DA HR Forum

DA HR Forum 2022: Entering the New Normal

Redesign, Redefine, Reinvent

We have seen a tremendous need for change in our way of life and in the way we conduct our business over the past three years. In our previous forum, we spoke about ‘The Role of HR in Uncertain Times’, covering Learning and Development, Performance Management and HR Transformation. We, at Darussalam Assets, strongly believe that it is now time for us to fully embrace what it means to enter the ‘new normal’. It is time for HR to Redesign, Redefine and Reinvent itself for 2022 and beyond.

Last year, we have only scratched the surface in what the future holds for HR in the workplace. At this year’s HR Forum, we put our focus on four (4) topics that would have seen, or is undergoing, a significant transition from traditional HR practices into strategic HRM – Employee Wellbeing, Benefits Beyond COVID-19, Ethical Practices in HR, and HR Analytics. Before we dive deeper, we must ask ourselves, ‘how?’.

How can we redefine what matters for workplace wellness? How can we reinvent the workforce and way of work? How can we redesign the work environment and foster a trusted culture? How can we reimagine the possibilities of insightful, evidence-based HR approaches? With these questions in mind, we look forward to a meaningful dialogue with our panelists.

Employee Wellbeing

As the nation enters its third year dealing with COVID-19, we have witnessed the importance of maintaining employee wellbeing and establishing a psychologically-safe workplace in bolstering the resilience of a company and its employees. Alongside examining wellbeing initiatives that have been put in place, we will also look at the necessary groundwork required to ensuring the effectiveness of those initiatives. This session will also delve into the common barriers to implementing new initiatives, including getting senior management buy-in and involvement.

Moderated Dk Nurahlina binti Pg Hj Alli; Human Capital Development Associate at Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd.

Haji Jeff Hadiman bin Dato Paduka Haji Danial is currently the General Manager of Royal Brunei Culinary (RBC). With RBC itself employing just under 600 members of staff, Haji Jeff and the rest of RBC’s Senior Management oversee all of its operations, production and systems – this is including overall strategies, financial performance, quality of food, beverage and service, as well as developing and building the workings of a strong, successful and unified team.

As the DA-appointed Commercial Managing Director, Md Noh has been with Muara Maritime Services since July 2019 and works closely together with the Luerssen-appointed Technical Managing Director in leading and managing the joint venture responsible amongst others for the long-term provision of maintenance and logistic services primarily for the Royal Brunei Navy.

Benefits Beyond COVID-19

How have our organisations changed as we adapt to the ‘new normal’? What were the impacts of those changes and how have we leveraged on them in emerging as resilient workforces?

In a discussion of the rapid transformation to our workplaces necessitated by COVID-19, we will be exploring the effect of changing work arrangements. Where some organisations have resumed fully office-based working, some have adopted a hybrid option which combines office-based working and remote working, leading to varying implications to operations.

The session will be moderated by Melvin Wong Wee Shiang; Human Capital Development Associate at Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd, and will be joined by panel members Muhammad Reeda Haji Malik and Hjh Siti Rozana Dato Haji Md Yunos.

Currently the General Manager of Print Plus Sdn Bhd; formerly the Government Printing Department, with a staff strength of just under 100 made up of a mix of incumbents and new hires. I’m a management professional with over 25 years of experience in both the public and private sector, local and regional. I’m a former Chevening scholar with an MA in New Media & Society from University of Leicester, an Executive Masters in Management from Asia e-University, and a BA Social Sciences from Curtin University of Technology. I’m also founder of anakbrunei.org, a popular Bruneian blog with social commentary on the current events related to Brunei Darussalam and Bruneians both at home and abroad. I was also at one time, an active contributing writer from Brunei Darussalam for cnet Asia technology blog, Kurapak Teknologi.

Rozana is currently the Head of Corporate Services at Dynamik Technologies. She has extensive experience in training and communications to support processes and changes for organisations. Her experience includes teaching, training and development and human resource management.

Ethical Practices in Human Resources

It is often said that “organisations should ‘do the right thing’ because it is the right thing to do”.

With their access to employees at every stage of their careers and opportunities to influence an organisation’s strategy and the way it manages its workforce, HR professionals are uniquely placed in acting as the organisation’s ethical compass. This session will explore the importance of upholding ethical practices in the organisation, particularly within the context of Brunei culture and the considerations in making tough ethical decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas.

Moderated by Mohammad Salehin bin Haji Basir; Human Capital Development Manager at Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd.

Hazirah’s journey into the field of Human Resources began in March 2017 when she took on the role of Learning and Development Assistant at Progresif Sdn Bhd. At present, she heads the Talent Management Department for Progresif Sdn Bhd, where she has provided her expertise in identifying, analysing, and implementing solutions to a number of HR functions including, but not limited to, recruitment and resourcing, employee relations, organisational design, performance management and competency development. Of note, she spearheaded the Progresif Learning Journey: Foundational Learning and Leadership Development Programme and revamped Progresif’s Competency Framework.  

Genevieve is currently the Human Resources Manager for JCI Accredited Hospital Jerudong Park Medical Centre and Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre; with 14 years of experience in Human Resource Management. Experienced history of working in service and hospitality related industries; particularly in the set up and implementation of the HR Function from the get-go for 3 different companies and their related subsidiaries or partners. Main passion and area of interest is human psychology, and how organizational psychology can be used to leverage a sustainable working culture and human capital development in the long run. Other professional skills include Budgeting, Coaching, Recruitment, Corporate Governance, Counseling and Social Work initiatives. In 2015, Genevieve was the first Bruneian Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellow, selected with 55 other emerging young leaders in Southeast Asia to work with American counterparts; which culminated in meeting President Obama at the White House.   

Human Resource Analytics

Whilst many have come to understand HR analytics to mean the process of gathering and analysing data about people in a workforce, its implications and benefits to the organisation are often overlooked. Using people data offers the opportunity to contribute to an organisation’s strategy by creating insights into what HR professionals, specifically, and companies, as a whole, people can do to drive valuable and evidence-based changes.

This session will be exploring the measures that can may be used in assessing the impact of HR initiatives and the common and expected challenges faced when collecting data. Panel members will also be examining the possibility of encouraging a data-driven workplace culture within the context of the Bruneian culture.

Moderated by Nurul Hidayah binti Hj Masir @ Hidayah Khairunnisa Bazilah; Senior Human Capital Development Associate at Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd.

Nurul Qistina’s journey within the HR profession began in January 2015 when she became the Manager for Performance and Rewards within the Human Resource Department seven years into her time at Telekom Brunei Berhad. Since then, in her current capacity as a Senior Human Resources Officer at Muara Maritime Services, she has played an integral part in learning and development. Nurul Qistina is a Certified Total Rewards Professional and a Certified Competency Practitioner since 2019 and holds a Master of Business Administration from Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Since 2020, Melina has been the Talent Manager for the People Ops (HR) department for Datastream Digital (DST). She is a Certified Behavioral Consultant (2021), Certified Cubiks PAPI authorised user (2022) and a Certified Digital Marketing Specialist (2018). She has also recently completed the CIPD HR Business Partner program (2022).

Her current capacity in DST focuses on workforce development and talent management (acquisition, development, engagement, and performance). During her time as Talent Manager, she has contributed significantly to the development of the company’s start-up including HR frameworks, policies, and employee programs in DST.

Melina aspires to inspire others and is always keen to share her gained knowledge and experience.

DA HR Forum 2021: The Role of HR in Uncertain Times

As the nation reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case in the month of March 2020, we saw an unprecedented change in the world of work, necessitated by the need to adapt to the uncertain times we were facing at the time. A year later, the annual DA HR Forum was held, where for the first time, HR leaders within the DA Group HR Community were brought together so that we may leverage on their collective knowledge, experience, and expertise.

As we reflected on the year that had passed, including the challenges that were faced and the necessary changes that were made to help our organisations navigate those challenges, the DA HR Forum highlighted the critical role played by the HR function. At the forum, we explored three main topics; Learning and Development (L&D), Performance Management, and HR Transformation.

During a discussion on L&D moderated by Melvin Wong Wee Shiang; DA Human Capital Development Associate, panel member Nurul Qistina Haji Abdul Rahman; then Head of Human Resources at Nex.Us Sdn Bhd explored L&D in a people development company such as Nex.Us, where rapid reskilling was necessary in meeting ever-changing demands. Alongside this, together with panel members Hjh Rapiah binti Haji Mat Daud; Chief Administrative Officer of Royal Brunei Technical Services Sdn Bhd and Jo Ann Emilda binti Haji Embran; Senior Head of Human Resources at BIACC Sdn Bhd, they explored the important role of technology in increasing equity of access to L&D and common misconceptions that had arisen with regards to L&D.

Moderated by Nurul Hidayah binti Hj Masir @ Hidayah Khairunnisa Bazilah; DA Human Capital Development Associate, panel members Jose Santiago; then Head of Human Resources at Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd, Hafiy Serkan; HR Manager at Muara Maritime Services and Yazdi Yahya; Chief Human Resources and Administration Officer at Progresif Sdn Bhd reflected on the topic of Performance Management. The session revolved around the speakers’ first-hand experiences from pioneering an employee recognition system to establishing the foundations of performance management in a newly established company to facing challenges in ensuring a structured and objective evaluation process. It was highlighted that performance management is a continuously evolving process which requires not only the dedication of HR professionals but also the ownership from line managers and support from Management to ensure an effective delivery of performance management system that will lead towards building a strong high-performance culture.

Finally, panel members Mohammad Salehin bin Haji Basir; Human Capital Development Manager of DA, Richard Rendell; Chief People and Performance Officer at Royal Brunei Airlines and Jason Law Tse Min; Manager of Human Resources and Administration at Royal Brunei Culinary, led by Dk Nurahlina binti Pg Haji Alli; DA Human Capital Development Associate as the moderator, looked at the importance of corporate culture in an organisation, followed by a discussion of the role of HR in organisational transformation. Alongside this, an examination of the nature of transformation within the HR department was discussed, including the shift from traditional HR practices into strategic HRM.