HONG KONG, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong employers are making progress toward the goal presented last year by Great Place to Work, in which we encouraged all kinds of organisations to evolve towards being better workplaces. Our society needs it. The competitive environment demands it. Our talented employees are hoping for it. And slowly but surely, our leaders are becoming more aware of this management evolution and culture change - a people-focused way of doing sustainable and competitive business.
That was the message at the awards ceremony for the 'Best Companies to Work For® in Hong Kong 2017' held on 14 June 2017 at the W Hotel, Hong Kong. The presence of Mr. Stephen Sui, Secretary for Labour and Welfare – HKSAR, gave the night extra meaning. Mr Sui spoke about the importance of these kinds of initiatives, and encouraged the attendees and awarded companies to keep it up: to continue raising the levels of trust in their organisations, to acknowledge their commitment to society and by doing so, becoming Great Workplaces FOR ALL.
José Carlos Bezanilla, CEO of Great Place to Work in Greater China, welcomed the attendees and presented a series of initiatives to support the different challenges that present themselves on the road to building great workplaces FOR ALL! He stressed the paramount importance of adapting leadership style, and highlighted how we can use trust to influence policies and practices for team members and leaders at different organisations.
Additionally, Bezanilla reminded the attendees of the importance of more open and inclusive work schemes, in which management takes care of every individual, fostering inclusion and diversity, while enriching the collective thinking of the organisation and making it more innovative, agile, efficient and resilient. He concluded by addressing the complications of asking both managers and employees to step outside their comfort zone, when some may just want to 'ride the wave' with minimal effort and the highest payment available.
During the night, Elise Lee, executive director of Opportunity International Hong Kong, launched an innovative concept, challenging organisations to participate more actively and deeply in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. She presented The CSR Challenge Award. Based on the correlation between higher engagement in organisations and more active community and social activities, the six-month challenge invites organisations to engage with one of the rural home-based business projects supported by Opportunity International. Organisations are challenged to assign a team of employees to provide any kind of creative support to the assigned project, and asked to present a plan, regular reports, and eventually results.
There will be acknowledgements for different achievements at the end of the CSR Challenge and a live vote at Great Place to Work Greater China's event in December will decide the overall winner. The challenge aims to show in an exciting, innovative and disruptive way how CSR activities can be combined with teamwork in a productive way.
Last night also marked the launch of an initiative aimed at small and medium companies in Hong Kong: The Great Place to Work eCertification. Similar in philosophy to the 'Best Companies to Work For ®' process, eCertification provides a simpler solution for small local companies hoping to transform into great workplaces.
The event ended on a high note with the awards ceremony for the 'Best Companies to Work For® in Hong Kong 2017'. For the first time in 2017, a local Hong Kong company has been certified as a Great Place To Work®. The awarded companies are:
*The business units in Hong Kong include Mars Foods, Inc. (Hong Kong), The Wrigley Company (H.K.) Ltd. and Royal Canin Hong Kong Limited
They are all contributing to making Hong Kong one of the world's great workplaces. Congratulations!
Contact person: Mirley Perez
Business Development Manager
Phone number: +852 36697828
Email: Mirley.perez@greatplacetowork.com
