Organizational Agility amid COVID-19 gloom helped DBS Bank, NETS and Park Hotel Clarke Quay win Kincentric's Best Employers 2020 accolade

DBS also emerged as a Best Employer in Asia Pacific for the fifth consecutive time, joined by Olam International this year.

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 15 December 2020 - DBS Bank, NETS, and Park Hotel Clarke Quay have emerged as Singapore's Best Employers in 2020, according to Kincentric's Best Employer program that measures and recognizes extraordinary employers demonstrating workplace excellence.

DBS was also named Best Employer in 2020 for the fifth time in Asia Pacific, joined by Olam International who bagged the accolade for the first time. Both organizations achieved an exemplary score across all Best Employers indices in Employee Engagement, Organizational Agility, Engaging Leadership & Talent Focus, that placed them in the top quartile range for regional employers.

Companies were evaluated on four key areas, namely -- 'Employee Engagement', 'Organizational Agility', 'Engaging Leadership', and 'Talent Focus'. A certified Best Employer organization will have its 'Employee Engagement' score on par or better than the top quartile companies with two out of the three of other factors (i.e. 'Organizational Agility', 'Engaging Leadership' and 'Talent Focus') falling within the range.

Agility Dividend Pays Off for Top Companies

Of the criteria covered in the Kincentric study, 'Organizational Agility' was found to be a key factor that enabled Singapore employers who are in the top quartile to do exceptionally well. Such firms, were found to perform 14% better on 'Organizational Agility', demonstrating that the ability to make rapid tactical shifts in business decisions and people strategy amid a prolonged period of uncertainty such as the COVID-19 pandemic, mattered the most for their employees.

Andrew How, Market Leader at Kincentric Singapore, said "The need for speed has never been greater and in a period where many businesses had to adjust and adapt to the new normal, our Best Employers have proven that they are able to accelerate their decision making to remain agile and are always responsive to any unexpected changes. Beyond that, the ability to manage change nimbly, demonstrates a change-ready culture that is entrenched within the companies, where employees trust the leaders, are inspired by their vision, and feel equally engaged in driving future success in the face of disruption. Organizational agility, especially in the form of management preparedness will remain a key focus for years to come as they embark on a new workplace transformation."

An open culture and mindset nurtured by a resilient and engaging leadership were also found to accentuate change readiness, promoting the generous exchange of ideas, and sets the right foundation for 'Organizational Agility'. Additionally, 85% of employees in such companies based in Singapore, agreed that their organizations have a work environment that is accepting of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Employees also rated their senior leaders 15% higher than other firms for inspiring them to be excited about the organization's future.

Top Companies Reskill and Retrain Employees

Top quartile companies in Singapore were also found to pro-actively retrain and upskill their workforce, with 78% rating their organizations highly for being supportive of their learning and development, as compared to 64% at other companies in helping employees remain adaptable during these uncertain times.

"We would like to congratulate all our winners for displaying extraordinary traits of employer excellence, especially in an extremely unique and challenging year. We hope that they, and other organizations will continue to strive for success as we head into an equally exciting new year," added Andrew How, Market Leader at Kincentric Singapore.

About Kincentric

Kincentric, a Spencer Stuart company, approaches human capital differently -- we help you identify what drives your people, so they can drive your business. Our decades of expertise in culture and engagement, leadership assessment and development, and HR and talent advisory services enable us to help organizations change from the inside. And our global network of colleagues, our proven insights and our intuitive technologies give us new ways to help organizations unlock the power of people and teams -- fostering change and accelerating success. For more information, please visit kincentric.com.