Maybank has once again been recognised in Willis Towers Watson (WTW) 2020 High Performance Companies normative benchmark- an internationally acclaimed benchmark for high performing organisations. This is the fifth time that Maybank has been acknowledged as an organisation with outstanding and sustained financial performance, and for its strong commitment and focus on employee experience.
Group Chief Human Capital Officer of Maybank, Datuk Nora Manaf said that this honour was exceptionally meaningful given that WTW has benchmarked the bank against leading and reputable global companies.
“In this fast changing world, it is important for us to actively monitor, reshape, and realign the way we operate to remain relevant and to meet the ever-changing expectations of all our stakeholders. In the area of people management, we continue to push boundaries and with the creative use of technology available to us, have come a long way in redefining our talent initiatives, taking a more holistic and proactive approach to shape the future-readiness of our country’s graduates. We’re not just trying to find the best talents – we’re looking to develop and shape the leaders of tomorrow.”
This recognition puts Maybank on par with WTW’s 34 global companies which include renowned organisations such as Royal Bank of Canada, Groupe Danone, Coca Cola, AstraZeneca and AT&T.
Inclusion into the global high performance benchmark is based on outstanding financial results and strong employee experience scores. Specifically, organisations are evaluated based on two criteria set by WTW - namely, superior financial performance, defined by a net profit margin and/or return on invested capital that exceeds industry averages; and superior human resource practices, defined by employee opinion scores near the top among the most financially successful companies surveyed.
Maybank was cited as having amongst the most positive employee experience across the globe. WTW has found that Maybank had excelled in creating an environment where employees are able to have their own voice in decisions that impact them on a day-to-day basis. This is largely contributed by the high level of trust cultivated between employees and the leaders of the organisation. WTW also noted that employees are consistently given the opportunity to further their careers by developing their skills and achieving their potential with the company. This results in a strong sense of personal accomplishment and pride in being associated with Maybank.
WTW said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, industries across the world had to change operating models as well as strategies to adapt to the status quo, while ensuring business continuity and building better safety nets for our people. It cited Maybank as being quick to carefully accelerate its crisis plans since January 2020.
“This year has been challenging for everyone, but we have seen an incredible amount of innovation and agility, as well as changes in the way people work and live. Through daily communication, engagement and employee listening, we helped cushion the impact of COVID-19 for our people. We have designed learning programmes to ease our employees' transition into a work from home arrangement and put in place support systems, engagements to continuously instil pride and belonging, to ensure they are fit emotionally, mentally, physically and are performing to their best,” added Datuk Nora.
Willis Towers Watson Country Managing Director, Lim Chin Han said, “It is my distinct pleasure to be recognising Maybank as part of Willis Towers Watson’s Group of High Performing Companies again in 2020. It is a true testament to the efforts invested over the last decade to create an employee experience that serves as an example for both the industry and Malaysia as a whole.”
“A key factor to Maybank’s success is due to the willingness to help employees find their voice within the organisation. By focusing on each employee as an individual, Maybank looks to further careers by developing skills and to provide a clear path to success. This in turn builds a strong sense of purpose within the individual. When we combine this with Maybank’s strong communal spirit, it results in an employee experience that encapsulates Maybank’s TIGER values. We are pleased to be on board with Maybank’s journey and look forward to continuing to partner Maybank on achieving their ambitions and maintaining their high performance workforce,” added Lim.