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Ladda Phayomthon, EVP - Administrative Office, shares how meaningful communication and employee advocacy have helped strengthen trust and engagement, and why AOTGA believes the future of EX will depend on more timely, transparent, interactive, and personalised two-way communication.
The employee experience at AOT Ground Aviation Services (AOTGA) begins with connection and trust. With employees working across different functions, locations, and shifts in a dynamic airport environment, the organisation has focused on strengthening communication, increasing transparency, and creating more opportunities for employees to feel informed, heard, and involved.
Rather than treating employee experience as an HR initiative, AOTGA has made it a shared responsibility across leaders, managers, and employees, Ladda Phayomthon, Executive Vice President - Administrative Office, tells HRO. Through open communication, pulse surveys, and its recruitment referral system, employees have been encouraged to provide feedback, contribute ideas, and become proud ambassadors of AOTGA, helping to attract quality talent who share its values and commitment to service excellence.
The approach earned AOTGA silver awards for the following categories at the Employee Experience Awards 2026, Thailand:
- Best HR Communication Strategy
- Best Recruitment Referral System
In this interview, Ladda talks about how meaningful communication and employee advocacy have helped strengthen trust and engagement, and why AOTGA believes the future of EX will depend on more timely, transparent, interactive, and personalised two-way communication.
Q Tell us about the biggest insight or lesson that influenced your EX approach this past year.
The biggest insight for us was recognising that employee experience begins with connection and trust. Employees want to feel informed, heard, and involved in the organisation's journey.
This understanding shaped our approach throughout the year. We focused on strengthening communication, increasing transparency, and creating more opportunities for employees to engage with the organisation and contribute their ideas.
Our award-winning HR Communication Strategy reinforced the importance of clear and meaningful communication, while our Recruitment Referral System demonstrated the power of employee advocacy. Together, these initiatives helped strengthen engagement, build trust, and foster a stronger sense of belonging across the organisation.
Q How did you bring leaders, managers, and employees together to support the execution and success of the initiative?
We approached employee experience as a shared responsibility rather than an HR initiative.
Our leadership team played a critical role in championing open communication and setting the tone for employee engagement. Supervisors and managers became key communicators and culture ambassadors, ensuring that messages were translated into meaningful actions at the team level.
At the same time, employees were encouraged to actively participate, provide feedback, and contribute to organisational success. Through pulse surveys and our Recruitment Referral System, employees became proud ambassadors of AOTGA, helping us attract quality talent who share our values and commitment to service excellence.
This collective ownership was a key factor behind the success of both initiatives and ultimately contributed to stronger employee engagement across the organisation.
Q What challenge behind the scenes tested your team the most, and what did it teach you about building stronger employee experience programmes?
One of the greatest challenges was ensuring that communication remained effective and meaningful across a large and diverse workforce operating in a dynamic airport environment.
Employees work across different functions, locations, and shifts, making it essential to communicate consistently while keeping messages relevant and engaging.
This challenge taught us that employee experience is not built through one-way communication. It requires continuous listening, adaptability, and genuine dialogue. We learned that employees are more likely to engage when they feel informed, respected, and included in the conversation.
The experience reinforced the importance of creating communication channels that are accessible, transparent, and responsive to employee needs.
Q As you reflect on the journey, what this recognition at the Employee Experience Awards 2026 mean to you and your team?
Receiving the Best Recruitment Referral System and Best HR Communication Strategy awards is an incredibly proud achievement for our entire organisation.
These awards represent the collective efforts of our employees, leaders, managers, and HR team who have worked together to build a workplace culture founded on trust, collaboration, and engagement.
More importantly, this recognition validates our belief that when organisations invest in meaningful communication and empower employees to become advocates for the organisation, remarkable outcomes can be achieved.
We view these awards not as a destination, but as motivation to continue innovating and enhancing the employee experience for everyone at AOTGA.
Q Finally, as employee expectations continue to evolve, what is one area of EX you believe HR teams will need to rethink in the year ahead?
I believe organisations will need to rethink how they communicate and engage employees in an increasingly digital and fast-changing workplace.
Today's employees expect communication that is timely, transparent, interactive, and personalised. Traditional top-down communication approaches are no longer sufficient.
The future of employee experience will require organisations to create more meaningful two-way conversations, leverage technology effectively, and ensure that every employee — regardless of role, location, or generation feels connected to the organisation's purpose and direction.
Organisations that succeed in building trust through communication will be better positioned to attract, engage, and retain talent in the future.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
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