LeadersTalk recently interviewed Mr. Adlan Maarup, General Manager, Human Resources and Administration at Tanah Makmur Berhad Group. With a focus on employee engagement and navigating the complexities of a diverse workforce, he shares with us valuable insights and strategies for fostering success in today’s dynamic business environment.
1. How did your professional journey unfold, leading you to your current role as the General Manager, Human Resources and Administration at Tanah Makmur Berhad Group?
I am among the ‘lucky few’ who have been able to make a career out of my area of interest: human resources. I still recall the moment when I was about to embark on my academic journey and picked ‘Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management’ as my top choice. I had been told that HR was a ‘soft’ course, typically tailored for the opposite gender, and was persuaded to enter Engineering instead. However, I followed my gut feeling and pursued HR. True enough, out of over 30 students, I was the only one of a different gender throughout the six semesters. I survived and graduated with flying colours!
Fast forward three years, and I began my career with one of the prominent convenience retail chains back in 2007, where I had completed my internship. Due to excellent performance, I was offered an employment opportunity during my second month of my internship. Many processes were still manual at that time, but I was able to rapidly develop my HR knowledge and experience in that environment.
Following that, I had a colourful stint across several industries. I worked in the Financial Services Industry with Bank of Tokyo UFJ (M) Bhd (BTMU), Telecommunications with TIMEdotCOM, Shared Services with Advanced Micro Devices, Facilities Management with UMP Holdings, and now with Tanah Makmur Berhad Group, with our core businesses being Agriculture (Musang King and MD2 Pineapple plantation) and Township Development (KotaSAS). Throughout these experiences, I was exposed to numerous HR projects, as well as non-HR projects. For instance, I served as a core member of Malaysia’s Communication Team for BTMU, contributed to the development of various operational handbooks and policies (such as the Business Continuity Management Handbook, IT Policy, Board Charter, and Annual Reports), and chaired the ISO 9001:2015 committee. These diverse experiences have shaped me into what I am today.
2. With the recent recognition of Tanah Makmur Berhad as the recipient of the prestigious ‘Best Company to Work for in Asia Award’ and the ‘Most Caring Company Award’ at the HR Asia Award Gala Dinner 2023, it’s evident that the organization has excelled in creating a workplace that stands out for its excellence and care. In line with this, we are eager to delve into the strategies and initiatives that have propelled Tanah Makmur Berhad to these accolades, particularly focusing on employee engagement.
How do you define employee engagement personally, and how does it factor into your overall leadership style?
I would summarize my answer into two words: empathy and focus. And going forward too, I believe that current and future leaders should learn more on ‘Adaptive Leadership.’ My biggest fear is that as I climb the career ladder, I may overlook the changes happening around me.
As the saying goes, ‘no one-size fits all’, thus it is important for us to recognise that there are different ways to deal with the multigenerational talent and tackle the issue sensibly and amicably, where even a ‘no’ is deemed as constructive to them.
It is important too to note that an adaptive leader/leadership can boost engagement by ensuring that everything they do is fully infused with purpose, energy, enthusiasm and ownership.
3. Could you share with us examples where you observed a direct correlation between employee engagement initiatives and organizational success?
Discussions about employee well-being have become increasingly prevalent in the workplace in recent years. Well-being and empathy are beyond free food, casual dress codes and karaoke sessions. They encompass physical health, emotional well-being, social connectedness, job satisfaction, and work-life balance. Our approach involves conducting timely surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather necessary information and address both current and future needs.
It is important for any organization and organizational leaders to offer meaningful career journey to their employees. It is an implied obligation for us to give them purpose. A purpose-driven organization will inspire everyone in the company to perform their work impactfully and allow both their personal and company objectives to coexist.
I once read a report showing that organizations with engaged, productive employees experienced a 22% increase in profitability compared to those with disengaged, unproductive employees. Hence, when we craft the strategic plan of HR in Tanah Makmur Berhad Group, it is always centered around the people – what they want, what they need, and how they will develop from that.
4. When confronted with low employee engagement within a team or organization, what proactive measures do you take to address the situation?
As much as we have developed into embedding AI, IoT and other technology advancements to be part of business processes, we need to understand that the role of people will never be any less important. In this situation, it is crucial to have or introduce physical interaction or what we call here as ‘Crucial Conversations’. If the ecosystem is ready, this session will serve as one of the effective platforms to find the root cause of organizational issues.
Sometimes, going back to basic is the best solution.
5. Moreover, understanding the intricate dynamics of a multigenerational workforce is key to cultivating a workplace culture that thrives on diversity and inclusion. We are keen to explore your insights and experiences in fostering employee engagement tailored to resonate with individuals from every generation.
How do you approach the task of understanding and respecting the diverse needs and expectations of a multigenerational workforce?
Tanah Makmur Berhad is blessed to have talents from different generations. Leveraging the age-related differences provides a sound talent pipeline to support business sustainability. It offers stability in how we perceived things and in making the best business decisions. If properly formulated, the blend between technology and humans will transform to optimize human capital competencies.
HR personnel need to dive deeper into more than just eight-to-five things. We can never deny the fact that, to cater the staff, we need to view them as more than just mere ‘employees.’ We need to view them as key stakeholders of the company. At Tanah Makmur Berhad, we have institutionalized semi-annual Likert-style surveys with free-text options that cover five segments: company, management, benefits, development, and facilities. These surveys allow employees to give opinions specifically on what and how to improve. Some of the tangible results of our initiatives include the establishment of nursing rooms, dedicated In-House training floor, free-flow coffee at our TMB Bar, 100 days of Maternity Leave, The Healthy Award (Zero-MC), and multiple financial assistance such as educational aid, examination excellence awards, motor vehicle loans and interest-free personal loans.
Similarly to what Richad Branson says, ’If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business.
6. What strategies do you employ to encourage collaboration and teamwork among employees from different generations?
There are several strategies that we implement to culturalized inter-department collaboration:
1. Educate the Team – Through our weekly Friday sharing sessions, we provide educational sessions covering a variety of topics, including policy implementation, cross subsidiary products, and discussion of current issues.
2. Be Grateful, Always! – We make it mandatory for all staff to volunteer at least eight hours of company’s activities, with a significant focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It teaches everyone to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions (on top of being grateful of what we have on the dinner table) and encourages a positive impact on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, and stakeholders.
3. As a fond believer of People Development, we prioritize cross-disciplinary project management. For instance, our involvement in the HR Asia Award 2023 resulted in us winning two accolades: The HR Asia Best Companies to Work For and Most Caring Employer Award. Additionally, we received the ESG Gold Award in our inaugural participation, achieving Silver 3 in RAM Sustainability Rating, and obtained ISO 9001 and ISO 37001 (ABMS) certifications, participation in Anugerah Integriti, Governans dan Anti Rasuah (AIGA) where we won Bronze Award, and other countless award-winning certification from multiple bodies. Apart from instilling the ‘winning mentality’, we indirectly inculcate cross-department learning platform too and ultimately develop the #TeamTMB mentality.
7. How do you foster a continuous learning culture that appeals to employees of all ages and encourages professional growth?
We believe in a pragmatic learning ideology where everyone deserves a path for self-development irrespective of age and seniority. For us at TMB:
a) It is critical to align the educational aspects with day-to-day work tasks and instil 16 hours of development per year into employee KPIs
b) We integrate performance management with technology through our customized HRIS – TMB Management System, where all necessary information is readily accessible and only a fingertip away
c) We collaborate with development partners and online platforms such as Coursera.com and Harvard University to familiarize everyone at TMB with self-paced learning mentality
d) Internal Job Rotation – This has always been the one of the most effective ways to prepare employees not only for cross-discipline knowledge, but also represent the most effective succession planning platform where employees are exposed to most (if not all) critical functions within the organization. This ensured that tailored talents are ready to hit the ground running for higher positions if appointed!
8. How do you handle conflicts that may arise due to generational differences in perspectives or work styles?
This might vary, but for TMB, we always refer to three critical pillars in managing conflicts in the workplace:
a) Open and Transparent Communication (Town Hall, Friday Sharing Session, Brain Box, Whistleblower Policy) – This will help for everyone in the company to share common understanding, improving engagement and retention, enhancing performance, freedom to talk and strengthening relationships between component within the organization.
b) On-going People Development (16 development hours per year) – Employees will be ever-committed knowing that the company genuinely cares, by investing in their growth. In respond to that, it will transpire into greater loyalty and better performance. Fair to say, it’s a win-win situation for both parties.
c) High Impact and Focused Engagement – This is definitely one of the critical pillars in managing conflicts. The industry shares a common understanding, where engaged employees normally display increased productivity, higher commitment, and striving for job satisfaction. They tend to focus on bigger things and indirectly becoming a proactive problem solver, contributing to innovation and process improvement within the company. Then what’s left in the pocket is only the ‘genuine’ problem that the company can focus to swiftly resolved.
9. Last but not least, what advice would you offer to someone aspiring to reach a similar leadership position in their careers?
HR functions have evolved into strategic partners and investment-centered departments, especially with the recent spotlight on the importance of ESG, which is now becoming a new extension of HR function.
Irrespective of your future career path, as you aspire to climb the ladder, always remember these three things:
a) Have Empathy
b) Remain Curious
c) Be the leader that your younger self would learn and develop the most from
If you found this interview insightful, do connect with Mr. Adlan Maarup on LinkedIn at 👉🏼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adlan-maarup-2ab199150/
