Human Capital Management
With more than 100,000 employees globally, Wilmar believes that our people are a key foundation of our business success. Our Human Resource teams prioritise employee engagement and talent development to enable every employee to reach their full potential and grow in tandem with the Group.
We embrace the diversity of our workforce and value the unique perspectives offered by employees of different backgrounds. For instance, women constitute 23% of the entire workforce and 58% of the Group’s headquarters with 23% in the senior management team.
Nurturing & Mentoring Talents
People are our most valuable asset and we recognise the need to identify and continuously nurture our existing talent pool. Our goal is to help employees develop skills for better performance, achieve career progression and eventually lead the Group to greater heights.
To support the rapid growth of the Group’s business in China, our subsidiary Yihai Kerry Arawana (YKA) has implemented an enhanced Employee Training Module 2.0 that focuses on instilling a strong sense of culture and building functional expertise. It is a three-year programme designed to empower outstanding managers to mentor new hires through sharing of their managerial experiences and knowledge of best practices. They also provide guidance and feedback based on a performance management framework benchmarked to stringent assessment standards. Since its introduction three years ago, the programme now comprises more than 80 trainers and about 100 training modules.
Apart from skills and knowledge, the programme aims to encourage new colleagues to embrace the Group’s belief in giving back to the community through volunteering and contributing to the Arawana Charity Foundation.
Attracting Talent
Wilmar values diligent, agile and innovative individuals who seek to make a difference in a dynamic business environment. One of the ways we attract such talent is to continuously foster ties with technical institutes and universities in order to engage and share with students the various career opportunities available in the Group.
In South Africa, we recruited six Chemical Engineering Graduate interns for the upcoming Processing Business Unit. They will receive training at the Randfontein plant and subsequently be re-deployed as engineers when the unit commences operation in 2022.
As part of its recruitment programme, Wilmar Sugar Australia is a key sponsor of trade training awards at a local training college in Queensland. They also encourage youths from the milling regions to undertake apprenticeships to help kickstart a career in agribusiness.
To encourage and facilitate access to education, the Group awarded full tertiary level scholarship to 30 students and children of our plantation workers in Ghana for the 2019/2020 academic year.
Innovation
Innovation is one of Wilmar’s core values and it is critical to our ability to stay ahead of competition. New ideas and innovative efforts are strongly encouraged across all business operations.
In May 2020, our subsidiary Goodman Fielder upgraded factories with new front-end baking equipment, ingredient handling systems, robotic pan stores and a new production line for the Australian baking business. Through the creation of a world class manufacturing platform, our employees are able to upskill and leverage technology to ensure that our products are manufactured at the lowest cost but of the highest quality.
In China where the Group has a significant presence, YKA is constantly seeking improvements through innovation, be it a new product or a new process method. In 2020, it held its inaugural management innovation awards ceremony in Shanghai where a total of 19 innovative projects received commendation. At the same time, YKA launched its magazine on management innovation to further encourage employees to think outside the box.
Coping with Covid-19
Covid-19 has brought about constant uncertainty and impacted our lives including the way we work. The Group makes it our top priority to safeguard the safety and well-being of our employees globally. Amid the pandemic, we also believe that we have a responsibility to support our communities, especially those who are vulnerable.
In response to the onset of the pandemic in China, our factories modified their operations to manufacture essential supplies needed to cope with the pandemic. For example, a production line at our factory in Lianyungang was modified to produce 60 tonnes of disinfectant daily which was supplied across the country. To date, the Group has donated more than 290 tonnes of disinfectant across China.
During the lockdown in Wuhan, special welfare packages consisting of daily essentials such as rice, oil, flour and medical masks were distributed to employees and their families.
