Wednesday September 17, 2014
For the second year in a row, the Life at Work Award 2014 was held in Kuala Lumpur, to recognise and celebrate employers that have demonstrated drive, commitment and tenacity to champion diversity and inclusion in their workplace.
The event was organised by Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) and Towers Watson in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
There were six categories to the Life at Work Award, namely Best International Organisation, Best Malaysian Organisation, Best Lean Organisation, Best New Initiative, Making a Difference and CEO Champion.
Companies such as Shell Malaysia, Maybank Group, and PwC Malaysia emerged as winners of these categories, based on the initiatives that were implemented in their organisations respectively.
Shell Malaysia, winner of the Best International Organisation category, demonstrated its commitment to women in its workforce and management by setting specific recruitment targets for women and through specific women leadership programmes such as Senior Women Connect (SWC).
Maybank, winner of the Best Malaysian Organisation category, implemented policies with regards to flexible work arrangements, as well as established the Maybank Tiger Cubs Childcare Centre, which is the first-of-its-kind day care centre to operate on a purely emergency basis in Malaysia.
Winner of the Lean Organisation category, PepsiCo Malaysia, has in place Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for business leaders which include diversity and inclusion targets.
BASF Asia-Pacific Service Centre won the New Initiative category, by bringing women back to work after a career break, and implementing a four hour work day for them through their job-sharing pilot, which allows them the time to tend to their growing families.
Siemens Malaysia, winner of the Making a Difference category, launched PRIDE@Siemens with the implementation of its Work from Home initiative. Since its implementation, Siemens' retention rates have improved progressively from 14 percent to eight percent within two years.
PwC Malaysia managing partner and winner of the CEO Champion category, Sridharan Nair said, “PwC Malaysia recognises that retaining qualified women professionals is a critical business imperative and there is a need to provide flexibility for women to balance work and family commitments. One of our initiatives is the Back2Work Programme to hire women returnees, providing them the option to apply for a flexible work arrangements package.”
Towers Watson managing director of talent and rewards, Asia Pacific, Clare Muhiudeen, said that according to their research, diversity and inclusion are the key factors to retain and engage talent.
“This award instituted by TalentCorp is a timely initiative to encourage Malaysia-based companies to lead with workplace strategies to further the diversity and inclusion agenda,” she added.
For further information on diversity, inclusion and best work-life practices, please visit www.flexWorkLife.my.
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