Ms Monica Lim, Corporate Governance Manager
Oil Spill Response Limited

"When we first attempted the Work-life initiatives informally, there are a lot of disparities between the departments which created a lot of unhappiness among staff," confides Ms Monica Lim, Corporate Governance Manager for Oil Spill Response.

OSR’s participation in the First Mover Initiative (EA Project) in 2008 provided them with a timely solution by helping them address Work-Life issues at hand. The staff were happy that an independent consultant was engaged to conduct the focus group survey where feedback was garnered. OSR acted upon the advice of the consultant and so far the outcome has been positive.

Management played the crucial role of introducing and implementing the Work-Life Strategy company-wide, challenging the status-quo. They themselves became the role models and 'walked the talk', fleshing out what the consultants had advised on paper. Such strong support by the management and HR provided the much-needed impetus for a mind-set change in OSR. When teething problems arose, rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water, HR studied the problem and the possibilities and worked out a viable alternative - even to the extent of hiring more part-timers. The happy and satisfied staff of OSR prove that a win-win solution is possible!

Work-Life Integration has been a successful strategy for the Singapore office. The strategy takes into account the company's foremost commitment as an emergency response organisation. Therefore it is in the company’s strong interest to motivate staff by making Work-Life Integration a priority as the quality of its services hinges on the staff delivering them.   

Oil Spill Response Limited is the world’s largest provider of oil spill response and preparedness services with offices in the UK, Asia Pacific and Middle East. Dealing with global emergencies, the organisation also provides resources, training and consultancy services and support to the oil industry.