A Banking Culture that Thrives on Work-Life Harmony

Business Case 

As a global bank in a highly intense and ever-changing business environment, Maybank recognises the importance of retaining its talents by helping them meet industry and personal demands. Building on its mission of “Humanising Financial Services”, Maybank embarked on its journey of creating a work-life friendly environment for its employees.

Featured Work-Life Programmes 

Maybank has in place a wide range of work-life programmes such as:

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs)

• Staggered Time/Flexible Hours
• Part-Time
• Telecommuting
• Interim Work
• Phasing In and Out

Leave Schemes

• Study/Exam Leave
• Family Care Leave
• Marriage Leave
• Maternity/Paternity/Childcare Leave
• Compassionate Leave
• Sabbatical Leave

Employee Support Schemes

• Financial Assistance (scholarships, bursaries, study loans)
• Health and Wellness Programmes
• Personal Work-Life Effectiveness Programmes
• Childcare/Eldercare Arrangement Subsidies
• Lactation Rooms
• Prayer Rooms

Implementation 

To build a culture that thrives on work-life harmony, Maybank focuses on strategies such as:

Adopting a Life Cycle Approach 

Maybank recognises the different needs each individual has at various stages of life. Apart from programmes available to all employees such as personal work-life effectiveness as well as health and wellness programmes, it has implemented targeted programmes for employees at specific life stages that are beyond the statutory requirements. For example:

• Those seeking higher education can take on part-time work, staggered time/flexible hours and financial assistance useful to balance work and school life.
• Newlyweds can enjoy extended time away from work with marriage leave – one of the best in the industry at 14 days.
• New mothers can benefit from extended maternity leave, where they can extend their leave beyond the regular 16 weeks by two months at half-salary, and another six months at no pay.
• Parents with school-going children can utilise staggered time/flexible hours to bring their children to and from school. Those with children taking PSLE exams can take PSLE leave.
• Employees with dependents at home can utilise FWAs such as staggered time/flexible hours, part-time work and telecommuting so that they can contribute to the organisation while fulfilling personal responsibilities.
• Retired staff have the option of working on an interim basis, so that they can enjoy retirement while taking on jobs to fill their time or supplement their finances when the opportunity arises.

Embracing Diversity and Establishing Unity

Maybank seeks to ensure that all its people have their voice heard in the formulation of work-life programmes through various employee engagement platforms. Leadership involvement across different levels of management is also an established practice to promote continuous improvement. Some of the organisation’s engagement platforms include:

• Townhall meetings
  Management takes this opportunity to share important information with the employees. It is also an opportunity to hold a dialogue with employees and receive their feedback.

• Skip level meetings
  Such dialogue sessions enable upper-level management to skip the middle management level to communicate directly with non-managerial employees, therefore enhancing transparency.

• Brown bag sessions
  These sessions are held for supervisors and managers to understand the Bank’s work-life programmes better, so that they are well-equipped to advise staff on the various options.

• Employees are invited to attend Conversation Sessions with Group President and CEO, Singapore’s Country CEO, and Group Chief Human Capital Officer and Head of Human Capital Singapore.

• Employee and employer surveys and focus group discussions.

These communication platforms enable the organisation to get closer on-the-ground opinions, feedback and suggestions to deliver relevant and effective solutions. Some of its work-life programmes, such as having its Recreation Room, parenthood leave and transportation to nearby malls during lunchtime, were a result of ground-up engagements.

Normalising FWA Utilisation 

To further encourage staff to utilise FWAs, Maybank took the initiative to:

• Adopt a Balanced Scorecard Performance management system, where KPIs and targets take into consideration the FWAs that the staff may be on;
• Assess staff performance and rewarding them based on their achievements and completion of deliverables rather than the hours worked; and
• Implement the Senior Management Mentorship programme where senior managers are assigned to a few units or branches to mentor them. These managers are expected to be role models in work-life harmony.

Outcomes

Maybank’s retention rates and employee engagement index have been consistently above the national and industry average – these accomplishments are the product of its foresight in work-life since 2004.

“It is important to our employees that we recognise and care about their lives outside of work. When they are able to fulfil their personal commitments and come to work more focused, they are happier, more engaged, more productive, and tend to stay longer with us,” says Ms Corrinne Tan, Maybank Singapore’s Head of Corporate Affairs and Customer Experience Management.

Such achievements also mean better business outcomes for Maybank, as fewer resources are spent on replacing talents and training new ones.

The awards it has received for its exemplary work-life practices are another testament to its reputation as an Employer of Choice. Since incorporating work-life practices into its operations, Maybank has received a number of awards and accolades, such as the Work-Life Excellence Award in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 as well as the Tripartite Alliance Award (Work-Life Excellence) and Pinnacle Award in 2018. In addition, it was the first bank in Singapore to achieve the Excellence in Employee Engagement Award under the Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Service Awards in 2010.