share on
Employee experience is never 'done', says Singapore Business Federation’s Peggy Ng. A phased approach to work-life harmony, shaped by employee feedback and shared ownership, has helped the organisation strengthen engagement while adapting to changing employee needs.
There is no end to the employee experience, as the team at Singapore Business Federation (SBF) stands by. For the organisation, supporting its people has become increasingly important as it takes on more work to support businesses in an increasingly complex environment. This has led SBF to focus on helping employees balance their work and personal commitments so they can stay engaged, motivated, and perform at their best.
The organisation took a phased approach to its work-life harmony strategy, listening to employee feedback, making adjustments along the way, and focusing on what mattered most to its people. Leaders set the direction and championed employee wellbeing, while people managers helped shape and refine initiatives based on the realities of their teams. Employees were also involved through a continuous feedback loop, making employee experience a shared responsibility rather than an HR initiative.
The approach earned SBF a finalist position for 'Best Work-life Harmony Strategy' at the Employee Experience Awards 2026, Singapore. Following the recognition, HRO speaks with Peggy Ng, Chief Corporate Services Officer, Singapore Business Federation, to learn how SBF is balancing flexibility with connection, why meaningful office interactions matter, and why the future of employee experience will require everyone, not just HR, to take ownership of the workplace they want to be part of.
Q Tell us about the biggest insight or lesson that influenced your EX approach this past year.
One thing that's been reinforced for me is that employee experience is never 'done'. As SBF stepped up our efforts to support businesses in an increasingly complex environment, our people have also taken on more. That made it even more important for us to support them in balancing their work and personal commitments, so they can stay engaged, motivated and continue to perform at their best.
That's why we took a phased approach to our work-life harmony strategy. We listened to feedback, made adjustments along the way, and focused on what mattered most to our employees.
It's been rewarding to see improvements in our employee engagement results, reminding us that a good employee experience comes from continuously listening, adapting and evolving together.
Q How did you bring leaders, managers, and employees together to support the execution and success of the initiative?
The key was making employee experience a shared responsibility, not just an HR initiative. We were very clear that work-life harmony is part of the overall employee experience, so everyone had a role to play.
Our leaders set the direction and championed the importance of employee wellbeing because they could clearly see, through our workforce data such as engagement and retention, the impact it has on organisational performance. Our people managers brought that vision to life. They are the architects of the employee experience, so we involved them early to shape and refine our initiatives based on the realities of their teams. And we kept a continuous feedback loop with employees, listening to what mattered to them and making improvements along the way. That shared ownership made the initiative much more meaningful and sustainable.
Q What challenge behind the scenes tested your team the most, and what did it teach you about building stronger employee experience programmes?
One challenge was balancing flexibility with connection. While employees valued hybrid work, we also heard that if they were coming into the office, they wanted their time to be worthwhile. They wanted meaningful interactions, opportunities to learn from one another, and stronger connections across teams.
The consideration wasn't whether to reduce flexibility. It was how to make every day in the office more purposeful. That shifted our thinking. Instead of asking people to adapt to the workplace, we redesigned the workplace around how people wanted to work. We involved employees in the redesign and created more intentional spaces and opportunities for collaboration, learning and relationship building. It reinforced that great employee experience isn't about having more programmes, it's about designing experiences around employees' real needs.
Q As you reflect on the journey, what this recognition at the Employee Experience Awards 2026 mean to you and your team?
Being named a finalist was already a meaningful achievement for our team. More importantly, it reflects the collective effort across SBF. I'd like to thank our CEO, Mr Kok Ping Soon, and senior management team for their strong support and belief in the importance of employee experience. I'd also like to thank our leaders, people managers and employees for embracing it as a shared responsibility. This journey would not have been possible without them.
Employee experience is a continuous journey, and there's always more we can do to better support our people. Being a finalist isn't the finish line — it's a reminder to keep listening, innovating and challenging ourselves. We'll be back again, stronger, and aim to go further next time.
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?
One area we'll all need to rethink is who owns employee experience. It's no longer something HR can drive on our own.
If we want to build a great workplace, everyone has to be part of it.
At SBF, we've learnt that HR can set the employee experience agenda, but it's our leaders who champion it, our people managers who shape the day-to-day experience, and our employees who tell us what's working and what isn't. That's why we involve them throughout the journey, not just when we're seeking feedback at the end.
To me, that's where the future of employee experience is headed — less about HR designing programmes, and more about everyone working together to build the workplace we can all be proud to be part of.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
Image / Provided
share on
