Singtel has been recognised as the Employer of Choice in Asia at the recent HR Fest Awards 2020 for being an all-rounder in its HR practices. The company was lauded for its excellent work-life balance initiatives, rewards schemes, diversity and inclusion policies, talent management, succession planning and training and development programmes.
Ms Aileen Tan, Singtel’s Group Chief Human Resources Officer, who received the award at a virtual ceremony, said, “We are honoured to be recognised for our efforts in employee development and well-being as well as fostering a strong corporate culture based on diversity, inclusion and the pursuit of excellence and innovation. Our employees are our greatest asset and have been key to our growth in a rapidly evolving technology and communications sector. We continue to invest in our employees to support them in achieving their full potential by providing growth and development opportunities and the resources to continuously improve their skills so that they stay agile and relevant. We’re encouraged by this success and will strive to do even better as an employer of choice.”
Singtel, which has a 24,000-strong workforce, takes a holistic approach to professional employee development. The company is investing more than S$45 million over three years to deepen its employees’ digital skills and launched #CURIOUS, a digital learning platform, that provides employees with a customised learning experience at their convenience with access to more than 100,000 courses covering topics like technology, management and personal growth. Professional Conversion Programmes have helped over 600 employees in the past two years upskill and move on to new roles in the rapidly evolving work landscape. In addition, Singtel invests in attracting talent with diverse experience and capabilities, and nurturing high-calibre employees for future management roles.
Singtel also places emphasis on the importance of work-life balance. The company has a range of comprehensive medical services, recreational and wellness activities that focus on supporting employees’ physical, mental and emotional well-being. When COVID-19 hit and work-from-home provisos were implemented, Singtel organised virtual activities and townhalls, and took its annual learning festival online so that employees continued to stay engaged and connected even though they were apart. It also launched the ‘EXperience’ platform to take pulse checks on employee sentiment to help identify areas of concern as part of the ongoing employee communications. Singtel has been measuring and building employee engagement, recognising its correlation to customer satisfaction and ultimately business results. Its unflagging efforts and initiatives to improve the Singtel employee experience across the board and respond to employee feedback have been reflected in low absenteeism, increased training hours per employee and declining turnover rates in the past two years.
The HR Fest Awards 2020, which celebrate outstanding achievements of the region’s top HR leaders, companies and teams across private and public sectors, was organised by HRM Asia.
