The Company has developed in-house a Business-to-Employee (B2E) portal for staff. The B2E portal replaces the existing intranet which is already home to general announcements, and human resource policies and practices.

The B2E portal is rich in features such as the Employee Leave Management System, Facilities Booking, Telephone Directory, etc. The online Leave Management System will allow staff to view their past records and outstanding leave, as well as apply for leave. This feature eliminates paper processes and the transit time between individuals who process the application.

Employees can also access company-related information, self-manage administrative tasks such as update personal particulars, and book company resources such as meeting rooms and IT equipment including notebooks and projectors.

Plans to roll out employee self-service functions are in the pipeline, and will be implemented in phases. This will reduce the traditional HR-related administrative paperwork.

A company-wide training program on the B2E portal has been conducted for all 350 staff. Spearheaded by the IT and HR departments, 25 two-hourly training sessions, comprising demonstration, with additional hands-on training for department secretaries were conducted. Administrative efficiency and staff productivity have been enhanced. Apart from staff at Bugis Junction headquarters, training has also been extended to staff stationed at Keppel Land’s commercial buildings who will access the B2E portal through a secured Virtual Private Network.

Strengthening Regional Synergies and Network

While IT has transformed the workplace, it cannot totally replace the synergies generated from face-to-face interaction. This is true for the overseas staff of Keppel Land who are spread over nine countries in Asia. To facilitate effective communication of corporate directions and to provide an update of the business performance and outlook in each country, the Group’s overseas staff meet in Singapore once a year. The annual regional conference also provides a forum for exchange of information and experience. Held in March 2001, the four-day meeting was packed with presentations, training sessions, workshops and site visits. The event was well-attended by regional participants who also looked forward to the opportunity to meet, share ideas and foster camaraderie with their Singapore counterparts.

Apart from organising the annual regional conference for Keppel Land’s regional staff, the Company also played host to overseas companies as part of its efforts to strengthen regional network and foster friendly ties. During the year, Keppel Land hosted visits from senior officials from Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) and Shenzhen Construction Investment Holding Corporation. The visits also served as a platform for exchange of experiences and helped develop relationships for future business opportunities.

Facilitated by the Economic Development Board as part of the ongoing “software transfer” between Singapore and SIP, senior SIP officials visited Keppel Land on two separate visits in 2001. During the first visit, senior HR officials were introduced to the talent management and development programs in Keppel Land. The second visit involved senior corporate officials who were introduced to issues such as corporate governance, shareholder accountability, financial reporting and investor relations. The Shenzhen delegation, comprising 28 senior HR practitioners, was interested in Keppel Land’s human resource programmes.

Keppel Land’s annual regional conference provides a forum for exchange of information and experience.