On 2 December 2021, we unveiled 30 companies on the 2021 Singapore Best Workplaces™ List at the Great Place To Work® 2021 Singapore Best Workplaces™ Summit held at Marina Bay Sands. The award was presented by our Guest-of-Honor, Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.
Our list makers demonstrated that despite a year of constant change, from pivoting business models and restructuring operations, to shifting work arrangements in line with evolving safe management measures, they have continued to build on strong company values to reinforce a culture of trust. They continue to engage and develop employees to provide innovation opportunities and maximize their potential, and demonstrate exemplary leadership effectiveness with a purpose-driven, people-first mindset.
What makes these companies stand head and shoulders above their competition? Based on insights gleaned from the Great Place To Work® Trust Index™ survey data and Culture Audit submissions, these companies (“SG Best”) distinguish themselves from the others (“SG Rest”) with three key characteristics:
1. Leaders walk-the-talk consistently and build trust through their actions and behaviors
In these companies, leaders role model company values—they walk-the-talk and employees experience this through their leaders’ communications, actions and daily interactions with them. Importantly, leaders do what they say, and their actions match their words. Employees see this demonstrated consistently, which powerfully reinforces a culture of trust and respect.
2. Employee support schemes and benefits effectively meet their needs
At SG Best companies, leaders recognize that employees are individuals with personal lives outside of the workplace, andunderstand that their needs are constantly evolvingbased on their different career and life stages, as well as external factors which give rise to new challenges and needs. As such, employee support schemes and benefits cannot remain stagnant, and SG Best companiesconduct regular and frequent pulse checks to understand their employees’ changing needs and experiences. Importantly, theythenactively address identified needs andfollow-up on feedback and suggestions, to improve the employee experience. These companies also tend to have an underlying strategy that drives their policies and programs in a consistent and holistic manner, rather than introducing them on an ad-hoc basis.
3. Strong camaraderie among colleagues that builds social capital
Camaraderie refers to the sense of community, hospitality and intimacy between colleagues that enables them to enjoy the people they work with and thrive at the workplace. Among SG Best companies, there is strong cooperation between teams, employees feel welcome and are quickly integrated when they transfer work units. Importantly, and often overlooked, employees simply have fun working together! Such behaviors reduce silos between departments and build social capital to create a strong sense of unity and teamwork across the company.
During the Summit, employee well-being was the key focus in a presentation entitled Employee Well-Being: The Make It or Break It in the Future of Work by Professor Rick Smith, as well as a panel discussion on The State of Well-Being in Singapore Workplaces, featuring Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Mr Heng Swee Keat, and leaders from HP Inc., foodpanda and Micron.
Employee Well-Being in the Workplace
Great Place To Work® conducted a research study in partnership with Johns Hopkins University on How to Promote Employee Well-being in the Workplace: Global Study, which found that globally, only 17% of employees are in a high-state of well-being (i.e. flourishing), while in Singapore, only 9% of employees are flourishing.
In SG Best companies, we found that employees have a consistently more positive experience than employees in the average workplace in Singapore, and that these were some common practices among them:
1. Range of well-being policies, programs and initiatives to address employee needs
• DHL Express’ health and wellness program, Fit for Work, Fit for Life, aims to help employees improve their fitness, to benefit them both at work and in their personal lives. Based on four key areas—Physical, Emotional, Mental and Personal Energy—it ensures that DHL is a desirable, safe and purposeful working environment for all.
• RICE Communications conducts regular surveys to keep a pulse on employee happiness and well-being, and makes available professional therapy and counselling as part of the enhancement of its mental health benefits this year.
2. Online platforms and applications to support health and wellness
• Crowdstrike introduced a FalconFit Total Wellbeing Program initiative to encourage CrowdStrikers to improve their overall mind, body and spirit. It provides employees with access to wellness vendors no matter where in the world they are located through a virtual platform that is informative and engaging.
• foodpanda has given employees access to a well-being app which provides resources on physical, mental, and career well-being as well as one-on-one sessions with trained and qualified coaches on an array of topics.
3. Training for leaders/people managers to provide support in managing mental health challenges
• Cisco Systems trains all its leaders on Managing Mental Health during Covid-19 which covers the fundamentals of supporting employees on their mental and emotional health challenges.
• HP partnered with the Singapore Emergency Responder Academy to train its people managers to conduct First Aid in Mental Health, to support colleagues facing mental health challenges.
4. Adopting a people-first focus in designing workspaces and return-to-office strategy
• TDCX creates a conducive physical workspace to enable employees to reach their full potential. This includes wellness rooms like a well-stocked library for quiet reading, an entertainment room for employees to relax, have fun and enjoy the workspace, nursing rooms for new mothers, and a well-stocked pantry with healthy snacks. Co-working spaces are designed to facilitate sharing of ideas and co-creation, while phone booths give employees privacy for video calls and to focus on work.
• Liftoff’s global Return to Office policy allows Liftoffers to decide for themselves how frequently to work from home or the office, based on what works best for them. This allows them to feel supported and work most productively based on their individual work styles.
Unsurprisingly, almost 9 in 10 employees in SG Best companies expressed a willingness to stay for a long time and to recommend their company to friends and family members. As compared to the average workplace, the ratio falls to less than half.
To see who made it to the 2021 Singapore Best Workplaces™ List, click here.
Do you want to find out how your workplace culture stacks up compared with SG Best companies? Take your first step by joining the Great Place To Work-Certified™ community and click here.
