Best Workplace Practices - 2007 Honourees

Workplace Practices — By csr on May 26, 2007 at

The honour of winning the inaugural Award for Best Workplace Practices in 2007 went to DiGi Telecommunications for its unorthodox, refreshing and highly successful revamp of what it means to work in a large corporation. To ensure a real sense of community within the company, DiGi has over the last three years adopted a flatter organisational structure. Its philosophy of transparency, equality and innovation is demonstrated in the way its new Headquarters in Subang High-Tech Industrial Park has been built, with no designated offices and a range of workspaces for employees to choose from. In a revolutionary turn, HR policies were revised so that all DiGi employees receive equal privileges, such as comparable medical coverage, travel benefits, annual leave, and EPF contributions. Employees also all fly the same class and stay in the same hotel when going away on work.

DiGi’s innovative workplace practices have also extended to addressing the challenges facing young mothers with some creativity involving the use of technology, flexible hours and the offer of options for longer maternity leave as alternatives to avoid losing talented female employees. Its suite of workplace practices have succeeded in creating a stimulating and productive work environment and a strong sense of staff loyalty which has made the gamble on changing the way companies work well worth the investment.

Two other companies that have impressed with their outstanding workplace practices have been Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd and Maybank.

Accenture has adopted numerous initiatives to create a better, more balanced work environment for its employees. This includes flexible work arrangements for all, mentoring programmes for women, a Maternity Returners Programme, the Internal Accenture Web Portal resource, and Local Women’s Networking Groups. Embedded in its corporate philosophy are the principles of equity and justice in terms of employment.

Maybank’s approach has been to build its policies, programmes and services around its employees, recognising that they lie at the core of the company’s success. Many employees see the bank as their first and last employer. Therefore steps have been taken to nurture excellent group synergy by leveraging on the wide diversity of employees who come from different educational, ethnic, geographical and religious backgrounds. One of the defining features of Maybank as a workplace has been the responsiveness of management to feedback from staff. Requests for Dress Down Fridays were greeted favourably and this has since become an official policy, a bold move in the traditionally “buttoned-up” banking industry.

Bank-sponsored activities like dancercise classes and lunch time talks on family and health issues have also garnered active participation due to support to take time away from their duties to participate in these activities. The commitment of Maybank’s senior management to work-life strategies has helped to create a positive and healthy work environment in the Bank.

Maybank’s philosophy is that high performers can balance both family and work commitments well and support for work-life balance initiatives is seen to result in higher productivity and a maximised contribution to the Bank.

The Prime Minister’s CSR Awards, launched by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in 2007, aims to recognise companies that have made a difference to the communities in which they operate through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. Download the Official Entry Form.