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Here's why Heraeus has seen an improvement in medical leave consumption averaging 2.5% in 2018 to just 1% in 2021, as well as 40% improvement in voluntary attrition.
At the Employee Experience Awards 2021, Singapore, Heraeus Asia Pacific Holding won the bronze award for Best Employee Wellness Strategy.
In this interview, Tan Kah Leong, Managing Director, Heraeus Asia Pacific Holding, shares the secrets behind this win - the role of job creation and upskilling, how employee surveys have helped identify areas of opportunity to improve employee wellness, how to improvise weekly Friday morning 'power up' sessions, and more.
Q Congratulations on bagging this award! What is your award-winning employee experience strategy that led to this win?
In Heraeus our goal is not just to be an “employer of choice” or “supplier of choice’ but ultimately it is about “sustaining a community in business”. It is about job creation and upskilling of our people to continuously grow the business to create job opportunities for the next generation. Employees’ wellbeing is also embedded at the heart of our business strategy as they are our greatest asset.
We recognise that a healthy, happy and committed workforce is vital to our business success.
Q How did you and your team conceptualise and adapt this strategy to suit evolving workforce needs in the past year?
Various employee surveys were conducted to look for opportunities to better improve our employee wellness activities and better understand the effectiveness of our programmes.
Q What challenges did you face along the way, and how did you overcome them?
With the current COVID-19 pandemic, events such as the quarterly sports tournaments have been cancelled. With that, we improvised our weekly Friday morning 'power up' sessions from on-site to virtual sessions. This allowed all employees who are working from home or onsite to dial-in and join in the session. Employees working from home can also invite their family members to join in.
Q How did the strategy add to the overall employee experience in your organisation, in terms of ROI? Any achievements you’d like to show off?
With the implemented strategy in Heraeus that values the physical and mental wellbeing of employees as our top priority, there is a downward trend of voluntary attrition and sick leave over the years. A healthy improvement of medical leave consumption averaging 2.5% in 2018 to 1% in 2021 and 40% improvement in voluntary attrition is the outcome of overall good employee experience.
Q What is the most exciting and valuable thing about being part of (and winning at!) the debut Employee Experience Awards?
The most exciting and valuable part is to share with our employees that they matter a lot to the company and without their support and encouragement, we will not be part of or winning the Employee Experience Award.
The credit goes to our employees and of course, the event organiser who gave us the opportunity to share our employee experience!
Q Looking ahead, what else do you have planned as you continue to enhance the overall employee experience?
The Monthly Fruit day that has been discontinued due to the pandemic will be continued in the next couple of months. When the situation has stabilised, more events such as CSR activities and quarterly sports tournaments will resume and plan with care adhering to the safe management measure regulations set by the authorities.
Q Do share tips to inspire your peers who are working on their EX strategies and would love to participate in the awards next year.
It is important to provide a supportive environment for our employees, assuring certainty through clear and open two-way communication.
This will allow employees to feel involved and motivated, leading to increased productivity and creates a conducive working environment.
Q Lastly, to end on a fun note – if you could describe the employee experience at your organisation in one sentence, what would that be?
Together we thrive!
Image / Provided
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets' section!
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