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As Charles Brewer, Group Chief Executive Officer, tells us, a key priority is fostering a workforce of highly motivated, engaged, and safe employees, emphasising their wellbeing, happiness, and leadership.
For Pos Malaysia, a national post and parcel service provider, transformation isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a necessity. With a 200-year history of offering beyond traditional mail and parcel services, the organisation recognised that its future hinges on a motivated, engaged, and safe workforce.
Anchored by its 15,000-strong team of Pos Wira, Pos Malaysia embarked on a journey of transformation that placed deeper focus on employee wellbeing, leadership, and diversity. The results speak volumes: a refreshed organisational culture, 43% female leadership, 76% engagement rate, and a robust internal mobility strategy driving over half of talent transitions.
Pos Malaysia was a proud winner of three awards at the HR Excellence Awards 2024, Malaysia:
- Gold: Excellence in Business Transformation, and
- Silver:
- Excellence in Employee Engagement
- Employer of the Year
Apart from seeing the need to evolve their business with the times, Pos Malaysia also prioritises keeping the environment for the people an exclusive and motivated space for all.
Group Chief Executive Officer Charles Brewer shares how the company balances these two approaches to create what Pos Malaysia Berhad is today.
Q What was the motivation that sparked your passion & business case for pursuing your outstanding people strategy?
Pos Malaysia is a company with an incredibly rich and colourful more than 200-year history. But what has gotten us here, won't get us there – we know we need to transform and #BeBetter. We have more than 15,000 amazing Pos Malaysia employees (Pos Wira) and in order for Pos Malaysia to be successful in its transformation we knew from the start that they would be our ‘secret sauce’. We knew that if we could energise and excite the 15,000 Pos Wira, we would be in a better place and able to effectively execute our incredible and challenging transformation strategy.
As such, our strategic pillar #1 is centered on having ‘Highly motivated, engaged and safe employees’ – this means focusing on their wellbeing, both physical and mental, happiness, how they lead, engage and energise them and making them an integral part of our transformation. Our Pos Wira is our point of differentiation.
Q Looking back, can you share a challenge that you overcame in your journey of HR excellence? How did you triumph?
Transformation isn't easy, especially when it is as large and complex a transformation as ours is, and even more so when you are trying to transform a legacy business into an organisational culture that isn't aligned with who we want to be.
In 2021, and prior to embarking on multiple transformation workstreams, we spent a great deal of time talking and critically listening to our stakeholders; our people, our customers, our board, our unions, our regulator, in understanding their perspective of where Pos Malaysia was, understanding their frustrations, understanding their wants, and from there we developed a holistic, all-encompassing culture transformation programme – starting with the first programme, Foundation – aimed at honestly sharing where we were, what wasn't working and who we wanted to become, with all 14,966 of employees and board members attending, through to what has now been a three-year transformation programme focused on our purpose, our values, our guiding principle, our customer promise, our leadership behaviours, etc.
And whilst we still have much to do, the results have been incredible, we are a very different business today, with a revised and refreshed culture that helps to create the platform for us to be relevant for another 200 years.
Our diversity journey is not just about representation—it's about fostering diverse thought, innovation, and opportunity across every layer of our organisation. We began this transformation by focusing on our senior management team (SMT) and senior leadership team (SLT), extending it further into functions across the company.
We aimed to create an inclusive workplace where every voice matters, recognising that diversity in leadership and workforce enriches decision-making and innovation. Our commitment to increasing female leadership spans both technical and non-technical roles.
This journey began in 2022 when women represented 40% of our leadership. Today, we proudly stand at 43%, with a target of reaching 45%. This steady progress underscores our dedication to breaking barriers and championing inclusivity at every level. Internal mobility is another cornerstone of our talent strategy. By leveraging existing skillsets and creating growth opportunities, we empower employees to explore new scopes within the organisation.
As of October, 57.5% of our talent transitions have been internal, a testament to our belief in nurturing potential from within.
Our first strategic pillar – building a workforce that is ‘Highly motivated, engaged, and safe employees’ is reinforced by robust employee engagement practices. Through Kyzense’s daily surveys, we now capture real-time feedback, enabling us to respond dynamically and transparently. This platform fosters a safe space for employees to voice their opinions, resulting in an impressive engagement rate of 76%.
A key aspect of engagement is ensuring our employees’ holistic wellbeing. Through FIT Wellbeing, employees can connect with pharmacists, psychologists, and fitness consultants, gaining access to digital health coaching, mental health support, and personalised health plans.
To date, 15,432 employees have registered for this platform, benefiting from resources that support both their physical and mental health.
Q Beyond the recognition, what impact do you hope your feature in the HR Excellence Awards would have on the HR community and manpower landscape?
It is a super competitive world, and we know that working with great companies like Human Resources Online helps us to develop and accentuate our amazing brand, both internally and externally. Our employees love what they do and are incredibly proud to work for Pos Malaysia, where they are passionate about building trust to connect lives and businesses for a better tomorrow. They also love being recognised for doing good things.
Q Could you share some advice you would give to others aspiring to follow in your footsteps?
Clearly define who you aspire to be as an organisation. Do you want to become the preferred employer of choice for future talent? How positively do employees perceive you as an employer? What impression do your customers have of your services and people? Having a clear vision will guide every decision and action you take, ensuring alignment with your ultimate goals.
Make sure your ‘song and dance’ match – i.e., if you say people are your most important asset, as many do, then live that and show your teams that it is true in both your behaviours and policies/processes.
Transformation begins at the top. The board, the management team, and middle managers must not only understand but fully commit to and embody the organisation’s values. They need to lead by example, consistently demonstrating the behaviours and principles that reflect the company’s vision and purpose.
Consistency is crucial. Every action should connect to your organisation’s purpose, strategic pillars, and vision. This ensures clarity and coherence in how initiatives are implemented and sustained over time, strengthening trust and alignment within the organisation.
Q Let's talk inspiration! Who has been a driving force behind your success?
Our people are our inspiration – as mentioned, we have more than 15,000 amazing employees, Wira, and they need us to create a great place to work, a place where they can thrive, a place where they love being.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
Image: Provided
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