SAP’s Pledge to Flex initiative is the German software multinational’s global implementation of 100% flexibility at workplace to ensure employees are supported and have access to what they need to be productive, creative, and inspired while running the business responsibly and meeting business requirements in today’s new role of work. The global framework gives employees the option to work from home, remotely, or at the office.
Technology enterprise SAP has been enabling many organisations of all sizes across industries to cushion the impact of COVID-19 with intelligent solutions and help them survive, thrive, and accelerate digital transformation. Internally, SAP has committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its people and helping their lives run better together, especially during these uncertain times.
Since the launch of SAP’s completely flexible and trust-based workplace approach in June last year, several offices in Asia Pacific have already embraced Pledge to Flex and the hybrid workplace design including SAP Thailand, SAP Southeast Asia (SAP SEA) in Singapore, and SAP Labs India. Most recently, SAP Malaysia has also announced that the company will be implementing the tech giant’s modern workplace framework.
“At SAP Malaysia, as with elsewhere in the world where SAP is represented, we are constantly thinking of ways to continuously position ourselves as an employer of choice, and this includes an employee-centred human resources (HR) work model focused on flexibility,” stated Hong Kok Cheong, SAP Malaysia Managing Director.
Championing Flexibility at Workplace
As one of the long-standing key players in Malaysia’s IT sector as well as within the APAC region, SAP Malaysia has been at the forefront of modern workplace transformation and has been known to be one of the country’s employers of choice even before COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, the company received the “Best Employee Brand Award” from the Malaysian Institute of Human resources Management, the country’s first professional body promoting the practice of Human Resource Management. This recognition echoes SAP’s commendation as one of Asia’s Best Multinational Workplaces in 2018 by the Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute.
Today, SAP Malaysia continues accelerating HR innovations anchored on safeguarding the workforce’s wellbeing, health, and safety. Embracing the Pledge to Flex initiative, the tech company’s new MidValley Kuala Lumpur office design covered considerations for a hybrid, flexible workplace to further enhance the employee experience.
Hong explained that SAP is pursuing optimal talent recruitment and retention, leveraging a data-driven approach in its HR strategy. He emphasised that key factors in adopting modern HR practices are listening to employee feedback and valuing trust, flexibility, and inclusivity to enable the company to become resilient amidst the ever-changing business environment.
The Pledge to Flex framework in Malaysia is underpinned by technology support from Qualtrics for appreciating employee feedback and SAP SuccessFactors for improving the employee experience. In addition, cloud platforms are also utilised to drive cost-efficient and delivery of quality services across HR operations. Implementing flexibility at workplace supported by the use of intelligent technology and rolling out of policies foresee a collaborative, focused, and inclusive and diverse Malaysian workforce.
“By investing in digital solutions to transform work environments across the company where people can thrive, we hope to create the blueprint for how agile teams can work seamlessly and efficiently in ways that will result in sustainable growth,” Hong commented.
