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Success Stories
American Express
About American Express International
American Express is a world leader in charge and credit cards, travellers cheques, travel and business services. To service its global customers, American Express hires 62,000 employees and 750 of these run the Singapore office. Amex work-life strategies have resulted in increased productivity by 10 to 15 percent and employee retention in the Blue Work concept is about 90 percent. From its surveys, the company estimates overall employee engagement to be at 85 percent. American Express won the Work-Life Achiever Award 2008.
| Flexible Work Arrangements – “Blue Work” |
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 Blue Work is Amex’s term for formal arrangements for flexibility in work space. It is integrated into the company’s human resource policies. Flexibility includes staggered working hours, off-site work areas such as home/virtual office arrangements, shared office space, touch-down space and telecommuting. The corporate focus is on results rather than on hours clocked in the office and face-to-face time.
Blue Work has helped Amex to achieve higher levels of engagement among employees. Internal surveys reported that productivity increased because of reduced commuting time and uninterrupted time in virtual office. Staff who work part-time from home also have more motivation to stay on in the organisation, thus helping Amex to retain valuable staff.
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| Leave Benefits - Flexi Leave |
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| On top of annual leave, flexi leave offers employees a maximum of 6 days paid leave during the year to attend to personal matters such as studying for exams, wedding plans and family care. 46 percent of the Singapore staff have taken leave days from the flexi leave programme, mostly female staff who have had to attend to family emergencies. This benefit is not pro rated because the management feels that even new staff who enter the organisation midway through the year may face emergencies at any time. Flexi leave is easier to manage in terms of administration as leave taken for different reasons can be classified under one category. |
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| Employee Support Schemes - Sunshine Fridays |
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| This benefit gives all team members the chance to leave at an earlier hour on Friday. Leaders avoid scheduling meetings after 4 pm and ensure that meetings finish by 5 pm. Sunshine Friday is much appreciated by employees as it contributes to a longer, and therefore more leisurely, weekend. |
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To find out more about American Express, please visit: http://home.americanexpress.com/sg
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