For the third time running since 2004, NatSteel Holdings (NSH) has won the Work-Life Excellence (WLE) Award. Only 20 organisations were honored with this Award out of a total of 140 submissions, while 40 other organisations received the Work-Life Achiever Award.
This biennial award recognises successful employers for their continued commitment to helping employees harmonise work and personal lives through effective and innovative work-life strategies. It is awarded by the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy.
Management’s strong support through policy changes, funding and active participation, coupled with staff’s enthusiasm and proactive attitude are the main reasons for our success.
“We have always believed that happy, healthy and motivated employees ensure the continued success of a company. Employees are our most important assets and we endeavour to help them take care of their health and well-being,” commented Mr Narendran, President & CEO.
NSH work-life initiatives have definitely paid off as the company’s employee retention has been good, with employees staying with the company for an average of 9 years. Absenteeism has dropped markedly from 3.21 days in 2006 to 2.81 days in 2007. NSH Singapore’s production output has also increased by 13% in financial year 2007 compared to 2006.
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Some of the work-life initiatives for staff are:
§ A holistic package of welfare benefits - recognition for good performances, medical and insurance coverage, different leave benefits
§ Flexible work arrangements eg. part-time work options, day-off in lieu of public holidays falling on Saturday at employees’ choice
§ Corporate social responsibility – adoption of St Joseph’s Home (SJH) for the Aged and Society for the Physically Disabled, employee-volunteering programme and donations to countries with natural disasters
§ Financial aid to families of deceased employees and staff loans
§ Subsidised company-chartered bus services to fetch employees to and from work
§ Availability of workplace facilities eg. canteen, occupational health unit, lactation room, locker and shower rooms
§ Workplace-health promotion initiatives that cater to the needs of an increasingly health-conscious and mature workforce; free annual health screenings; health talks and workshops on weight management, cholesterol lowering, smoking cessation and other health-related topics; subsidised lunchtime aerobics and yoga classes
§ Sports and games - the Sports & Recreation Club (SRC) organised many exciting and fun-filled activities in company premises such as table tennis, board games, movie screening, and at offsite locations that involved employees’ families such as bowling, badminton, soccer, fishing, cycling and farm tours |
And what do our employees say?
“Making this a reality the third time round is a testimony of the hard work of all the team members who worked behind the scene. Many thanks to the HR, OHU and SRC teams! And most of all, to all our staff who have supported all these programmes in one way or another.”
Ms Liu Fang Joo
Senior Vice President for Group Human Resource and Corporate Comms
“Frequent interactions through SRC activities help me create a closer relationship with my colleagues and a greater appreciation of one another’s work. It has also improved my working relationship with them and made the working environment more pleasant.”
Mr Yap Leong Soon, MQC
