This year, 10,028 employees from a total of 218 companies across Hong Kong responded to the HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia Survey. The survey also covers ten other markets across Asia, including Cambodia, Mainland China, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Award winners include six-time consecutive winners New World Development and Tung, Swarovski (five-time consecutive winner), as well as first-time winners Foodpanda, Lenovo, Link Asset Management, and Sino Group.

Unlike previous years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the winners were announced in a special film that premiered on Youtube (https://bit.ly/3kN5qfI) on 25 September 2020.

Titled 'Employee First', the film cum virtual ceremony not only honoured and celebrated the winners of the HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia, but also highlighted a story of strength, resilience, empathy and care amidst the pandemic.

"As early as February, we took decisive actions to replicate the magic formula that made HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia Awards the industry's standards bearer – into a film.

One that pays tribute to the companies that care and uncover the stories behind the challenges faced by these companies and their employees," said William Ng, group publisher and editor-in-chief of Business Media International, the publisher of HR Asia.

"Over the past 11 years of running Asia's largest HR media brand, and 7 of those years surveying thousands of companies and millions of employees for the HR Asia Best Companies to Work For in Asia®; we distilled the magic formula that makes these companies so special: empathy.

This year, we are introducing the WeCare™ certification to honour companies that have demonstrated that empathy and care are not just calls-for-action but are part of their DNA," added Ng.

WeCare™ certification winners included Avery Dennison, China Mobile International Limited, Haitong International Securities Group, Lee Kum Kee Company Ltd, New World Development Company Limited, SAS Institute Ltd, Swarovski and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.

WORDS OF WISDOM

In receiving the awards, some of the winners have this to say:

"Amgen aspires to use science and innovation to improve people's lives. By placing immense value on helping our employees build fulfilling and meaningful careers, Amgen fosters a unique spirit in helping us better serve patients while performing at our best. 2020 has been a challenging year and thanks to the Amgen HK team for demonstrating resilience and teamwork during these times.

We will continue to support our employees, keeping them and their families safe, and deliver our 'People First' commitment," says Kara Cheung, General Manager of Amgen Hong Kong & Macau.

"Thanks to every employee, specifically the HR department, making Avery Dennison a good workplace recognized by the HR community.

Together with the company, we hope to develop the competitive advantages not only on the products and services we provide to our customers, as well as our employee career development journey, and continue to treat our employees as the most valuable assets by running a company in a decent and healthy way with a bright future.

It is easy to say we care about people; we value our people; but not that easy to do that. I think the thing important to do is the foundation at the very beginning. You cannot do things when crises come to attack you," says David Shi, Vice President, Global Operations, Supply Chain & Procurement of Avery Dennison.

"It is our honour to be awarded the Best Company to Work For and we would like to thank the team for their contributions. It takes a large amount of dedication and consistency to successfully instil a culture within a big organisation. Our 7 core values - 'Professionalism, Integrity, Customer Focus, Teamwork, Courage, Care, Safety' have always been our lighthouse.

We hope every individual in the Certis family can feel the care and spread this culture to all the newcomers, as well as our customers and partners," says Ms. Hannah Chung, Head of Human Resources of Certis Centurion Facility Company Limited.

"HR Asia Award is a great honour and remarkable milestone for CMI. This is also a recognition to drive us forward. CMI success is grounded in our collective commitment together with core values of build mutual trust, undertake our responsibility and care for you.

We always emphasized on employee total caring and trust that this spirit can extend to our community. CMI will definitely keep up our effort on this aspect," says Darren Wang, Head of Human Resources of China Mobile International Limited.

"Receiving this award for the 3rd consecutive year reaffirms that our HR strategy is leading in the right direction and our effort is being valued by our employees. We strongly believe that "People" is the key of the "Past, current and future" success of the company.

Thus, we will continue to dedicate resources for our talents to maximize their potential, and provide a rewarding working environment which offers our employees the opportunities to learn, grow and excel at work," says Frances Mang, Group Head of Human Resources and Administration of Haitong International Securities Group.

"We are honoured to be recognised as a great place to work by HR Asia Awards. At KPMG, we drive a values-based culture where our people trust and respect each other, which differentiates us in the marketplace.

This is truly a testament of the collective shared value that all our people embrace and act upon. Our people are the cornerstone of our firm's success and we continue to be committed to driving an extraordinary place to work," says Derek Yuen, Audit Partner & People Partner of Hong Kong, KPMG China.

"Lee Kum Kee is honoured to be named one of the 'Best Companies to Work for in Asia – Hong Kong' for the fourth year in a row. As we strive to achieve our mission of 'promoting Chinese culinary culture worldwide', this award is a great recognition of our commitment to driving a high-performance culture.

We will continue to innovate to meet market needs and deliver an exceptional work experience to our staff," says Mr. Derek Wu, Executive Vice President – Global Human Resources of Lee Kum Kee Company Ltd.

"We are honoured to be one of the winners of this prestigious award, which recognizes the great effort our employees have made in contributing to the success of the Company. It also serves as a testament to our Lenovo People First strategy, which has helped make Lenovo a "best place to work" in Asia Pacific.

Moving forward, Lenovo will continue to live our culture: "We do what we say, we own what we do, and we wow our customers," says Bella Chan, HR Director, Central Asia Pacific, Lenovo.

"Link is pleased to be named a winner of this award which recognises our efforts in creating an engaging and rewarding learning culture. Just as we aim to create thriving communities by collaborating with various stakeholders and investing and managing properties with integrity, we continue to cultivate our most asset – our employees by maximising each individual's potential.

We are a career launchpad for those who want to create sustainable and innovative places around the world," says Ms Phyllis Ng, Director - Human Resources of Link Asset Management Ltd.

"It is our honour to receive this significant award for two years in a row! This recognition is motivating for Nestlé Hong Kong, and it represented high appreciation to our commitment to providing employees with an enabling working environment and people-oriented employment possibilities that support their personal and professional growth.

This is also consistent with our purpose as a leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company. At Nestlé Hong Kong, employees are our highest priority. As one of the best companies to work for, we will continue to develop a strong winning team for our company, by providing the best workplace and increasing our capacity to attract, develop, and retain the best performing employees.

Together, we will live up to our purpose to unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come," says Ms May Chung, General Manager of Nestle Hong Kong Limited.

"There were lots of changes and evolvements in 2019. Under this situation, it is much important to embed the culture of Swarovski in a meaningful and engaging way with our employees. This award created an opportunity to inspire and recognize our people, as well as enhancing our employer branding.

It is the best chance to hear from the employees through survey and we will identify the focus areas and continuously improve our employee engagement by leveraging Swarovski Core Value," says Vivian Yang, HR Director of Swarovski Greater China.

"We are delighted and proud to be recognised as a great company to work for in Asia. Our people are at the heart of our success and we strive to create the environment where each member of our team is able to succeed and enjoy life both in and out of work.

We are continuously listening to feedback and reviewing and updating our ways of working to develop progressive and inclusive people practices," says Katie Lockwood, Director – HR Business Partner of The Marketing Store Worldwide (Asia) Limited.

About HR Asia

HR Asia is Asia's largest circulating publication for senior HR professionals. With over 50,000 copies distributed every issue, and an online and offline audience exceeding 200,000. HR Asia is the go-to brand for HR professionals seeking quality business intelligence and industry updates. HR Asia is published by Business Media International, a regional leader in B2B intelligence.