SINGAPORE 30 January 2023 – For the tenth year in a row, SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has been recognized as the “top employer Asia Pacific” by the Top Employer Institute, a globally accredited certification body. SABIC’s focus on empowered, people-centric leadership, and embrace of technology that makes processes simpler and easier, have been key to its continued success as companies pivot to new ways of working following the pandemic.
In addition to the regional award, SABIC also received the “Top Employer 2023” awards in five of its key Asian markets – China for the thirteenth year running, and India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea for the past ten years. SABIC employs 31,000 people globally, including 3,000 in 18 markets across Asia Pacific; its regional headquarters are in Singapore and Shanghai.
The announcement comes amid a period of significant, global transformation for employee management, as companies spent 2022 deciding how best to navigate changing expectations on people practices in the workplace. SABIC has embraced change by adopting technologies that ensure employees have the resources they need wherever they are based. During the pandemic, the Human Resources team began the roll-out of the HR One platform, building on its commitment to continually digitalize and centralize SABIC’s employee value proposition and offerings. Acting as a “one-stop” online platform, HR One houses all the information and tools an employee might need from training to claim submissions. And, from 1 January 2023, employees will be able to apply for flexible work arrangements via HR One, following SABIC’s July announcement that it is committed to a hybrid working model.
Meanwhile, leadership development programs have been the cornerstone of SABIC’s ongoing success, enabling the empowerment and trust required in today’s values driven, hybrid, and diverse work environment. The Asia Leadership Acceleration Program (ALAP) has been vital to SABIC’s achievements in the region, ensuring the company is inculcating a growth mindset and encouraging agility in its leaders. Meanwhile, SABIC’s recently launched Asia Empowerment Project was designed in response to feedback received in employee surveys in 2021 and will directly address four key areas related to low perception of empowerment that employees highlighted – Authority, Leadership Behavior, Continuous Improvement and Culture.
Commenting on the announcement, Mohammed Al-Nafea, General Manager, HR MEAF & Asia Regions, said, “This achievement has been possible because SABIC had the foresight to shift our leadership culture away from one focused primarily on process-driven competencies to one in which shaping balanced, empathetic, and transformational leaders was key. Without this shift, SABIC wouldn’t have been able to navigate the challenges of the pandemic as adeptly as it did. The heart of our leadership model, ‘Be the Impact’, emphasizes people empowerment, and ensures an engaged, agile and collaborative workforce.”
David Plink, CEO of the Top Employers Institute said, “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organizations. And we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Program this year: exceptional performance from the certified Top Employers 2023. These employers have always shown that they care for the development and well-being of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work. We are proud to announce and celebrate this year’s group of leading people-oriented employers: the Top Employers 2023.”
SABIC’s global programs, such as the U MATTER 22 roadshow and the AI chatbot “AMBER”, complement regional initiatives, ensuring colleagues in Asia Pacific feel part of a greater whole. U MATTER was piloted in APAC in 2019 and today, delivers in-person and hybrid events in 44 cities around the world, designed to inspire employees with a sense of belonging. Meanwhile, SABIC’s chatbot has been particularly valuable through the pandemic, acting as a two-way communication tool, with “AMBER” encouraging connection and dialogue by periodically asking colleagues for feedback about their experiences working at SABIC, as the company shifted to more flexible working. These programs have been well received, with an employee engagement rate of over 80 percent in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr Al-Nafea commented, “The competition to find and retain the best talent is now global, and employee engagement and well-being is a key element of this. Our leaders must be equipped with the right skills, mindset, and tools to grow and empower their people; care for their needs and inspire them to one day become leaders themselves. This award reaffirms SABIC’s longstanding commitment to investing in human resources and supporting its people for a better tomorrow.”
