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One key focus is a supportive communication environment where empathetic listening is a primary skill, says Patrick Luah Aik Chew, Founder and Managing Director.
PLC Consulting Group, a financial advisory and corporate coaching firm, believes a supportive, value-driven culture is essential to business success. Its employee experience (EX) strategy focuses on supportive communication environment, continuous learning and psychological safety, creating a culture where the team feels empowered to take ownership and act with credibility.
Cited as its most high-impact EX initiative is the annual 'PLC Culture Day' series, an ongoing, immersive experience centred on PLC's core values. Each year, creative themes such as “Monopoly,” “The Little Prince” and “PLC Auction House” turn values into practical behaviours, building a shared language and strong team commitment that drive their success.
This people-centered culture earned PLC Consulting Group recognition at the Employee Experience Awards 2025, Malaysia, through a bronze win for 'Best Talent Assessment and Selection Process'.
In this feature, Patrick Luah Aik Chew, Founder and Managing Director, shares how PLC Culture Day, alongside initiatives such as strength-based dialogues have built trust, engagement and a motivated, high-performing team.
Q How does your team define "employee experience", and what aspects do you prioritise most?
At PLC, we define "employee experience" as the complete journey of an employee, one that we actively shape to foster professional growth and personal happiness. It’s about creating an environment where our team feels supported, valued, and empowered. Our priority is not just on programmes, but on nurturing a 'Happiness in our Culture'. We prioritise three key aspects that are rooted in our core values.
Firstly, building a supportive communication environment where empathetic listening is a primary skill. Secondly, co-create continuous learning and adaptability through a coaching culture. Thirdly, ensuring psychological safety, which allows our team to take ownership and act with credibility. This holistic approach ensures our people are equipped and motivated to create sustainable value for our clients.
Q Can you walk us through your most high-impact EX initiative that led to your success at the awards this year?
Our most high-impact initiative is our annual 'PLC Culture Day' series. This is not a single event, but a continuous, immersive journey into our core values of Professionalism, Learning, and Credibility. Each year, we engage our team with a unique, creative theme. For instance, we’ve used "Monopoly" to build our corporate culture framework , "The Little Prince" for an "Experiencing Journey" into adaptability and a "PLC Auction House" where teams "bid" on desired behaviours such as teamwork and client focus.
These interactive experiences are designed to be memorable and practical. They move our values from posters on a wall into a lived reality, creating a shared language and a unified commitment across the entire organisation, which has been fundamental to our success.
What business need did it solve and how was success measured? As a financial advisory and corporate coaching firm, our success is directly tied to the trust our clients place in us. The primary business need our culture days address is ensuring every team member consistently embodies our core values, which is the foundation of that trust. This initiative solves the challenge of translating abstract values into concrete, client-centric behaviours.
We measure success through a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods. We use a "PLC Culture Assessment" to gauge the team's understanding and implementation of core value behaviours before and after the events. We also track team morale and well-being using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire & GALLUP 12 survey.
"The ultimate measure of success is reflected in enhanced team collaboration, positive client feedback and our ability to function as a cohesive as well as high-performing team."
Q How do you balance personalised employee needs with scalable EX programmes?
We balance this by building personalisation upon a scalable foundation. The scalable component consists of our core programs, such as the culture days and supportive communication training, which all employees attend. These programmess establish a consistent cultural and communication framework for the entire firm. The personalisation comes from our coaching culture. Within our training, we incorporate OGSM & OKR tools for individual reflection and goal setting, such as creating personal "Communication Improvement Goals".
Managers are trained as coaches to understand individual work personalities, using tools such as Code of Honour and to apply our supportive communication principles in one-on-one dialogues. This allows them to tailor development and support to each employee's unique strengths and career aspirations, ensuring our scalable programmes feel personally relevant.
Q What are some underappreciated drivers of employee engagement that you think deserve more attention?
Two drivers that we believe are underappreciated are strength-based dialogues and the discipline of empathetic listening. Many organisations focus on fixing weaknesses, but we find it far more powerful to intentionally identify and amplify what is already working. By training our team in strength-based communication, we build confidence and positive momentum.
Secondly, while many talk about communication, the skill of true empathetic listening is often overlooked. We treat it as a core competency, allocating 50% of our communication effort to listening. This approach, where team members feel genuinely heard and understood without judgment, builds profound psychological safety and trust, which are the bedrock of authentic engagement is far more than any superficial perks.
Q Finally, what is the most important message that you'd like to share with your team as you plan ahead?
My most important message to our incredible and joyful team is to embrace our value of learning by continuously striving to practise 'Habit 7: Sharpen the saw'. Our success is a direct result of your dedication to growth, both for our clients, our community we live in and for ourselves.
As we look ahead, the business landscape will continue to evolve, and our "Collaborative Learning Agility" will be our greatest asset. Let’s continue to be curious, support one another and hold ourselves accountable to the high standards of supportive Engagement we've set.
Thank you for being the driving force behind our sustainable achievements and for your commitment to our shared mission.
"Our people are and always will be, our most valuable assets as our collaborative partners in our thriving journey to become leaders and highly effective financial coaches in the Asia Pacific region."
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
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