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This article brought to you by Schneider Electric.
Human Resources talks to Billy Li, HR director at Schneider Electric to find out what drives the energy management firm’s HR strategy.
Most of the best employers have strong D&I credentials. What are you doing to excel in this area?
At Schneider Electric, diversity and inclusion is an integral part of who we are and what differentiates us. Our D&I vision is to offer equal opportunities to everyone everywhere. We want our employees – no matter who they are, or where in the world they live – to feel uniquely valued and safe to contribute their best, which ultimately generates greater engagement, performance, and innovation. We are recognised as one of the Top 50 Global Diversity Leaders 2020 by the Financial Times.
To ensure our D&I vision is realised throughout all our operations around the globe, we have put in place a set of institutions and processes. We have 4 pillars in our D&I strategy:
• Empowered diversities: We want our employees to reflect the diversities of the communities in which we operate. We have five areas of diversity that we always put emphasis on: Gender, nationality, generation, LGBTI, disability.
• Inclusive practices: We want to ensure that D&I is integrated at all stages of our Total Employee Experience and to ensure fairness and equity in core people processes and policies. For example, Multi-hub model, Family leave policy, Flex @ work policy, Pay equity framework.
• Inclusive behaviours: We want our leaders and teams around the globe respecting uniqueness and building a sense of belonging to drive business growth and innovation. This starts with workshops which understanding the value of diversity in teams and the challenges of hidden bias, and continues with proactive actions to establish this culture of inclusion.
• Advocacy: We know we must share our stories, both internally and externally, on what we are doing to build an inclusive and diverse culture – we became a signatory to the United Nations’ free & equal standards of business conduct for LGBT+ equality.
How are you bringing employees on your digital journey?
Our employees are embarking on an all-rounded HR digital journey, here are some examples:
• For HR services, we have a support hotline & enquiry portal. It provides information and answers to employees’ inquiries (e.g. payroll, benefits, compensation) and deals with enquiries through an online e-ticket portal and internal telephone hotline. The portal also supports mobile app as well as real time chatbot function.
• We also rolled out an online global recognition tool, ‘Step-up Recognition Portal’, where employees can nominate colleagues for recognition and appreciation for others’ progress and achievement This user-friendly portal comes with a built-in approval process, and requires minimal administrative efforts to operate yet allows for personalisation of messages, empowers employees to choose their own gifts.
• We have also launched Open Talent Market, an artificial intelligence-based platform matching our employees with personalised opportunities within the company across the globe. The system’s algorithms use AI to match individuals with personalised career opportunities such as part-time projects and full-time positions within Schneider Electric, based on their unique career history, skills, experiences and interests. The platform enables employees to use internal resources across different functions, and also unlocking capacity for growth.
What are some your initiatives to look after staff during these challenging times?
The health and safety of our people is of the utmost importance, especially during these challenging times with the COVID pandemic.
• Workplace Advisors (WPA)
We have implemented a new digital offer of Schneider Electric, Workplace Advisor (WPA) in our HK office - well-being related information such as temperature, noise, humidity, etc. is collected by sensors installed around the office. This allows us to identify site issues if any and hence improves employees’ well-being & experience at workplace.
• Flexibility work policies
All of our offices are deploying the flexi-working policies, and leaders support their teams to find their flexible working conditions for their full potential at work. Highlights of policy include flexible working hours, telecommuting, activity-based working and flexible dress code.
• Well-being learning & practices
We’ve invited guest speakers who are professionals to share with our employees on practical tips to help better care about their personal wellbeing from all the 4 well-being dimensions: Physical, emotional, mental and social.
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