HRD SG 1.1 Employer of Choice

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Singapore’s workforce has spoken. The votes are in. Who did employees name as the best employers in HRD’s inaugural Employer of Choice survey?

WHAT MAKES an Employer of Choice?Firstly, that depends on what employees want. Whether it’s a

competitive remuneration package, strong company leadership, training and development opportunities, or work-life balance, every employee has an opinion.

But it also depends on if management is listening. Employees have many ideas on things that would make their working lives better, but do they actually think their employers are using these ideas to improve their employment value proposition?

That’s why we asked them. In our inaugural 2015 Employer of Choice

Survey, HRD Singapore went out to Singapore’s workforce to give them the chance to highlight the things they both loved and loathed at their places of employment.

The result? A list of Singapore’s best employers, the companies that employees want to work for and are proud to call Employers of Choice.

The results show many things, but one most of all: Singapore’s employers are doing a lot right in their quest to attract and retain the best talent. Aspiring companies could do much worse than follow the example of the best in the market, as they push the boundaries of HR best practice.

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LEADING FROM THE CENTER

HRD: Why has the Center for Creative Leadership decided to be involved in the Employer of Choice awards?ROLAND B SMITH: For more than four decades, we at the Center for Creative Leadership [CCL] have been committed to shaping and accelerating the leadership journeys of individuals, teams, organisations and entire communities in Asia and the world. As a top-ranked global provider of executive education, we recognise that

of Choice is very critical for employers, and cannot be understated. It is especially important for organisations seeking driven and talented individuals looking to grow in their careers and unlock their leadership potential. Such awards also boost the reputation of employers and can potentially attract more talent.

HRD: How do you believe such accolades impact on candidates and existing employees?

HRD partnered with the Center for Creative Leadership to bring you the 2015 Employer of Choice Awards. Speaking to HRD, the Center’s Roland B Smith explains why being an Employer of Choice matters more than ever

value recognition, welfare and employee engagement.

HRD: The overall Gold, Silver and Bronze winners on the list had to perform consistently well across a number of different categories. What would your advice be to companies that aspire to be seen as ‘best employers’? RS: As Asia continues on this trajectory of tremendous growth, organisations need to be more keenly tuned to the global scene. This global complexity and change has greatly increased the demand for wiser managers and leaders who are more learning-agile, to overcome the challenges ahead. Employees are also in search of a complete and holistic experience, transcending mere ‘needs’, such as salary and a good working environment, to ‘wants’ – being constantly engaged beyond the basic tasks of work, and having a sense of belonging and autonomy as well.

HRD: How do you think organisations can maintain and even constantly improve upon their Employer of Choice status?RS: Innovation among employees is highly underrated, and organisations should create a system to encourage employee innovation, complemented with a culture that supports that mindset moving forward. Additionally, the organisation needs to recognise the importance of listening to employees. It is the only way that they can customise solutions that meet the needs of their employees – there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and what may work currently may not work as well in the future. Constant tweaks need to be made in engagement strategies to maximise employee potential.

HRD: Do you believe the Center for Creative Leadership is important to creating the future Employers of Choice?RS: Very true. We endeavour to epitomise leadership development, transforming the way leaders, their organisations and their societies confront the most difficult challenges of the 21st century. This includes developing innovative solutions and programs to empower employers and employees alike to recognise the power of their ideas and aspirations to create the most ideal working environment, and transform leaders and organisations that move worlds.

“We think being recognised as an Employer of Choice is very critical for

employers, and cannot be understated” Roland B Smith

employers play an integral role in identifying and maximising talent, so it was easy to decide to be involved with the Employer of Choice awards – especially one that celebrates and recognises the best employers in Singapore.

HRD: Do you think Employer of Choice status is increasingly important in Singapore, and why? RS: We think being recognised as an Employer

RS: Because Singapore employees are increasingly savvy, and acutely aware of the value of these accolades, they do recognise employers that can help realise their potential to grow in their career. This becomes even more important in light of the high turnover rates we see from today’s workforce in many industries. No longer are employees satisfied simply with stability; they are constantly on the lookout for greener pastures, and strongly


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HRD EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

METHODOLOGY

Date of survey: June–July 2015

Method: Online survey

Number of respondents: 1,332 employees from 118 companies

Employer of Choice status was determined by averaging employee scores given to a range of questions/statements. Scores ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) for the following questions/statements:

• My employer provides satisfactory remuneration

• My work provides su� cient opportunities for training and professional development

• My work o� ers a clear career progression path for all employees

• My employer has a strong commitment to achieving gender equality in the workplace

• My employer provides me with su� cient opportunities to do interesting and challenging work

• My employer gives me access to the technology I need to do my work e� ectively

• My workplace has a strong work culture and a high level of engagement

• My employer fosters an environment of trust and empowerment

• My employer demonstrates e� ective leadership

• My employer helps me achieve a work-life balance

• My employer supports my health and wellbeing

How many hours do you work each week?

Shell Eastern Petroleum

Marina Bay Sands

Singtel

10–27 hours

1%

28–47 hours

53%

48–58 hours

36%

58+ hours

10%

“It is our strong belief that people are our key di� erentiator at Shell. Our reputation for a collaborative culture, and a high level of authenticity, trust and respect for others, is well known and well regarded by our partners, our industry and our stakeholders. Likewise, Shell has a strong culture for work-life balance and being pro-family, and this is attested to by leaders who are supportive and walk the talk.” Leslie Hayward, vice president of HR for Singapore & Asia

Oceania Operations, Shell Eastern Petroleum

500+ EMPLOYEES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

RESPONDENT SNAPSHOT

Gender:

Female

44%

Male

56%

“It is our strong belief that people are our key

well known and well regarded by our partners, our industry and our stakeholders. Likewise, Shell has a strong culture for work-life balance and being



How many days of annual leave have you taken in the last 12 months? Are you likely to change employers in the next 12 months?

17% 83%

YesNo

Jardine One Solution Power2Motivate

Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore

Cegos Asia Paci� c

PropertyGuru Aluzinc Asia

31%4–10 days

8%21+ days

12%less than 3 days

49%11–20 days

“Power2Motivate’s success is infl uenced by a strong belief that everyone in the business plays a signifi cant role in maintaining a healthy culture at work. Having a senior leadership team that genuinely believe our people and culture is our strongest competitive advantage and demonstrate a willingness to invest in employee engagement activities is vitally important.”Mark Robinson, executive general manager

EMEA & APAC, Power2Motivate

“At Jardine One Solution, sta� have witnessed the constant e� orts we are putting in to improve areas like productivity e� ciency, sta� communications, sta� welfare and benefi ts, and initiatives that create a fun workplace for employees. We take feedback seriously, by not only working on the action plans but also keeping employees posted on progress.” Lynn Pua, Southeast Asia head of HR & administration,

Jardine One Solution

100-500 EMPLOYEES <100 EMPLOYEES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

RESPONDENT SNAPSHOT

putting in to improve areas like productivity

welfare and benefi ts, and initiatives that create a fun workplace for employees. We take feedback seriously, by not only working

“Power2Motivate’s success is infl uenced by a strong belief that everyone in the business plays a signifi cant role in maintaining a healthy culture at work. Having a senior leadership team that genuinely believe our people and culture is our strongest competitive advantage and demonstrate a willingness to


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EMPLOYEES RATE remuneration as one of the areas that satisfy them the least. When compared with all other categories, remuneration satisfaction was second lowest, with employers scoring an average of 3.66 out of 5.

However, that doesn’t mean employees are actually dissatisfi ed. The Employer of Choice survey results show the majority of employees agreed (39.7%) or strongly agreed (21.2%) that their remuneration level was satisfactory, with a total of only 12% saying openly that they disagreed or strongly disagreed.

But employers would be wise to remain competitive within their industry and be transparent about pay levels, as employees are watching this closely. “There is still room to improve compared to the market standard,” one respondent

said. “It’s below industry average pay, there are no salary grades, and there is a wide disparity of salary for the same position,” said another.

Leaders in remuneration recognise these factors. Aluzinc and Shell both benchmark against their industries, in order to satisfy their talent.

“Ensuring our pay is competitive is but one part of our whole value proposition to employees, and we do this through a rigorous process of bench-marking pay against our competitors,” said Shell’s regional vice president of HR, Leslie Hayward. “We pay our employees more in comparison to similar fi rms in the industry as we do value our employees and wish to attract and retain the best people,” said Aluzinc assistant vice president of HR Rachel Chew.

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES


Marina Bay Sands

Aluzinc Asia

REMUNERATION

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENTEMPLOYERS SHOULD be comforted by one thing: employees want to get better at their jobs and are enthusiastic about undergoing training to do it. Most agree their employers are providing them with opportunities to develop their professional skills. “We have two training institutes and our company strongly encourages training by using KPIs annually. We never fear that there is no training,” one said.

But employees are calling for consis tency across an organisation, which is not dependent on their position or department. “Training is very dependent on what kind of leader you are reporting to. My department does not have any. However, to be fair, at company level, they do encourage this,” one respondent explained.

Top-performing companies embrace innovative approaches. Singtel has regional leadership programs that provide its future

leaders with the capabilities to shape the industry. “One of the most popular programs is our annual Learning Fiesta. Last year we had over 20,000 learning places for 179 topics during the four-day event,” group chief HR o� cer Aileen Tan said.

Shell has sophisticated competency management frameworks, and a genuine approach to performance reviews. “Fundamentally, it is really about our leaders taking a personal interest at developing our people,” says regional HR head Leslie Hayward. “While one can have structured learning programs – and we have programs for colleagues at di� erent levels – their learnings are really embedded while on-the-job with follow-ups and coaching with their supervisors and line leaders. It is this culture that helps drive our people development and continuous improvement.”


Power2Motivate


Singtel



TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

“Our HR total rewards team has designed a robust rewards compensation system to recognise strong contributors and motivate employees.” Yit Foon Chan, senior vice president HR, Marina Bay Sands

“Singtel works hard to develop our people to help them reach their full potential. We have a full range of training programs to build both technical skills as well as management capability.” Aileen Tan, group chief HR officer, Singtel

MY WORK PROVIDES SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

4.90%7.52%

21.85%37.24%

28.50%

MY EMPLOYER PROVIDES SATISFACTORY REMUNERATION

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

8.39%27.10%

39.69%

3.67%

21.15%


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JP Morgan

NTUC Income Insurance

CAREER PROGRESSION

TOP-PERFORMING COMPANIES IF THERE is one area in which employees say their employers can improve, it is career progression. Out of all categories surveyed, a clear progression path was ranked lowest by employees, with an overall score of just 3.55 out of 5.

A relatively large slice of Employer of Choice participants (15.6%) were moved to declare that they disagreed or strongly disagreed they had a clear progression path. A further nonplussed group (27.1%) were neutral.

Employee feedback shows it is a lack of clarity that dissatisfi es employees the most. Many are confused about opportunities, or if they will be considered.

“Frequent change of management focus makes career progression a blur and confusing for sta� to keep up, a� ecting morale. Such a trial and error approach

jeopardizes employees’ career progression, making it very hard for them to see their career path,” said one survey participant.

On the other hand, employees who had transparency about their future were enthusiastic about their roles. “I have very open discussions with my board looking at the next 3-5 years,” one participant said.

Employers should take comfort that over half (57.3%) of employees still rated themselves satisfi ed or very satisfi ed, despite the low overall score. Hotel Jen Orchardgateway HR manager Derick Ooi said in the end employees wanted to see a future. “Indeed they can see their own progress and glimpse the very clear career path stretching out in front of them. I believe this is what they seek, as they strive to achieve personal goals and objectives,” he said.

GENDER EQUALITY

Shell EasternPetroleum


Central Provident Fund

EMPLOYEES HAVE spoken: when it comes to gender equality, employers in Singapore are doing everything right, and employees appreciate it greatly. “We have a high proportion of both sexes in the office,” said one participant. “We are an equal opportunity employer and this works well in all respects,” said another. And this: “Really appreciate this in our workplace!”

Employees rated their feelings on gender equality in the workplace higher than any other criteria tested within the Employer of Choice survey. A huge majority (76.6%) of participants said they either agreed or strongly agreed their employers had a ‘strong commitment’ to achieving gender equality. Only 7.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.

Employers are achieving gender

equality in a variety of ways. Top-performing company Jardine One Solution, for example, has a commitment to rewarding employees based on merit, rather than gender, and o� ers equal opportunities for promotion and training to male and female employees alike.

Shell has made gender equality a ‘pillar’ within its workplace, and has an aspiration to fi ll at least 20% of senior positions with females globally. “This starts with the authenticity of our culture that empowers both genders,” regional HR head Leslie Hayward says. “It takes a holistic approach that encompasses gender specifi c recruitment targets, gender friendly policies, management support at all levels and an inclusive work environment with women networks, mentoring circles and appropriate leadership programs.”



“If employees know their own targets and are pointed in the right direction, they take ownership and do their best to ensure these targets are met.” Derick Ooi, HR manager, Hotel Jen Orchardgateway

GENDER EQUALITY

MY WORK OFFERS A CLEAR CAREER PROGRESSION PATH FOR ALL EMPLOYEES

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

5.07%10.49%

27.10%38.81%

18.53%

“We have pledged to be a fair employer through recruiting employees based on merit – skills, experience and ability – regardless of age, gender, religion, and nationality. We reward staff based on their performance and contribution.” Lynn Pua, Southeast Asia head of HR & administration, Jardine One Solution

MY EMPLOYER HAS A STRONG COMMITMENT TO ACHIEVING GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

2.80%4.37%

16.26%34.27%

42.31%



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EMPLOYEES WANT a challenge and generally agree that employers are giving them the quality work they seek, with an overall category score of 3.97 out of 5.

“I am constantly asked to take on new challenges,” said one participant. “With new clients and challenges daily, it means that we can be engaged all the time,” said another. Others said they were creating their own work: “There is a lot of autonomy and trust given to employees to create such opportunities.”

The responses of employees not being challenged showed just how important this aspect of HR actually is. “There is a lack of brain stimulation during work, it’s very stagnant, and challenges become repetitive so it is less interesting and not challenging,” said one participant. “My job scope does not have any power for decision making, and I always need to seek advice from superiors before committing to the client whenever any demand arises,” said another.

Top-performing company Cegos Asia Pacifi c said giving employees

opportunities actually created “great coachable moments” that could even turn into “excellent hot-beds for new ideas and di� erent ways of working”.

“As leaders in this business we have defi ned process and systems to help us work – in many cases our employees have challenged this and evolved the approach, suggested and championed new ways of working,” explained regional managing director Jeremy Blain.

“Where this works there is a greater sense of empowerment and ownership across the team.”

Companies like Cegos recognise that constant change means employees can actually help organisations be more agile.

“We need more help in this than perhaps some leaders are willing to admit to. Our philosophy at Cegos is that we have talent at all levels and we should mine this and be prepared to learn from our people as much as us supporting them.”

“We respect our sta� to the extent that we will challenge them and not just give them menial tasks to complete. We want value-add from everyone and we feel we have employees at all levels who can add value beyond their job description. We actively encourage and provide these opportunities to get stuck in and demonstrate what they can do.” Jeremy Blain, regional managing director, Cegos Asia Paci� c



JP Morgan

NTUC Income Insurance

QUALITY OF WORK

MY EMPLOYER PROVIDES ME WITH SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITIES TO DO INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING WORK

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

2.45%6.99%

15.38%

41.61%33.57%




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LEADING EMPLOYERS are wholeheartedly embracing technology as they seek to make workplaces more e� cient and e� ective, and more collaborative.

And employees are noticing. “My employer encourages me to fl exibly use social technologies that suit the region, culture and networking in the Asia-Pacifi c region,” said one participant. “We spend more than some tech fi rms in terms of investment in technology, which shows our fi rm’s dedication to creating the best possible work environment for its people,” said another.

However, lack of access to e� cient technology can be very frustrating for employees, and they are not afraid to voice their displeasure. “Most of the sites are blocked, which makes it di� cult to do sourcing,” said one. “Always no budget or the machines and devices given are not brand new,” said another. Many complained that not enough was being invested in overall IT infrastructure, causing things like ‘laggy’ computers to slow down employees, or tasks like data entry to be unnecessarily time-consuming.

It is interesting to note that, although employees generally agree they are being given access to the technology they need to do their work, there were fewer employees that strongly agreed in this Employer of Choice category.

Cegos Asia Pacifi c is one company leading the way, saying increasing demand for a “personalised human capital strategy” will require appropriate technology and tools to enable greater levels of cross-organisational collaboration and communication. Aluzinc’s Rachel Chew agreed: “We ensure accessibility of technology is readily available to enhance constant engagement in and out of the workplace among employees.”

Cegos plans to forge ahead: it already uses e-learning and mobile learning, and has attempted to stave o� “death-by-email” by introducing WhatsApp Messenger groups, which has already resulted in a “massive productivity boost”. “We employ the best technologies for the jobs in hand, without bamboozling our employees or customers,” regional managing director Jeremy Blain said.


“We believe in working hard and smart, so technology is a tool that we strongly embrace to enhance our workfl ow and processes. This in turn minimises unnecessary work processes and shortens turnaround times, helping us to increase our employee satisfaction levels.”Rachel Chew, assistant vice president, HR & administration, Aluzinc Asia


Cargill

Aluzinc Asia

TECHNOLOGY

MY EMPLOYER GIVES ME ACCESS TO THE TECHNOLOGY I NEED TO DO MY WORK EFFECTIVELY

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

2.45%6.47%

19.06%

42.31%29.72%



WITH THE second-highest overall score of 3.97 out of 5, work culture and engagement is something Singapore’s employers are doing right.

Almost three-quarters (74.5%) of employees either agreed or strongly agreed they had a strong work culture, and a further 16.1% were neutral.

“Unparalleled,” said one ecstatic employee. “Our leadership walks the talk.” And another said: “We have a very strong and fun work culture. This allows us to work e� ciently and still enjoy ourselves along the way.”

Top-performer Power2Motivate said the company strives to be open and direct while promoting a challenging work environment that develops its people.

“We work as a team with respect and trust for each other, have fun, recognise, celebrate and reward our accomplishments,” said executive general manager Mark Robinson.

“Power2Motivate has created a culture that is enthusiastic, dynamic, high on trust, low on politics, great at sharing resources and is full of meaning

and signifi cance. We all understand our purpose and vision. We also possess a strong work ethic with big ideas.”

However, employees were not all complimentary. Some complained that the culture had changed over time with the departure of key employees, and others that they worked in silos, which did not foster company-wide engagement.

Marina Bay Sands o� ers a range of social activities, including recreational clubs for badminton, basketball, bowling, soccer, dragon boat and athletics, while Jardine One Solution credits some of its culture success to a range of team-building activities designed to foster collaboration and team spirit.


“Our culture is high energy, passionate, fun and collaborative. Respect also plays an important part in our values where we respect not only our ‘Gurus’ and customers, but also pride ourselves on giving back to the community. We think it resonates well as the team is young and want a sense of purpose.”

Christine Loo, chief people and culture o� cer, PropertyGuru

Power2Motivate

Central Provident Fund Board

PropertyGuru

WORK CULTURE AND ENGAGEMENT

MY EMPLOYER HAS A STRONG WORK CULTURE AND A HIGH LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

3.67%5.77%

16.08%

39.34%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 4035.14%


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EMPLOYEES VALUE being trusted highly, and Singapore’s employers are striving to invest more responsibility in their staff to give them a competitive edge.

The Employer of Choice survey results show that employees largely agree they are being trusted by their employers. Only a small proportion of respondents (10.3%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with their current empowerment.

When asked if their employer fostered an environment of trust and empowerment, one employee said: “My board will empower me and supports my decisions for the long term.” And another said: “Most definitely, even down to intern level.” The competitive advantage this brings was very clear: “All employees are empowered to ‘make it right’ with the customer.”

Jardine One Solution’s Lynn Pua said the company’s policies described levels of authority, and this provided managers at different levels within the organisation with clear guidelines on approval. “In addition, staff are engaged in important meetings and projects and offered the chance to bring new ideas to the table for making improvements to processes and job tasks.”

Cegos Asia Pacific, meanwhile, employs a fairly flat structure without layers of management, meaning there is an open-door policy running both ways. “We should all be able to talk freely and openly to one another, share input, provide feedback and be prepared to receive it in the right spirit,” said regional managing director Jeremy Blain. “This helps us operate better as a team and allows for more flexible working, lighter moments and a balance between work and outside of it. This is appreciated by our valued employees and in return the company gets high degrees of loyalty, low staff turnover and professional customer-focused working practices. A win-win.”

Blain said Cegos employees appreciated being able to take ownership of their part in the company, without being ‘micro-managed’. “We allow for mistakes and encourage a certain amount of calculated risk taking – sometimes this works and sometimes not – but every time we as a company and our employees learn from it, improve and get better the next time,” he said.


“The trust in our staff makes them take personal pride in their work and own a piece of the company’s success. It is not easy to seek our managers’ buy-in for engaged employees and to earn trust and empowerment, but our top management’s support has played a part in pushing this credence further.”Lynn Pua, Southeast Asia head of HR & administration, Jardine One Solution


JP Morgan

Central Provident Fund Board

TRUST AND EMPOWERMENT

MY EMPLOYER FOSTERS AN ENVIRONMENT OF TRUST AND EMPOWERMENT

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

4.02%6.29%

14.86%

42.48%32.34%



“To have a sustainable business, we need to have strong leaders who can not only develop the strategies to lead in a very competitive industry, they also need to attract, develop and engage talent.”Aileen Tan, group chief HR officer, Singtel

OVER 70% of Singaporean employees who participated in the Employer of Choice survey agreed or strongly agreed they had effective leadership.

The resultant commendations from loyal employees were strong. “They deliver on their promises and lead by example,” said one participating employee. “They don’t rely on their titles or seniority, rather, it’s the trust and rapport they build with employees that gives them their credibility.”

Top-performing company Cegos’s leaders try to understand the oppor-tunities, pain points and pressures for employees at all levels of the organisation to ensure they are attuned to the realities of the workplace. “We have pride in our leaders’ ability to work operationally as well as strategically and this is good for us, for customers and for the perception of our leaders within our employee community,” regional managing director Jeremy Blain said.

Being a part of the team – rather than too far removed – is also a strategy

that works. “We do not set ourselves up on pedestals, we do not have special privileges,” he said. “We are part of a high performing team where everyone is valued, where we listen and where we can support and grow.”

Singtel’s group chief HR officer, Aileen Tan, said the company benefits from a strong leadership team, and is “working hard to develop the next generation of leaders and technical specialists”. This is being achieved through its cadet program, SHINE internships, Singtel Scholarships, a management associate program, and talent development programs.


Cegos Asia Pacific

Teleflex Medical Asia

Singtel

LEADERSHIP

MY EMPLOYER DEMONSTRATES EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

3.15%7.52%

17.31%

40.56%31.47%


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MY EMPLOYER HELPS ME TO ACHIEVE A WORK-LIFE BALANCE

EMPLOYER APPROACHES to work-life balance vary dramatically, something that is refl ected in the mixed survey feedback received from employees.

Some employees think their employers’ demands are an imposition on their daily lives. “I need to report to work by 07:00 in order to send daily reports to our headquarters; that means I need to rush to send my kids to a child care centre,” said one. Another said: “My manager specifi cally requests sta� to stay contactable until 7pm, despite starting work at 8am.”

Others are revelling in fl exibility. “We are allowed to work from home even as interns and we are free to work out a schedule that best fi ts employee and employer,” said one. Another said: “I am able to (within reason) dictate my hours as long as my work gets done. I can start early and leave early to spend more time with my kids and also work from home as required.”

However, Employer of Choice results show the bulk (over 70%) of employees are satisfi ed or very satisfi ed with their work-life balance. It appears that top-performing employers are wowing employees by pushing the boundaries of what it means to provide fl exibility, a fl exibility that “in itself is innovative and fosters innovation and can come about in di� erent ways”, according to Power2Motivate’s executive general manager Mark Robinson.

For PropertyGuru, this means providing fl exible work hours, as well as balancing work with sports and recreation activities, such as badminton, soccer and Zumba, and workplace computer games and table football in the o� ce. “We also respect o� cial country and religious holidays and when appropriate allow people to leave the o� ce early ahead of a major event, such as Hari Raya or Chinese New Year,” said PropertyGuru’s Christine Loo.

Aluzinc employs relatively fl exible daily working hours, with additional bonus annual leave each year entitling employees to at least 21 days o� .


“Work-life balance means di� erent things to di� erent people – there are no ‘one-size-fi ts-all’ approaches. Power2Motivate has a shared ‘Flexibility Charter’ which is intended to facilitate discussions between managers and employees around broader fl exibility options as we recognise that fl exibility, when managed well, is e� ective in improving productivity and engagement.” Mark Robinson, executive general manager EMEA & APAC, Power2Motivate

Power2Motivate

Marina Bay Sands

PropertyGuru

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

3.15%5.24%

20.45%

40.73%30.42%



ZUMBA CLASSES, StepUp challenges, stress and healthy eating workshops, fruit days and health checks are just some of the benefi ts being o� ered to employees in Singapore, and the verdict is in: they like what they see.

“A lot of wellness initiatives are being initiated and have attained good feedback,” said one Employer of Choice survey participant. “We are able to attend yoga and gym with subsidies from work,” said another.

Employees agree with the overall employer approach to their health and wellbeing, with a low proportion (7.2%) disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

Health checks appear to be a widespread initiative among employers – both appreciated and requested by employees – while health-related talks and workshops and subsidies for gym memberships are also in demand.

The only criticisms were from those employees who felt they were missing out on more progressive health and wellbeing initiatives at other companies, or who thought their employers could be more creative or proactive in this area.

Marina Bay Sands has embraced the chance to keep its employees in good health, with a range of progressive measures. For instance, it has a dedicated Member Healthcare Centre, serves 8,000 complimentary restaurant-quality hot meals a day to its employees, and gives team members access to wellness workshops, exercise classes and an exclusive sta� reward program.

Jardine One Solution organises health-related activities such as lunch talks, fi tness classes, health screenings, sports activities, as well as targeted intervention programs for weight and chronic disease management. “The programs have been well received by sta� and strongly supported by management,” Jardine One Solution’s Lynn Pua said.

Hotel Jen Orchardgateway’s HR manager Derick Ooi said “nothing is more important than employee health and wellbeing” to the success of the hotel. “When you take care of them, they take care of our guests; so it is an obvious decision to stay healthy at all times and promote this way of living,” Ooi said.


“Providing a healthy workplace is the key setting for promoting the health of our workforce, and through it we enhance the work environment and culture. The aim of our workplace health plan is to create a healthy workforce and a healthy organisation that contributes to higher productivity and a better quality of life.” Lynn Pua, Southeast Asia head of HR & administration, Jardine One Solution


Marina Bay Sands


HEALTH AND WELLBEING

MY EMPLOYER SUPPORTS MY HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

0 10 20 30 40 50

2.10%5.07%

19.93%

39.86%33.04%


Date post:	13-Apr-2017
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