In these difficult times, maintaining employee well-being, sustaining innovation & addressing declining revenues are the top priorities for leaders around the world. Andrew Newmark, Vice President Human Resources – Asia Pacific at Marriott International, and Chai Ping Chua, HR Director & Country Site Leader at Experian address the concerns by sharing their views in a fireside session chaired by Rachel Ranosa, Senior Editor at People Matters at EX APAC conference 2021. 

Below are the excerpts from the session: 

Communication & Resilience - foundations of “People First’ culture  

It has been a massive challenge for leaders to navigate in the post-pandemic world. Members of the workforce who had never experienced a crisis like this before were worried and hapless to act.  Marriott's Andrew Newmark and Experian’s Chai Ping Chua agreed that it is very critical for leaders to show a hands-on approach and inspire resilience. As Andrew observed from his company’s experience, ‘People First’ culture symbolises “ making sure everyone is safe and navigating them in the crises through communication and resilience.” 

Identifying different revenue streams is an important task for any organization that wants to thrive in this new world of work and as Cha Ping Chau emphasised, the companies have to evolve over time and develop the ability to make quick decisions. The key factors that bind together are communication and resilience, which can support leaders in navigating the uncharted waters of the post-pandemic world. 

Biggest Social Experiment Ever!

Marriott and Experian aimed to find ways to journey with their workforce on the path of resilience and communication. The organizations adapting to the new ways of working also had the responsibility to make sure that their workforce is on the same page. Chi Ping Chau observed that the pandemic itself, in a way, is the biggest social experiment that has come across to people. It has become a testing arena for professionals to assess the intensity and volatility at every step taken towards growth. 

Leaders need to step up and take the reins in the narrative to make sure the employees are provided with the necessary ammunition of trust and clarity. Leaders need to understand the power of story-telling and utilise it with honesty so as to build trust and transparency with the workforce.

Andrew and Chai Ping concluded their session by revealing how revamping the communication strategies with story-telling aspects, can actually help leaders to see the plight of their workforce in a different light. They emphasised the importance of transparency, honesty, and trust in communication and depending on the circumstances, the ability to ‘prioritise’ will be crucial to encourage resilience.