What sets apart Malaysia's employers of choice

This year's winners of the Malaysia HR Awards, have been announced - and KPJ Healthcare has won the Grand award as employer of choice. Gold in the same category was bagged by CIMB Group and Scicom.

The annual event has been organised by the Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management (MIHRM) since 1999, in partnership with JobStreet.com.

The Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in HR, and can be earned at either of four levels: bronze, silver, gold and grand.

Aresandiran Jaganatha Naidu, president of MIHRM, cited two key objectives behind the Awards.

"The first aim is to recognise the employers of choice each year. The second is to rate each submission on whether it is average, good or excellent."

Some of the silver winners in the employer of choice category included Starbucks, British American Tobacco, Volvo, Lumileds, and Dutch Lady Milk Industries.

In the HR best practice category, organisations such as AIA, BASF, Johor Port, SEGI Value Holdings, and Auric Pacific walked away with the silver.

What sets the winners apart?

First and foremost, Aresandiran credited the ability of HR to contribute to the business.

"Half the weightage was given to whether the HR plan contributes to the business plan. We looked for facts and figures on the impact of HR on the bottom line," he explained.

"Another 30% was allocated to their standards in leadership, talent managment and performance management.

"The balance 20% was for the strength of the HR policies, how competitive they are and whether they are supporting the broader Malaysian employment landscape."

Photos from the event:

[gallery link="file" ids="50108,50109,50110,50111,50112,50113,50114,50115,50116,50117,50119,50121,50125"]

The Awards have gained prominence over the years, owing to stringent criteria for assessment of entries, which includes judging by three levels of panels.

Stages one and two of shortlisting include evaluation by members of the Council and Fellowship of MIHRM, HR practitioners, academicians, senior representatives from past winners, and senior managers.

The final panel comprises selected CEOs from past winners and other invited CEOs making the crucial decision on the top winners, who are then invited to present their achievements in person.

The Awards are open to all types of organisations regardless of size or sector.

Past editions of the Awards have produced notable winners such as Intel Malaysia, Dell Global Business Centre, Agilent Technologies, Shell Business Services Centre, and RHB Banking Group.

Image: Provided