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Grounded in employee insights and a clear commitment to work–life harmony, the Singapore Business Federation has built a culture where flexibility, trust, and recognition support stronger collaboration and more intentional ways of working.
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF)’s journey to building an award-winning culture that built on work-life harmony began with one simple commitment: to listen closely to its people. Given the nature of its role, recognised that caring for its employees was essential to sustaining the meaningful work they deliver to the wider business community.
Through regular engagement sessions, feedback channels, and employee insights, a clear message surfaced. Flexibility, trust and purposeful work had become key drivers of how people did their best work. This understanding prompted SBF to refine and strengthen its approach to supporting its teams, guided by the belief that a desirable workplace must value wellbeing as much as performance.
Initiatives such as flexible work arrangements, family care leave, birthday leave, and recognition platforms such as SBF TQ (thank you) and the values award helped cultivate an environment rooted in trust, accountability and appreciation. However, deciding to maintain hybrid and flexible work when many organisations returned to the office came with challenges. Ensuring the right processes trust, and accountability required time, thoughtful collaboration and continuous refinement with both employees and leaders.
Today, our people are confident in managing their work, and deliver on outcomes in the way they feel supported.
At the HR Excellence Awards 2025, Singapore, SBF was honoured with the bronze award for 'Excellence in Work-Life Harmony'. Speaking to HRO following the win, Peggy Ng, Executive Director, HR and Transformation, leaves HR leaders with a simple yet powerful reminder: design with empathy, execute with clarity.
Q Tell us about your inspiring HR initiative – what sparked the idea, and how did you know it was the right path to take?
At SBF, we represent a diverse business community of over 32,000 members. To serve them well, we must also take care of the people who make this work possible.
The catalyst for change came from listening closely to our teams. Through regular engagement, feedback sessions, and employee insights, it became clear that flexibility, trust, and purposeful work were no longer 'nice-to-haves'; they were critical drivers of how our people do their best work.
Many of our initiatives reflect this belief. From flexible work arrangements to family care and birthday leave, and from team recognitions like SBF TQ (thank you) to individual acknowledgements through the values award, these practices foster flexibility, trust, accountability, and a culture of recognition. They reinforce the idea that a desirable workplace is built not only on performance but also on respect for each person’s wellbeing.
Q Every journey has its ups and downs – can you share a challenge your team faced and how you worked through it together?
In recent years, many companies chose to return to the office fully. For SBF, we decided to keep our hybrid and flexible work arrangement because it reflected our commitment to work–life harmony. The challenge was ensuring we had the right processes, trust, and accountability in place. This took time and close collaboration across the organisation where we worked closely with employees and the management team to refine an approach that works for us.
Today, our people are confident in managing their work, and deliver on outcomes in the way they feel supported.
Q What impact has this initiative had on your organisation so far, and what do you hope it inspires in the wider HR community?
Our hybrid and flexible work initiatives have strengthened our organisation in several ways. It has helped our employees balance their personal and professional lives more effectively. Teams now collaborate with greater intention and deliver with a stronger sense of ownership, which has improved overall effectiveness. Our initiatives have also nurtured a culture of trust and support, where colleagues step in to help one another when needed, enabling everyone to achieve more and grow together as a team. The trust built through this approach has also shaped a cohesive culture where we value each other’s contribution and focus on growing together as a team.
I hope this encourages the wider HR community to view flexible work initiative not as a temporary response, but as a sustainable way to support people and organisational goals. When we design policies around real needs, we create workplaces that are productive, resilient, and ready for the future.
Q Looking back, is there a moment, person, or value that kept you and your team motivated throughout the journey?
Our team has always shared a drive to challenge the status quo. At each step, we checked whether our decisions stayed true to our purpose. The value that guided us most was the courage to act. For us, this meant taking informed risks, staying constructive, and pushing for outcomes that truly mattered. It was about being deliberate, and focused on making a real difference. This mindset kept us motivated and aligned, even when the situation was uncertain. We are also grateful to Mr Kok Ping Soon, our CEO whose openness and trust created an environment that allowed us to explore new approaches, and achieve meaningful changes together.
Q If you could offer one golden nugget of wisdom to HR professionals aiming for excellence, what would it be?
Design with empathy, execute with clarity. Understand what truly matters to your people, and build solutions that are both meaningful and measurable. Excellence in HR is not about processes — it’s about relevance, impact, and trust.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
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