British American Tobacco Malaysia (BAT Malaysia) and BAT Global Business Services have been officially certified as a Top Employer for 2018 in Malaysia, reinstating their positions as an employer of choice that puts its people first. Together with this certification, three other counterparts of British American Tobacco – Indonesia, Australia and Japan – were also awarded for their respective countries and collectively, positioning the Group as a top employer in Asia Pacific region for the year 2018.
The Top Employers Institute is an independent organisation that identifies the employee offerings of leading employers around the world and comparing them against the international standard, based on an annual independent research conducted by the Institute itself. This year, the Institute announced the results of the research into the employee conditions of significant employers in Asia Pacific.
Managing an employee strength of over 1,000 employees collectively, BAT Malaysia and BAT Global Business Services were one of the selected organisations to achieve the Top Employers Malaysia 2018 certification and to be officially recognised as leading employers setting unprecedented standards of employee offerings in the region. The comprehensive independent research also revealed that the companies provided growth-conducive employee conditions, nurtured and developed talent throughout all levels of the organisation and demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimize its innovative employment practices and to develop its employees.
Erik Stoel, Managing Director, BAT Malaysia said, “We are very excited to be recognized as a Top Employer in Malaysia, where we have strong presence of the BAT Group. Our people are the cornerstone of our success, and we are committed to create an enabling and energizing environment in which they can thrive and grow. It’s proud moment for HR teams and all our employees across Malaysia, and an inspiration to continue building a great place to work”.
“At BAT Malaysia, building a dynamic and innovative workplace is one of our top priorities, and we are extremely excited to be receiving the Top Employer certification, which is a testament of our efforts. We always strive to be a step ahead in creating the right environment for talented and passionate people to excel. Our recent revamp of HR strategy and benefits was all about giving an employee value proposition to people which is relevant and addresses their individual needs, via enhancing recognition via Leadership Team awards, leading the way in diversity with best in class maternity & paternity benefits and building a workplace where people not only work hard, but play hard. The certification is a great encouragement for us to keep striving to be an employer of choice in Malaysia and the region”, said Samanmali Chandrasiri, HR Director of BAT Malaysia.
Sharing the excitement, Sanjay Patel, Group Head of GBS, said, “Obtaining the Top Employers certification is a milestone for us in GBS Aspac, one that recognizes that we have attained the same level of professionalism in our HR practices as our parent company BAT Group. In GBS, we believe that our employees are part of our DNA and I put great emphasis on continuously improving our practices to ensure that we provide a challenging, fun and rewarding environment for our employees to grow and develop. I am very proud of all the teamwork and dedication that enabled this award and is a fabulous start to another great year in GBS.”
“This award is a first for our Malaysia entities and another example of our HR teams’ dedication to be best in class. It is also fantastic to have contributed to the achievement of the regional certification alongside our colleagues from Japan, Indonesia and Australia. This recognition is a great energizer for our people and an encouragement for HR to keep providing an exciting employee experience in which our people feel comfortable to grow and challenge themselves.” said Sonia Gazet, Head of HR, GBS Finance
Crucial to the Top Employers process is that participating companies must complete a stringent research process and meet the required high standard in order to achieve the certification. To further reinforce the validity of the process, all answers are independently audited, meaning this research has verified BAT Malaysia’s and BAT Global Business Services’ outstanding employee conditions and earned them a coveted spot among a choice group of certified Top Employers.
David Plink, CEO of the Top Employers Institute said, “Optimal employee conditions ensure that people can develop themselves personally and professionally. Our comprehensive research concluded that British American Tobacco Malaysia and BAT Global Business Services provide an outstanding employment environment and offer a wide range of creative initiatives, from secondary benefits and working conditions, to performance-management programmes that are well thought out and truly aligned with the culture of their company.”
