KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach^[1] - 8 December 2020 - Kincentric^[2], a Spencer Stuart Company is pleased to announce that their highly anticipated Kincentric Best Employers in Malaysia will be returning on 16 December 2020 in the format of a virtual event. For 20 years, the Kincentric Best Employers program^[3] has recognized leading employers across the world, backed by over 50 years of employee research and a global database of over 15 million employees.

(From left to right) Chong Chye Neo, Independent Director of Bursa Malaysia, Hong Leong Financial Group and Hong Leong Bank; Dato' Tharuma Rajah, Founder & CEO of Garage Analytics and Dato' Hamidah Naziadin, Independent Non-Executive Director of Maxis Berhad and Nestlé composed the panel of esteemed judges for Kincentric Best Employers in Malaysia 2020

Kincentric Best Employers in Malaysia 2020 will see shortlisted finalists vying for honours in three categories -- Best Employers in Malaysia, COVID Resilience Awards, and the coveted Best of the Best Employer in Malaysia. Organizations participating in this year's event include home-grown businesses, Government-linked Companies (GLCs) and Multinationals (MNCs) across various industries.  

This year's judging panel is composed of industry-leading HR professionals Dato' Hamidah Naziadin, Independent Non-Executive Director of Maxis Berhad and Nestlé; Chong Chye Neo, Independent Director of Bursa Malaysia, Hong Leong Financial Group and Hong Leong Bank; and Dato' Tharuma Rajah, Founder & CEO of Garage Analytics.

Commenting on this year's shortlist, Kincentric Best Employers judge Chong Chye Neo said, "It is very encouraging to see good diversity across different industries, size of businesses and employee population in this year's shortlist for Kincentric Best Employers. It is also very heartening to note that all the shortlisted companies demonstrated a strong employee care culture, especially in the current pandemic. After a robust debate that explored various perspectives with judges from diverse backgrounds, we have selected Malaysia's best employers; organizations that have exemplified people culture as a key enabler of their business strategy."

In light of the current environment of digitalization, globalization and talent shortages, Kincentric's recent research and analysis has identified four critical differentiating factors of leading organizations -- employee engagement, agility, engaging leadership and talent focus. Companies shortlisted for this year's Best Employers are evaluated against these four factors, and rank in the top quartile for employee engagement along with two out of three factors. In 2019, Kincentric Best Employers in Malaysia scored 86% across all four critical differentiating factors, excelling beyond the market average of 67% for employee engagement, 65% for agility, 67% for engaging leadership and 64% for talent focus.

A special recognition this year, the COVID Resilience Awards distinguishes organizations that utilize opportunities presented by the pandemic to create valuable and meaningful employee experiences in support of the organizations' survival and road to recovery throughout the year. Organizations shortlisted for this award are evaluated against four key pillars, identified through Kincentric's research and insights on employee experience during the pandemic. The pillars are senior leadership & communication, care & concern, wellness and safety, and virtual work effectiveness. Companies shortlisted for this award rank in the top quartile for senior leadership & communication as well as two out of three of the other pillars. 

"The Kincentric Best Employers program celebrates workplace excellence, recognising leading employers that drive change and inspire people to consistently do their best every day to achieve good business results for their organizations. This year, we are introducing a special COVID Resilience Award to recognize organizations that have risen above and holistically supported their employees in managing the significant emotional, social and economic impact brought on by the pandemic. This award demonstrates how a great employee experience defines the ability for a business to survive and thrive, especially in critical moments," said Ridhima Khanduja, Country Head -- Malaysia, Kincentric.  

Over the past five years, Kincentric has recognized more than 4,000 Best Employers from around the world including from Malaysia, with 2 organizations inducted into Kincentric's Best Employers Hall of Fame. In 2019, American Express (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, DHL Express (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Eco World Development Sdn Bhd, Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd, SkyWorld Development Sdn Bhd and SP Setia Bhd were awarded Kincentric Best Employers in Malaysia. DHL Express (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd was also named Kincentric Best of the Best Employer in 2019.    

The honour roll for Kincentric Best Employers and COVID Resilience Award will be available online^[4] from 17th December 2020.

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} Kincentric (www.kincentric.com)
3. ^{^} Kincentric Best Employers program (www.kincentric.com)
4. ^{^} online (www.kincentric.com)