READ the May 2021 issue of our magazine: EMPOWERING 'EXPERIENCE'

Jacely Voon is FUJIFILM Business Innovation Singapore’s Chief of People Officer, People, Culture & CSR responsible for overseeing and managing the company’s human resource and development and corporate social responsibility.

She has more than 20 years of HR Consulting, Change Management, Transformation, and Outsourcing experience in the roles including her extensive global experience in compensation and benefits structure as well as HR Management. Being an astute professional and Business Partner Leader, she has a reputation for successful transformation, culture change, and mentoring diverse teams that deliver results.

Before joining FUJIFILM Business Innovation Singapore, Jacely was the Chief People & Culture Officer (Head of HR) of Fuji Xerox Australia (FXA) since November 2017. Prior to that, she was the Head of Regional Rewards and HR Program Management of Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific in Singapore for 7 years.  

Here are the excerpts of the interview.

What are the keys to reinventing businesses and building a sustainable future? What’s your take on organizations’ rebound strategies? 

Our people are our valuable assets and they are key to reinventing our business. Especially in today’s world, we see that it is the collective humanity at work that makes all the difference. We believe that organizations need to go beyond transactional to create productive and rewarding work environments for the long haul so that our people are ready for an extended period of uncertainty.

While last year was a time of crisis, it was also an opportunity for rebuilding and reinventing ourselves to be ready for the year ahead. How we do it at FUJIFILM Business Innovation is the 4Es approach: Engage, enable, empower and energize.

1. Engage: Deepen team connection with heartfelt trust that we have their best interest in mind

2. Enable: Equip employee with necessary resources, tools, and skill for future-readiness 

3. Empower: Build trust with a sense of ownership and autonomy to realize their full potential

4. Energise: To Inspire and motivate employee to perform their absolute best

Every business is unique and the rebound strategies that they employ should ensure business continuity and financial sustainability. In essence, the foundation must be laid for a strong base in order to spring leap for growth. Understanding the need to prioritize investments for the greatest value will help to deliver on those decisions.

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Do you think the pandemic has highlighted the necessity of investing in the employee experience proposition of brands? How do you see the larger EX scenario? What are the triggers of this move?

The pandemic has certainly blurred the lines between home and office. Working from home is now the new norm and employers are no longer able to distinctly draw a line as the new employee experience proposition is not confined solely within office boundaries. We are now expected to enable our people to seamlessly work from home through accessible technology while providing the necessary leadership support to help them adapt to new ways of working and interacting. 

I see the larger employee experience scenario through the entire employee life cycle (ELC) - from engaging the candidate to onboarding the employee to exiting the organization and becoming part of the alumni community. But it’s not just about the need to reimagine work in these areas. It’s about putting employees at the center of the organization and bridging the gap between the employee experience that we deliver vis-à-vis the lived experiences of employees themselves.

Now that organizations are struggling to solidify their employee experience from onboarding and collaboration to continuous learning and growth, how can HR teams help in streamlining the overall EX equation?

As HR professionals, the pandemic presents an opportunity for us to rethink the employee experience in ways that respect individual differences. That means using listening techniques, sensing the pulse of employees, and using two-way communication channels to address EX priority in a more targeted way. 

At FUJIFILM Business Innovation, we look at every part of the employee lifecycle and every touchpoint - from the first contact when someone sees a job advertisement to exiting the organization. Then we use the insights we collect to bridge the gap in designing the employee experience in ways that matter the most to them. Ultimately, it’s about deciding on the experience we want to provide for our people.

HR alone designing EX will not be a great outcome without the involvement and feedback from the ground and commitment from business leaders to transform the EX.  

How do organizations measure the impact of their employee experience initiatives?

We use Productivity, Profitability, Efficiency, and Effectiveness (PPEE) to measure the impact of each employee life cycle with EX in mind.  

To measure the efficacy of EX initiatives, we mapped each stage of the employee life cycle to its maturity level based on: Data Availability, Process, and Standard Operating Procedure, and Progressive state. Depending on each stage’s level of maturity, we initiated tactical actions that are measurable, quantitatively and qualitatively, from a company-wide perspective. This would help ensure that whatever we do has links to the overall impact of the company’s performance such as market share and customer experience.

Tell us about one EX and engagement enhancement initiative at FUJIFILM Business Innovation that really paid off? How do you measure the impact?

While we’ve introduced a series of initiatives to enhance our EX through our employee life cycle, there is always a need to ascertain the efficacy of any program and how it impacts the overall business. So we created a corporate scorecard mapped to each stage of the ELC that tracks the productivity and profitability of the business. It has become our greatest takeaway that our business leaders value the most as they see the direct impact of how EX can impact the business.

What are the biggest hurdles to implementing new EX programs in the new world of work? How are managing the expectations of your employees?

The new world of work is toggling between the home, office, and working anyway. Applying a standard or a one size fits all approach is no longer attractive to employees. Implementing new EX programs will need to take into account the mobile employee who works on the road, at home, or in an office configuration. What works in the office and home might not work for people who are on the go. On the other hand, we need to ensure data protection and information security is not compromised. To strike a balance between the flexible work arrangement vs data security, a robust security system is needed. An organization must stay ahead of the technology that enables and empowers the people while ensuring the company is well protected.  

What are the short-term and long-term solutions that can support EX and help organizations win both in terms of sustainability goals and employee wellness?

Short term – Designing the ELC using agile methods for an optimal experience and keeping the EX rolling by tackling root causes instead of just resolving pressing problems. This has to be coupled with ongoing feedback from employees because making continuous feedback a core part of the company culture is part and parcel of building employee loyalty.

Long-term solution – We need to think about investing in suitable technology and tools for employees to get their work done efficiently, with future developments in mind. When employees feel like they have the right resources to maximize their efficiency, they will feel more confident and engaged in their role. But more than that, it is important to adopt a holistic view of workplace wellness, and having an EX Committee that acts as an employee brand ambassador will allow the organization to look out for ELC gaps and work towards a similar goal of achieving employee well-being.

Where do you see the shifting focus on EX in the post-pandemic world?

In the workplace of the future, HR can lead the way in EX by helping to integrate the workforce’s needs at an individual level by using data and AI for personalized experiences. This means adopting choices and policies based on analytics to serve individual needs over a one size fits all approach. With that, it will make a shift towards purpose, potential, and perspective in individualized employee centricity.