With a plethora of employee engagement strategies, and shelves of optical and people management awards, eyewear service provider OKIA’s success story certainly adds weight to the adage that a happy workforce is a productive one. Back in 2006 staff attrition stood at almost 62%, causing HR to make radical changes to boost staff morale. And it seems to have paid off, with the result that now an average of only 6% of staff leave the organisation voluntarily.
Maintaining the family
Orwell Wan, Human Resources and Administration Manager, considers the quest for a continually contented workforce to be a task equivalent to the maintenance of harmonious family relationships. Taking this analogy further, OKIA staff are termed ‘Okian’, and seem, with this common title bestowed upon them, to share the company’s values with strengthened conviction.
Since its inception in 1999, OKIA has boasted a variety of HR accolades including winning the double prize of the Hong Kong Family Friendly Employers’ Award, alongside corporate giants such as household name Microsoft, and receiving the ERB Manpower Developer Award in 2011. The company was also a finalist in the HRM Awards for Best HR Team and Best Work Life Balance Practices 2010 and was granted the HKIHRM/SCMP People Management Award in the category of medium enterprise.
According to Wan, success is due to nurturing the following four conditions:
- Continuous Learning
- Communication and Trust
- Care and Satisfaction
- Sharing and Self-Actualization
The first of these is delivered through a number of in-house ‘institutions’. Through The Mindset Institute for example, Okian are taught relaxation techniques by a psychologist, increasing their resilience so as to optimise performance in training and in work tasks.
Management by eating
In terms of communication strategy, as well as the regular departmental meetings, the company sports a unique take on informal interaction through a philosophy entitled ‘Management by Eating.’ For example, there is a daily tea time break during which fruit and snacks are provided—a tactic which encourages casual communication and holds the added advantage of refreshing employees so that they are able to continue working for longer in the day.
Additionally, new joiners are invited to a welcome lunch and an annual dinner for all Okian and their families.
Mushroom planting
Under the heading ‘Care and Satisfaction’ there lies a whole host of social programmes; sports and games, orienteering, funky dance and kick-boxing sessions are in the offering, and for the less outward-bound employee there are on-site activities including massages, seasonal cooking sessions, tie-dying, photo frame making and even mushroom planting classes.
Sundays respectfully remain a day for true blood relatives although regular outings take place on Saturdays for Okia staff and families should they wish to attend. In addition, there are workshops to address any family issues and brush up on parenting skills. Throughout the long summer holiday the children of Okian are encouraged to work as interns, where they are instilled with an understanding of company operations and values, spare labour is made use of and free and novel childcare is provided.
CSR
Given the nature of its internal culture it is hardly surprising that OKIA excels in CSR accomplishments and it is here that the final point of sharing and self-actualization is achieved. Via an incentive named Vision Friendly, many Okian volunteer to test the eyesight of the more needy members of society.
For example, OKIA’s staff have carried out assessments for Christian Zheng Sheng College on Lantau island for child drug offenders. The company has raised money for this and many other worthwhile causes through a variety of means including sales of products made from their group activities. Little wonder that OKIA has also been awarded the title of ‘Caring Company 2011’ and the ‘Gold Hong Kong Corporate Citizen Award’ in recognition of the company’s conscience and the value of its civic responsibility and contribution to corporate social responsibility.
Through all these undertakings OKIA claims to provide a centre of excellence for talent development where the best designers, engineers and creative thinkers can flourish. It cites this environment as the reason for the company becoming recognised as a pioneering eyewear provider who is well ahead of the competition in terms of both innovation and time to market.
OKIA are a novice organisation, by their own admittance, and with something in the region of 3% of salary spent on motivational strategies, only time will tell whether the Return on Investment will be worth the company’s long term efforts. Certainly its ethos is to be applauded and OKIA is one to watch with eyes wide open.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
