Winning Secrets: HSBC Singapore gauges the satisfaction, engagement, and wellbeing of employees consistently

Mukul Anand, Head, HR, HSBC Singapore, on the importance of measuring the success of HR initiatives through key indicators.

HSBC Singapore serves as the leading international bank for ASEAN, an international wealth and regional wholesale hub, regional centre of excellence for sustainability, while being a sandbox for digital innovation experiments for HSBC Group.

At the 11^th annual edition of HR Excellence Awards - Singapore in 2023, HSBC won the gold award for 'Excellence in Hybrid Working’.

To celebrate this milestone, we catch up with Mukul Anand, Head, Human Resources, HSBC Singapore (pictured below) on the importance of measuring the success of HR initiatives through key indicators related to talent retention, employee development, and workplace culture. 

Q Congratulations on your top performance at the HR Excellence Awards! How has your HR and people strategy contributed to your success this year?

Our ‘Excellence in Hybrid Working’ win is a testament to our holistic approach to our People strategy. Through close collaboration between our technology, corporate services and HR teams, we are really pleased to have created a workplace where innovation, flexibility and productivity thrive.

We strive to ensure that our employees are engaged, supported and equipped with the tools they need to excel in a hybrid work environment.

Through flexible policies, active communication, and a commitment to employee wellbeing, we have built a strong sense of community and belonging, where our people feel included and empowered to perform at their best at office and at home.

Q Looking back at your achievements, what aspect of your HR initiatives are you most proud of and why?

I’m most proud of our commitment to developing, trusting, and empowering our people. We’ve focused on creating an environment where our employees feel valued, engaged, and motivated. By investing in our employees, providing them with opportunities, and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration, we’ve not only achieved these accolades but also laid a foundation for our future success.

Our engaged and committed workforce has been instrumental in driving our bank’s growth and it’s this alignment between our people practices and our overall vision/ mission, that makes me immensely proud of our achievements.

Q During your HR journey, what were some significant obstacles you faced, and how did you overcome them to achieve excellence?

One of the most challenging situations I’ve faced has undoubtedly got to be the onset of the Covid pandemic.

The task: How can we best support our people through this circumstance that none of us had experienced before, nor were ready for. We did not have policies or precedents to fall back on how to support employee wellbeing and extreme personal situations.

We overcame the challenges by thinking on our feet, adopting flexible/bespoke approach to employee situations and empowering our managers, to put wellbeing and care of our colleagues as primary objective.

Q How does your organisation measure the success and impact of your HR initiatives?

We use various metrics and tools and one key approach is through our annual employee sentiments survey known as 'Snapshot'. This survey allows us to gauge the satisfaction, engagement, and wellbeing of our employees and we analyse the data collected to identify trends, areas of improvement, and areas where our HR initiatives have made a positive impact.

Additionally, we measure success through key indicators related to talent retention, employee development, and overall workplace culture.

By combining quantitative and qualitative data, we gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of our HR initiatives, helping us to continuously refine and adapt our strategies to better support our employees and our organisation as a whole.

Q In what direction do you see the HR/people function evolving in the future, considering the emerging trends?

The HR function will continue to play a pivotal role in managing the hybrid workforce and ensuring the focus on employee wellbeing remains. This is done in partnership with technology, operations, and business leaders.

We will need to be at the forefront to support all aspects of mental, physical, and social wellbeing as well as embrace technology more than ever. It will be crucial for us to rely on data analytics to make informed decisions as well as emphasise continuous skill development and provide opportunities for upskilling and reskilling, to keep our people agile and competitive in an ever-changing business landscape. 

Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets' section!

Images / Provided by HSBC Singapore