Philip Morris Bulgaria (PMB) is going through a historic transformation with the clear and ambitious goal of building a smoke-free future, placing the consumer at the center of its universe and stepping on science and facts for the development of the company's smoke-free products. With sustainability in mind in every aspect, PMB invests BGN 500,000 and over 2,000 hours in employee training and human capital development. The Top Employers Institute named Philip Morris Bulgaria as a Top Employer for an 8th consecutive year. As part of these investments, in 2023, the company promoted a unique for Bulgaria MyPersonalGrowth@PMI program. With its year-round activities, it supports the development and growth of every employee in the organization and received recognition from employees.

MyPersonalGrowth@PMI is a program aimed at Philip Morris Bulgaria employees. Some of the activities focus on developing the capabilities of managers, other activities are aimed at all employees. The targeting of both groups is based on the feedback received from employees through purposefully organized focus groups. The initiatives that were part of the project included: business simulations, trainings, role plays, interactive digital meetings, webinars, coaching and mentoring sessions.

The program started in the spring of 2023 and supported the fundamental processes in the organization such as: the process of goal setting, talent management and the process of performance evaluation with a main focus improving the understanding of the role of the organization and the role of the employee in his professional development. Activities under the program will continue this year as well.

The program is part of an engagement plan and supports the Learning, Development and Careers strategy. It is branded and accompanied by a communication plan. • Webinar, by the General Manager, who shared the principles of building a personal development plan and talked about his inspiring career path. • Business simulation for team leaders on the process of creating, tracking and evaluating individual development. • Workshops on Talent Management and Performance Appraisal processes • Mentoring initiative in a 6-country region allowed 15% of employees to get involved • RPG Team Leaders Workshop (Korn Ferry) • Coaching sessions with 20% of HR team employees to build individual development plans. Plans were reviewed to improve quality and feedback was given. • "The Art of project management", 3 days of training for project managers with a certified consultant and 2 internal trainings • 2 sessions with 4 employees who shared their career paths • Full access to the Udemy platform for every employee, with recommended trainings • Manual for access to the open positions in PMI and communication on the "Refer a friend" platform

Our holistic approach built the skills of employees to create development plans, but also motivated and supported them with the necessary tools. The share of employees who have individual development plans increased - 91% and 38% of employees were promoted or developed via lateral moves, successors were provided for all leadership roles, the result of the engagement survey in the field of personal development opportunities increased by 13 points.