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.

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The recently held 2021 HR Asia Awards, streamed live on the HR Asia website on 16 November 2021, recognised SAP Thailand, a subsidiary of SAP, as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Asia– the company’s second consecutive recognition. The awards ceremony, held annually in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the UAE, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, recognises organisations that have demonstrated best people practices and employee engagement, outstanding working conditions, and excellent workplace culture. SAP partners DXC Technology and Microsoft in Thailand were also given the HR Asia Award.

The HR Asia Awards received by SAP Thailand is a reflection of SAP’s commitment to continuously enhance employee experiences and engagements worldwide. Having an extensive track record as an employer of choice and an advocate of inclusion and flexibility at workplace, SAP has received a total of 114 employer awards globally in 2021, including Best Workplaces for Millennials by Fortune, Best Workplaces for Giving Back by Great Place to Work, Asia’s Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work and 100 Best Big Companies to Work for by Fortune.

SAP Indochina Managing Director Atul Tuli said:

“Trust, Flexibility, and Inclusivity are becoming fundamental aspects for organisations as they redesign and revisit their work policies to address employee feedback and improve their people journey. The human resources function needs to be repositioned into a people power affair where employee experience and human experience management are key factors to a company’s success.”

Flexibility at Workplace

Under the pandemic background, SAP has swiftly adapted to the unprecedented needs of the workforce, from developing new solutions to implementing a new flexible and trust-based framework worldwide. 

In June, SAP pledged to a 100{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} flexible and trust-based global framework designed to support employees’ productivity, creativity, and inspiration while running the business responsibly and meeting business requirements. This backs the company’s recent surveys showing that over 80{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of SAP employees want a mix of working from home or remote with some time in the office. This initiative aims to provide an inclusive environment that gives people the freedom to choose where to work as well as to achieve inspiring office designs tailored for creativity, collaboration, community, and focused work.

“Our Pledge to Flex model is flexible, trust-based, and powered by our intelligent technologies and will revolutionise how we work,” Tuli stated.

Usa Kongthawornwong, HR Business Partner, SAP Indochina, explained that SAP strongly believes in the potential of technology in Thailand and adopting the new work structure means preparing the country’s workforce to ensure business continuity.

“With Pledge to Flex, employees will able to work remotely, in the office, or a combination of both, and have flexible work schedules. Inspirational office design is tailored to creativity, collaboration, community, and focused work, enabling employees to find the right space for every task. Sustainability and health are prioritised for all office buildings,” Usa stressed.

“The award is yet another milestone on our journey of putting people first,” Usa added. “As we introduce Pledge to Flex, we want to create a more flexible and inclusive work environment grounded in a trust-based workplace that encourages employees to be the best of themselves and provides a safe place for them.”

Leveraging Technology to Enhance the Employee Experience

SAP recognises the need to enhance employee experience framework all-encompassing hybrid workplace and ensuring talent recognition and retention. Several solutions launched this year to HR for the post-pandemic era include Qualtrics Experience Design for Hybrid Work and Workplaces, Concur Experience Optimizer, RISE with SAP for Human Experience Management, and SAP SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace.

Tuli explained that today’s digital native employees expect a fully digitalised HR processes and technology is the ultimate lever to help organisations achieve a flexible work model that the workforce need. Tuli detailed: 

“We use Qualtrics software to understand their feedback and SAP Success Factors software to create a better employee experience. At the same time, the HR back-office needs to leverage a connected Cloud HR platform that can be easily extended by intelligent technologies, such as robotic process automation, machine learning, and cognitive agents to achieve operational efficiency and drive down the cost of operations while delivering consumer-grade HR services at scale with a human touch.”

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