As the world of work changes, the talent pool of bright and career-minded people seems to be getting smaller.

To get the best talent, companies across the APAC region must set themselves apart from their competitors by creating special, positive and active working environments to keep new generations of employees interested and engaged.

That involves recruitment, of course, but retaining staff in a jobs market that’s changing so quickly is posing challenges to many.

Caring for employees and providing environments that nurture, reward creativity, and applaud success is not just a matter of providing HR with the required resources. It’s a more involved series of processes than a procedural change, and it’s a process that Top Employers Institute is guiding companies and organisations through, right across the region.

Source: Top Employers Institute

Those that are making waves as a result of their successes featured at the Asia Pacific region’s Certification Dinner event held in Singapore on December 9.

Here, those companies that have made a significant contribution to their people, and the processes that support them, came together to share their success stories, and perhaps compare a few experiences they picked up on the way in an interactive panel discussion held on stage.

Celine Quek, Vice President & Head of Human Resources of Certified company, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, said she was “privileged and honoured” to be asked to speak. For her personally, the experience meant she was “able to share what I learnt in the last year with a bigger group.

“What I learnt is that for a lot of these great companies, we have the same objectives. It tells me we are going in the right direction, in Corporate Responsibility, in terms of Diversity and Social Inclusion, as well as in corporate management.”

Those were similar sentiments felt by, Sophie Smith, the HR Director in the Asia Pacific for Experian. Of Experian’s accreditation which the evening recognised, Smith said: “We’re so delighted to be a Top Employer. We think it will really help our brand. It’s the first time we’ve been accredited in Singapore and Australia, so we plan to use it on our job adverts, we plan to use it internally, we plan to use it on LinkedIn, and really shout proudly about it.”

Aside from the marketing and branding opportunities, Smith also noted some of the benefits that Experian will receive in terms of its own practices. “The best thing about Top Employer accreditation is that we get to benchmark against other employers of talent in the region, which I think is super helpful so that we know where we are leading the way and where we have a little bit more work to do, and where we can take best practice into our organisation, from […] benchmarking activity.”

Renata Janini Dohmen, Head of Human Resources for SAP in APJ reiterated the collaborative and networking benefits, too: “It’s always a pleasure to meet HR professionals and get to know how they are serving their businesses and finding solutions to business problems […] It’s a learning opportunity for me, and I absolutely love learning. Besides that, I can bring the practices back home.”

By choosing to engage with Top Employers Institute last year, any company can revitalise its recruitment and talent-retention policies, making its particular spin on the modern working environment one that’s both driving recruitment, but also keeping employees focused, excited and engaged with both their own and the organisation’s progress.

Any quality employer is aware that its key asset is its workforce, and the route to business success begins and ends with its employees. But in today’s more elastic, part-time, freelance or gig-based labour economy, finding ways to keep staff growing and developing is challenging.

Those challenges and the way that Top Employers Institute is helping surmount them was summed up by Sophie Smith, speaking at the event: “We always aim to up our game, and for that we can use the best practices from the Top Employers process.”Top-to-bottom assessment and revision of people policies and attitudes is at the heart of the Top Employers Certification Programme. As these policies change, the working atmosphere and environment similarly shift.

For those businesses keen to differentiate themselves to new prospects, and those equally enthusiastic about retaining and developing their existing talent, the Top Employers Institute’s Certification Programme is a foremost guide on the journey. Beginning with a full appraisal of the company’s current situation, through to maintaining new standards achieved for the long term, the certification process is one of continuous improvement.

To find out more about how your organisation can join those companies that are standing head-and-shoulders above their competitors, get in touch with Top Employers Institute representatives to learn how to take those first steps. As pressure mounts in the employment markets in the Asia-Pacific region, making that difference clear is of paramount importance.

As Celine Quek said, “Our successful Top Employer certification for the Asia Pacific and the five countries is an affirmation of our employee engagement and employer branding efforts, as well as our position in the market as an employer of choice.”

The conversation between the leading employers in the region continues online, and you can join in too: use the hashtag #TECD20, and you can see a list of every accredited organisation here.