A Key to Employee Engagement - The Employer Alliance

KPMG staff participate actively in corporate sports events such as the CPA Games, JP Morgan Chase Corporate
Challenge and Standard Chartered Marathon.
Employee Profi le Drives
Work-Life Programs - KPMG
KPMG off ers professional services in audit, tax, fi nancial and risk advisory services
with offi ces in 145 countries. The local offi ce, which employs around 2,000 staff ,
won the Work-Life Achiever Award 2008.
“We measure employee engagement
through our Global People Survey held
once every two years, and are happy to
share that our employee engagement
scores have shown steady improvement
over the years,” said Mr Philip Lee, Head of
People, Performance and Culture at KPMG
in Singapore.
The management invests attention
and resources into this aspect of running
the fi rm because it holds the fi rm opinion
that engaged employees are more likely to
understand the fi rm’s strategic priorities, and
be inspired to have a sense of belonging in
the KPMG culture.
In order to select eff ective engagement
programs, KPMG believes it fi rst has to
understand its staff . Consequently, it has
conducted demographic profi ling and
confi rmed that it has a predominantly young
and upwardly mobile workforce which
includes young parents, many of them
young mothers. Feedback from the staff is
regularly sought using survey instruments
and meetings.
KPMG staff gather for some teambuilding fun.
The leaders actively engage staff through
their unique Work-Life policy called People
Management Leaders (PML) which focuses
on the welfare of KPMG people. For example,
its Recreation Club promotes active lifestyles
with social and celebratory activities. Highly
subsidized sporting activities include yoga,
golf, wakeboarding and tennis. A “Respect for
Leave” campaign instills in KPMG employees
the understanding to value and utilize their
leave. The fi rm even has a Mums@Work
program, which conducts health checks,
stress management programs and parenting
talks for young mothers.
KPMG also provides an
outlet for staff who desire
to contribute to the
community by encouraging
volunteerism. Results from
its PML policy showed better
leave utilization, lower levels
of sickness and absenteeism,
and better overall employee
engagement scores.
“Our focus on eff ective Work-Life
programs is a critical success factor in
business,” said Mr Danny Teoh, Managing
Partner of KPMG in Singapore, “because it
translates to higher staff retention, lower
costs associated with replacement, staff
continuity, long term relationships with
our clients, and last but not least, it inspires
a happier, healthier and more engaged
workforce.”
The economic downturn has not
discouraged the fi rm from its commitment
to Work-Life. In fact, KPMG is continually
implementing new programs. Just recently,
the fi rm launched ‘Give Time’ to recognize
and support volunteering employees; up
to 40 working hours are awarded to these
employees to spend time on approved
community work.
“It is important that we continuously
send a message to our people that they
remain our most valued asset and that we
must continue to invest in their welfare
and development,” Mr Lee explained his
company’s approach to Work-Life.
KPMG Sports and Family Day 2008
BEST PRACTICE COMPANIES BEST PRACTICE COMPANIES
12 13