KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach^[1] - 14 January 2021 - Never in history have employee engagement experiences played a more crucial role than it has in 2020. The unprecedented challenges that businesses have undergone have shown us that it is people, more than any other factors that carry a company through a crisis towards success.

With decades of expertise in culture and engagement, leadership assessment and development, and HR and talent advisory services, Kincentric (a Spencer Stuart Company) helps organizations to be the best in the business through their Best Employers program^[2], a leading employer benchmarking program measuring and recognizing extraordinary employers demonstrating workplace excellence.

For 20 years, the Kincentric Best Employers program has recognized leading employers across the world who are committed to realizing great workplace experiences. Selected by an independent panel of judges, these organizations are leading the way in aspects that are crucial for success -- employee engagement, agility, engaging leadership and talent focus.

In 2020, Kincentric Best Employers in Malaysia have consistently found new and innovative ways to empower and motivate their people throughout a very challenging year, creating a work environment where people feel appreciated, highly connected and inspired to do their best, every day. As we begin 2021, we look at how our Best Employers in Malaysia have applied an agile approach to strategy, measurement and delivery of the Employee eXperience to prepare for the next normal.

edotco Group Sdn Bhd

• Best Employer in Malaysia and recipient of the Commitment to Engaging Leadership special award, the integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company employed three key strategies, namely timely and empathetic communication, personal involvement of senior leadership and people managers in employee development programs, and activation of people managers as informal mentors.
• Apart from regular and prompt updates to employees on business and COVID-19 related developments, the organization focused on sustaining employee resilience through financial, mental and physical wellbeing in 2020, doubling down on employee development investment by 50% to future-proof its workforce via digital competencies.
• "At edotco, we believe in never letting a crisis go to waste. The COVID-19 pandemic had bought home 2 new values into our organization (Resilience and Empathy) as the anchor that keeps our ship grounded. While we had shifted some of our priorities, adopting these principles helped our leadership team remain laser-focused in engaging our employees in a united manner and provided us with a framework to navigate through these turbulent waters. I believe we will emerge stronger as an organization come 2021," says Adlan Tajudin, Chief Executive Officer.

Hartalega Sdn Bhd

• As one of the world's leading glove manufacturers, this second-time Best Employer was an integral part of the support system for the fight against COVID-19. Due to the supernormal demands, the company had to adapt quickly to ramp up production capacity amidst the freeze on migrant labor for which the glove industry is highly dependent on.
• In a bid to attract locals to meet its production challenges, Hartalega quickly improved its value proposition for operator level jobs and accelerated the implementation of new automation systems throughout their production facilities.
• Reflecting on the company's journey in the program, Kuan Vin Seung, Chief Human Resource Officer shares "In year 2017, we decided to participate in the Kincentric Best Employers program to put Hartalega up against the best companies, not to win it but to learn how to be better. Having won it for the second time is really motivating and a testament that we are on the right path to become the best in people's practices."

Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad

• At the core of this home-grown organization's value system is C.A.R.E. (Competitive, Action, Responsible, Ethical) - the belief that the spirit of caring is integral to the prosperity and survival of its business. Inculcating an inclusive, non-discriminatory work environment, Kulim continually capitalizes on employee growth potential by grooming and preparing its workforce to meet the needs and changes in their current jobs, with a view of the future.
• Promoting a high-performance work culture that runs parallel with its human capital initiatives, the company motivated and challenged employees to raise their performance through a highly-structured performance-based reward system.
• As Tuan Haji Amran Zakaria, Head of Corporate Services Division explains, "Our people are our greatest asset. We must develop the right people, with the right caliber, skills and mindset. All of these must come together. If we do not develop people, then a lot of things are left to be desired. So, people are the fundamental factor and we need to continuously inject fresh mindsets and new thinking to drive the company forward."

Roche Services (Asia Pacific) Sdn Bhd

• A pioneer in healthcare, Roche combines its strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics to drive personalized healthcare. While some organizations found the transition into remote work quite challenging, the company executed this seamlessly, enabled by their existing agile ways of working. Through a creative mid-to-long term communication and engagement plan to enable meaningful and proactive interaction, Roche kept team spirit up by organizing activities such as zoom cooking classes and mental well-being talks, as well as encouraged team sharing of hobbies and games.
• Adopting flexible working policies such as the one-time Ergonomics Assistance Programme for the purchase of furniture, tools, devices or equipment to enable smooth work from home, the company fostered a supportive and inclusive workplace culture to retain and attract the best talent. The approach paid off as Roche successfully employed 180 talented individuals during the pandemic.
• Delighted by the honor, Martin Kikstein, General Manager says "the Kincentric Best Employer Brand Award 2020 is an endorsement we are honored to receive as we truly believe any organization is only as good as its people. It is a meaningful award for all of us at Roche Services & Solutions (RSS) APAC, further reinforcing our people-first philosophy. Our collective passion to foster diversity and inclusion made this award possible for our organization. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of my team, congratulations RSS APAC!" 

American Express (Malaysia)

• American Express won Kincentric Best of the Best Employer in Malaysia 2020 by delivering an exceptional people-centric experience through three key areas -- trust, open communication and top team alignment.
• Recognizing the importance of a health and wellness culture from the start of the pandemic, they embarked on key initiatives beginning with the launch of a telehealth service for colleagues and their immediate family members to consult doctors and access expert medical care.
• American Express Malaysia shares its success story here https://www.media-outreach.com/View/61145/^[3]

Organizations that are looking for valuable, insightful and actionable data to identify areas to better understand employee engagement, positively influence morale and enhance brand reputation in the next normal can visit https://www.kincentric.com/bestemployers^[4].

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} Best Employers program (www.kincentric.com)
3. ^{^} https://www.media-outreach.com/View/61145/ (www.media-outreach.com)
4. ^{^} https://www.kincentric.com/bestemployers (www.kincentric.com)