By LAY HSUAN, LIM
We are in the employment era where talents are more vocal and articulate when it comes to knowing what they want in life and in selecting a good company to work for. It requires lifelong actionable commitment to stay as “best employer” in leading an engaged workforce to be their strongest brand ambassadors before you see great business results thereafter.
S P Setia Bhd Group (S P Setia), reputably Malaysia’s home-grown property developer well-positioned for its innovative and sustainable eco-friendly projects, has done it again this year. Not only it emerged the Aon Best Employers-Malaysia 2016 winner, but it received a special recognition for its “Commitment to Engagement Award” too.
The Aon Best Employers accolade is S P Setia’s seventh win, previously in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. Perfectively aligned, S P Setia’s vision is “To be the best in all we do.”
Thus, it is a testament that S P Setia lives up to what it envisions the organisation to be, in everything that it commits itself to achieve.
Driven by possibilities and mission statements
The people behind S P Setia, fondly known as Team Setia, is the livewire behind the organisation’s continuous growth throughout the years since its humble establishment in 1974. Today, Team Setia has grown to a 1,800-strong workforce (and still counting) here at home and globally.
With a highly engaged workforce, S P Setia’s mission to provide an overall “wow” customer experience through a strong culture of excellence becomes attainable.
As an abundant organisation that believes in sowing for the future, S P Setia’s concerted efforts in enhancing value for its employees, customers, community and other stakeholders are highly commendable. In measuring this value, it often involves investing back to the society to create a brighter future of tomorrow.
Bi-annually CEO’s dialogue with Team Setia to align the company’s goals and aspiration for the year and to obtain feedback. Pictured here is Datuk Khor Chap Jen addressing Team Setia.
Solid initiatives such as S P Setia Foundation (the corporate responsibility arm of the organisation) and its firm support of World Environment Day since 2008 have not only set S P Setia apart as a caring and responsible employer, but a corporate entity that is mindful of the needs of others.
Taking a lift from its LiveLearnWorkPlay development philosophy, S P Setia has always supported initiatives that encourages its staff to participate in the four pillars of a balanced lifestyle. This year, for instance, S P Setia officially adopted flexible work arrangement to enable employees to live, learn, work and play better.
From Team Setia’s standpoint, they see the purpose and meaning of their work and contribution to a larger community. Hence, they are highly motivated and engaged to “stay, say and strive” for the organisation.
Essentially, employees stay loyal with the company which contributes to S P Setia’s low employee turnover rate, say good things about the company which promotes employee brand advocates, and strive for the company leading to the team going the extra mile to see the business thrive.
Built on strong foundational values
An organisation’s success story is as great as the people who work in it and believe in what the company stands for. They are the ones who live out the company values wholeheartedly, and this translates to behaviours which result in a great company culture.
With this, Team Setia is anchored around 10 S P Setia values which read like a personal pledge of accountability to its customers, personal self, the organisation, the environment and its fellow team members. They include upholding noble virtues like integrity and responsibility, as well as respecting their peers and the environment.
To inculcate mutual trust and respect among Team Setia, young talents are always encouraged to get involved in S P Setia’s annual events such as Family Day and its much anticipated year-end annual dinner. Employees also actively play sports like futsal and badminton through its Setia Sports and Recreational Club.
Team Setia teamwork cuts across ‘work-time’to ‘play-time’ during the annual S P Setia Family Day.
In aligning themselves with S P Setia’s “We are Team Setia” value, these initiatives create a perfect platform for employees to bond with each other and experience the dynamism of Team Setia spirit first-hand, more so for new “family” members of Team Setia.
S P Setia also creates opportunities for its people to participate in training programmes, experience sharing and mentoring sessions, in line with S P Setia’s “I have the opportunity to learn and grow” value.
Besides equipping its people with a variety of skills to enhance their work competencies through these programmes, it also helps S P Setia identify and develop their high potentials from within the organisation.
One of S P Setia’s highlights includes overseas study tours to places such as Singapore, Beijing, Melbourne and Amsterdam. Today, over 200 Team Setia members have undergone these study tours and benefitted from it.
Indeed, it shows that investment into its own people is of high priority for S P Setia in ensuring the organisation’s future sustainable growth.
People and heart matter
What makes S P Setia more endearing among its employees is the fact that the organisation is proactively involved in the “heart” of things that really matter.
At S P Setia, senior leaders practise open-door policy to ensure communication remains open and transparent at all times.
Results from its People Pulse Survey (the organisation’s annual employee engagement survey) are not taken lightly by S P Setia leadership. They are not hesitant to respond accordingly to ensure high employee engagement in the areas of leadership, infrastructure, performance management and people management.
The trademark of S P Setia is its culture of celebrating success and festivities together. Who would forget the unity and inclusivity shown by Team Setia in its Chinese New Year and Hari Raya television commercials featuring their diverse employees from Malaysia and all over the world?
At its best
The spirit of togetherness and openness among S P Setia’s employees are admirable as it creates a close-knitted bond with each other. With shared vision, mission and values embedded in their inner beings, the heart of Team Setia continues to beat as one to propel the organisation forward.
Team Setia speaks
“I remember when I first joined, I was promptly absorbed into the team and my superior assessed my strengths and weaknesses. She was diligent in mentoring and giving me fair opportunities to learn and grow significantly. The open communication that I have with her helps me to work more efficiently, and achieve more at work as a result.”— Ashvin Nambiar Ragavan, assistant manager, S P Setia Foundation
“I’ve worked in S P Setia for over 16 years now and it’s with much pride that I call myself a member of Team Setia. Throughout my work experience here, I’ve received tremendous support from both my superior and my subordinates.
The team spirit that we share here is truly unique. The leadership team has successfully set a strong corporate culture for teamwork, integrity and sustainability that it clearly permeates throughout the organisation.” — Norlina Mohd Noor, sales and marketing
“Although it has only been almost a year that I work in S P Setia, I already felt welcomed to a big family. S P Setia not only promotes work-life balance, it also provides opportunities for us to learn and develop various skills. As long as you have the right attitude, you’ll be given the opportunity to shine. I’m very proud to be part of Team Setia!” — Wee Teck Soon, finance manager, Aeropod division
If you are interested to join Team Setia and experience the warmth of the Setia family, visit www.spsetia.com. To learn more about S P Setia’s vision, mission and value statements, click here.
Lay Hsuan was part of the content curation team for Leaderonomics.com, playing the role of a content gatekeeper as well as ensuring the integrity of stories that came in. She was an occasional writer for the team and was previously the caretaker for Leaderonomics social media channels. She is still happiest when you leave comments on the website, or subscribe to Leader’s Digest, or share Leaderonomics content on social media.
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