HR leaders from Simmons & Simmons, The Langham, Hong Kong, Tam Jai International, and Lenovo share their engagement, rewards, and recognition initiatives.
FEATURE
How Dianne DeSevo, Chief People Officer of Dow Jones, is making an impact on the company’s culture and its ways of working.
To
Stephanie Yip, of Deacons Hong Kong, and Professor Christy Cheung, of the Hong Kong Baptist University, share their insights on flexible work arrangements.
TAKEAWAYS FROM TALENT MANAGEMENT
2024, HONG KONG
Held on 18 June, the event saw more than 200 HR professionals gather to explore empowering talent to transform the future.
SUITE TALK
PIONY
LEUNG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CAFÉ DE CORAL GROUP
Learn more about the Group’s transformation and how this change drives its talent strategies.
Meet the winners of the Employee Experience Awards 2024, Hong Kong.
EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES THROUGH TRANSFORMATION
Dear readers,
The risk of change fatigue, and being overwhelmed, in your workforce is high right now. A June 2024 survey of more than 56,000 workers in 50 countries and regions found that nearly half of workers reported significant increases in their workloads in the past 12 months, as well as changes to their team structures and daily job responsibilities.
And, as HR leaders, all of you see the reason for change loud and clear – economic viability must take precedence in a time where sustainability and performance underpin today’s and tomorrow’s priorities.
Unless employees understand and help drive change, transformation plans are unlikely to succeed. This is why we need to keep our workforce engaged and ready to perform at their best.
In this edition, titled ‘The EX Special 2024’, we take you on a journey of employee experience through various lens – from a feature on the engagement initiatives undertaken by Hong Kong’s four most prominent employers (page 12), to an exclusive with visiting global executive, Dianne DeSevo, the CPO of Dow Jones (page 22).
Along the journey, we unwrap winning secrets from the prolific employers awarded at this year’s edition of the Employee Experience Awards, while also speaking to experts on enabling more flexible working practices in Hong Kong’s workplaces (page 32).
Here’s a preview of all that we have in store for you. New York-based HR leader, DeSevo, has been instrumental in helping Dow Jones strengthen its workforce through a number of functional changes that have moved the company forward.
Speaking exclusively to HRO’s Tracy Chan during her recent visit to Hong Kong, she talked about prominent HR initiatives that are helping to address the evolving needs and preferences of employees, such as:
• A fully hybrid work model with global employees in the office three days a week.
• An enhanced parental leave package of up to 20 weeks for all benefit-eligible employees.
• Expanded bereavement leave with removal of the family member qualifier from it.
• The recent introduction of a one-week-per-quarter remote work perk to all employees.
Apart from the above, another way to make a difference in the company’s culture has been to change the way of thinking about the workspace. Head over to page 12 to find out how DeSevo has enhanced the facilities team into a workplace evolution team, and much more.
Aditi Sharma Kalra Editor-in-Chief
We know you will also enjoy our interview with Piony Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the famed Café de Coral Group. Having joined one of Asia’s largest publicly-listed restaurant and catering groups in 2019, Leung took on the position of CEO earlier this year, and has focused on stabilising the business, improving growth and profitability, and restoring performance to pre-pandemic levels.
She has since implemented a comprehensive succession plan that has transformed the business from an owner-managed model to a more sustainable, professional management structure.
“By clearly delineating the roles and responsibilities of the shareholders, board, and management, we have created a robust and sustainable framework for the company’s future growth and development,” she shares, with optimism for the future.
This is an intriguing interview that brings us one step closer to understanding the talent and productivity challenges that business leaders face, and how they rise to the occasion by ensuring internal engagement, communication, and a shared vision. Don’t miss this on page four.
We hope you’ll continue rising tall amidst a busy quarter ahead! We wish you good health, success, and productivity as you take on the business challenges of today and tomorrow. Enjoy the read.
RICOH HONG KONG’S ICONIC
TRANSFORMATION FROM A “SPACE-CENTRIC” TO A “PEOPLE-CENTRIC” OFFICE SPACE
Back in 2023, Ricoh Hong Kong decided to renovate and upgrade the workplace not just to ride the hybrid work trend, but to continue leading the way in providing innovative workplace solutions for its clients and employees.
Ricoh, a world-leading provider of workplace technology, imagines what the future could bring, and embraces change driven by imaginative thinking. With the belief that work life can be improved through creativity, collaboration and seamless technology, Ricoh aims to empower digital workplaces – and this mission starts at home.
Back in 2023, Ricoh Hong Kong decided to renovate and upgrade the workplace not just to ride the hybrid work trend, but to continue leading the way in providing innovative workplace solutions for its clients and employees. As part of the new ways of working, a focus on agile working was established, while the new ways of thinking were about focusing on outcomes from employees’ inputs rather than output, as well as transparent communication at all levels to create a culture of trust.
With these objectives in mind, the team kicked off the ‘Hybrid Workplace Transformation’ project, which entailed a shift from a “space-centric” office space to a “people-centric” office space. In doing so, the aim was to say goodbye to an era where employees are tethered to their desks, or working solitary. Instead, by integrating space, technology and people, the office has now been transformed into a better working environment to foster collaborative culture that promotes innovation.
This entailed several changes – for example, introducing a mobile-friendly smart workplace, using the ‘Ricoh Staff App’ to connect everything (from desktop to mobile to workplace facilities), and embracing AI (through an ‘AI Concierge’ and a smart visitor management system).
All these initiatives to create a human-centric collaborative workplace experience were amplified by ‘RICOH Spaces’, a cloud-hosted workplace management platform that helps connect and empower employees with a seamless workplace experience. Through this, employees were able to streamline their daily work through the platform and the staff app, for desk booking, room booking and control, online conferencing, visitor management system, and many more utilities.
Apart from the hybrid technology tools, the physical space also underwent an overhaul. The new office area saw the introduction of a multi-purpose townhall area for the entire team to come together, a chill zone with a massage chair and adjustable table, and several huddle areas for project team members to gather around as and when required.
Over the past year, several other meaningful HR programmes have been conceptualised with a view to improving the employee experience. This includes the launch of the ‘Ricoh Employee Recognition Points’ system, which encourages employees to ‘earn’ points through various ways like continuous learning, and then go on to redeem gifts through the Ricoh Staff App. Progress has also been made in diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI), whereby the month of June has been earmarked for a focus on the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals), as well as an SDG e-learning survey linking to workplace satisfaction.
This integration of space, technology, and people has led Ricoh Hong Kong to achieve several benefits. After renovation, the total gross area of the office has been reduced by 17%, however, the collaboration space has increased by 38%.
Some departments have adopted “the 3-2-2 shift pattern”, where employees work in the office for three days, and remotely for two days, followed by two days off. The hybrid workplace model allows employees to choose wherever they want to work, i.e. home, workstations, common spaces, etc.
The results are also evident in improved employee satisfaction and retention – in post renovation feedback survey, a vast majority of employees expressed satisfaction with the upgrade to a smart workplace.
Irene Lee, Director, People & Culture, Ricoh Hong Kong, affirms: “By embracing collaboration, engagement, and innovative technologies, we have created an environment that fosters both professional development and personal wellbeing.”
She goes on to talk about the recent accolades attained at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards. “We are proud to have been honoured with the ‘Best Employee Friendly Workplace’ award and the ‘Best Hybrid Work Model’ award.
“Our company values creating a supportive and employee-friendly environment, which is reflected in our recent transformation to a hybrid workplace. This, in turn, has brought about a concrete result, in that we have seen a great jump in employee engagement scores compared to 2022 and 2023.”
Lee talks about the vision going forward: “Let’s work together to shape the future of work and empower the next generation of workers. With ‘Fulfilment Through Work’, we can all strive for success and fulfilment in our careers.”
Piony Leung, Chief Executive Officer, Café de Coral Group
Joining the Café de Coral Group in 2019, Piony Leung took on the position of the Group’s Chief Executive Officer on 1 April 2024.
Overseeing the overall management and operations of the organisation, Leung plays an instrumental role in spearheading the strategic direction of the Group’s growth and profitability. In this exclusive with Tracy Chan, she shares the Group’s transformation, and how this change has driven its talent strategies.
What has been your most memorable moment/ milestone since you joined Café de Coral Group in 2019?
Since joining the Café de Coral Group in 2019, my most memorable moment and milestone has undoubtedly been navigating through the challenges posed by COVID-19. The company faced significant hurdles such as the suspension of dine-in services
during dinner hours, a decline in visitor numbers, and changes in customer dining preferences (favouring takeaways or home cooking).
I take immense pride in how our team stood strong together and tackled these difficulties head-on. Despite the immense impact of the past five years on our operations, I am delighted to see our colleagues embracing an open mindset and keeping pace with the company’s initiatives, particularly the digital transformation and the flexibility in facing changes and challenges.
In the post-pandemic era, my primary focus is to stabilise our business, improve growth and profitability, and aim to restore our performance to pre-pandemic levels within the next one to two years. We are confident in achieving these goals and moving the company forward in a positive direction.
The Group has transformed the business from owner-management to a more sustainable model through a succession plan in the past 10 years. Can you elaborate on the Group’s transformation of the management structure? We have implemented a comprehensive succession plan that has transformed our business from an owner-managed model to a more sustainable and professional management structure.
One of the key changes is the shift from a centralised, top-down management style to a collaborative, result-oriented, and customerfocused cross-functional business unit team, with the Lo family remaining as major shareholders.
With this new structure, the board of directors, acting in its role as the governing body, assumes responsibility for charting the strategic direction for the company. The Lo family members retain their positions as decision-makers on the board, while the day-to-day operational oversight has been entrusted to a professional management team.
The Lo family members contribute their deep industry knowledge, extensive experience, and understanding of various sectors and the overall economic and social environment, and they collaborate closely with our management team. We learn from each other and work together to lead the company to new heights.
This structured approach ensures continuity, fosters innovation, and positions us for long-term success in a rapidly changing business landscape. By clearly delineating the roles and responsibilities of the shareholders, board, and management, we have created a robust and sustainable framework for the company’s future growth and development.
What are the implications of this change to the Group’s business operations and talent strategies?
To ensure our staff fully understand the planning, we have worked closely with our HR team to
enhance the internal engagement channels. This includes the establishment of a Transition Office and the implementation of various initiatives aimed at ensuring our employees comprehend the new management strategies and direction.
This alignment of understanding is crucial for the successful implementation of our goals and objectives. Through platforms such as town hall meetings, team-building activities, and one-on-one sessions, we not only foster a culture of trust and collaboration, but also provide a space for open dialogue and feedback. This enables us to gather valuable insights from our colleagues, and drive innovation and continuous improvement throughout the organisation.
Additionally, these efforts facilitate a smooth transition for our staff as they adapt to the operational changes brought about by the new team-based management approach. Recognising the importance of talent development, we have strategically prioritised training programmes.
Our focus on enhancing the soft skills and management capabilities of our managers equips them to effectively communicate, inspire, and build trust among front line colleagues. This strategic investment in leadership development strengthens our management team and empowers them to drive performance and engagement at all levels of the organisation.
Furthermore, we understand the industrywide challenge of labour shortages and the need to attract new talent. By implementing innovative strategies, we aim to position ourselves as an employer of choice, making the industry more appealing to newcomers.
This includes offering attractive career opportunities, competitive compensation packages, and a supportive work environment. By establishing a sustainable pipeline of talent, we mitigate the pressures of inadequate human resources and ensure the long-term success of our business operations.
In summary, these strategic changes will have a transformative impact on the Group’s business operations and talent strategies. By fostering a people-centric culture, strengthening communication channels, and investing in talent development, we create an environment of collaboration, operational excellence, and continuous growth. This positions us as a market leader, capable of driving sustainable success in the face of evolving industry challenges.
The Group has been actively advocating for sustainability in recent years. Please share the most impactful initiatives/measures you have put in place.
Collectively, the Group has always been committed to promoting sustainability. In the fiscal year of 2023/24, we have achieved our sustainability targets in our Hong Kong operations one year
ahead of the original timeline, as we have met our reduction goals set for 2024/25 in four major aspects – energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and food waste.
We have been tirelessly working towards meeting these targets by closely monitoring our use of resources, and continuously enhancing our efficiency with advanced technologies and refined procedures.
In response to the disposable plastic tableware ban in April 2024, we took proactive measures to phase out disposable plastic tableware at all our 380 Hong Kong outlets one week before the regulation came into effect, transitioning to more environmentally friendly, non-plastic alternatives.
Further promoting green lifestyles, we launched a “Love the Earth” campaign, in collaboration with the beloved character Hello Kitty, across our six major brands – Café de Coral fast food, Super Super Congee & Noodle, Mixian Sense, Shanghai Lao Lao, The Spaghetti House, and Oliver’s Super Sandwiches. With any purchase of our designated products, customers can redeem a limited-edition Hello Kitty reusable cutlery set, encouraging them to bring their own reusable cutlery and support a green lifestyle.
We have also made remarkable progress in reducing food waste, which forms a major part of the waste produced from our operations. Since 2020/21, food waste segregation has been implemented at all our outlets. Working closely with the Environmental Protection Department, and landlords, we continue to actively seek food waste recycling opportunities. In 2023/24, we have successfully expanded our recycling network, and increased the recycling rate of the food waste produced from our Hong Kong operations to 40%, which is equivalent to 2,643 tonnes of food waste.
We are equally dedicated to contributing to the community, and we are delighted to witness the incredible impact of our flagship food assistance initiative “Bon Appétit Café”. With an expansion of its scope in 2023, the programme has reached 4,000 beneficiaries in 2023/24, offering a total subsidy of HK$12mn, with an emphasis on supporting caregivers.
How do you ensure the entire company, from management to employees, are all aligned to the Group’s sustainable vision?
Committed to the highest standards of governance, transparency, and integrity, our management team leads by personal example, setting a high bar for business ethics by living up to our core values: pursuit of excellence, people-oriented, integrity, keeping up with the times, and creating sustainable value.
At the heart of this alignment is a strong emphasis on people and cultural heritage. We believe that business success is achieved through teamwork, not individual efforts. To this end,
the Group places great importance on internal and cultural communication, ensuring that its over 19,000 colleagues thoroughly understand the organisation’s objectives and aspirations.
By valuing the unique perspectives of its diverse workforce, and fostering strong relationships, the Group has been able to maintain its people-centric culture for over 50 years.
Recognising the importance of a sustainable leadership team, Café de Coral strives to provide growth and development opportunities for colleagues across different positions. This approach aims to strike a balance between experienced and new team members, creating an empathetic, yet highperforming workforce.
Colleagues are encouraged to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, treating their respective branches as their own businesses and leading with both quantifiable standards and compassionate management.
By instilling a sense of ownership and accountability, Café de Coral empowers its colleagues to take pride in their work and strive for excellence. Through these initiatives, the Group fosters a cohesive and motivated team that not only achieves business objectives, but also cultivates a supportive and nurturing environment.
How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over the years?
Fostering alignment around a shared vision is key – I work to ensure everyone in the organisation is united behind a clear vision and purpose. By aligning our collective efforts towards a common goal, we can maximise our impact and achieve greater success together.
I always believe building trust among colleagues is of utmost importance. Trust stems from consistency in decision-making and clear communication. Therefore, I strive to enhance collaboration within the organisation, encouraging empathy and the ability to see things from others’ perspectives.
It is essential to foster a win-win mindset, where everyone goes the extra mile, cares less about personal gains, and focuses more on helping others and accomplishing our shared objectives. Collaboration and teamwork are fundamental to our success.
I encourage my colleagues to share knowledge and leverage each other’s strengths to tackle challenges. When we work together with a spirit of cooperation, we can accomplish far more than we ever could alone.
Passion and compassion are essential qualities I aim to cultivate. I want my team to approach their work with enthusiasm, creativity, and a genuine desire to make a difference. At the same time, I strive to lead with empathy, offering support and understanding during difficult times.
Appreciating diversity and different perspectives is also critical. I actively seek out diverse viewpoints and am open to new ideas, knowing that this diversity of thought will drive innovation and better decision-making. I encourage my colleagues to treat their roles as their own businesses, taking full accountability and responsibility. When everyone adopts an entrepreneurial mindset, we can achieve amazing results.
As a leader, I think it’s important to lead by example. I strive to provide a clear vision and alignment for the team, equipping them with the necessary capabilities and skills. Beyond that, I also aim to support them with compassion and empathy, especially during difficult times. By setting the right tone and lighting the way forward, I can empower my team to reach new heights.
Concluding the interview on a funny note, if you could choose only one dish to represent Café de Coral Group, what would it be and why?
If I had to choose just one dish to represent the Café de Coral Group, the baked pork chop rice would be my top pick. This iconic dish embodies the very essence of our brand – it’s hearty, satisfying, and appeals to the appetites of the masses. It’s a dish that has stood the test of time and remains a beloved favourite among our customers, both young and old.
LIDY CAI HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES BRAVO
MEDIA
As with any other industry, a main talent challenge faced in the media business, especially out-ofhome (OOH) media, is attracting new talent from the younger generations.
With many industry professionals boasting over 20 years of experience, and serving as the cornerstone of this field, Lidy Cai believes the critical mission is to transfer their knowledge and attract new blood to ensure the industry’s continued growth and innovation.
Therefore, since joining Bravo Media in early 2023, Cai has been playing a pivotal role in developing a long-term and sustainable talent strategy. The establishment of the Bravo Media Academy, in that sense, represents the agency’s continuous commitment to nurturing both internal and external talent, and building a strong talent supply for the future. Find out more in her interview with HRO’s Tracy Chan
How do you see the importance of the employee experience to talent engagement? What impactful initiatives have you implemented at Bravo Media to enhance the employee experience?
At Bravo Media, the people strategy is designed to improve the employee experience and build a high-performing team to support business growth. This involves understanding employee needs and addressing their concerns.
The TGIF has been initiated for sharing updates, celebrating team successes, and recognising key contributors and high performers on a relaxing Friday afternoon with food and drinks.
We also provide personalised appreciation gifts for employees who have gotten married, had a newborn, or other celebrations to ensure that we treat them as family and share in their personal happiness.
The company also organises employee satisfaction surveys to collect feedback from the
team. We then design solutions-based action plans and communicate them with the team. We have received good feedback from the team, managed a low attrition rate, and received industry recognition.
Learning and development is a vital part of the employee experience and a key focus of today’s workforce. How do you ensure a sustainable talent strategy to support business growth?
We established Bravo Media Academy earlier this year with the goal of talent development internally and externally. We are offering various learning resources, lunch and learn, and mentorship programmes to ensure the continuous development of our existing employees, helping them to unleash their full potential and grow together with the company.
Externally, we have partnered with universities to invest in early career development with the aim to create a talent pipeline for the future. We have also participated in several programmes aimed at boosting secondary students’ interest in joining the OOH industry and will continue to invest more in this field for our teenagers.
Advertising agencies are known for their expertise in promoting brands. In turn, how do you position your company as a top-of-mind employer among candidates?
First, Bravo Media positions itself as a company with a key mission to challenge the standard, offer innovative solutions, and continuously raise the quality of OOH advertising. Bravo Media welcomes talented individuals who share the same dreams and values, and who are eager to drive change and shape the future.
Secondly, we value talent and strive to invest in their future, helping them reach their full potential. In 2023, we successfully tripled our employee size while maintaining a very low turnover rate because we share the same goals and values and everyone is highly motivated and engaged.
Moreover, we have fostered a great culture within the company, providing more flexibility for our team. As a result, people feel proud to work at Bravo Media. A promising career path, coupled with a great culture and a clear and promising mission, are the keys to our success.
How would you describe your leadership style?
I am an open-minded and results-driven person. As a leader, my primary focus is to support each individual on my team in reaching their full potential and ensuring they feel valued by working on tasks that align with their strengths.
My guiding principles include maintaining a cool head, having a warm heart with empathy, and being actively involved in the work at hand.
Is there a phrase/mindset that you believe HR professionals should do away with? And what should they replace it with?
Being too policy-driven or process-driven can limit your ability to empathise and be flexible, which is not helpful for a growing company. Every day, we face different challenges, and having a solution-driven mindset is more important than being strictly policy-driven.
Secondly, I believe it can be quite dangerous when HR serves solely as a business support or administrative role driven solely by the top leadership’s direction, rather than prioritising the needs of the people. HR should act as a bridge between employers and employees, ensuring strong internal communication is in place. This helps prevent potential people risks and fosters coherence within the organisation.
Concluding the interview on a healthful note, how do you help employees wind down at work?
We promote work-life balance, and personally, I am a big fan of working smartly rather than just working hard. It is important to have the ability to relax, pursue hobbies, and mentally switch off from work.
MATILDA INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL RE-
POSITIONS HR TO CREATE A FUN WORKPLACE FOR EMPLOYEES
“Matilda
HR has gotten to grow more fun-DNA in our blood. We can do more for our colleagues by embracing any crazy ideas from colleagues. One of our fun-effective ways is to leverage more fun resources with fun-subject-matter idols on our staff activities,” the HR direction asserts.
Healthcare is acknowledged as a high-risk industry with large numbers of employees, complex technology, critical work tasks and extensive regulations. This is coupled with relentless public scrutiny and pressure to manage the unexpected well and to be resilient. All of this can take a huge toll on the healthcare practitioners’ physical, mental and social wellbeing.
Talent attraction and retention have become more challenging for the industry amidst increasingly complicated external factors and a competitive talent war.
Despite all these challenges, Matilda International Hospital, a leading healthcare service provider and world-class private hospital located in Hong Kong, has excelled in employee engagement and experience by fostering practices that make it “a fun place to work” and “a workplace with fun”.
Matilda aims to create a supportive environment in which staff are valued, appropriately rewarded, engaged, trained and developed; regularly appraised and effectively managed with the ultimate goal of recruiting and retaining high quality staff that are motivated, high performing and demonstrate a commitment to the organisation.
Viewing the staff as “the heart and soul” as well as its “superheroes”, Matilda has adopted a people-first approach in its HR strategy to uphold the ethos of the founder as being “for the benefit, care, and happiness” of its people.
To support this strategy, senior management have re-positioned HR as an engagement department, with more emphasis on supportive initiatives aiming to build a caring and fun culture which will not only help attract and retain talent, but also enrich their work life with the Hospital.
This strategy started with gathering feedback, views and suggestions from the Hospital’s colleagues and generating wish lists. HR organised the first-ever ‘Fun Series’ starting from 2023, including BBQs, green buffets, MMAs, hiking, volunteer work, ice-cream day, creative seminars and workshops with gamification, to name a few. These activities were arranged on different dates to take into account different work schedules and interests, whilst always bearing in mind that the core objective was the physical, emotional, social and mental wellbeing of the staff, in its bid to provide an employee experience like no other hospital.
Evidently, fun elements are key to different initiatives in Matilda’s HR roadmap. In addition to staff activities, HR has also made traditional training programmes, such as appraisal briefing and code of ethics for employees, into something fun and easy for both managers and general staff to facilitate their personal and professional growth and development with the Hospital.
This people-first approach is underpinned by Matilda’s five core values referred to as “Ways of Being”, which outline its culture and expected behaviours of all staff:
• Be professional: Always do the right thing.
• Be empathetic: Do everything we can to show we care.
• Be innovative: Embrace new ideas. Make the future ours.
• Be proactive: Take initiative every day.
• Be inspirational: Be passionate about what we do.
“These principles guide our actions, energise the workplace and empower staff to make a positive difference in their work,” in the words of Linda Burgoyne, CEO, Matilda International Hospital. “Please take a moment to reflect on the impact you make on the lives of everyone who comes through our doors at Matilda and for those whose lives we have touched over the years. Everything we do matters.”
In 2023 alone, there were a total of 23 non-work wellness events, a 36% increase from 2022, a 58% increase in department heads’ involvement, and these events recorded 85% of staff surveys scored 4.8 or above out of 6. Apart from the reinforcement of the ‘work smart, play hard’ culture and work-life harmony, this wellness and learning series has also contributed to a 37% drop in sick leave and a 10% decrease in work place injuries resulting in an increased available workforce with reduced risks and liability.
In the face of the more-than-ever challenging recruitment landscape, intensified by company-specific challenges such as location and business scale, Matilda has now turned its annual HR reviews to quarterly reviews / amendments (or as frequent as it takes) to stay relevant to market developments and better align with employees’ needs.
“The HR team incorporates the ‘Matilda Ways of Being’ and ESG initiatives in our staff activities to add meaning to staff participation and contribution, while utilising every opportunity to walk our talk.” It goes on to comment on Matilda’s recent success at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards: “The Employee Experience Awards offer a wonderfully comprehensive platform for us to review outcomes of what we’ve done and to explore what we can do more and better for our Matilda family.
“Together we win – the Awards belong to everyone at Matilda. When we work harmoniously together, not only do we win but our patients and communities also win.”
FROM THE ‘GREAT RESIGNATION’ TO THE ‘BIG STAY’
United States – A new survey from Ringover found that four out of five employees (79.6%) don’t plan on changing jobs until at least 2025, based on the responses of 1,049 American adults.
According to the data, the average length of time the respondents stayed in their previous jobs was 1.6 years. However, when asked about how much longer they planned to stay in their current job, the average answer rose to 2.4 years, showing today’s employees are more inclined to stay in their present job for a longer period.
What makes people stay or leave?
Delving deeper into the reasons why people stay or leave their jobs, the survey revealed the most common reasons for employees to stay are because they find their work interesting (40.9%), financial stability (38.4%), and because they like their management (30.4%).
In addition to the ones mentioned above, other reasons for employees to stay are:
• Colleagues (29.9%).
• Concerns of looking like a ‘job hopper’ (25.4%).
• Fits around my schedule (23.5%).
• Career progression (21.3%).
• Good pay (20.5%).
• Company perks (16.6%).
• Too much effort to job hunt (13.7%).
• Changing companies feels risky (9.6%).
• Few job opportunities (5.3%).
The respondents were also asked a question: “If you are more/less likely to look for a new job than two to three years ago, why?” The results
showed that employees are less likely to job hunt now than during the pandemic, citing improved work-life balance (43.7%) and general improvements in the company (42%) as the top two reasons.
For those who are less likely to look for new jobs, the reasons are:
• Better work-life balance (43.7%).
• Company improvements (42%).
• I only recently started this role/job (38.6%).
• Economic uncertainty (35.7%).
• I have more dependents and can’t risk a move (27.8%).
• I’m in my dream role/job (18.1%).
On the contrary, those who are more likely to look for a new job now than two to three years ago cited a lack of career progression as their main incentive (40%), a new challenge (37%), and because the company was asking for more in-person work (34.8%).
Gen Z workers show more flexibility to ‘keep their options open’. Despite no active plans to leave their jobs, they are nearly twice as likely than the average employee to have a wandering eye, with nine in 10 of them (92.3%) sometimes or actively looking for new opportunities
ENHANCING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH CASETIFY’S GEN Z AND MILLENNIAL-FOCUSED STRATEGIES
In line with the characteristics of the younger generations, the company has a special focus on people, communities, interactions & experiences, and visual communication.
CASETiFY, a Hong Kong-based mobile phone case and electronic accessory company, is an international brand with the global creative spirit of 1,300 employees representing 32 different nationalities. Aiming to integrate art and technology in exciting new ways to inspire creativity for everyone, everywhere, every day, CASETiFY is on its way to creating a desired future not only for its customers, but also for its employees.
Amidst fierce competition for skilled workers, CASETiFY has recognised a greater shift towards a fun and collaborative work culture, and the need for career development and growth. As such, the company has geared up to face the move towards diversity, equality and inclusion, as well as an emphasis on employee wellbeing and engagement, marking them out as critical factors in retaining talent in today’s world of work.
To ensure it remains relevant and at the forefront of these challenges and trends, CASETiFY has increased its focus on creating a strong employer brand that values diversity to provides a fulfilling employee experience. This, therefore, sees the company establish more opportunities for continuous learning and growth, such as e-learning, workshops and leadership programmes; offer its employees competitive compensation packages and prioritise employee wellbeing as well as career planning, development and progression opportunities for the employees.
With a workforce where almost 90% of employees are either Gen Z or Millennials, CASETiFY has developed an in-depth insight into these younger generations. The team has been able to characterise them as: being comfortable with digital communication, especially social media platforms and instant messaging tools; valuing transparency and access to up-to-date information; feeling comfortable to share their perspectives and experiences in an inclusive environment; preferring images to text and resonating better with punchy headlines than long-winded passages by Gen Z; and typically being outspoken and wanting their ideas to be heard.
In line with the identified traits, CASETiFY fosters a positive and productive work environment with specific focuses on four communication strategies: peoplecentric, communities, interactions & experiences, and visual communication.
These help effectively engage and communicate with employees to create a strong sense of belonging, engagement and loyalty.
Under these strategies, 58 employee engagement and communication initiatives were conceptualised and executed in 2023, with at least one per week. To take some examples, these initiatives included:
• ‘Global Monthly Download’, a brand-new global communication platform launched last year for non-managerial employees to share unique perspectives, innovative ideas and project updates once a month.
• ‘Lunch with CEO’, a monthly engagement initiative where employees are invited to spend an hour with the CEO to discuss everyone’s experience at the company.
• ‘Appreciation Month’ in October, a series of activities and treats, such as free office massages, egg waffles, popcorn booth, and ice cream, to recognise employees’ dedication and efforts in a relaxing and joyful atmosphere.
• ‘Recognition Programme’, aimed at building a culture of kindness and recognition within the company through the Long Service Award, and a new ‘eCard’ feature added to the Employee Hub, which allows colleagues to send congratulations on work milestones, wish happy birthdays, and show support and appreciation with just one click.
CASETiFY believes that creating a successful employee engagement communication strategy involves considering several key elements to ensure effective communication and high levels of employee engagement. These elements include clear purpose, engagement, transparency, leadership involvement, personalisation, and alignment of evaluation.
The effectiveness of this approach has been made evident in the positive responses from its employees. More than 500 employees attended the ‘What’s Up’ town hall meeting and all of them said they enjoyed the event and found the communication platform useful for understanding the company better.
The strategies also show a clear positive impact on the company’s innovation and creativity, customer satisfaction, loyalty and team collaboration. Compared to 2022, the average seniority of CASETiFY employees increased by 26% in 2023.
Sandy Yau, Head of Human Resources, CASETiFY, says, “At the heart of our company’s success are the dedicated employees who pour their passion and expertise into their work every day. That’s why fostering a positive, supportive, and rewarding employee experience is top priority for us.”
For the recognition received at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards (EXA), she shares: “We deeply value EXA’s acknowledgment of our ongoing efforts at CASETiFY to nurture a culture that empowers our team.
“While being recognised and nominated is gratifying, our primary focus is on constantly raising the bar within our organisation. We extend our sincere thanks to all our colleagues who work tirelessly to make CASETiFY a place of pride and belonging for all of us.”
DBS HONG KONG EMPOWERS ITS PEOPLE TO ‘LIVE FULFILLED’ THROUGH HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT AND WELLBEING STRATEGIES
One of the initiatives, the ‘DBS Management Associate Programme, is designed to create an impactful, innovative, and immersive environment for young talent to develop in-depth domain knowledge, connect with new experiences, and hone crucial leadership and soft skills.
“Talents today are seeking more than just a paycheck. They want roles that allow them to continually grow, expand their skill sets, and work towards fulfilling their long-term career aspirations,” pinpoints Betty Lam, Managing Director, Head of Human Resources, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.
“To attract the best people, build the best teams, and produce the best work, it is essential for us to create a supportive environment for all to thrive, so our colleagues can ‘Be the Best, Be the Change, and Be the Difference’.”
This thorough insight towards the current talent landscape underpins DBS Hong Kong’s human-centric HR approach to providing comprehensive staff development, internal mobility opportunities, and integrated benefits to stay acutely tuned into emerging trends that shape the future of work.
Empowering through targeted training
Born and bred in Asia, DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, empowering its customers and the community to “Live More, Bank Less”. Positioning itself as a technology organisation providing financial services, DBS aims to be a ‘university’ of banking talent to groom its people, especially young talent, to be future leaders in the bank’s digital journey.
With this vision in mind, DBS has introduced comprehensive development programmes to help young talents to be their best and ready for the future.
The journey starts from the specialised ‘DBS Management Associate Programme (MAP). This one-year development programme is designed for high-potential individuals who have graduated with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in any discipline, and have less than two years of work experience. It aims to create an impactful, innovative, and immersive environment for them to develop in-depth domain knowledge, connect with new experiences, and hone crucial leadership and soft skills.
To fast-track their progression within the programme period, the management associates will undergo rigorous training, in multi-media or on-the-job formats, to build banking and finance knowledge, project management, and personal development skills to be an effective people manager. They will also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the different functions across the businesses through job rotations, and have the connection opportunities with senior management to mentor and guide them on their personal growth. For high-performing individuals, opportunities for regional exposure are also available to further enhance their career development.
Commenting on these targeted programmes for its management associates, Lam affirms: “By investing in the growth and development of our talents, we are cultivating the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders who will drive DBS Hong Kong forward.
“The goal is to help our people to be at their best and prepare them to be future-ready.”
Continuous learning opportunities are not only limited to early career talent, they indeed cover all employees at different career stages. ‘iGrow’, for example, is an AI-powered personalised career platform offered to all DBS employees to help identify their future career needs and match them with specially curated learning recommendations, resources, and even new role opportunities.
Another impactful job shadowing programme, ‘Be My Guest’, facilitates DBS employees to learn about the jobs of a leader/team and foster collaboration. Complemented by ‘DBS Learning Hub’, a dedicated career portal with personalised recommendations, as well as the ‘DBS Learning Hub Mobile App’, employees are empowered to stay ahead of the exponential changes in the world’s digital, fintech and technology spaces through innovative and immersive continuous learning and development programmes on hand.
Meanwhile, to ensure sustainable leadership development, a series of ‘Leadership Pipeline Programmes’ are in place under the DBS Academy to support different aspects of leadership skills at each level in the bank. These include:
• the ‘Transformational Leadership Programme’, a multi-year campaign designed to strengthen managers’ capabilities via various learning programmes;
• an instructor-led training programme ‘Building Great Managers’ to equip DBS managers with the soft skills required;
• an instructor-led programme ‘Making Great Decisions’ to cultivate decision-making skills for senior managers with Senior Vice President or Executive Director ranks; and
• leadership team workshops ‘Transformational Sprint (T-Sprint)’ to support senior leaders to shift team effectiveness as well as individual leadership effectiveness.
The programmes are all powered by DBS’ holistic growth and development model called the ‘Triple E Framework: Experience, Exposure, and Education’. This model combines experience in assignments, cross-functional projects and role change; exposure in executive coaching, mentoring and social learning; and education and learning through formal courses.
Through this model, DBS will have the right people with the right skills to fulfil the future needs, particularly in key leadership positions and mission-critical roles, to support a sustainable business and accomplish the strategic intent.
All these endeavours in building talents for the future and equipping colleagues with the skills, knowledge, and mindset required for the future of work have exemplified DBS’ determination to be a different kind of bank.
“The defining characteristic of the DBS culture is our true sense of purpose. There is a palpable sense of wanting to make positive impact,” says Lam. “Our vision, ‘Best Bank for a Better World’, captures our desire to be better today than we were yesterday.”
Supporting with holistic care
Providing abundant learning and development opportunities is not the only approach DBS adopts to enhance its employees’ experience. Understanding the importance of supporting people’s holistic wellbeing, both professionally and personally, DBS continues enhancing its benefits and wellbeing programmes.
As part of its ongoing efforts to prioritise employee wellbeing, DBS has introduced a comprehensive ‘Wellbeing Framework’ since 2023 to encompass three key categories:
• ‘Best of Me’, an approach to encourage employees to identify their strength and aspirations as they develop long-term careers at DBS;
• ‘Best of We’, a spirit to nurture positive relationships and drive collaboration to achieve shared outcomes at work; and
• ‘Best of E(nvironment)’, a call to engender a healthy work culture, and to create an inclusive environment for everyone.
With such a holistic strategy, DBS is taking care of its people comprehensively and support them in various ways, ultimately enabling them to be at their best.
This philosophy therefore sees initiatives such as permanent hybrid work model; flexible work arrangements; flexible choice of medical, life protection and wellness benefits; free and confidential wellbeing support service; support for families with newborns; as well as a range of leaves.
“At DBS, it is our commitment to ensure our people feel cared for and supported; valued and recognised; invested in and connected,” emphasises Lam.
“Our people are at the heart of DBS. Ultimately, our overarching aim is to create an environment where every DBS employee can ‘Live Fulfilled’.”
DBS’ accomplishments have been well-recognised at the recent Employee Experience Awards organised by Human Resources Online. To that, Lam says: “These recent accolades are testaments to our commitment to empowering our workforce, and creating an environment where each employee can thrive and spark.
“This achievement belongs to our every employee and stakeholder who have contributed to making DBS Hong Kong a great place to work.”
Going beyond the annual party: Engagement, rewards, and recognition initiatives by employers in Hong Kong
Anissa Yu Head of HR, Asia Simmons & Simmons
HR leaders from Simmons & Simmons, The Langham, Hong Kong, Tam Jai International, and Lenovo share with HRO’s Tracy Chan their strategies and initiatives.
According to research by Quantum Workplace, when employees believe they will be recognised they are 2.7 times more likely to be highly engaged. Also indicated in another report from the Achievers Workforce Institute is that social (non-monetary) recognition is just as impactful as monetary recognition for driving productivity, engagement, and job commitment.
Rewards and recognition do play a critical role in employee engagement.
One effective non-monetary way to reward and recognise employees is to treat them. In Hong Kong, companies usually have their annual dinner around the Christmas season, or before/after the Chinese New Year, to appreciate and celebrate the contributions and efforts made by their employees over the past year.
The resumption of such an event was especially essential after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic when face-to-face engagement was highly restricted. With a sumptuous meal, drinks, interesting games, and attractive gifts, there is no doubt employees feel boosted after such a gettogether. But after a night of excitement, what more can be done to prolong the impact and engage employees for the long term?
In this feature, HRO’s Tracy Chan talks to HR leaders from Simmons & Simmons, The Langham, Hong Kong, Tam Jai International, and Lenovo, to delve deeper into their strategies and initiatives to engage, reward, and recognise employees beyond an annual party.
Simmons & Simmons
As a cherished tradition to celebrate the collective achievements, and thank all employees for their hard work and dedication throughout the year, the international law firm held its Hong Kong Spring dinner this year on 23 February, joined by partners from its Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai offices, as well as visitors from the UK.
Providing an opportunity for everyone to unwind, celebrate, and look forward to the year ahead together, the event aimed to foster a sense of community and belonging, reinforcing the firm’s values, and providing an informal setting for employees across different departments and levels to interact and build relationships, including its trainees.
“The event was organised by our trainees and facilities team, which was a deliberate choice to help our trainees feel more engaged with the firm,” shares Anissa Yu, Head of HR, Asia, Simmons & Simmons
“It provides them with a valuable opportunity to familiarise themselves with the whole team and to take an active role in a major firm event, which is instrumental to their development and integration into our culture.”
For Simmons & Simmons, employee rewards and recognition are vital components of its engagement strategy to motivate employees, enhance job satisfaction, and foster a positive work environment, Yu says.
Mike Fong Director of HR
The Langham, Hong Kong
“By acknowledging the hard work and achievements of our employees, we reinforce the behaviours and values that contribute to the success of our firm. Recognition also serves as a feedback mechanism, letting employees know their efforts are noticed and valued,” she says.
Beyond rewards and recognition, the company is also committed to creating a supportive and engaging work environment to attract and retain talent, especially in today’s world of work where different generations work together.
The firm believes that fair and competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, good work-life balance, as well as clear career paths and opportunities for growth and development, are all crucial factors. In addition, employees, especially younger generations, are looking for meaningful work that aligns with their values.
In that sense, it has a range of strategies and initiatives in place. “We offer flexible working models, including hybrid work arrangements, allowing employees to balance their personal and professional lives effectively,” Yu says.
“We provide comprehensive benefits and support for our employees’ health and wellbeing, even when working remotely, and we provide resources to maintain our employees’ health and safety.
“We also invest in continuous learning and development opportunities, including international secondments, to enhance our employees’ skills and experiences.”
The firm has also been taking steps against discrimination and harassment, striving to create an inclusive workplace where all employees feel valued and respected. “A workplace that values diversity and fosters inclusion can attract a broader talent pool and create a more innovative and collaborative culture.”
The Langham, Hong Kong
Echoing its core culture to ‘celebrate success’, and appreciate colleagues’ contributions in the past year, the luxury hotel recently organised its very first company annual party in the hotel after the epidemic. Themed ‘classic movies night’, all colleagues dressed up as various movie characters to enjoy the Chinese banquet menu from the hotel’s Michelin three-star restaurant T’ang Court, fun competitions, exciting lucky draws, and amazing departmental performance shows.
“We were pleased to see everyone’s enthusiastic participation that contributed to making it a remarkable and unforgettable event with joy, laughter, and great memories,” says Mike Fong, Director of Human Resources, The Langham, Hong Kong
“The vision of the company is ‘building great memories’, which has also become human resources’ commitment in applying that to our staff activities and events. We look forward to celebrating more together as a ‘team’, and for the ‘team’ at The Langham, Hong Kong in the future –building great memories!”
The annual event, however, is not the only initiative the hotel has in place to engage its colleagues. Seeing them as its most valuable asset, The Langham, Hong Kong believes rewards and recognition are both foundational
“In 2023, team-building events were held twice in different spots, including on an outlying island and in a theme park. Generational preferences were also taken into account for the choices of spots to enhance colleagues’ cohesiveness.”
In terms of talent acquisition, besides traditional job posting platforms, the hotel has also tapped into mobile apps for finding candidates of new generations. “In summary, organisations need to diversify talent attraction and retention initiatives to enhance engagement by tapping into different needs.”
in keeping its colleagues engaged and positive in providing excellent hospitality services.
“The organisational culture takes colleagues’ satisfaction very seriously because all colleagues are our brand ambassadors whose personalities must be friendly, kind, eager to learn, and have a desire to help others,” Fong emphasises.
Therefore, to enhance its colleagues’ pride as its brand ambassadors, the hotel has implemented the ‘Langham Ambassador Programme’ to recognise the success stories of compliments from hotel guests to colleagues. At the same time, the ‘Langham Miles Programme’ offers a rewards scheme with gifts and trophies for the monthly top earners.
“By implementing continuous recognition programmes, we believe colleagues are motivated to offer personalised services with pride to make the hotel brand stand out in the minds of the guests.”
In addition, aligned with its conviction of personal growth and career development coaching, the hotel implemented the Langham Mentorship Programme in 2023 to offer career mentoring services by senior executives, targeting to groom development as well as engage, reward, and recognise outstanding colleagues.
On wellbeing, The Langham social clubs consist of various leisure groups for colleagues with specific interests such as jogging, basketball, and bowling, allowing them to gather weekly or biweekly to have fun together.
When asked about how to attract and retain diverse talent in today’s world of work, Fong says diversified initiatives and an enriching workplace with respect and recognition are certainly key success factors.
“In every engagement initiative, we certainly consider making a difference for catering to generational preferences,” he says. “For example, prize choices are different to cater to the younger generation – with advanced gadgets for them; and a traditional dried seafood gift set for the elder workforce, even in a single event.
Tam Jai International (TJI)
More than an event with glitz and glamour, the Hong Kong-based restaurant group, which embodies two local hero brands TamJai Yunnan Mixian and TamJai SamGor Mixian, sees its annual dinner as a remarkable occasion to appreciate and recognise staff, celebrate achievements, and enhance team cohesiveness.
Featuring a meaningful opening ceremony, a ‘Long Service Award’ event honouring staff who have dedicated decades to the company, entertaining table games, an eagerly anticipated lucky draw, and a spectacular talent show, the annual dinner was a great team-building event and platform for networking to bring different teams closer together.
“Our annual dinner highlighted the continuity of the Tam Jai spirit and celebrated the achievement of ‘Bringing Tam Jai Taste to the world’. The evening ingeniously showcased the brand new vision, mission, and values,” says Derek Wu, Chief People Officer, Tam Jai International
“The night was filled with energy and laughter, leaving employees with not only gifts, but also cherished memories. The seamless collaboration between the working team also demonstrated the true spirit of teamwork.”
In today’s professional landscape, individuals from every generation seek work that is
Derek Wu CPO
Tam Jai International
meaningful and aligns with their personal goals and values. To attract and retain talent, TJI strives to promote the group’s vision, mission, and values by crafting a compelling employee value proposition to showcase the unique benefits and opportunities that align with different generations of employees, and create a supportive work environment that encourages collaboration and development.
Apart from building a sense of pride among its employees by offering them a wealth of prospects to explore thanks to its rapid business expansion beyond Hong Kong, the group is also committed to providing clear career paths and growth opportunities for employees at all levels.
Meanwhile, TJI also ensures an inclusive and diverse workplace culture by fostering an environment that celebrates and welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Recognising people’s need to feel accomplishment, achievement, and mastery, as well as to feel respect from each other, employee rewards and recognition are part of the employee experience at TJI – designed to play a crucial role in motivating and retaining its workforce.
“In our organisation, we firmly believe that rewards and recognition are the vitamins of a great team,” Wu says. “By implementing rewards and recognition initiatives across the entire company, this creates a positive employee experience cycle to fully engage all employees.”
As such, the group has established the highly recognised ‘The TJI Education Support Scheme for Employees’ Children’, which not only assists employees in need, but also promotes fair education and family communication. In addition, the ‘Employee Share Scheme’ has also been set up for eligible employees to become TJI shareholders and actively participate in the group’s collective accomplishments.
“The scheme is designed to recognise and reward our employees’ outstanding contributions while fostering a sense of mutual ownership and alignment with our organisational objectives,” Wu elaborates. “By becoming our shareholders, our employees will have a strengthened stake in the group’s future, further solidifying our shared commitment to success.”
And all of this is built upon its ‘TEAM+’ model (trust, energy, adversity, and moment). “We have developed this TEAM+ model based on the strong conviction that high levels of ‘trust’ can establish psychological safety and foster collaboration among employees,” Wu says.
“When there is trust, it generates a positive ‘energy’ that enables individuals to go the extra mile and unleash their creativity. This energy can also develop a resilient capacity within individuals to face unexpected obstacles and maintain a high ‘adversity’ quotient. In the ‘moment’ of connection and through favourable memories, employees will be re-energised and find inspiration to overcome new challenges.”
Lenovo Hong Kong
Having employees from Lenovo Hong Kong and Lenovo PCCW Solutions join together for the first time, the global technology company organised its annual party in Hong Kong in February. Hosted at one of the city’s most iconic places, M+, it was a vibrant cocktail-style affair filled with busking performances, photo booths for capturing memories, lively dancing, and even a celebrity performance.
“That was an incredible party where creativity, success, and the unique bond with the Hong Kong market were celebrated in style,” shares Bella Chan, HR Director, Greater Asia Pacific, Lenovo
“A huge thank you to our organising committee for making this event a night to remember. From conceptual ideas to a good show, it truly showcased the power of teamwork. It demonstrated what we can accomplish when we come together with a shared vision and a collaborative spirit, enabling us to ‘win as one’ which was the theme of the event. The dedication and creativity of the people truly shone through, reflecting the innovative spirit of Lenovo Hong Kong.”
Beyond an annual party, the company has also put many different strategies and initiatives in place to cultivate a great employee experience, foster a positive work culture, boost employee satisfaction, and drive performance.
Bella Chan
HR Director, Greater Asia Pacific Lenovo
For example, as Lenovo firmly believes in investing in employees’ professional and personal growth, there are learning initiatives to enhance their skills and knowledge to support their long-term success.
The company also prioritises a healthy work-life balance for its people by implementing various initiatives, including hybrid work arrangements, wellness talks, mediation sessions, private workout classes, Saturday running classes, basketball teams, soccer teams, etc, to promote employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.
In addition, an employee assistance programme offers confidential counselling services and resources for supporting employees facing personal challenges.
Among these strategies and initiatives, employee rewards and recognition play a pivotal role in engaging employees and fostering a positive work environment.
At Lenovo, there are performance-based incentive programmes for sales and non-sales employees, who are rewarded in monetary and non-monetary forms for their exceptional contributions and achievements, aligning their efforts with the company’s mission.
The company has also established peer-to-peer and cross-team appreciation programmes to foster a culture of appreciation to express gratitude and appreciation for employees’ hard work and dedication.
“When employees feel their efforts and contributions are valued and acknowledged, it boosts their morale and enhances their motivation to perform at their best. This also cultivates a strong sense of accomplishment and satisfaction which fuels their drive to excel,” Chan explains.
“The rewards and recognition programme also contributes to the successful talent retention strategy. It creates a positive emotional connection between employees and their work, fostering loyalty and improving attrition.
“It also reinforces the culture and the desired competencies of the company, where the cultural values are used for the reward criteria. This encourages employees to consistently exhibit those cultural values, which leads to improved performance and alignment with organisational goals.”
To effectively attract and retain talent, especially in today’s diverse workforce across different generations, Chan believes it is vital to understand and address the unique needs and expectations of each generation.
“Firstly, fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace is a priority in attracting and retaining talent from diverse generations,” she says.
“It is crucial to emphasise the significance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and integrating these values into our policies and programmes. This approach will create a sense of belonging for employees across all generations, ensuring their perspectives and contributions are valued and respected.”
Furthermore, in the AI era, Chan highlights that organisations must wholeheartedly embrace technology and innovation as younger generations anticipate a tech-savvy work environment that allows them to effectively leverage their digital skills.
“Demonstrating our commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements and providing the necessary tools and resources will help us appeal to this tech-savvy generation,” she says.
“Our digital and intelligent transformation strategy has long been a key focus in Lenovo. We have a strong ecosystem and partnerships, capturing the exponential growth from AI, and have a plan to invest a further US$1 billion over the next three years in AI-driven innovation.
“By showcasing how the organisation is utilising AI to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and solve complex challenges, we can attract individuals who are eager to be part of cutting-edge advancements and contribute to the transformative power of AI.”
OCBC HONG KONG BOOSTS TALENT
MOBILITY TO DRIVE COMPANY AND EMPLOYEE GROWTH
The bank is committed to providing its employees with diverse opportunities for growth and development, enabling them to reach their full potential.
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCBC Group with presence in 19 markets globally and more than 400 branches and offices, OCBC Hong Kong is dedicated to supporting its clients’ regional aspirations with its deep local knowledge. At the same time, it is committed to providing its employees with a truly regional platform to fulfil their vibrant, future-ready career growth.
In today’s world of work, attracting and retaining top talent poses significant challenges for HR professionals owing to increased globalisation, fierce competition for skilled candidates, changing workforce demographics, and evolving employee expectations. To stay one step ahead, OCBC Hong Kong has solidified its ‘One Group’ approach, and focuses on several strategies, to ensure the bank remains an employer of choice in the dynamic talent landscape.
These strategies include:
• prioritising employer branding to showcase its unique value proposition,
• offering competitive compensation packages,
• providing opportunities for career growth and development,
• fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture,
• embracing flexible work arrangements,
• leveraging technology to streamline recruitment processes, and
• enhancing employee engagement.
Among all these, one of the most high-impact talent strategies has been the bank’s tremendous focus on employee mobility. Believing in the power of talent mobility, OCBC Hong Kong is committed to providing employees with diverse opportunities for growth and development, enabling them to reach their full potential.
To bring out the power of talent mobility, OCBC Hong Kong has adopted the following mindsets in 2023: gained support from Management Committee members, participated in the planning process, put in place the platform and tools, enabled regular tracking, and ensured that everyone becomes an advocate.
This mindset shift has been possible owing to it being amplified by actionable interventions. One key initiative introduced was the ‘Grow Your Way’ programme. Focusing on empowering individuals to chart their own growth paths within the
organisation, the initiative provides personalised development plans, mentorship opportunities, and access to diverse learning resources. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth, the programme enables employees to acquire new skills, explore different roles, and achieve their professional aspirations.
Other than that, a variety of creative and special initiatives have also been put in place. The ‘Xplore!’ programme places staff in stints within or across divisions for three to six months to broaden their career choices; the ‘Divisional Staff Mobility Programme’ assigns internal staff for short-term assignments across divisions in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau and Singapore within OCBC Group; the ‘Internal Career Opportunity Programme’ paves the way to helping employees achieve their career aims at different stages of their life; as well as managementinitiated transfer opportunities or international assignments to support employees’ career development plans.
“The Hong Kong office is hosting a diverse team of professionals from Singapore, Malaysia, and Mainland China,” shares Cindy Leung, Head of Human Resources, OCBC Hong Kong. “Concurrently, Hong Kong employees are presented with opportunities to gain exposure in South Korea, Singapore, Mainland China, Macau, Japan, Vietnam or even the United Kingdom.”
Through talent mobility to allow employees to explore different roles, departments, and locations, OCBC Hong Kong aims to foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation, as well as create a dynamic and agile workforce that can adapt to changing business needs.
“Regarding human resources management, a cohesive brand identity enhances the Bank’s image as a regional bank,” continues Leung. “The ‘One Group’ approach allows us to standardise human resources practices and optimise resources allocation. It fosters versatile employee mobility through our extensive network, including business travel, temporary assignments, and secondments etc., marking a notable increase from the previous year.”
Driven by all the mentioned programmes, employees of OCBC Hong Kong did benefit from more regional exposure in 2023. Compared to 2022, the number of outbound and local assignment opportunities arranged or completed by Hong Kong employees increased more than three times. The number of outbound and local assignment opportunities arranged or planned for Hong Kong employees in the first quarter of 2024 also increased by 15 times from 2023. Employees now are eligible for more opportunities to explore different roles, departments, and locations, and can enjoy a dynamic and agile working environment.
At OCBC Hong Kong, the leadership affirms there is a tremendous opportunity for people to experience its culture across geographies and businesses, and shape their careers in a regional bank of its size. By supporting them from a skills development as well as a mobility programme basis, the bank strives to continue to drive excellence and deliver value to its stakeholders together with its employees.
Empowering talent to transform the future: Key takeaways from Talent Management Asia 2024, Hong Kong 2024
We all want to build a productive and resilient workplace where employees can thrive and shine. The business world, however, is evolving fast. With Gen Z taking up a greater amount of the workforce, the prevalence of AI and technology in the workplace, and employees’ shifting priorities in their work and personal lives, it is more challenging than ever for HR professionals to curate innovative strategies to drive change and unleash the potential of their talent in alignment with the visions, values, and most importantly, the budgets of their companies.
All these crucial topics were on the agenda at Human Resources Online’s annual flagship conference, Talent Management Asia 2024. Held on 18 June, the event saw more than 200 HR professionals gather at the Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel to engage in meaningful on and off-stage conversations, and learn and network with their peers.
To recap the day, here are some of the key takeaways.
Let the younger generation lead
As Gen Z gradually becomes the mainstream of the workforce, it’s time the older generations let go and allowed the younger crop to take ownership and responsibility, according to Leonardo Anderle, Global Director, Talent Development, Rosewood Hotel Group, in the opening fireside chat with HRO’s Tracy Chan.
“What they are looking for in a role is for them to handle the project from start to finish. They want to be involved in every step and in the decision making,” he stressed.
“We need to be open-minded and allow them to do it on their own. And, of course, that’s where coaching is also important.”
He believes that communication and connecting are vital for leaders to effectively engage with Gen Z.
“It is not just about having effective communication, it’s really about connecting with them, understanding their needs, and being aware of what will make them successful in their respective roles,” he said. “Ask them to begin the conversation, allow them to express themselves, and let them do the talking.”
Maximising ROI by focusing on skills and digitalisation
Finding equilibrium in filling talent shortages, delivering positive employee experiences, and controlling costs, has posed unique challenges for today’s businesses and HR leaders.
This topic was addressed during a panel discussion with Sharon Lee, Human Resources Lead, Bayer Healthcare; Yolanda Ho, VP – Talent and Organisation Development, PVH Asia Pacific;
Florence Wong, Head of HR, Hong Kong, Co-head HR, GBA, Standard Chartered; and moderated by Iren Fabian, APAC Client Solutions Director, Sterling Lexicon.
The panellists agreed that careers are no longer boxed in. Transforming into a skills-based organisation, enabling internal talent mobility, and diversifying some of the skill sets across regions and functions can help companies stay agile and adaptable to rapidly changing business needs. Meanwhile, digitalisation also plays an important role in enhancing the employee experience and improving their performance.
Summing up on how to leverage technology, a panellist said: “We really believe that the magic happens when we bring technology and humans together to create the best employee experience that supports our talent and, at the same time, motivates them to do a meaningful job and ultimately contribute to the organisation’s performance assets.”
Managing talent effectively
Amidst the current state of talent management, where work-life balance is the top reason for resigning, the question for HR is: How do we manage employees through effective talent management?
Christine Lau, Founder and CEO of Lauris Walton, shared three parts to benefit the whole talent management planning process:
• Streamlining the process and the workflow.
• Refining the recruitment funnels and onboarding procedures.
• Enhancing employee engagement and retention.
“Employees today want HR’s attention through personalised coaching and career guidance, from which they will not only learn to develop themselves, but also feel that HR really cares about their career, so they want to share more. This is how you can manage your talent more effectively, especially for crossdepartmental employees,” she said.
On the other hand, employer branding is also important: “Because today’s talent want to work in a company they like, love, and enjoy. So, building employer branding is not only for hiring people, it’s also for retaining talent.”
Show employees you care
Sharing some real-life examples and hands-on experiences on employee wellbeing was a panel discussion joined by panellists Tony Wo, Learning, Culture
and Facilities Management Director, AXA Hong Kong and Macau; Gunjan Parekh-Dias, Head of Learning and Development, HR, APAC, CHANEL; Samantha Yong, Vice President Human Resources, INTO University Partnerships; and Wendy Wong, Partner, Head of Employment Asia, Lawyer, Simmons & Simmons.
“Wellbeing is no longer about perks anymore,” said one of the panellists. “It is a solid investment that each and every organisation will need to make if they are thinking of productivity and a very loyal talent pool.”
As panellists shared, taking care of employee wellbeing doesn’t have to cost you a pretty penny. Instead, it is all about the time and effort you put into showing your care to your people. Otherwise, the cost of not doing so, either from a compliance or non-compliance perspective, may even be higher.
Be a change-driving CHRO
Cassady Winston, Head of Human Resources at Leighton Asia, took us to a different topic: “The role of the future CHRO and what impact HR can bring to a company.” To move from enabling success to accelerating success, he outlined the four musts on a CHRO’s agenda:
• Align and focus energy.
• Engage hearts and minds.
• Prioritise attention and resources.
• Mobilise teams to execute.
He indicated that, instead of just asking for a seat at the table, HR leaders need to lead the change in organisations. This requires them to think holistically in four areas: strategy, talent, culture, and an operating system.
“This model is a new way of thinking about an agenda. It’s a new way of thinking about diagnosing the issues in an organisation,” he asserted. “I would say that any organisation in any industry will be highly successful if they’re winning in strategy, talent, culture, and an operating system.”
Think about what you can do with AI before you use it
There are a lot of generative AI tools. But before talking about automation, Virginia Lun, Vice President of Human Resources at HKT, advised us to take a few important steps:
• Think about your work process.
• Understand the tools.
• Consult the IT department for implementation.
• Manage your stakeholders and make sure every one of them is on board and can use it.
• Learn how to use the tools.
• Be cautious about data privacy.
• More importantly, walk through this journey with your team.
“It’s not about you creating a tool and letting people use it. They need to know how to incorporate the tools because they are the process owners,” she said.
“Only your people will know how we can use AI tools in the most clever manner to save manpower. And it is not going to eliminate their jobs. They are just going to do more value-added stuff. The generative AI tools are there. Our role is to imagine what we can do with them.”
Keep learning
Elaborating on a case study, Catherine Chow, Head of HR, HK and Macau at Nestlé Hong Kong, summarised a few key takeaways in helping the team learn:
• Gathering a team with diverse backgrounds will allow people to expose themselves to different parts of the business and encourage lateral thinking. And this is where the learning is.
• Breaking down complex business problems into smaller sizes can help people better understand what and how they can do something, and what are the expected results. This is the key to helping them learn and getting the so-called tangible business results.
• Don’t blame the team if they fail. Otherwise, instead of encouraging your team to move beyond their comfort zone, you actually penalise them for doing so.
She concluded: “It’s okay if Plan A didn’t work. We still have 25 more letters in the alphabet. Just try it until things work. And this is the only way for your people and company to grow.”
A ‘PEOPLE-ORIENTED’ STRATEGY FUELS HAPPINESS IN MCDONALD’S HONG KONG’S WORKPLACE
By empowering its employees with autonomy and trust, encouraging their growth and innovation, and fostering a remarkable employee experience, McDonald’s Hong Kong aims to be a highly attractive destination for top talent.
Running more than 255 outlets in the city with more than 15,000 employees, McDonald’s Hong Kong upholds the group’s global people vision of being the best employer in every community it serves around the world. This is possible through a focus on offering employees opportunities, training and development, satisfaction, as well as rewards and recognition.
Building on its ‘B.E.S.T.’ employer strategy, which encompasses four pillars namely, bespoke HR system, exclusive employee experience, success celebration, and talent development, the restaurant group is committed to creating an open and positive work environment, fostering employee wellbeing, and establishing a healthy and sustainable business through various initiatives.
One remarkable HR initiative to achieve its vision and commitment was the strategic renovation of its Hong Kong premises in 2023. Transformed into an open-plan office known as the ‘McHappy Office’, aligning with the company’s future development strategy of being technology-enabled, hospitality-led, and purpose-driven. Reopened in 2024, the ‘McHappy Office’ has integrated the brand’s philosophy of ‘people-oriented, customer-first, innovative and changeseeking’. It also incorporated five elements of happy innovation, to create a more collaborative, caring and high-quality working environment for its employees, whom it calls the ‘McFamily’. These five elements are:
• Wellness: putting people first, employee experience reigns (wellness) –providing a variety of exclusive benefits for employees to create the ideal working space for the McFamily.
• Sustainability: integrating green operations such as smart lighting system, paperless workplace and encouraging employees to practice a green lifestyle;
• Collaborative: significantly increasing collaboration space by six times, actively promoting a culture of employee exchange and enhancing cohesion;
• Technology: installing diverse technological facilities in the office to help employees innovate and improve work efficiency; and
• Art: integrating art pieces full of brand elements into the workspace to inspire team creativity.
“We firmly believe in how having happy employees can then translate into happy customers,” says Kevin Kam, Chief People Officer, McDonald’s Hong Kong.
“Therefore, our focus is to continuously optimise our employee experiences at McDonald’s Hong Kong.”
In addition to providing a friendly workplace, McDonald’s Hong Kong continues to support its employees by diversifying its corporate culture and opportunities for developing diverse talent.
For example, to enhance employee competitiveness and foster a sense of belonging, McDonald’s Hong Kong has launched a ‘Professional Diploma in Management Development (QF Level 5)’ for its restaurant frontline senior management team.
Being first in the local F&B industry to offer its employees an internal programme where graduates would obtain a qualification at a level equivalent to that of a Bachelor’s Degree (QF Level 5), McDonald’s Hong Kong seeks to reshape the public’s stereotyped perception towards its employees. This, the company aspires, will enable its people to enjoy continuous learning, obtain a recognised qualification, and pursue professional growth and success regardless of their background and education levels.
To inspire more employees, McDonald’s Hong Kong has also launched the brand new ‘McInspiration Series’ in 2024. Featuring a guest speaker for each session to share their personal leadership journey and experiences, this initiative aims to offer learning and growth opportunities by covering a range of inspiring leadership topics that embody McDonald’s core values.
The company’s efforts in prioritising employee happiness and engagement extend even outside of work. Kam shares: “We place emphasis on celebrating shared successes as a team through a number of engagement activities throughout the year, including a three-day annual dinner, Laisee giveaway, exclusive employee events, and manager conventions where we invite our restaurant management team to go on trips.”
Apart from entertainment activities, McDonald’s Hong Kong has also organised various events to recognise its employees, covering both frontline and back-office roles. Such events include ‘McAppreciation’ where frontline staff members are engaged through in-person store visits by senior management, the ‘Outstanding Management Award’ to recognise the best manager within the local market, as well as ‘The Global Ray Kroc Awards’, and the ‘Presidents’ Award’ to recognise the top managers and the best office employees within the company globally.
McDonald’s Hong Kong believes, to stay relevant and competitive in today’s talent landscape, the key lies in empowering its employees with autonomy and trust, encouraging their growth and innovation, and fostering a remarkable employee experience. By doing so, the company aims to create a captivating buzz that spreads through positive word-of-mouth, making it a highly attractive destination for top talent.
Kam affirms: “As our founder, Ray Kroc, once said: ‘We’re not in the food industry, we’re in the people industry. We just happen to sell hamburgers.’”
Exclusively with HRO, Dianne DeSevo shares how to drive a new chapter of employee engagement in a performance-driven glocal culture, with technology, and most importantly, understanding and role modelling.
r HOW THE CPO OF DOW JONES IS MAKING AN IMPACT ON THE COMPANY’S CULTURE AND ITS WAYS OF WORKING
Retaining talent has become more challenging in the fast-evolving and increasingly complicated world of work. HR leaders now play a more strategic role in leading a company through the headwinds and tailwinds by shaping a corporate culture to create a workplace where people want to stay and thrive.
This is well exemplified by Dianne DeSevo, Chief People Officer at Dow Jones.
Having joined the global provider of business and financial news and information in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic while the company was in a time of transition, the New York-based HR leader has been instrumental in helping it strengthen and support its workforce as well as develop the Dow Jones culture.
“What’s been most satisfying to me about my time at Dow Jones so far is the way my team and I have been able to have an impact on the company’s culture and the ways in which we all work,” she tells HRO’s Tracy Chan during her recent visit to Hong Kong.
“Our now CEO (Almar Latour) had assumed the role the year before and was thinking critically about how to orient the business. Together, we have made a number of functional changes that have moved the company forward.”
Driving changes to make an impact
To navigate a critical time, and address the evolving employees’ needs and preferences during and after the pandemic, Dow Jones has since implemented several prominent HR initiatives under the new leadership, including:
• A fully hybrid work model with global employees in the office three days a week.
• An enhanced benefits package with expanded paid parental leave to 20 weeks for all benefit-eligible employees, regardless of caregiver status, and expanded bereavement leave with removal of the family member qualifier from it.
• The recent introduction of a one-week-per-quarter remote work perk to all employees.
Apart from the above, another way she has made a difference in the company’s culture has been changing the way of thinking about the workspace. “When I joined, I was given oversight of our facilities team, which we have shifted into a workplace evolution team,” she elaborates.
This development has brought in a new addition – Anthony Parzanese, who oversees the global real estate for the company. “His role is to think deeply about how we can transform our physical offices to create employee-driven services and special moments for our staff. He has done amazing work in this space which has made a huge difference to the culture.”
The changes DeSevo and the team have made have had a significant impact on the company, and a lot of effort has been put into creating an open and fun culture at Dow Jones – one that she is really proud of. “We all work incredibly hard, but it is also an enjoyable experience to have fun while doing great work,” she says.
Focusing on performance
During the transition, Dow Jones has laid out its intent to become a performance-driven company and introduced ‘PerformancePlus’, a holistic approach to view and measure employee performance, both individually and organisationally.
With this approach, the company has made clear the expectation that employees would think about how their performance contributes to Dow Jones’ success, and, importantly, that the company would be equally vested in contributing to the success of each employee.
“We take seriously our commitment to providing tools and resources that can help employees further their ambitions and grow in their careers,” DeSevo affirms.
To that end, the company recently named Susan Flack, a long-time Dow Jones HR executive, as Head of Learning and Development, where her focus is on creating essential training opportunities for employees across the organisation. This also comes with the introduction of a series of secondments within the company, which allows employees to temporarily work within a different department or with the parent company to gain invaluable experience through a special project that will ultimately benefit the team.
“Dow Jones has a wide array of businesses and roles within our portfolio, and giving people the opportunity to move throughout the organisation and test out new skills is yet another way to build a really strong workforce,” DeSevo says.
Going glocal with diverse talent
DeSevo agrees that in every industry and job, there are certain hard skills that professionals must have to qualify for a specific role, but to really help them stand out and succeed are soft skills, including critical thinking, a strong work ethic, high emotional intelligence, curiosity, and kindness. And these attributes are what Dow Jones looks for.
To build the most effective and high-functioning teams, the company places an emphasis on hiring people with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, working styles, and interests to represent the diverse audiences and customers it is serving.
As a global organisation housing more than 5,000 employees, DeSevo believes it is crucial to have a culture that embraces regional or local flavours. Not only does this enable adaptation to local regions, effective communication with all colleagues, and cultural sensitivity and inclusivity, it also fuels creativity and innovation.
To cultivate this idea of a glocal culture, Dow Jones has been holding global all-hands meetings. While most of the meetings are broadcast out of its headquarters in New York, the company has set up a series of local watch parties to allow colleagues from around the globe to gather and get updates from across the business with executive leaders in those regions.
Meanwhile, smaller regional and business unit town halls have also been held, where leaders from other teams or offices participate. These town halls provide an opportunity for external leaders to talk about the company’s overall plans with localised content, making it relatable to the respective region and its employees.
To further promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity, employee-led ‘Inclusive Resource Groups’ are also active in all regions with localised initiatives for each region. “For instance, in the US, we have a group dedicated to promoting Asian culture, while in Asia, this same group narrows their focus further and promotes Southeast Asian culture.”
Working more efficiently and effectively with technology
With much of Dow Jones’ business and services provided to customers underpinned by technology, DeSevo equates how technology is used as an HR tool similar to how the company treats the customers. To her, technology is an essential part of the approach to work for the employees.
“Empowerment and giving people the ability to go deeper and access tools and resources is a huge part of how we leverage technology to aid people in their day-to-day roles,” she shares.
One example of how the company has embraced technology as an HR function is with the launch of ‘Sofi’ for HR, a self-service tool which empowers employees to take control of many of their HR-related tasks and questions through a dedicated platform. While Sofi automates a lot of the general information and question-solving part of the HR role, it has allowed the HR team to focus on the high touch, higher impact parts of the job that require and benefit from human engagement and interactions.
“Technology is an enablement tool for us, and we have found that since introducing Sofi for HR earlier this year, we have been able to vastly reduce the number of emails our people team fields, unlock powerful data capture and analysis capabilities, and significantly improve the overall employee experience,” DeSevo says.
“The intangible results are that we are continuing to foster a culture where employees are engaging with our platforms and resources more often, and at their convenience, and finding different touch points through which they can learn more about Dow Jones and feel a connection to our overall culture.”
Engaging people through understanding and role modelling
DeSevo believes the best way to retain top talent is pretty simple: give them good work to do and foster a culture in which they can grow and where they enjoy showing up to work every day.
“People don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses and they quit cultures. If you create an environment in which people feel safe and seen at work, they enjoy the work they are doing and they believe in what the company stands for, you will retain top talent,” she says.
“That’s why it is so important to not only have a company vision that is clear and accessible, but also to work hard at building a culture that supports the calibre of talent that you hope to attract and retain.”
Therefore, as a leader, she strives to empower people to be their best selves, and to do their best work, by understanding their needs.
“It is important to really know your team and the individuals in it and to understand their needs and give people what they need to succeed, fully recognising that it is different for everyone,” she says. “Some need space and some need more mentoring and coaching. Knowing the difference is important.”
And she strongly believes in the power of relationships and that forming connections with co-workers and employees is essential for success. “Soft skills like emotional intelligence and really understanding how to relate to your colleagues and team members comes into play.”
Another key to engaging employees is prioritising their wellbeing. Viewing the topic of employee wellbeing as being more about leadership than policies,
she emphasises the importance of making sure the policies, benefits, and structures are in place to support employees, and then walking the talk as leaders.
She herself has taken this responsibility seriously and is very intentional about modelling the types of behaviours that she wants her team to internalise.
“I work hard and have a high standard for myself and others, but I also appreciate the need for balance and flexibility,” she asserts. “As a leader, I try my best to practice what I preach and to lead by example.”
She cites taking paid time off (PTO) as an example. “As a leader, if you don’t take PTO – or don’t fully disconnect when you are on it – your team members won’t either. If you’re sending emails at night and on weekends when it isn’t urgent or time-sensitive, your employees are internalising that as normal and will do it too. I’m a big fan of ‘schedule send’ on email for a reason!”
Be gratified by the past, get prepared for the future
Recalling her HR journey of more than 25 years, DeSevo remarks that she has had many memorable milestones. Among all these moments, what stands out to her the most is how many incredible people she has met and had the opportunity to work with along the way.
“When I have changed jobs or moved into other companies, what has been most rewarding are the relationships I have built and fostered,” she reflects. “I have developed many lasting friendships with people who I respect and with whom I have enjoyed working with. The ability to build teams and create a core group of colleagues who have chosen to follow me along this journey has been really gratifying.”
Going forward, in the face of all the business and economic uncertainties ahead, she understands there is so much unknown that cannot be planned for. Therefore, she believes the most important thing as a leader is to focus and not get distracted by noise.
“I have learned to accept the fact that every minute is uncertain,” she says frankly.
“As a business and as a leader, you have to have a clear vision, know where you are going, and how you are going to get there. You have a large group of people following you on that path. Be prepared for challenges and bumps ahead and practise resilience.
“The path is likely going to change dozens of times, but if you stay focused on your goals, you will be able to get back on track each time. And throughout the challenges and hard work that are ahead, make sure you find some time to have fun along the way.”
HK EXPRESS IS TAKING THE SCENIC ROUTE IN ENHANCING TALENT ATTRACTION AND EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Listening to the voices of its current and potential employees, HK Express has invested in meaningful and timely interventions to cultivate a responsive and agile culture.
A “Gotta Go” spirit to enhance travel accessibility, as well as an employee-centric culture anchored on five core values: collaborative, efficient, entrepreneurial, reliable, and vibrant – HK Express (UO) is truly on a journey to help its travellers and employees alike to discover limitless experiences.
A member of the Cathay Group, HK Express has enabled tens of millions of passengers to travel, be it for leisure, business, visiting loved ones, or chasing new adventures. And it is this philosophy of growth and freedom that the leadership advocates in creating a remarkable employee experience as well – after all, happy staff leads to happy customers.
So what is the recipe for this employer to become the most respected low-cost carrier (LCC) in Asia? “Simplicity, agility, and efficiency – these principles underpin our business and people strategies and will help us become Asia’s best low-cost carrier.” says Kelvin Lo, General Manager, People Experience, HK Express.
Let’s pack our bags and take a journey into how these practices come to life through the people strategies in place at HK Express.
Taking off, the departure point is employer branding, whereby the objective is to go beyond surface-level solutions to attract and retain top talent and address the fundamental needs that drive individuals to seek meaningful employment. The UO employer brand is proudly promoted on LinkedIn, career fairs, and through awards and recognitions. Brand presence is increased by sharing corporate updates, event highlights, leadership spotlights, and employee stories. This attracts a diverse audience and achieves high organic reach and engagement on online and offline channels.
A campaign called ‘Gotta Go With U’ focuses on connecting the audience with UO people stories, specifically celebrating remarkable people as part of HK Express’s 10th Anniversary. By sharing these stories, HK Express humanises the brand and creates an emotional connection with the audience. This helps to build trust, showcase positive employee experiences, and attract talent.
We take a stopover in this journey to find out about HK Express’ innovation in recruitment. Recruiting frontline crew members after the pandemic has not been
easy. Yet, with aviation demand picking up, HK Express responded and has hired more than 600 crew members since Q1 2023.
This was made possible by recognising the key hurdles in recruitment, namely, becoming a cabin crew member or a pilot involves extensive training and certification processes, which by nature of being time-consuming and costly, may deter potential candidates.
HK Express has tackled this challenge head on by instituting innovative recruitment strategies, such as expanding hiring overseas, introducing a unique assessment centre approach, and launching new recruitment marketing campaigns to target segments such as young travellers to not only ‘fly’ with UO but ‘work’ in UO.
Our final destination in this journey is HK Express’ talent mobility strategy. Having worked hard to come up with out-of-the-box recruitment ideas, the airline provides employees opportunities to enhance their experience once they are on board. Having understood the challenges talent face, for example, many find that living and working in Hong Kong is expensive, thus overseas cabin crew and pilots from Mainland China are given an opportunity to live in nearby Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities such as Zhuhai, Shenzhen to allow them a short commuting time for work. Not only can they enjoy more reasonable living expenses, but a lot of them get the opportunities to go home and visit their family as well.
As we touchdown from this exciting journey, Lo shares some key milestones: “Being the first airline in Hong Kong to recruit HK-based cabin crew from the GBA region since the flight resumption, we offer the opportunity for GBA cabin crew to live in the area while working in Hong Kong. This initiative has yielded significant positive results, with a diverse cabin crew comprising seven nationalities, of which over 13% are from Mainland China.”
“While we prioritise hiring in Hong Kong, we also extend our talent search worldwide to build a robust talent pipeline and welcome individuals who share UO values to join our expanding network.”
Another big milestone has been the company winning key awards at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards 2024, which serve as a testament to the company’s culture. Lo affirms: “We are proud of these achievements and are grateful for our employees’ and stakeholders’ support and dedication. Together, we will continue enhancing the best talent attraction and employee experience for all of us in reaching new heights.”
And to all aspiring cabin crew and pilots out there, Lo has a special message: “When you take on the HK Express people journey, you will be inspired by the sheer energy and will power to move the dial and get things done. There is never a dull moment and certainly plenty of excitement when you experience first-hand the growth of a young and dynamic airline.”
A NEW STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
For the second consecutive year, MGM China has secured the Grand Winner award for triumphs in career development, rewards and recognition, and more.
MGM China grabbed the coveted title with 10 trophies at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards 2024 Hong Kong.
Marking its second Grand Winner’s prize, MGM China joined a host of winners and finalists who were recognised in the presence of over 200 topnotch HR professionals during a spectacular ceremony at Hotel ICON on 13 June.
With 24 carefully crafted categories, the awards provided a platform to shine the spotlight on the dedication of organisations and HR teams in the areas of leadership, learning, engagement, and talent acquisition, which are the four pillars that anchor a remarkable employee experience.
To stay ahead of the dynamic employee experience landscape, this year’s awards saw some new categories – including Best Culture Transformation & Change Management; Best Family-Friendly Initiatives; Best Hybrid Work Model; and Best Talent Mobility Strategy – which reflect the shaping trends for a new era of workplace culture.
MGM China swept up six gold awards in the following categories: Best Management Training Programme; Best Career Development Programme; Best Employer Branding; Best HR Digital Transformation Strategy; Best Rewards & Recognition Programme; and Best Recruitment Innovation.
The company also won four silvers in the categories of Best Digital Learning Transformation; Best Learning & Development Programme; Best Family-Friendly Initiatives; and Best Recruitment Experience Strategy.
Human Resources Online would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all our honourable judges and attendees.
Once again, a heartfelt congratulations to all the deserving winners and finalists who have not only created remarkable workplace experiences for their people, but also redefined the employee experience by setting new standards of excellence to inspire and steer the entire industry forward.
PANEL OF JUDGES 2024
Theresa Sham
Human Resources Director
Aqua Restaurant Group
Gray Zhang
Human Resources Director, Asahi Asia
Asahi Beer Asia
Isabella Tam
Senior Head, Human Resources and Administration City Super Group
Eric Choi
Head of Talent Acquisition, Hong Kong & Macau
DFI Retail Group
Elaine Chow
Vice President Human Resources, Strategic Engagement and Employee Experience
DFS Group
Kris Lui
Asia Pacific Human Resources
Vice President Dr. Martens plc
Steven Filby
Head of Talent and Learning
Hong Kong Jockey Club
Maggie Leung
Director of Human Resources
Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel
Kay Yeung
Director of Human Resources & Sustainability Hong Kong Tramways
Howard Hung
Human Resources Director
Kimberly-Clark Hong Kong
Taiwan Cluster
Catherine Chow
Head of Human Resources, Hong Kong
Nestlé
William Chan
Associate Director, Human Resources – North Asia
Plaza Premium Group
Derek Wu
Chief People Officer Tam Jai International
Joseph Ng
Director of Talent & Culture
The Silveri Hong Kong Mgallery & Novotel Citygate Hong Kong
Angel Kwok
Chief People Officer
Toys”R”Us Asia
Anice Chan
Senior Director, Human Resources
Business Partner
TransUnion
CULTURE
Shangri-La Group
BEST EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
BEST HOLISTIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
EMPOWERING TALENTS, CULTIVATING EXCELLENCE, AND ENRICHING COMMUNITY AT MGM CHINA
Dedicated to creating an exceptional employee experience for all employees, MGM China delivers best-in-class HR practices to fulfill its brand commitment of “Making Great Moments” for guests, the entire workforce, and the community.
MGM has been honoured with six gold and four silver awards across categories such as employer branding, innovative recruitment strategy, career development, rewards and recognition, HR technologies, and more at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards 2024. We are grateful for the support and efforts from all stakeholders, especially our leaders and team members, that led us to be the awards’ Grand Winner for the second time.
As a leading developer, owner and operator in hospitality and tourism in the Greater China region, MGM strives to create a culture of greatness through people. Our HR strategies are guided by the three pillars of developing ‘Great People’, a ‘Great Brand’, and collectively creating a ‘Great Organisation’.
Empowering talents with diversified learning opportunities MGM Academy and MGM eAcademy offer thousands of classroom and digital courses, and a series of signature learning activities in partnership with 30+ renowned associations and organisations, ensuring lifelong learning. Our signature learning events and programmes include:
• The annual ‘MGM Graduation Ceremony’ celebrates employees’ completion of our major development programmes from MGM Academy, our career development tracks, and our continuing education initiatives.
• MGM collaborates with government departments to provide employees with a ‘Professional Workforce Development’ series that includes ‘Occupational Quality Training’, ‘Vocational Certification’, and ‘Professional Advancement’, and we have seen thousands of team members (TMs) receiving their professional training and certifications.
• MGM offers business relevant courses such as cultural awareness & language programmes, seminars, and contests for our team and the public. These initiatives aim to enhance their skills in warmly welcoming both domestic and international visitors.
• We have been partnering with the government and educational institutions to provide internship opportunities, scholarships, vocational education, overseas exchange programmes, and more.
Cultivating workplace excellence & engagement
MGM strives to cultivate an inclusive, healthy, and safe workplace. We are endeavoring to provide broad programmes and welfare facilities for employees and committed to ensure all individuals’ rights are respected throughout their employment journey.
• We treat all our employees fairly, regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, etc. Our employees represent 20+ different nationalities and include people with disabilities.
• Leveraging the power of technology, we develop successful digitalisation strategies that enhance the employee experience in recruitment and communication, including streamlining hiring processes on one single platform, pioneering communication services to equip employees with consistent access and services, and more.
• Annually, we celebrate the ‘Employee Wellness Festival’ with a series of health-related activities, covering physical fitness, mental health, as well as overall wellness. There were 12 events organised for thousands of employees during this year’s two-month festival.
Enriching our communities
MGM proactively extends its efforts and resources to the community, particularly for senior citizens, youth and the underprivileged groups. Iconic events include:
• We believe art is for everyone. This commitment has been demonstrated through a multitude of projects, exhibitions, and symposiums, such as ‘Children’s Painting Experience’, ‘Junior Lion Dance’ programmes, ‘The Art of Hsiao Chin’ exhibition, etc.
• The ‘Young Craftmanship’ series benefitted thousands of local students to learn about the concept of craftsmanship excellence and engage in hands-on activities to cultivate handicraft skills and artistic knowledge.
• The ‘World Mental Health Day Series Event’ involves community members and individuals in mental health recovery to engage in sports, rehabilitation, culture, and art activities, bearing the goal of boosting mental health awareness.
Wendy Yu, Executive Vice President of Human Resources of MGM, shared: “At MGM, ‘Making Great Moments’ is the core value that propels us forward.
“We have always embraced innovative HR strategies to equip team members with up-to-date industry knowledge and skills, career advancement, and a great working environment. Looking ahead, MGM will continually empower our employees and create more great moments.”
HOW CAN HONG KONG BE MORE FLEXIBLE IN THE WORKPLACE?
Speaking exclusively to HRO’s Tracy Chan, Stephanie Yip, of Deacons Hong Kong, and Professor Christy Cheung, of the Hong Kong Baptist University, share their insights on the effective implementation of FWAs.
With the continuous effort to attract and retain talent with a better employee experience, Singapore recently introduced a new set of non-legally binding guidelines on flexible work arrangements (FWAs) requests, which will come into effect from 1 December 2024.
Under the guidelines, employees who have completed their probation will be able to make a formal request from their employers for FWAs, including four-day work weeks, more work-from-home days, and staggered work timings.
Employers, on the other hand, have the prerogative to reject employees’ FWA requests based on reasonable business grounds, such as cost, negative impact on productivity or output, and feasibility or practicality. However, management’s lack of belief in FWAs, a supervisor’s disagreement with the employee’s reason for the request, or the organisation’s tradition
or custom to not have FWAs, are not going to be considered valid reasons.
With Hong Kong often compared with Singapore, there are discussions around whether it should follow its counterpart.
Speaking exclusively to HRO’s Tracy Chan, Stephanie Yip, Corporate Commercial Associate, Deacons Hong Kong , indicates that, in fact, the Labour Department of Hong Kong has already issued a “Flexible Work Arrangements” brochure addressing the issue back in December 2022.
Professor Christy Cheung Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU)
However, unlike Singapore’s guidelines, there are no requirements for employers in Hong Kong to set up formal processes for employees to request flexible working, which Yip believes is worth considering for Hong Kong employers.
“Given many employees in Hong Kong have gotten used to different degrees of flexible working since COVID, and many continue to vocally request such a benefit post-COVID, if employers do not already have such policies in place, they should consider introducing formal flexible working policies and request mechanisms in a way that does not interrupt business continuity, while allowing employees a good level of flexibility, so as to help strengthen the relationship between employment and employee, and therefore talent retention,” she says.
In a separate conversation with HRO, Professor Christy M. K. Cheung, Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems, Hong Kong Baptist University, sees the key behind Singapore’s guidelines is the understanding that both employees and employers can benefit from properly implemented FWA policies.
Therefore, employers all over the world, including Hong Kong, can find valuable insights in these new guidelines, particularly in recognising the need for resource customisation.
“With the aim of building up an effective and harmonious workplace culture, employers can maintain a regular evaluation of their capability of building and investing in FWA implementation,” Cheung suggests.
“Resources and educational training to build capabilities on FWAs should be allocated and modified based on different sectors and the nature of work. The evaluation process can be a reviewing tool that allows employers to identify areas for improvement and productivity.”
What should employers consider when implementing FWAs?
While flexible working can bring many benefits, such as enhancing employee attraction, engagement, satisfaction and retention, it also comes with a set of challenges that employers need to deal with when putting such arrangements into practice. If not properly managed, FWAs can instead bring counterproductive impacts.
Work-life balance, for example, is often considered a perk of flexible working. However, Cheung states the use of digital communication tools in the workplace, especially under a flexible working model, can possibly blur the lines between work and personal time, leading to work-family conflict.
As shown in her previous research, employees’ mental health, family relationships and workplace ‘techno-stressors’ (stress induced by workplace technologies) are linked by an intricate relationship, which can negatively affect their wellbeing. She therefore emphasises it is essential to establish clear boundaries or guidance between work and personal life.
On the other hand, how to manage and keep track of employees’ working time to ensure that
business efficacy is not in any way negatively impacted by FWAs is another important consideration highlighted by Yip.
“For example, employers may want to consider whether there are core hours during which all employees must be working, including even if the employee is working remotely,” she explains.
Cheung says that when implementing FWAs and evaluating work-fromhome applications, employers need to create a supportive and inclusive work environment, and consider the preferences and needs of individuals.
“It is important to recognise that different employees have varying preferences regarding work modes – some may appreciate the flexibility of a remote work setting, while others may prefer the focused environment of working in an office,” she elaborates.
Apart from individual preferences, equality and equity could arise as another consideration – as not every employee necessarily benefits from such arrangements. As such, Yip suggests the first consideration for employers would be whether all categories of employees could participate in a flexible working arrangement.
“Businesses which rely heavily on front line customer-facing staff may find it unfeasible to formally introduce a flexible work scheme, where only a few employees in practice could benefit from it, which could then make the front line staff feel disgruntled.”
Mutual understanding and trust are key
The success of flexible working depends on the efforts of both employer and employee. Yip believes it all ultimately comes down to honest and upfront communication between both parties, where you establish mutual trust.
“When devising their flexible work arrangement policy, employers may want to consult their employees at different levels to understand their needs
to see what degree of flexibility the employer could accommodate,” she says.
“Simultaneously, employers should let employees know what the employers’ concerns and expectations are regarding flexible work arrangements.
“If an employer chooses to offer such a benefit, the employee should also respect the rules that the employer has in place, for example, being readily contactable during working hours.”
Echoing Yip, Cheung also believes in establishing an open and transparent communication channel to regularly share information, updates, and feedback related to FWAs.
“Besides providing the employees with clear guidance and useful training, employers should also schedule regular check-ins and assessment sessions, encouraging employees to express their needs, concerns, and ideas regarding the work arrangements,” she shares.
By doing so, employers have an opportunity to discuss the progress, challenges, and successes with their employees, allowing both to make the necessary adjustments and improvements.
“These interactions will help further strengthen relationships and ensure ongoing alignment between employers and employees, which can foster a positive and productive work environment that benefits both parties,” Cheung concludes.
HKPC NURTURES FUTURE TECH TALENT THROUGH A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND CARING
This is supported by HKPC’s
‘InnoTalent Programme’ and junior talent pipeline programmes for young students, as well as comprehensive learning programmes and a wide range of events for employees.
With the mission to promote productivity excellence, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) has been focusing on integrating advanced technologies and innovative service offerings to support Hong Kong enterprises on all fronts since its establishment in 1967.
As a market-driven applied research and development organisation, HKPC strives to be the key enabler and catalyst of innovation, applied technology and value creation, as well as the facilitator of collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), bolstering Hong Kong’s position to be an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre and a smart city.
Understanding that tech talent plays a significant role in driving new industrialisation and new productive forces, HKPC continuously invests resources in nurturing what it calls ‘InnoTalent’, the next generation of talent with ‘FutureSkills’ through various development activities.
Take its in-house tailor-made ‘InnoTalent Programme’, as an example. The programme is open to university students from all years, disciplines and locations, aiming to develop talent in technology R&D through hands-on experience and learning opportunities. Young talent may participate in ‘FutureSkills Training’, field trips, job shadowing and innovation projects, allowing them to integrate valuable experiential learning with academic studies.
In addition to this, HKPC has forged partnerships with different academic institutions and government departments to engage with junior talent. This has enabled the implementation of specialised talent pipeline programmes such as:
• the ‘Co-op Programme’ to partner with specific faculties to engage students with HKPC’s dedicated division to grow business-specific talent;
• the ‘Earn and Learn Scheme’ to provide attachment opportunities to tertiary students; and
• the ‘STEM Internship Scheme (GBA)’ to connect with GBA students coming from Shenzhen and Guangzhou to facilitate knowledge exchange and enhance the diversification of the talent pool.
For better engagement and communication with target students and institutional partners, HKPC has participated in various career fairs and recruitment talks held by local, Mainland and overseas universities; organised office tours for secondary and university students; leveraged different social media platforms to connect with young talent; and built networks including employee connection as
alumni, joint partnerships with overseas universities, and having past interns serve as ambassadors.
“HKPC is not just providing internships, but also offering career opportunities for tertiary students. We have some past interns joining us upon their graduation as full-time employees every year,” states Brian Wong, Chief People and Culture Officer of HKPC.
“They chose to develop their career at HKPC because they had a very positive internship experience and were fully immersed in our corporate culture, mission, core values and friendly working environment. The unique exposure to cutting-edge R&D projects and ongoing professional development opportunities we offer are among the major reasons attracting these talents to join the HKPC family.”
While committed to taking on the social mission of nurturing the young generation, HKPC never loses sight of growing its own employees by cultivating a learning culture to encourage them to seek high performance.
Through initiatives such as an open requisition mechanism, education subsidies, and comprehensive upskilling and reskilling learning programmes, HKPC empowers employees to hone new skills and grow professionally. Beyond classrooms, employees can also continue their development journey through mentoring programmes and project participation.
“At HKPC, human capital is always at the centre of our business. We nurture and build our own manpower pipeline filled with high-quality talent, and prioritise development and growth opportunities for our employees,” says Brian. “By providing a supportive environment and empowering resources, we enable our employees to thrive and realise their full potential.”
Recognising that engaged employees perform better, and are more enthusiastic, passionate and happier at work, HKPC also places a strong emphasis on cultivating a supportive and caring culture. From the annual dinner, ‘Ice Cream Day’ and ‘Movie Night’, to townhall meetings and ‘Skip Level Meetings with Executive Director’, a wide range of events are organised throughout the year to elevate the employee experience and create a positive work environment.
“All these efforts help strengthen employees’ sense of belonging and enable HKPC to formulate more effective market strategies and business directions,” states Brian.
“In the past two years, our R&D teams have achieved more than 200 prestigious scientific research awards and recognitions locally and globally. HKPC will continue to introduce top-tier I&T resources and deepen the partnerships with local, Mainland and international R&D and education institutions, and join hands with local and overseas talent to tackle industry pain points by offering I&T solutions.
“On behalf of HKPC, I would like to thank all for putting in the best of your efforts to make strong contributions not just for our organisation but to the community,” says Brian.
ON THE SPOT: THREE LEADERS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT HR STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE EMPLOYEES
As business, digital, and management transformation take place, HR strategies are also changing creatively to meet the new demands of employees, and better align talent with future business development.
At the recent Employee Experience Awards 2024 in Hong Kong, HRO’s Roetta Wang caught up with three of our esteemed jury members for their insights on the most crucial HR strategies to better engage their employees. Here are their responses.
Isabella Tam Senior Head, Human Resources and Administration City Super Group
Employee engagement and motivation is the best strategy. For commercial departments, there’s a lot of emphasis on how to win over our customers’ heart. But for HR, we need to know how to win over our employees’ heart. After all, happy employees bring in happy customers.
As an HR manager, we have put in place a lot of retention strategies. Communication is very important, so we have our annual employee forum to communicate with all employees, both from the front line as well as from the office.
We have good communication about the company’s direction and where we can go from here. Since we are a retail company, I think communication with the people on the ground, as well as in the stores, is particularly important.
My focus now is on employee engagement and employer branding. Nowadays, people, especially the younger generations, are more focused on life than work. The strategy is to make people feel proud of the brand, have fun at work, and feel respected.
Also, the focus should no longer be on loyalty or the turnover rate. It’s natural for people to come and go. But we can look at the rehiring rate, which reflects people’s perspective of your brand.
Angel Kwok Chief People Officer Toys”R”Us Asia
I think the most important HR strategy is to make our employees happy. Only when they feel happy will they love coming to work and be proud of themselves. Because we are in the toy industry, which emphasises much on the playful culture, we make sure our people are happy.
We have childcare leave to allow our employees to spend enough time with their families. Another example is our family-friendly day when staff can bring their kids to the office. You can imagine how excited the kids are when they are surrounded by so many toys!
Theresa Sham Human Resources Director Aqua Restaurant Group
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO MAKE DFI RETAIL GROUP
A GREAT PLACE TO LEARN, DEVELOP AND GROW FOR ALL TEAM MEMBERS
This includes integrating its people strategies across talent attraction, talent management and design, learning and development, rewards and performance; and adopting an open and transparent employee engagement communication strategy.
As a leading pan-Asian retailer, DFI Retail Group, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, has interests in 13 markets and territories. The Group (including associates and joint ventures) operates a number of well-known brands across food, convenience, health and beauty, home furnishings, restaurants and other retailing, such as Wellcome, Mannings, 7-Eleven, and IKEA in Hong Kong.
Founded in 1886, DFI has been striving to provide quality and value to Asian consumers by offering leading brands, a compelling retail experience, and great service through a strong store network supported by efficient supply chains.
Amidst the rapidly evolving landscape of talent acquisition and retention, DFI understands that it is especially important to create a world-class employee experience and rethink the approach to building employee engagement and workplace design.
The Group has adopted a holistic approach when developing their people strategies to ensure different stages of the team members’ lifecycle are well integrated, enabling its team members a meaningful and long-term career development journey.
Recruitment is the first touch point in the employee journey. To provide a high-touch and consistent candidate experience and be an ‘Employer of Choice’ in the talent market, DFI has focused on:
• Elevating its recruitment marketing campaigns,
• Streamlining the recruitment process,
• Broadening sourcing channels,
• Enhancing workplace experience through providing a modern and engaging physical work environment, and
• Promoting a top-up referral bonus programme.
With these initiatives, DFI managed to raise awareness of the employer brand in the market and drove a 5% increase in the total number of hires in Hong Kong in 2023. In addition, the Group has successfully hired 37 new team members from different diversity groups through partnerships with NGOs, as well as 202 students hired through its pilot ‘DFI Retail Internship Programme’.
To continue supporting the learning and development of its team members, several talent programmes are in place at DFI. These include ‘Store Management Trainee Programme’ across their banners to equip team members with critical store management skills through on-the-job and classroom training, and the
21-month ‘Future Retail Leaders Programme’ to develop future leaders for the Group through job rotations and hands-on project experience.
Rewards and recognition are another way to build a positive, inclusive, engaging, and sustainable workplace culture.
This saw the launch of the ‘DFI Living Our Values Awards’ recognition programme in 2023. With six award categories covering customer-centric innovation, collaboration, sustainability, caring passionately, and individual contributions, the programme recognises teams or individual team members who live up to the DFI values in alignment with its strategic framework – ‘Customer First, People Led, and Shareholder Driven’. The Awards is open to all team members across all markets, eventually receiving over 6,600 nominations, after which more than 1,600 team members have received the monthly ‘Caring Passionately Award’ from team leaders.
Recognising the prevalent challenges in attracting and retaining talent worldwide in 2024 and beyond, DFI believes an innovative, agile and forwardthinking mindset from HR leaders is crucial to navigating the complexities of today’s workplace and constantly changing work trends. Among this, HR plays a pivotal and proactive role in connecting the organisation and its employees through driving specific and intentional people initiatives to build team engagement and a sense of belonging.
To achieve this, communication is key. The DFI People & Culture team, therefore, has adopted an open and transparent approach to promote its people initiatives, which aim to reinforce DFI core values in building trust and connection within the organisation across all business units.
This has been made possible by setting the right tone from the top down, choosing the right communication channels and consistent messaging, and leveraging different internal and external platforms.
Regarding the recent success at Human Resources Online’s Employee Experience Awards, Joy Xu, Group Chief People & Culture Officer, DFI Retail Group, shares: “We are thrilled to know that the DFI People & Culture team has been recognised for our achievements in driving excellence in workplace experience, particularly in the area of talent acquisition and employee engagement.
“This is a testament to the passion, creativity, and unwavering commitment of our team to cultivate a positive, inclusive and sustainable workplace culture for all DFI team members.”
She continues to express her gratitude to the team members: “We are immensely proud of this recognition and want to extend our heartfelt thank you to all our team members for being part of this journey to co-create a supportive and dynamic environment that not only promotes our workplace culture, but also makes DFI a great place to learn and grow for our current and future team members.”
Jenny Pong Director, People Leader, East Asia Arup
Franco Fok Talent Lead, Human Resources
Sainsbury’s Argos Asia
A LOOK BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THESE HR LEADERS’ CAREERS
Dear HR friends, do you still remember your first day in HR? Was being in HR a natural career choice for you at a very early stage? Or did the opportunity catch you by chance, and you have since developed a passion for your job?
In this special feature, HRO’s Tracy Chan walks HR leaders across Asia down memory lane to understand their original motivation and aspiration to be in HR, and how it has changed along their career journey. We hope this will reinforce your resolutions as an HR professional and recharge you to take on whatever lies ahead.
Jenny Pong, Director, People Leader, East Asia, Arup
More than two decades ago, my father retired from the company where he had dedicated over 30 years of his life. I still remember the day he came home with a sombre expression, having discovered that his retirement payment was disappointingly insufficient.
It was during this time that I received my first job opportunity, a blessing from God, as a consultant specialising in the introduction of the new Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. This experience ignited a deep sense of purpose and passion within me, leading me to embark on a career in HR from its earliest stages.
William Chan Associate Director, Human Resources –North Asia Plaza Premium Group
Since then, my unwavering focus has been on assisting companies in enhancing their business outcomes through the differentiation of employee experiences. I firmly believe that by introducing digitalisation to reduce human errors, we can streamline operations and optimise efficiency.
Moreover, I am dedicated to ensuring that HR functions add substantial value to the overall business, thereby enhancing the purpose and impact of HR professionals themselves. Guided by this principle, I have successfully implemented organisational changes that enable businesses to continuously flourish and adapt to evolving demands.
However, my commitment extends beyond mere profitability. I firmly believe in striking a delicate balance between business profits and the wellbeing of employees. By fostering a harmonious work environment that prioritises employee welfare, we can create sustainable success and foster a culture of fulfilment and engagement.
Joanna Lee Director of Human Resources, APAC Continental Conair
In essence, my early experiences have shaped my career trajectory, instilling in me an unwavering dedication to helping companies thrive by improving employee experiences. By leveraging digitalisation, optimising HR practices, and maintaining a delicate equilibrium between financial gains and employee wellbeing, I strive to make a meaningful and lasting impact in the field of HR.
Franco Fok, Talent Lead, Human Resources, Sainsbury’s Argos Asia I come from an organisational psychology background. HR is a career choice that enables me to help put theory into practice.
My original motivation was to add a more people-oriented approach into HR with my distinct psychology background. As I progressed in my career, I started to redefine HR into a talent-focused, value-adding function, that encompasses several areas that I am passionate about: talent development, selection,
performance management, driving the employer’s value proposition, and organisation transformation from a culture and people point of view.
William Chan, Associate Director, Human Resources – North Asia, Plaza Premium Group HR wasn’t my intended path initially. My perspective shifted during an internship at a hotel’s HR department, where I was part of a lively team. It’s far from the administrative drudge I had imagined.
Today, in the hospitality industry, I continually see how HR is pivotal in shaping workplace culture. Whether it’s through resolving conflicts, fostering career development, or driving engagement initiatives, the role offers a rewarding chance to positively influence colleagues’ professional lives.
The dynamic range of tasks – from recruitment to employee relations – ensures there’s never a dull moment, keeping the career continually engaging and enjoyable for someone who thrives on a people connection.
Joanna Lee, Director of Human Resources, APAC, Continental Conair
At first, I was interested in exploring a PR or marketing representative’s role: learning how to interact with different cultures and extending my social networks. I was also interested in exploring the social worker’s main roles and responsibilities as I could support disadvantaged groups and bring value to them.
Finally, I chose to be a human resources practitioner as I really put “people at heart”. Not only sharpening my management skills, but also being able to support others in career building, resolve conflicts in the workplace, and offer a psychologically safe environment for my colleagues.
HONG KONG EMPLOYERS SET TO PAY AI-SKILLED TALENT UP TO 28% MORE
Amidst the strong demand for skilled talent, stimulated by the great prospect of artificial intelligence (AI), Hong Kong workers with AI skills and expertise could see salary hikes by up to 28%, according to the latest survey by Amazon Web Services.
94%
of surveyed employers, and 91% of surveyed workers, expect to use generative AI tools on the job within the next five years
73% 62%
of employers highlighted automating repetitive tasks as the top benefit of using AI, followed by increasing innovation and creativity ( 60%), and improving outcomes ( 56%).
of employers found it challenging to find the AI talent they need.
Employers lack the knowledge to implement an AI workforce training programme (76%), the financial resources to provide employees with AI training (70%), and time for employees to pursue AI training outside of core work responsibilities (69%).
THREE QUALITIES EVERY EMPLOYEE SHOULD HAVE IN AND OUT OF THE WORKPLACE
Respect, empathy, and openness to communication – while not often acknowledged – are three values that can separate an exceptional employee from the rest, says Priya Sunil.
I was recently asked during a dinner conversation with my team: “What are three qualities that stand out to you in any person?” My response, and something I’ve truly believed for a long time, was empathy, ability to have a conversation with someone (or an openness to communication), and respect. These qualities have become even more important and valuable to me as I’ve grown and experienced what life has given me – the good, the bad, the in-betweens. And when it comes to my role at work, I’ve definitely seen how much these values have impacted my day-to-day interactions with my team. Not just as a colleague, but as a manager as well.
Reflecting on my experience with these values, here’s why I believe respect, empathy, and openness to communication are three key values every employee in an organisation should have – and not just at work, but also in their personal lives.
#1 Respect
It really creates a difference when an employee makes it a point to be respectful to every single person in the office – not just their seniors and the leadership, but also their peers on the same level. Of course, it says a lot if they are respectful to every single individual (and even non-living thing) they come across outside of the workplace as well. It reflects a person’s character and gives a glimpse into the type of leader they may be in the future.
A lack of respect by an employee can make or break team camaraderie, and whether anyone will want to interact with them. And, on the flip side, respect builds trust among peers and leaders, enhances communication, and helps tackle conflict better, among other impacts.
#2 Empathy
Leaders are often reminded to be empathetic towards their employees and their needs; and it pays for employees to show the same level of empathy to their bosses as well.
Need to run through some deliverables with your manager, but they are stuck in back-to-back meetings? Have a task pending their clearance, but you see them stuck on tight deadlines? Instead of chasing them for their time, when you know they barely have time to breathe, show some empathy and understanding – ask them for a few time slots that may work for them to have your quick check-in, try to rearrange your task list in a way that you can still work on other jobs while waiting for their response, and if possible, see if there’s any way you can offload a task from them, if it’ll free up their time better. Additionally, showing empathy towards a co-worker, be it in understanding certain situations they are in, or towards their workloads, can help foster
deeper trust between you. In short, an employee who showcases healthy levels of empathy towards their co-workers and leaders can make them better listeners, better at problem-solving, help them navigate conflict, and of course, make for stronger relationships with their co-workers and leaders.
#3 Openness to communication
Having respect and empathy can also make an employee more open to communication – because of the level of understanding they have developed which can make them more willing to navigate difficult times together.
That aside, it also means you can count on them to voice any concerns they may have towards something, any ideas or aspirations they may want to share with you, and even listen to your point of view with an open mind.
In my team, we always encourage one another to speak up and not be afraid to have a conversation – as long as you have a concern to voice, an idea to share, a suggestion to make, our ears are always open. And we stick by that. We believe learning goes both ways, and we are proud to be that team that knows how to maintain boundaries, while also knowing how to share openly.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not citing myself or my team as the be-all and end-all of examples, or saying we portray these qualities perfectly! We continue to learn and grow, and I simply hope our experiences can give you an idea on just how much of an impact such qualities can help in taking your employees to greater heights.
All in all, while there are plenty more qualities to look out for and to cultivate in the workforce, starting off with respect, empathy, and openness to communication can set a solid foundation and open a path to more intricate qualities that create exceptional talent.
