Gary Haris, Senior Business Development Manager KH Security Agency Pte Ltd ONE COMPANY, ONE FAMILY A company is like an employee’s second home. In this issue we meet Work-Life Mover Mr Gary Haris, KH Security Agency’s Senior Business Development Manager, who treats his staff like family. In December 2006, inspired by the “family friendly culture” in KH Security and to meet the work and personal needs of each KH family member, Mr Haris initiated several Work-Life Integration (WLI) policies such as flexi-work arrangements, shorter work week, part-time work and job sharing. Since then, he is always on the ground to understand his staff’s needs and personally help them to find the best work-life solutions because he knows there is no “one size fits all” answer and it “gives him great pleasure” to be able to help. Mr Haris also holds regular meetings with the operations team to fine-tune policies when the need arises.

Mr Haris cited the examples of three security staff whom he had helped: Mr Chan who is a grandfather wants more flexibility to spend time with his grandchildren while he continues working at KH Security. He was introduced to a two-day work week. Mr Sharif needs to send his child to school every weekday morning. He is allowed to leave earlier at around 6am, even though his shift is from 7pm to 7am, in order to send his child to school. Mdm Sanimah, a single parent, requires kidney dialysis three times a week. On the days that she needs to go for treatment, Sanimah can leave about two hours earlier. At the same time, she is also given less strenuous work.

As a result of the WLI policies and Mr Haris’ efforts, staff turnover has reduced and it is now easier to attract talent. “We also have better employee engagement and happier employees serving our clients,” Mr Haris added.

The numbers speak for themselves. KH Security has seen a significant jump in employee satisfaction from 12% (Very Good), 70% (Good), 11% (Average) and 5% (Poor) in 2006, to 78% (Very Good) and remaining 22% (Good) in 2008. Ninety-six percent indicated that they were now better able to manage stress. Of the six office-based staff, five of them now rate their work-life balance as “Very Good” while one of them rate it as “Good”. All six staff indicated they are now better able to manage stress. From 2006 to 2007, the company’s revenue rose 27% from $2,273,823 to 2,887,554.

Mr Haris himself has been with the KH family for more than 10 years. But it’s not just the outstanding figures that give this 35-year-old KH pioneer his personal satisfaction. What really moves him is seeing “many KH family members staying on with the KH family for five years or more and contributing positively to the growth of the family as well as the Security Industry.”