Health & Biotech

Everise, a leader in transforming customer service for global healthcare companies, announced being named a top five 2024 Inspiring Workplace in Latin America, an award that recognizes people-first organizations around the globe. Everise was ranked fourth out of five exceptional organizations. This is the first year Inspiring Workplaces™ has been organized in Latin America.

To ensure that the best-performing organizations were identified, Inspiring Workplaces upgraded the judging criteria for the 2024 Awards. Entrants to the Inspiring Workplace Awards were asked to provide proof of their investment in people by demonstrating six key elements fundamental to creating a people-first culture, and by extension an Inspiring Workplace. They are Culture and Purpose, Leadership, Wellbeing, Inclusion, Employee Voice, and Employee Experience. Organizations of all sizes and industries entered a category defined by how many people are within the business. The top five winners were decided by an independent expert judging panel.

Each of the six key elements were also judged separately for best-in-class recognition in each discipline. Everise was the only organization out of the five scoring highly enough to be specially named in the special recognition categories of 'Inspiring Leadership', 'Inspiring Wellbeing', and 'Inspiring Employee Voice'.

"In Latin America, Everise's Guatemalan site will celebrate 12 years in operation this year, while our Colombian site opened in 2022. We are delighted to be named a top five Inspiring Workplace in Latin America, demonstrating the strength and consistency of Everise's people-first culture across all our teams and sites. This recognition honors our commitment since day one of building a people-first company that empowers and invests in our talent to grow to their fullest potential on delivering customer happiness. I would like to congratulate and thank our Latin American leaders and champions on this glowing accolade," said Sudhir Agarwal, Founder & CEO of Everise.

"Congratulations to the Top 5 Inspiring Workplaces across Latin America. Focusing on the personal development and caring for the people you employ will not only drive performance but protect the wellbeing of those individuals. Being PeopleFirst isn't a nice to have, it's a business imperative! Inspiring Workplaces is about to celebrate its 10^th anniversary and we place these organizations in a gold standard for PeopleFirst culture. We can't be prouder to thank and congratulate all our finalists this year, a tremendous success!" shared Matt Manners, Founder, The Inspiring Workplaces Group.

Sentynl Therapeutics, Inc. (Sentynl), a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company wholly-owned by Zydus Lifesciences, Ltd. (Zydus Group) announced that it received accreditation from Great Place To Work®, the global management consulting firm that provides best-in-class data about the employee experience and establishes benchmarks for working conditions around the world.

"Sentynl Therapeutics is honored to be a Great Place To Work as part of Zydus Americas. This recognition is especially meaningful because it's earned through the opinions of employees themselves," said Matt Heck, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sentynl. "In partnership with Zydus, we are committed to building and maintaining a company culture that our employees are proud of, so we can achieve impact with integrity."

Zydus Americas had a 94% employee survey response rate, with an exceptional 90% saying that it is a great place to work, far higher than the average of 57% for typical U.S. companies.

Speaking on the recognition, Dr. Punit Patel, President & CEO of Zydus Americas, said, "At Zydus, we know that our dedicated employees drive our success, innovation and impact. It is crucial to ensure that our workforce feels supported and uplifted, and we are proud to be recognized for these efforts."

Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. As part of Zydus Americas, Sentynl earned accreditation through the firm's two tools – the Trust Index© employee survey and the Culture Brief™ company questionnaire. The Trust Index measures individual employee experiences using five dimensions of high-trust company culture, credibility, respect, fairness, pride and sense of belonging, through 60 statements and two open-ended questions.

The rapidly ageing population contributes to a surge in the demand for healthcare services. However, there is a shortage of healthcare professionals in Singapore as corroborated by nearly nine in ten (31% strongly agree, 59% somewhat agree) healthcare leaders. These leaders voice the provision of more competitive salary and benefit packages (57%), promoting preventive healthcare (41%), streamlining shift schedules (37%), adopting technology to lighten administrative tasks (36%), and providing continuous training opportunities (35%) as the top five ways to support healthcare professionals amid the evolving demands in the sector. 

In light of advocating for more competitive salary and benefit packages, two-thirds of healthcare leaders agree (66%) that there are sufficient opportunities for career advancement, and three-quarters agree (75%) that it is easy for healthcare workers to switch roles or career paths within the sector. Despite that, they highlight the challenges faced in transitioning careers within the sector, such as the need for additional retraining (62%) and not possessing enough transferable skills (49%).

Therefore, all healthcare leaders agree (41% strongly agree, 59% somewhat agree) that it is important to have ongoing learning and skills development opportunities for career mobility in the sector. However, challenges remain as staff shortage and high workload (71%), lack of incentives to upskill (59%), and difficulty in coordinating large-scale training due to shift work (40%), are the top three barriers to sending employees for training.

These are some of the key findings from NTUC LearningHub's recently launched Industry Insights Report 2024 on Healthcare, which explores the current landscape of the healthcare sector, including challenges, training gaps, hiring sentiments, and in-demand skills. Based on a survey of 150 healthcare leaders, and interviews with industry experts, the report also uncovers the transferability of skills for individuals across different roles within the sector.

According to healthcare leaders, effective client communication (44%), data analytics (42%), and service excellence (33%) are the top training areas they are keen to enrol employees for. They also list adaptability (63%), problem-solving (61%), communication (59%), learning agility (55%), and customer orientation (55%) as the top critical core skills or soft skills for healthcare workers to possess.

In addition, about four in five (81%) healthcare leaders are looking to hire talent where healthcare assistants (35%), logistics or operations (27%), and community care service workers (17%) are the top three job roles sought after. Moreover, almost nine in ten (86%) are likely to hire those with industry-recognised certifications, despite a lack of experience.

Healthcare leaders also believe technology can help alleviate on-site workload through leveraging telemedicine services (64%), automating/streamlining operational and logistical processes (63%), and expediting treatment for patients through quicker and more precise diagnosis (58%). These benefits are in addition to enhancing access and ensuring data consistency through centralised patient health records (62%) and enabling access for immobile patients through telemedicine services (55%).

Commenting on the report findings, Tay Ee Learn, NTUC LearningHub's Chief Sector Skills Officer, says, "The manpower crunch is driven by an ageing population and the rising demand for health and community care services. This underscores the need for a highly skilled and digitally empowered workforce, especially given the digital transformation of the sector. Thus, a holistic skill set encompassing both technical and transferable competencies, particularly critical core or soft skills, and tech-lite skills are vital in facilitating optimal care for patients while keeping healthcare professionals nimble. In order to bridge the manpower gap, employers must therefore champion the long-term employability of their workforce and prioritise their ongoing learning and skills development through industry-recognised professional certifications that allow healthcare workers to take on in-demand roles in this growing sector.

Everise, a leader in customer experience for global healthcare companies, announced being ranked on the Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces® list, as published by Newsweek. The list, created in collaboration with the Best Practice Institute (BPI), provides the most comprehensive look at workplace sentiment for organizations today. This marks the fourth year running that Everise has achieved this certification.

The results were determined after surveying more than 2 million employees from businesses with workforces varying in size from 30 to more than 10,000. The list recognizes companies that put respect, caring, and appreciation for their employees at the center of their business model and, in doing so, have earned the loyalty and respect of the people who work for them. 

"It is an immense honor for Everise to be certified one of Newsweek's Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces® and recognized as a Most Loved Workplace® for four years in a row. This is a testament to our commitment to fostering a people-first work environment that is supportive and engaging," says Sudhir Agarwal, Founder & CEO of Everise. "At Everise, we believe that a thriving workplace culture forms the foundation for delivering exceptional service and innovation. This accolade reflects the dedication of our talented champs, whose passion and collaboration drive our success everyday."

Everise was certified a Most Loved Workplace® for various reasons as cited by Newsweek. These include the systemic culture of collaboration, the positive vision of the future that employees have, the respect the company has for its employees, the support the company provides to employees to achieve their goals, strength of the CEO, alignment of values, and more.

"As workplaces continue to shift, it's clearer than ever that fostering collaboration, embracing a positive outlook, and aligning values are essential. The companies celebrated on the 2024 Global Most Loved Workplaces® list truly embody these principles. They show us that by championing respect and team oriented outcomes, they're not just building great workplaces, they're shaping a brighter future for all," said Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief of Newsweek.

"I started Most Loved Workplaces out of inspiration from my community of people who consciously place love for their employees at the center of their business model," said Louis Carter, the founder, and CEO of BPI and a social/organizational psychologist, thought leader, entrepreneur, and author.