Vietnam’s top employers praised for sustainable thrust

On December 21, Viet Research collaborated with Vietnam Investment Review to hold a ceremony honouring the top 500 employers and top 10 workplaces by industry in the country this year. The seminar was based on the theme of “Creating a good workplace - the key to sustainable development”.

Businesses honoured at the event were from many sectors, including banking, insurance, construction, real estate, materials, retail, food and beverages, logistics, and IT. Some criteria for selection included excellent achievements in creating jobs, attention to employee remuneration, commitment to a prestigious brand and culture, and sustainable working environments with stable business results.

At the event, experts discussed the general prospects of the economy, strategies for attracting and training talent, challenges and solutions related to digitalisation and corporate culture, and the future development trends of the labour market and working environment post-pandemic.

According to Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy, there have been a few major shifts in the labour market’s focus recently, including in green and sustainable values, digital transformation, skills-building, and corporate culture.

“Research by the National Economics University has shown that companies that incorporated corporate social responsibility, environmental aspects, and gender equality to their image have seen an improvement in efficiency in the middle term. This proves that sustainable values are not only important to brand building, but also directly impact business results,” Thanh assessed.

In terms of reskilling and upskilling, Thanh noted that the modern business environment requires workers to not only master their technical skills, but also be equipped with soft skills and general knowledge.

“The competition to poach talent is getting more intense, both domestically and internationally. Vietnamese businesses are, more than ever, under the pressure to create a favourable working environment and training opportunities,” he added.

To Thi Phuong Dung, head of HR Policy and Planning at Vietcombank – one of the few companies to make both the top 500 employers and top 10 workplaces lists – emphasised that the bank has been deploying all of the aforementioned factors in a synchronous manner.

“Our remuneration aims to target not just one aspect of life, but the overall wellbeing of our employees. Operated in an essential industry, it’s crucial that our staff be well taken care of to maintain operations, even during the tough times,” Dung said.

In terms of corporate culture, the company relies on the five pillars of reliability, standards, readiness to innovate, sustainability, and humanity. “With that holistic approach, we have been one of the banks to see the lowest turnover in the industry, with a number of employees who have been with us from graduation until retirement,” Dung added.

Nguyen Thi Hoang Nguyen, deputy director of the Centre for Strategic Analysis and Forecasting under the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs expressed delight at the HR initiatives presented at the seminar, adding that efforts at the enterprises’ level would significantly complement the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ (MoLISA) efforts in taking care of labourers.

“The MoLISA is developing a multi-layered labour market information system, aiming to provide information to both policymakers and businesses, including updates from the labour market by quarter in terms of trends and focuses,” Nguyen said.

In addition, the vocational education system is being reformed to meet regional and international standards. “Another effort is to digitalise processes to create a better portal between workers and the ministry,” Nguyen said.

Top 500 Vietnam Best Employers 2022 The Top 500 Vietnam Best Employers (VBE500) unveiled winning businesses and organisations on September 28 along with the release of the Vietnam Top Employers Report.

Ceremony to announce Top 500 employers and Top 10 workplaces in 2022 Vietnam Business Research Joint Stock Company (Viet Research) in collaboration with Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) is holding the announcement ceremony of the Top 500 Employers and Top 10 Workplaces in Vietnam 2022, and a seminar with the theme: “Creating a good workplace – The key to sustainable development.”