The Singapore Management University (SMU) recently received an accolade for being one of “Straits Times Best Employers 2021” and also earned the “Great Companies for Dad’s Awards 2021”.

The Straits Times Best Employers 2021

SMU has stood out as a top tier employer and it is now one of the top 200 most attractive employers in Singapore for companies with at least 200 employees. This is SMU’s first entry into the Top 200 list.

In collaboration with The Straits Times, market research firm Statista has conducted comprehensive research on employer quality and attractiveness in Singapore, reaching out to more than 9,000 employees. In total, more than 200,000 recommendations were evaluated. The evaluation was based on two distinct criteria: Direct Recommendations where employees were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family and Indirect Recommendations where employees were prompted to evaluate other employers in their respective industries that stood out either positively or negatively.

In addition, respondents had to evaluate their employer on 24 criteria in the areas of work atmosphere, potential for development, image, working conditions, salary, workplace, and diversity. The willingness to recommend aspect – recommending one’s own employer and other employers of the same industry as the respondent‘s employer - was the main criterion for the calculation of the total score, with the former receiving a greater weight in the scoring. Employers were then ranked based on their total score.

While a total of more than 1,700 firms qualified, only 200 achieved a high score to earn a title of Best Employer.

In the case of SMU, the University has put in place a “3F Flexible-Work Environment” – Flexi-place, Flexi-hours, Flexi-benefits so employees can spend more time with their loved ones and on social activities. It also has a wide range of signature benefits which include access to local attractions/tours, sports and leisure facilities, and a comprehensive leave system that is above statutory provision. Furthermore, employees enjoy counselling support, fitness programmes, learning events, employee engagement workshops and lunchtime talks amongst others, to promote employee well-being and wellness. With so many family-friendly policies, employee benefits and wellness/well-being programmes in place, it is no surprise that SMU has made it to the top 200 list this year.

Great Companies for Dads Awards 2021

Only five organisations from the public and private sectors have been selected as winners of the Great Companies for Dads Awards 2021. Along with SMU, the other employers were City Developments Limited, Ministry of Defence/Singapore Armed Forces (MINDEF/SAF), Michelman Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd, and Ministry of Social and Family Development. In addition, another eight companies received letters of commendation for their efforts in encouraging work-life integration in their organisations.

Launched by the Centre for Fathering (CFF) and DADs for Life, the Great Companies for Dads Awards is Singapore’s first award to recognise outstanding organisations with policies and practices that support fathers and help them thrive in the workplace. It is organised in partnership with Families for Life and in support of the Made for Families initiative.

The award winners were judged based on criteria such as:

Family-friendly policies that went above and beyond government-stipulated requirements. These include additional family care and paternity leave, or flexi-work arrangements.

Programmes that promote employee well-being or activities that promote family bonding like father’s support group or family day activities.

Whether they ran CFF or DADs for Life programmes including participation in Back to School with Dad, Eat with Your Family Day, Celebrating Fathers and other workshops.

SMU has been given the award for playing a critical role in supporting and strengthening families in Singapore, and having human resource practices that support parents, specifically Dads, to make work-life integration a reality. For instance, SMU has been participating in the “Eat with Your Family” initiative by the Centre for Fathering since 2009 and employees can look forward to leave work an hour earlier every quarter, to have dinner with their family members.   

According to Tan Jun Wei, Assistant Director, Risk and Planning, Office of Safety and Security, "SMU's pro-family work initiatives creates a conducive working environment for fathers to take on a more active role in parenting. It provides the flexibility for me to spend time with my child without compromising or affecting work commitments. Thank you HRFA (Human Resources and Faculty Administration) and SMU for making this happen."

SMU had also earlier received the accolade of being one of the “Best Companies for Mums”, in recognition of its efforts in making Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) work for its employees and enabling work-life harmony through its human resource policies.

Terence Tan, SMU Vice President of Human Resources and Faculty Administration, remarked: “We are extremely honoured to be one of the recipients of the inaugural Great Companies for Dads as well as the Straits Times Best Employers Awards. These awards have affirmed our commitment to incorporate the best work-life practices for our employees so that we can continue to attract and retain the best talents in SMU.”

“Moving forward, SMU will continue to focus on our employee value proposition of cultivating an environment of health, safety, inclusion, and dynamism so that our employees can perform at their best at work and grow professionally. We will carry on with investing time and effort to listen to our employees, and to enhance our total rewards programme to offer one of the best, comprehensive rewards programmes in the education sector.”

Congratulations once again to SMU for clinching both awards and being a family-oriented workplace!