“In times of adversity and change, we really discover who we are and what we are made of” - according to Howard Schultz. Certis, Asia’s leading advanced integrated security services provider has been named amongst top 10 best workplaces in the medium and large organisations category of the sixth annual Singapore Best Workplaces™ awards, in a year where it has supported and engaged its employees who have been instrumental in the ongoing combat against COVID-19 in Singapore.
This is the first time Certis has participated in, and achieved the Great Place to Work® certification. Paul Chong, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Certis said, “We are deeply honoured by the recognition of our efforts in our support for the well-being, communications and engagement with our workforce. I salute our thousands of officers who have come forth bravely in response to our nation in need. This includes the support team – in training, logistics and other departments – who work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure our front-line officers can work safely under perilous conditions. Throughout the entire journey coping with COVID-19, constant engagement and transparent communications, and making sure that they are well-taken of, is what has kept everyone going in these very challenging times.”
Constant Assurance and Care for Employees
By responding swiftly and adapting with agility, Certis focused on the health, safety and well-being of our employees in order to continue delivering high standards of service in the early days before much was known of the virus. Certis quickly established its global COVID-19 taskforce to assess, decide and implement policies and procedures to ensure our global employees remain protected in the fight against COVID. The taskforce also ensured that our employees had access to the right PPE even during times of global shortage, and safe distancing and work measures were clearly defined, communicated and effectively implemented. The taskforce continues to meet daily to date.
Keeping our staff safe also means protecting jobs, especially in the aviation sector where jobs have been severely impacted. We have implemented reskilling programmes to facilitate redeployment to areas, as part of the retention and redeployment plan and to create meaningful roles during the pandemic. More than one thousand Certis aviation security employees have been trained and/or retrained in the past 10 months to support the increased scale for quarantine operations, managing persons under quarantine, including guarding of the hundreds of quarantine facilities, and safe management operations.
Trusted Partner in a Crisis, Powered by an Engaged Workforce
In tandem with Certis reinventing itself as an advanced tech-enabled security services provider, Certis has leveraged technology to support both customers and employees in making it a great place to work in. Within Certis, we have inculcated a digital way of life, and developing a culture of continuous improvement. We have applied technology to re-think, re-invent the way we work. Taking an employee-first approach, this has resulted in a more pleasant employee experience.
On the customer front, Certis has developed deep capabilities to help organisations cope with the new normal. In Singapore, we have worked closely with the Government to fight COVID-19 (please see Annex A for details). COVID-19 has enabled Certis to demonstrate our capabilities in safety and security to customers across several sectors. We have delivered bespoke, end-to-end safe distancing, guest and crowd management solutions that draw on our existing capabilities in operations-technology (ops-tech).
We have developed and implemented a temperature tracking app called iTemp across the whole company in four short days. This allows Certis to monitor the health status of all 16,000 employees – as we do our part to detect and contain infections. This app has also been made available free of charge to all Singapore companies.
Certis also received Great Place to Learn™ certification for its achievements in promoting continuous learning at work, through work, and for work to foster a high- performing workplace culture. As strong believers in continuous and self-directed learning, we have implemented our online learning platform - Learning Management System that empowers our employees to learn anytime, anywhere.
In an extraordinary year where organisations have been put to the test, Certis is proud to have been recognised through a number of awards. At the HR Excellence Awards, Certis won the CSR Strategy and HR Manager of the Year awards, and was finalists in the Employer of the Year, Employee Engagement, and Young HR talent categories. It won gold at the prestigious SABRE Awards Asia-Pacific, the world’s largest communications awards programme, for its integrated response to COVID-19. In addition, Certis also garnered an Asia-Pacific innovation award for creating business impact through its solutions.
Annex A
About the Employee Survey
The employee survey took place from 12 to 30 October 2020, with a sample size of 5,000 employees in Singapore. These certified organisations will then be ranked on the Singapore Best Workplaces™ awards list based on two factors: the employee survey which counts for 60% of the score; with the remaining 40% informed by an independent audit of the organisation’s philosophy on leadership and people practices.
About Certis’ Covid-19 Involvement
Integrated Quarantine Order Services (IQOS)
In support of efforts made under the Infectious Diseases Control Act to address the spread of infectious diseases, Certis has undertaken the duties needed for the issuance, enforcement and execution of quarantine orders, and quarantine operations for the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The services provided include duties needed for the administration of Quarantine Orders (QOs) to Persons under Quarantine (PUQs) and enforcement of such orders directed by MOH.
Government Quarantine Facilities
As key partner to the Singapore Police Force, our role is to ensure that all our Government Quarantine Facilities are secure and safe for the persons under quarantine (PuQs).
Over 1,600 security officers are deployed daily to process the PuQs’ entry into the facilities and undertake patrolling duties.
Foreign Workers Dormitory Inspection Services
During the Circuit Breaker period, Certis conducted site inspection of foreign worker dormitories. They also acted as drivers for the medical teams.
Safe Distancing Ambassadors
Safe Distancing Ambassadors are appointed to manage queues and control access of visitors at various premises. They are also trained to handle access restrictions if the number of visitors exceeds the quota.
Temperature Screeners
Our temperature screeners assist in checking and recording the temperature of visitors. They are also trained to handle access restrictions to visitors who are denied entry due to high temperature declaration.