How World Wide Technology Built a High-Trust, High-Reward Culture
Clare Sim
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Technology solutions provider World Wide Technology (WWT) Singapore offers many services including digital transformation, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, but its mission notably focuses on its people: To create a profitable growth company that is also a great place to work for all¹ .
Being on the Best WorkplacesTM List in Singapore for 5 years strengthens its employer brand, says Yvonne Lee, Director of Human Resources (APAC), WWT. “It brings an added advantage to us when we are recruiting, especially in Singapore where there’s a lot of competition for talent acquisition.”
Yvonne emphasizes that among WWT’s core values, the cornerstone remains cultivating and building trust. This is captured in its Integrated Management and Leadership Program (IML), a collection of culture and leadership philosophies embedded in learning modules that WWT’s learning team developed. Leaders are encouraged to run IML exercises designed around each core value with their teams, and departments are allowed dedicated times to do it once or twice a year.
One of these philosophies is ‘No Bad Managers’. Recognizing that most people ‘disengage or leave jobs due to bad managers’, WWT employees are invited to participate in an annual leadership survey where they can share feedback of their immediate reporting manager.
The senior leadership team responsible for these managers get to view the feedback and take action to support or coach any managers, if needed. These efforts are paying off; 91% of employees say that their leaders fully embody the best characteristics of WWT.
A unique strategy WWT uses to integrate its core values is to offer all employees the option to purchase books about trust in the workplace – fully reimbursable by WWT – at the ‘WWT Store’ or read copies available in the office. New hires undergo training on WWT’s core values, and all employees attend a mandatory virtual training annually as a refresher. This is evidenced by WWT’s 2024 Trust IndexTM Survey results, which showed that 99% of employees understand their core values and goals. Employees’ performance metrics are also assessed based on the core values.
95% of WWT’s employees say they have special and unique benefits, with 20% giving verbatim feedback that their medical benefits are second to none. WWT clearly stands out in this area among Singapore companies:
WWT uses a global medical provider, which makes it possible to provide coverage for their employees across multiple countries. This means that employees who travel to another country, even for personal reasons such as a vacation, can be reimbursed for their medical expenses in the foreign country (except for the US). “We want to provide our people with peace of mind and reduce financial stress related to medical expenses,” Yvonne explains as “supporting their well-being enables them to focus better at work.”
WWT made it a point to retain their flexible work policies despite the trend in return-to-office mandates. Yvonne emphasised that they continue to allow employees the flexibility to work with their managers on deciding whether to work in the office or from home. Managers and their teams have full decision-making authority. The autonomy and self-management granted to its people has reinforced engagement levels. “Our CEO believes that our people will be accountable for their own work and responsibilities. Employees appreciate it, knowing that many of their peers are going back to the office more frequently than before,” Yvonne adds.
In addition, WWT conducts annual market compensation studies to ensure it remains competitive – leading to a 11% jump in employees saying they receive a fair share of profits made in WWT from 2022 to 2024. This corresponded with a 9.6% drop in its turnover rate in the same period. Yvonne also revealed that they have most recently adjusted how profit-sharing is distributed to employees, based on feedback from the 2024 Great Place To Work® survey.
The benefits we receive at the company are second to none. I previously worked at big banks and MNCs, but the benefits here are simply incomparable. It makes me feel good knowing that while I work, I’m well covered in terms of health, and that the company genuinely cares about my life outside of work.
– WWT Singapore employee
Besides profit sharing, there has also been a 13% boost in employees who say they feel good about how WWT contributes to the Singapore community.
“Over the years, WWT has increased opportunities for employees to participate in community outreach programmes from once a year to 3 events in a year so that employees will not miss the chance to give back to the community,” Yvonne says. “For instance, half of our employees must work onsite and are unable to participate in volunteering work offsite, hence we organised an in-house event for them where they can help to pack goodie bags for sick children.”
These few years have also seen many employees volunteering to run Employee Resource Group committees, with almost 20 events per year. Festive celebrations aside, there were panel discussions, learning sessions, and mental wellness activities.
WWT’s commitment to fostering an exceptional workplace is driven by its focus on trust, flexibility, and exceptional benefits. By prioritizing employee well-being, WWT has created a great workplace for all.
