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In a fast-paced environment with competing priorities and lean resources, the team learned that impactful employee experience goes beyond launching more initiatives. It is about listening, simplifying, and embedding practical, adaptable solutions into everyday work so employees can help shape meaningful change without adding to their workload.
At International SOS Singapore, employee experience is not treated as an HR-led programme or a once-a-year survey exercise. Instead, the organisation has focused on continuous listening and co-creation, giving employees, managers and leaders meaningful opportunities to shape a workplace culture grounded in its values of Passion, Expertise, Respect, and Care.
Against a backdrop of AI-driven transformation, economic uncertainty and hybrid, cross-border ways of working, the team recognised that trust and connection needed to be strengthened deliberately. Its Respect & Care Committees bring employee volunteers together with HR and leaders to turn feedback into local, practical initiatives that support wellbeing, inclusion, and engagement.
Following the HR team's silver wins for 'Best In-House Certification Programme' and 'Best Parental and Caregiver Support Programme' at the Employee Experience Awards 2026, Singapore, the following leaders reflect on why employee experience must be a shared responsibility, the importance of making initiatives fit everyday operational realities, and how consistent action can transform feedback into lasting trust:
- Nurliyana Hashim, Coordinating Nurse and Respect & Care Committee Member,
- Li Weiming, People Engagement and L&D Manager / Respect & Care Committee Lead, and
- Smita Nigam, HR Director, Corporate & Singapore Site.
Q Tell us about the biggest insight or lesson that influenced your EX approach this past year.
The biggest lesson we learnt is that employee experience cannot be designed from the top down — it must be co-created with employees and built on trust. Rather than relying solely on annual surveys, we embraced continuous listening to better understand what employees value at every stage of their journey.
Against a backdrop of AI-driven transformation and economic uncertainty, we recognised the need to strengthen trust, reinforce our Duty of Care, and help employees stay connected in a hybrid and cross-border workplace. This led to the formation of our Respect & Care Committees, where employee volunteers work alongside HR and leaders to champion wellbeing, inclusion and engagement. These committees bring our values of Passion, Expertise, Respect, and Care to life through meaningful, employee-led initiatives.
Ultimately, we learned that exceptional employee experience is created through shared ownership, genuine connections and consistent actions that build trust every day.
Q How did you bring leaders, managers, and employees together to support the execution and success of the initiative?
We believe employee experience is a shared responsibility, not just HR's. We engaged leaders by connecting employee experience directly to business outcomes and embedding our values into leadership expectations. Regular town halls, Singapore check-ins and leadership conversations created opportunities for open dialogue, transparency and alignment.
Managers were equipped with practical guidance, employee feedback insights, and support from HR to bring our values to life through everyday interactions. Our Respect & Care Committees, comprising employee volunteers across functions and led by HR, bridged corporate strategy with local execution by gathering feedback, championing local initiatives and strengthening employee engagement. Employees also played an active role through dedicated feedback channels on our internal portal, local engagement initiatives and cross-cultural activities, giving them meaningful opportunities to shape the employee experience.
By bringing leaders, managers and employees together, we fostered shared ownership, strengthened engagement and created a culture where every voice contributes to a better workplace.
"Being part of the Respect & Care Committee allowed us to turn employee feedback into meaningful action. It showed that everyone has a role in shaping our workplace. This shared ownership became one of the initiative's greatest strengths.”
Nurliyana Hashim, Coordinating Nurse and Respect & Care Committee Member
Q What challenge behind the scenes tested your team the most, and what did it teach you about building stronger employee experience programmes?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was sustaining employee participation while balancing operational demands in a fast-paced environment. With teams managing competing priorities and lean resources, we needed to ensure our employee experience initiatives remained relevant, accessible and impactful without adding to employees' workload.
This challenged us to rethink how we designed and delivered our programmes. We simplified initiatives, integrated them into everyday work, and focused on turning employee feedback into practical solutions that could be adapted across different teams and contexts.
The experience reinforced an important lesson: successful employee experience programmes are not defined by the number of initiatives launched, but by how well they fit the realities of the business while creating meaningful, consistent experiences for employees.
"Reflecting on the journey, I often reminded the team, 'Employee experience isn’t about doing more activities; it’s about creating moments that genuinely matter to our people.' This mindset has guided how we design every initiative. It has helped us build programmes that are practical, inclusive and sustainable, while ensuring they create meaningful impact for employees and support the needs of the business."
Li Weiming, People Engagement and L&D Manager / Respect & Care Committee Lead
Q As you reflect on the journey, what does this recognition at the Employee Experience Awards 2026 mean to you and your team?
This recognition is deeply meaningful because it reflects the collective commitment to making employee experience an integral part of how we work every day. It is not just a celebration of what we have achieved, but of the culture we have built together — one that is rooted in trust, collaboration and our values of Passion, Expertise, Respect and Care.
For our team, it validates the importance of listening, co-creating solutions and consistently translating feedback into meaningful action. More importantly, it recognises the shared ownership across the organisation — from leaders who champion our culture, to managers who bring our values to life, and employees who actively shape the workplace experience.
While we are proud of this achievement, we see it as a milestone rather than a destination. It inspires us to keep evolving, strengthening trust and creating experiences that help both our people and our business thrive.
"This recognition belongs to everyone. It reflects what we can achieve when we put our people at the center of everything we do and create a culture where everyone feels they belong." We see this as encouragement to keep raising the bar."
Smita Nigam, HR Director, Corporate & Singapore Site
Finally, as employee expectations continue to evolve, what is one area of EX you believe HR teams will need to rethink in the year ahead?
One critical area HR teams will need to rethink is how employee experience is delivered in the context of AI, geopolitical situation, and evolving ways of working. As organisations become leaner, employees are taking on broader responsibilities, making it essential to design an employee experience that is practical, relevant, and supportive of day-to-day operations.
At the same time, there is a growing need to strengthen connections at a local level by listening more intentionally and translating employee feedback into meaningful action. When employees see their voices shaping decisions, it reinforces our values of Respect and Care, while building trust and a strong sense of belonging. This also enables employees to contribute ideas and solutions, fostering shared ownership.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
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