If we talk about companies that are dedicated to ensuring the enduring happiness and high quality of life of their employees, "Ngern Tidlor" is undoubtedly a name that readily comes to mind for many. Today, we will get to know the new generation of leaders who prioritize people specifically "
Khun Meo Nutchanart Arpamongkol,"
Senior Vice President in the Human Resources Department or
Happy People. We will engage in a conversation about work experiences, responsibilities, and share insights into how to take care of NTLers to enhance their quality of life and happiness as they are having currently.
The career path and the overall responsibilities as a leader
"I have been working at Ngern Tidlor for 11 years now. Before joining this company, I spent 6 years working in organizational development at another company and started my career in financial industry at Ngern Tidlor, where my initial responsibilities included overseeing overall strategy. Over time, I earned the trust to lead the People Life team, which is responsible for managing compensation, employee welfare, organizational structure, and employee professional development plans. This also involves managing employee data systems to ensure alignment with the company's objectives.
Now, as I hit my 11th year at Ngern Tidlor, I have been entrusted with the role of Head of Happy People, which involves expanding the care to cover the People Fit area. This entails overseeing recruitment and selection processes for bringing new talent into the organization.
For the HR organization, we have divided the group into two main teams. The first is the Happy People team, which I’m overseeing, consisting of People Fit, responsible for recruitment and employee selection, and People Life, responsible for well-being, salaries, benefits, and appropriate organizational management. The second is the TIDLOR Academy team led by Khun Kanjanat Chalermjulamanee. This team includes People Learn, in charge of training and developing individuals, and Culture team, which focuses on building the Corporate Culture, along with Financial Education."
Feeling after received the new assignment. And what do you consider as your strengths that have brought you to this point?
It's a mixed feeling, more like, 'Is it the time?' If you ask whether I have any worries, I must admit there are some. Our company is growing to the next level, and with growth comes the responsibility to take care of more people. We’re facing the challenges of a highly competitive financial market from every angle, requiring us to stay updated, seek new information, adapt our working methods, and plan ahead. I do not get bogged down by worry. I believe that, in the end, we have to go through it, so we overcome the worries and focus on finding a solution!
As for my strengths, I'm not one to give up. I enjoy challenges and embrace new things. Whenever I'm assigned a task, I always try to find a way out. This is probably one of the factors that make my colleagues and those around me believe that we can handle this responsibility."
The HP team has to take care of more than 7,000 people in the organization. How to ensure communication effective?
"In our organization, we have both the head office and over 1,600 branches nationwide. It would be quite challenging if every issue has to centralized within our team. Fortunately, at Ngern Tidlor, we encouraged people with a cross-functional working approach. We have various teams that own projects, and related teams come to help in communicating with different departments. Therefore, we use a step-by-step transmission to the teams responsible for specific areas. We then conduct surveys to check how well our people understand the communicated information.
We believe that effective communication should be two-way. For employees who want to discuss matters directly with the HP team, we provide multiple channels for conversation and temperature checks. They can contact us with their questions or concerns, including welfare-related issues, by providing their employee ID and sending the issues via email. Our HP team will get back to them within one day to provide advice and guidance."
How does the HP team ensure a well-rounded quality of life for Ngern Tidlor employees?
"If the goal is to foster their quality of life, we must do everything to ensure they have comprehensive well-being. We set targets to look after their physical, mental, and financial health while aiming to develop their skills for continuous growth within the organization.
Physical Health: We organize health-promoting activities such as the 'TIDLOR RUN 10⁷' event to encourage physical exercise. Employees are encouraged to take regular care of their health.
Every Wednesday, we invite people at the head office to have a lean meal and have healthy meals and fruits for sale at Integrity Shop on the 12A floor. This year, we expanded our health insurance coverage and enhanced the care provided to employees. We also organized CPR training to equip our employees for emergency situations, offered free flu shots through our partnered hospitals, and extended our care to the families of our employees by offering special pricing on vaccinations.
Furthermore, we have various clubs like the NTL Club where employees can suggest and join activities of their interest. Currently, there are clubs for zumba, body combat, yoga, running, soccer, snooker, badminton, and many more, including board games, E-Sports, and volunteering initiatives such as 'Ar-Sa-Pun-Rak’.
Mental Health: The importance of mental health became more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. When this issue became heightened, we established amental care hotline. This allowed employees to seek guidance from psychologists, as many were stressed due to the uncertainties of the situation and the lack of face-to-face interactions at work. The response from employees was highly positive, with many of them reaching out for advice. We have continued this initiative and complemented it with activities to raise awareness about emotional well-being. We introduced "Happy Time," where Dr. Planin Sathakorn Wongsongkram was invited to discuss emotional well-being, stress management, and related topics. Additionally, all employees can talk to the HP team for advice on how to provide guidance and counseling to their team members.
Financial Health:As a financial company that aims to provide transparent and fair financial services to everyone in society, we place great emphasis on financial health. We started by providing
financial literacy training for our employees from day one. If an emergency arises, we have an emergency loan welfare program. Before offering financial assistance, we conduct an interview where the applicants need to provide detailed explanations. This is because we genuinely care and want to address the real issues. Providing money is not the end; we also assess the applicants' willingness to make positive changes. If during the interview, we find that someone have underlying financial problems, we ask for their willingness to share their issues with
the Financial Education team, which helps them break free from the cycle of debt.
Furthermore, we are committed to developing the skills of employees in alignment with our
Core Value 5: Thirst for Wisdom and Self-Development. For example, we provide opportunities for all employees to acquire essential skills, not exclusively reserved for high-level positions. Our selection is based on individual potential and job-related competencies. Within the organization, we have the
"HO Career" training program, a structured learning program for the development of employees from the head office. The "People Learn" team prepares a sequence of courses for employees to follow based on their position level and job function. Beyond our core courses, we consistently introduce new content, aligning it with future trends and increasing demands. Some courses are even cross-functional, allowing employees from various departments to return with enriched perspectives and contribute to their own work processes. Most recently, we organized the
"TIDLOR Hackathon" event,
TIDLOR Hackathon providing employees with an opportunity to challenge themselves and further develop their skills. This initiative received excellent feedback, and we plan to continue similar events in the coming years.
We also place no less importance on our branch teams. Employees will receive skill set courses in addition to training from the first day of joining the branch. Afterward, we provide career path planning, which requires continuous learning and upskilling. Employees will gain practical experience in a structured manner, aligned with their hierarchical levels and work tenure. This progression begins with customer service staff and goes up to branch managers and area managers. The learning process is structured into bronze, silver, and gold levels. Once an employee completes training at all three levels, they can advance to higher positions and continue growing. When it's time for promotion, we have a Leadership Development Program that helps individuals understand the roles of being a good leader and manager, offering them opportunities for learning and growth."
Awards reflect our Success and Goals Achievement
"Honestly, our goals are not originally set up for awards. Everything we do, we do it because we want our employees to be happy. We don't restrict them to just following what the company dictates. We maintain an open approach to listen to our employees' feedback and their needs. We carefully consider their input and design solutions that align with what they desire, supported by the company. This way, they can find joy in their own way and deliver their tasks happily, while still aligning with the company's goals. It's not about working just for the sake of work. We started with the intention of treating our people well, and the awards naturally followed."
Did you know?
The
TIDLOR RUN 10⁷ activity not only promotes good physical and mental health for our employees but also serves as a challenge for captains and co-captains to harness and develop leadership qualities in various aspects, including communication, planning, and team motivation. Together, they practice, practice, practice towards the common goal of achieving a 10-kilometer victory within the set time frame.
Currently, TIDLOR has initiated an open house program, called “TIDLOR Culture Wow” and “TIDLOR Culture Camp” to provide opportunities for various organizations, both public and private sectors, to visit and exchange experiences related to building the corporate culture of Ngern Tidlor. If interested, you can find more details
here.