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To the team, EX is about creating a meaningful journey from recruitment to exit, with people truly at the centre. Ng Eng Chia, Angie, HR Director and Regional L&D, shares how the organisation's 'RenDanHeYi' culture shapes this commitment.
Haier Malaysia is a home appliances company that believes putting employees first is key to business success. Its EX-strategy focuses on meaningful connection, wellbeing & belonging, and growth enablement — pillars that guide every aspect of the employee lifecycle.
The team at Haier Malaysia defines EX as making every moment count, ensuring employees feel valued, respected, and cared for. This approach is powered by open communication, transparent leadership, and a strong emphasis on development and recognition.
This people-centred culture earned Haier Malaysia top honours at the Employee Experience Awards 2025, Malaysia:
- Gold for 'Best Organisational Change Leadership'
- Most Inspiring Leader (Angie Ng Eng Chia)
- Bronze for 'Best Succession Planning Strategy'
In this interview, Ng Eng Chia, Angie, HR Director cum Regional L&D, Haier Malaysia shares how the RenDanHeYi Culture Activation Journey, built around Haier’s core values, transformed leadership mindsets and employee engagement. By embedding culture at every stage of the employee journey and fostering a sense of ownership, Haier successfully boosted engagement, retained key talent, and strengthened its leadership pipeline.
Q How does your team define "employee experience", and what aspects do you prioritise most?
At Haier Electrical Appliances Malaysia (HEAM), employee experience (EX) is the complete journey from recruitment to exit. Every moment matters. We strive to make each employee feel valued, respected, and cared for, aligned with our RenDanHeYi culture where we lead with people in mind.
Our EX-strategy is built on three key pillars:
- Meaningful connection: We promote open, two-way communication and transparent leadership to foster trust and engagement.
- Wellbeing & belonging: We prioritise holistic wellness and inclusivity through proactive HR policies and bonding activities that nurture a family-like culture.
- Growth enablement: We provide clear development pathways, encourage ownership, and recognise achievements through continuous learning and development.
"Ultimately, we aim to make every stage of the employee journey meaningful, so whether one stays for a year or a decade, they leave with pride and positive memories."
Q Can you walk us through your most high-impact EX initiative that led to your success at the awards this year? What business need did it solve, and how was success measured?
One of our most impactful EX initiatives is the RenDanHeYi Culture Activation Journey, built on Haier’s core values to transform both systems and mindsets. We recognised that to retain talent and enhance performance, we needed to align leadership, people, and culture through shared ownership.
Key actions included:
- Hiring seasoned and experienced people to uplift team competency and culture fit
- Embedding core values throughout the employee lifecycle
- Conducting leadership reset workshops for mid-to-senior leaders
- Driving bonding and recognition via the People Awards - RenDanHeYi
This initiative addressed critical business needs such as boosting engagement, retaining key talent, and building a strong leadership pipeline. It also reinforces our brand’s core values.
As Haier’s sales revenue grew by 40% in 2024, the success of this cultural transformation is evident, further validated by a noticeable decrease in turnover, improved survey results (especially in trust, empowerment, and recognition), and clear succession readiness through our growing talent pipeline.
Q How do you balance personalised employee needs with scalable EX programmes?
At Haier, we believe personalisation goes beyond one-on-one solutions, it’s about designing human-centric employee experiences. We balance this by leveraging data-driven talent dialogues to understand individual aspirations while shaping broad yet flexible programmes.
Our talent pool framework combines tailored individual development plans (IDPs) with structured group learning tracks, ensuring personalised development within a consistent structure. To drive engagement, we empower young leaders to co-create bonding activities that reflect teams’ dynamics.
While maintaining standardised HR policy frameworks, we empower young leaders to actively contribute to our HR transformation action plans that align with real employee needs.
This balanced approach ensures employee experiences remain scalable, relevant, and meaningful in supporting organisational goals while addressing diverse workforce expectations across every stage of the employee journey.
Q What are some underappreciated drivers of employee engagement that you think deserve more attention?
One often under-appreciated driver of employee engagement is leadership mindset and visibility. While many organisations focus on perks, real engagement happens when employees feel seen, heard, and valued by their leaders.At Haier, we invest in leadership mindset reset programmes, coaching leaders to be more open, collaborative, and empathetic by creating a culture where staff feel respected and involved.
Another key driver is the power of peer connection. We actively encourage staff involvement through team bonding activities and cross-functional collaboration projects, which build belonging, strengthen relationships, and enhance overall synergy.
Additionally, internal mobility and growth path visibility are often overlooked. At Haier, we address this by involving staff in career development dialogues and strengthening our talent pool framework, enabling them to explore future roles and development opportunities. By involving employees directly in these processes, we foster ownership, motivation, and long-term engagement across all levels.
Q Finally, what is the most important message that you'd like to share with your team as you plan ahead?
The journey of transformation is continuous, and while we are proud of the progress we’ve made. We remain committed to moving forward with a clear focus on “Culture is our strategy.”
As we continue to embrace our core values and act as culture carriers with people at the center of everything we do, we will also drive HR digital transformation to enhance efficiency, transparency, and the overall employee experience through smarter systems and data-driven processes.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
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