HLB Drives Innovative HR Practices And Workplace Wellbeing

Hong Leong Bank’s drive to innovate core HR functions and build a workforce for the future recognised with wins in Innovation and Workplace Wellbeing at the HR Excellence Awards 2018

Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB or the Bank) continues its momentum of success during the awards season, following the Bank’s win as one of the Top 5 Employer Brands in the Banking Category at The Graduates’ Choice Awards 2018, with a trio of highly coveted awards in 3 categories at the HR Excellence Awards 2018. The categories are:

1.       Excellence in HR Innovation - Gold

2.       Excellence in Innovative Use of HR Tech - Gold

3.       Excellence in Workplace Wellbeing - Bronze

Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB said that the awards reflect the Bank’s approach to reimagining banking which touches not only the customers’ journey, but also improves employees’ experience at the workplace.

“We are building a ‘Fit for Future’ workforce and to achieve this, readiness and well-being of our people is indeed a priority. Recognition of our efforts at the HR Excellence Awards 2018 in the key areas of HR innovation, use of HR technology and workplace wellbeing validates our innovation in Human Resource development, and encourages us to push ahead boldly with even greater resolve and determination.”

In the past twelve months, the Bank has introduced innovations across core HR functions such as HALI, an A.I chatbot to serve HR-related and Branch Operation Service queries, in lieu of a HR service desk and self-learning on its proprietary mobile app, SmartUp, to radically transform its approach to engage over 8000 employees nationwide and overseas.

The award for workplace wellbeing is a timely accolade as the Bank nears the final quarter of the calendar year, paying a well-deserved tribute to the key initiatives that were implemented in 2018 such as the Brown Bag Lunch & Learn Series, The Stairathon Challenge, The Biggest Loser Challenge, Career Day, International Women’s Day, Bring Your Child To Work Day,   Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a series of “live healthy” programmes. This is line with the Bank’s ambition to create a conducive work environment with a key focus on promoting employee wellbeing and healthy lifestyle.

Fiona Fong, Head of Human Resources of HLB said that the strategy for HR is in line with the Bank’s digital transformation agenda and additionally, insights from our employee engagement survey, My Thoughts, Our Future (MTOF). The Bank is committed to pay attention to employee feedback and to strengthen its employee value proposition.

“We recognize that the benefits of ‘doing’ digital are not the same as ‘being’ digital, which is to embed digital considerations in everything that we do. Our innovations in core HR functions with HALI and SmartUp and wellbeing practices are specifically aimed at preparing our workforce to drive the desired business outcomes of agility, productivity and innovation,” said Fong.

“The HR Excellence Awards cap off an eventful year for the Bank, as our digital transformation continues to gain momentum in the market with recognition also in Graduate Recruitment, Customer Experience and overall Banking,” said Fuda.