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By listening closely to employee needs and delivering flexibility, wellness, and recognition in meaningful ways, Sime Motors Singapore has seen stronger retention, higher engagement, and a more connected workforce.
At Sime Motors Singapore, employee experience is about more than policies — it’s about people. With a clear focus on work-life harmony, the team introduced a holistic strategy that blends flexible work arrangements, wellness initiatives, and inclusive engagement to meet employees where they are. Backed by leadership and driven by data, the strategy saw engagement scores climb by 12% and attrition fall by more than half, as we learn from Shayne Ang, Head of People Experience, Sime Motors Singapore.
Ang and team were proud winners of the bronze award for 'Best Work-life Harmony Strategy' at the Employee Experience Awards 2025, Singapore. In this interview, she walks us through the key moments, lessons, and values behind their employee experience journey — one that’s built on trust, visibility, and shared growth.
Q How does your team define "employee experience", and what aspects do you prioritise most?
At Sime Motors Singapore, employee experience is about creating a workplace where people feel valued, empowered, and inspired to grow. We prioritise holistic employee wellbeing, continuous learning, and meaningful engagement. Our strategy integrates flexible work arrangements, wellness programmes, and structured development pathways to support both personal and professional growth.
We also emphasise open communication and recognition, ensuring employees feel heard and appreciated. By aligning our initiatives with evolving workforce expectations and business goals, we’ve cultivated a culture of trust, inclusivity, and high performance that drives both employee satisfaction and organisational success.
Q Can you walk us through your most high-impact EX initiative that led to your success at the awards this year? What business need did it solve, and how was success measured?
Our most impactful initiative was our work-life harmony strategy, which earned us the EX award. It addressed burnout, retention, and engagement challenges by introducing flexible work arrangements, wellness programmes, sports interest groups and competitions and inclusive team-building activities. We launched a telecommuting policy, 'early release Fridays', and a wellness calendar, supported by strong leadership buy-in.
These efforts led to a 12% increase in employee engagement scores and a drop in attrition from 23.37% in 2022 to 9.57% in 2024. The strategy not only improved wellbeing but also enhanced productivity, customer satisfaction, and our employer brand.
Q How do you balance personalised employee needs with scalable EX programmes?
We balance personalisation and scalability by segmenting our workforce and tailoring initiatives accordingly. For example, our structured learning calendar offers curated workshops for non-executives, junior executives, and managers, ensuring relevance across roles. We also introduced individual development plans (IDPs) and mentoring to support unique career aspirations.
While flexible work options benefit eligible roles, we ensure inclusivity for frontline staff through wellness activities, team bonding, and on-site engagement.
Feedback loops and leadership support allow us to continuously refine programmes, making them both impactful and adaptable at scale.
Q What are some underappreciated drivers of employee engagement that you think deserve more attention?
Recognition and peer appreciation are often underestimated. Our Kudos Award Cerra Points app empowered employees to recognise and appreciate one another, reinforcing our values and boosting morale.
Another overlooked driver is leadership visibility — our leaders actively engage through townhalls, dialogues, coaching, and supervisor forums, which builds trust and alignment.
Lastly, inclusive social initiatives like our Social Club and interest groups (e.g., futsal, badminton) foster belonging and cross-functional collaboration. These seemingly small efforts have had a big impact on engagement, retention, and workplace culture.
Q Finally, what is the most important message that you'd like to share with your team as you plan ahead?
To our incredible team: thank you for embracing change, championing our values, and making Sime Motors Singapore a great place to work. Your resilience, passion, and collaboration have driven our success. As we look ahead, we will continue to grow together — investing in ourselves, supporting one another, and striving for excellence.
With your commitment, we’ll keep setting new benchmarks in employee experience and customer satisfaction. Together, we are not just building careers, we’re shaping a future-ready, people-first organisation.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
Photos: Provided
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