Case Study

Read the case study given below and answer all the questions.

Siemens Malaysia Retaining Talent Through Workplace Flexibility

An organization that stands proud for breaking conventional work practices is Siemens Malaysia which received the award for "Making A Difference" category in the Life at Work Award 2014 at the 12^th Women's Summit.

Established in 1972, Siemens Malaysia appreciates the diversity in all employees as this fosters a culture of creativity and innovation, an essence to its business. A total of 40.5% of the employees in Siemens Malaysia are women.

In tandem with promoting a sense of work-life balance to enhance engagement and retention of employees, Siemens Malaysia launched a "Work from Home" pilot campaign as part of its PRIDE@Siemens initiative in 2012. The campaign was introduced after having two-way dialogues with employees and receiving constructive feedback from them.

The "Work from Home" pilot campaign was established to allow employees the choice to work in their preferred setting which has enabled them to give more focus on their responsibilities and tasks. The policy allowed employees to work from home one day a week.

Another key element was to ensure that employees who worked remotely were equipped with the necessary technology to do their work. That comprises of a laptop, remote access to SharePoint or shared folders and efficient connectivity.

In terms of connectivity, Siemens Malaysia provided employees with internet access subsidies which allowed them to claim 50% of their home internet connectivity packages.

Towards the end of the 'Work from Home" pilot campaign, about 60 employees from across the business had participated and positive feedback was reported by both managers and staff,

There was no drop in productivity or quality of work. There was a healthy rise in engagement as employees could spend quality time with their families. Even managers were able to handle their teams better.

With all these positive outcomes, the "Work from Home" policy was fully implemented in Siemens Malaysia in 2013. Today 13% of the workforce utilizes the 'Work from Home" benefit. The attrition rate has dropped progressively from 14% in 201 1 to 11% in 2012 and to 8% in 2013, far below the industry attrition rate of 16%.

More importantly, Siemens Malaysia believes that it has successfully retained key talent and maintained a positive employee engagement score.

(Source: Adapted from an article in The Star newspaper dated I l October 2014)

End of Case Study

Question 1

Based on your understanding of non-financial compensation benefits, explain how Siemens Malaysia is retaining talent through workplace flexibility.

(15 marks)

Question 2

With regards to the strategic role of human resources in an organisation, how is Siemens Malaysia moving towards the broader role of human resources?

(15 marks)

Question 3

Explain how strategic human resource management can help Siemens Malaysia create a competitive advantage.

(10 marks)