Francis Tan, Director Human Resources, Sheraton Towers Francis Tan lives by the adage ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. He believes that the various aspects of our personal lives such as faith, family, friends and even fitness, act as spokes in the wheel of life – and if we neglect any of these areas, our lives are likely to go-off balance. As the Director of Human Resources at Sheraton Towers Singapore Hotel, Mr. Tan derives great satisfaction in helping employees to live balanced lives. He emphasizes that creating a Work-Life friendly culture would enable staff to reach their full potential on the job. Mr. Tan insists on walking the talk when it comes to Work-Life. Indeed, the organisation’s core values form the foundation for Work-Life initiatives at Sheraton Towers. As an organisation that espouses warmth, comfort and personal connection with its guests, the management also extends these to its employees.

Sheraton Towers adopts a systematic approach to creating its Work-Life strategy. Upon his arrival over 6 years ago, Mr. Tan observed that while some Work-Life practices were in place, these were sporadic and did not comprehensively address the various employee needs. He then set to work using the Work-Life Excellence Award framework as his guide. By comparing Sheraton’s existing practices against the Work-Life Excellence Award criteria, Mr. Tan was able to successfully identify and plug the gaps in the organisation’s Work-Life strategy. He highlights that Sheraton also benchmarks its Work-Life initiatives against best practice implemented by other employers. The Work-Life initiatives at Sheraton Towers are broadly categorized under ‘Food’, Health’. ‘Sports’, ‘Family’ and ‘Welfare and Benefits’. The programmes on offer range from soccer, yoga and bowling, to health and wellness talks, Smoking Cessation initiatives and even H1N1 inoculation for hotel staff.

Mr. Tan shares that the organisation also goes the extra mile by involving employees’ families in these activities whenever possible. A prime example is Sheraton’s Movie Night, where employees and their families attend a high tea event and watch a movie together. The organisation sponsors the movie tickets for employees and children while spouses attend at a subsidised rate.

Ultimately, Mr. Tan notes that Work-Life Integration is a journey. He says, “Implementing these programmes will help to move Sheraton from being a ‘good’ organisation to a ‘great’ organisation”.