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This article is brought to you by Hop Lun (HK)
With 18 nationalities and 83% of its workforce comprising women, this international fashion lingerie supplier launched a new competence model in 2021 which ensures everyone can “progress purely based on their performance”.
For international fashion lingerie and swimwear supplier, Hop Lun (HK), it is imperative to supply products that cater to consumers of all shapes and sizes. But such focus on diversity isn’t just restricted to its business – Hop Lun is equally dedicated to building an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) for its 33,000 employees globally.
This young company, founded in 1992, believes in respect and fairness for everyone. This is why in 2021, the team conducted a DE&I survey asking all employees in Hong Kong and Mainland China how to better create an environment in which everyone feels included. This was especially relevant, given 83% of its workforce comprises women; 18 nationalities represent different cultures, backgrounds, and ethnicities; and the average years of service tallies in at 5.1 years.
Using the survey results, a DE&I roadmap was rolled out to ensure the value was immersed in all people processes – from recruitment to training to culture. Among the policies rolled out were those in support of a family-friendly culture, such as above-standard annual leave policies, hybrid working & work-from-home options, lactation break policies, and ‘Summer Fun’, an annual incentive trip for all staff (which was subsequently postponed due to the pandemic).
Beyond policies, DE&I was adopted as a core competency in the organisation’s new competence model launched in 2021. This ensured assessment and development are fairly based on competence instead of factors like gender, race, age or personal preferences by leaders – or as Angel Kwok, Global People & Culture Director, says, it allowed everyone the opportunity to “progress purely based on their performance”.
Tying all of this together was a range of activities – such as, a 16-day ‘Orange Campaign’ initiated by UNWomen, an ‘Against Violence’ workshop, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, unconscious bias training for all office employees and factory management team, and more.
With this range of game-changing DE&I initiatives, Hop Lun’s HR team was clear in its mission. Kwok explains: “We changed the name of our team globally from ‘HR’ to ‘People & Culture’. This is a better reflection of what we are now doing. We focus more on our people and culture building.”
This focus on people has certainly paid off. Half of the C-suite positions on Hop Lun’s management team comprise women. The team has set clear goals to close its gender gap in five years and is making good progress. Employees agree – with 89% saying they feel included and respected, and four in five (80%) affirming the company is committed to D&I. Employee turnover rate in 2021 was recorded as more than 20% below the industry average.
Kwok affirms: “Hop Lun highly treasures our people and social sustainability. We believe that DE&I is one of the core focuses of the group as we operate in multiple countries with a diverse base of stakeholders including our people, our customers, suppliers, and business partners.”
Going forward, the team will continue utilising its large-scale, global network to move the needle on DE&I from internal to external, by sharing its best practices with customers and suppliers.
Photos / Hop Lun (HK)
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