How SIAEC’s total rewards strategy is meeting diverse employee needs

With recognition being a key ingredient in employee engagement at SIAEC, exemplary employees, or “Stars”, are identified for their outstanding contributions and efforts.

For some organisations, the concept of ‘total rewards’ encompasses direct and indirect remuneration approaches designed to attract, recognise and retain top-performing employees.

Where the SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) is concerned, their total rewards strategy is also about meeting the diverse needs of their workforce, Chua Hock Hai, Senior Vice-President Human Resources, SIA Engineering Company, told HRM Asia.

“We are committed to invest in developing our people’s capabilities and skills while elevating the SIAEC employee experience,” he added.

Employing a diverse workforce of more than 4,000, it is perhaps natural that a one-size-fits-all-approach does not adequately address the varied needs of the organisation’s employee groups.

Through market data, organisational employee surveys and focus groups, SIAEC sought to better understand their employees’ needs. This led to the development of broad-based rewards to motivate and retain different employee profiles.

Chua elaborated, “Beyond cash compensation, SIAEC’s range of benefits includes healthcare programmes, holiday subsidies and flexible working arrangements for eligible roles. Employees can also look forward to growth and job opportunities with our established career pathways in both operational and support functions.”

With recognition being a key ingredient in employee engagement at SIAEC, exemplary employees, or “Stars”, are also identified for their outstanding contributions and efforts. Their achievements are then celebrated through cash awards and events, an ongoing process which is continuously reviewed as SIAEC looks to expand and improve their recognition schemes for employees.

Another key area of focus is employee wellbeing and work-life balance, as Chua described, “At SIAEC, we strongly believe in a holistic and balanced working environment where our employees can perform at their best.”

Social activities such as hiking, DIY workshops, pilates, as well as community outreach and volunteering initiatives, are regularly organised to engage employees outside of official work hours.

An Employee Wellness Portal offers access to multiple resources, including health, stress management and financial planning workshops. A partner medical clinic situated within company premises also offers ready access to general medical consultation.

“In addition, we offer remote working and staggered work hours for employees in eligible roles. These flexible working arrangements create an inclusive and supportive workplace culture, which we believe is essential for productivity and job satisfaction,” Chua added.

To ensure long-term sustainability, these initiatives addressing employee needs are also aligned with SIAEC’s organisational priorities.

“To maintain our competitive advantage, delivering operational excellence and positive employee experience, whilst maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety, is critical for SIAEC. Our rewards framework is centred on these organisational objectives, with various rewards mechanisms tied to them,” Chua shared.

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Since embarking on their Continuous Improvement (CI) journey, recognition aimed at driving a CI culture and mindset have been introduced for greater alignment, and to increase employee buy-in that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

“Against this backdrop, we are mindful to ensure that teamwork, which is a key strength and a company core value, continues to feature prominently in our total rewards framework,” Chua concluded.