, with FTIAS supporting K.I.D.s programme, in Żejtun, forming part of the Richmond Foundation, which helps children, aged between five to eleven years old, who have experienced severe emotional and behavioural difficulties. Once on location, attendees were split into two teams, with one team cleaning K.I.D.s driveway from the surroundings, and the other preparing some meals for the children, to be frozen and utilised when needed.

It was indeed a special way of spending a Saturday morning, helping and supporting the little ones :).

(Staff members, and their friends / relatives, from FTIAS Ltd. clearing K.I.D.s driveway surroundings.)

(Staff members, and their friends / relatives, from FTIAS Ltd. preparing some meal for K.I.D.s children.)

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‘My voice, my community’ was the slogan utilised during this year’s World Down’s Syndrome Week (WDSW) international campaign, between the 20th and the 26th of March 2017. And of course, we couldn’t let this opportunity pass by without organising our own initiatives, in support of our Front Office Assistant, Thomas Buttigieg, starting off with a short video clip, featuring Thomas during a day’s work. Following that, an interview was also co-ordinated together with Television Malta, which was aired on Tuesday 21st March, which happens to be World Down’s Syndrome Day, during the evening News broadcast. To end this special week, and for the first time ever, a ‘Lots of Socks’ Day was also organised, where staff members ordered odd (non-matching) socks, from the Down’s Syndrome Association, and wore them on the day to show that people with Down’s Syndrome are different, but at the same time similar.

(Staff members during the ‘Lots of Socks’ initiative, right after they revealed to Thomas that all of them were wearing the non-matching sock to show their support to him.)

(Staff members during the ‘Lots of Socks’ initiative, right after they revealed to Thomas that all of them were wearing the non-matching sock to show their support to him.)

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During the month of March, we have welcomed Noah’s Ark Dog Sanctuary to our offices where a donation was presented, from the money collected through the monthly charity days.

Noah’s Ark is a charity organisation hosting dogs which would have been roaming the streets, many of which were ill-treated by their owners. Upon entering the sanctuary all dogs are neutered, dewormed, and taken to the vet for any medication that they require. All expenses for these costs are covered solely through public donations. Persons interested in additional details can check the website www.noahsarkmalta.
org/ or visit their Facebook page www.facebook.com/Noahs-Ark-Malta-Dogs-for-Adoption-135406519967432/?fref=ts.

(From Left to Right: Noah’s Ark representative, Fabio Ciappara, together with Kelly Magri Atkins, HR and Corporate Communications, and Cherise Psaila, BigXtra Supplier Relations, presenting the donation.)

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The business link between MCAST and FTIAS Ltd continued growing from strength to strength during the month of March where for the third consecutive year the Company was invited to deliver an information talk to all students currently in the final year of their two-year course, leading to an Advanced Diploma in Accounting, awarded by MCAST, about the wide range of career opportunities brought by the upsurge in demand for back office administrative services. Following the information talk, an Open Day was also organised, at FTIAS’s offices with all students present for the information talk being invited over. MCAST students had the chance to observe the business operation first-hand, attend a presentation on ‘Interviewing Tips’, and also meet up with some of the employees, who had previously followed their same course for a ‘Q&A’ session.

(MCAST students during the ‘Interviewing Tips’ presentation, delivered by FTIAS’s HR Manager, Christine Apap, as part of the Open Day at FTIAS.)

(Some of the MCAST students, taking notes during the presentation on ‘Interviewing Tips’.)

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