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Winning Secrets: Polytama’s lauded CSR strategy combines community needs with the company goals

Winning Secrets: Polytama’s lauded CSR strategy combines community needs with the company goals

Polytama believes that the company's success is supported by the harmony of the surrounding community, shares Dwinanto Kurniawan, Corporate Secretary GM, Polytama Propindo.

The team at PT Polytama Propindo won a bronze award for Excellence in CSR Strategy at HR Excellence Awards 2020, Indonesia. The company always strives to bridge the expectations of the community by creating empowerment programmes that contribute positively to them, shares Dwinanto Kurniawan, Corporate Secretary GM, PT Polytama Propindo (Polytama).

Q How would you describe your overall HR strategy, and what are some key milestones you’ve accomplished thus far?

We are committed to continuously updating various HR policies and business processes in accordance with business developments and employee needs. People with potential will continue to be developed and equipped with competencies to be able to increase productivity in a sustainable manner.

In recruitment, we utilise new sourcing channels to hire qualified people who have suitable skills to fulfil the needs of relevant sections within the company. We also have established an HRIS to upgrade HR business processes, applied the performance management system to supervisor level and above as a derivative from corporate KPI, and maintained our employee turnover to a low number among the petrochemical industry. Polytama is one of the companies that has a relatively low turnover rate. This proves that the working conditions at Polytama build loyalty in our employees.

What role has your leadership team played in supporting your HR priorities? How does your HR team collaborate closely with senior management to achieve business goals?

Our leaders believe that people are our most valuable asset. Particularly during this challenging year, their talent, commitment and creativity have helped sustain the business and drive it forward. We recognise the importance of creating close relationships with our stakeholders, both internal and external, to better understand their needs and to work together to create mutual benefits and solutions to common issues and concerns.

Good communication is a prerequisite for a productive, safe and creative workplace. We consistently encourage opportunities for meaningful two-way dialogue between management and staff.

We are committed to providing our people the opportunity to maximise their potential through a diverse range of education, training and personal development options. At the same time, we are constantly reassess the skills and capabilities needed to support Polytama’s medium and long-term growth plans.

The pandemic has caused many business plans to be upended. What was the greatest challenge you faced and how did you manage to pivot your HR framework?

With the impact of a pandemic that occurs in all parts of the world, Polytama must be agile in adapting to this situation. We are committed to constantly developing and updating in terms of our services and infrastructure to support employee performance in carrying out their duties and responsibilities, especially taking into account the pandemic conditions that have occurred throughout 2020.

We been transitioning to remote working, we well as adjusted training and development programmes and systems using more online methods than in classrooms. Several recruitment plans for 2020 were halted, with only selected vacancies being filled, while keeping in mind support through additional facilities and infrastructure as well as compliance with the COVID-19 protocol in order to protect the safety and health of employees and their families.

What was your game plan for measuring ROI in CSR? What are some proud achievements you can share with us on this front?

On 14 December 2020, Polytama was proud to be given the trust as one of the Gold PROPER companies from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Polytama was also listed as a "Green Company" in the SWA Magazine Awards. This achievement is one of the company's proofs in its consistency of CSR.

Polytama's CSR budget allocation in 2020 is 3.03% of the company's profit.

Polytama believes and hopes that the social return of investment we can receive is in the creation of harmonious relationships with local communities for the continuity of Polytama's business as one of the reliable polypropylene resin producers in Indonesia.

What are the biggest business drivers or game changers that have pushed you to constantly come up with new ideas and raise the bar for CSR initiatives?

Polytama believes that the company's success is supported by the harmony of the surrounding community. Therefore, the company always strives to bridge the expectations of the community by creating empowerment programmes that contribute positively to them. The idea is to combine the needs of the community and the goals of the company to produce a sustainable programme.

In addition, Polytama also strives to explore the potential of the community through social mapping documents that are created in collaboration with related research institutes. Through this research, Polytama can easily know the key actors in each region and the development potential that can be crafted into a sustainable programme.

Photo / Provided

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


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