When people hear the word "Human Resources", they think about employees' benefits such as healthcare, sick days and other matters relating to work life. But Human Resources also encompasses all aspects of creating a positive working environment, including diversity and inclusion (or D&I), cultural competency and many other important topics. In this interview, we talk to Laila, head of Human Resources and Inclusion for East Asia and the Pacific at BAT, about how HR is now more important than ever before and what HR professionals need to know about incorporating D&I into their businesses.

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What HR Means (And What It Doesn’t)

Whereas the Western world tends to think about HR as an administrative function, the East Asian view is quite different.

As Laila explained: “HR is not just about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. HR is about strategy. It needs to be strategic.” As an HR person, your first role is to set the strategy for the company and to create the environment that is most conducive to the success of that strategy. This includes creating a positive work culture, setting clear expectations, and making sure that the whole organization is on the same page.

Provided that, along with having a clear strategy and goals and communicating it, having a team that is aligned and fully committed and engaged will always give you the best shot at trial, especially going through a crisis like COVID-19.

Laila explained that the first step is to understand what they need and to make sure that their needs are being met. At BAT, they started doing a Wellness Week. And she thinks that in the current environment, it's especially needed. It's needed for many reasons. Perhaps, the biggest reason is just to keep people healthy. To make sure that they are not getting sick because of all this isolation.

And what does it mean to be diverse and inclusive in the workplace?

So, what about diversity and inclusion (D&I)? HR is not only about D&I, it’s about inclusion too. Inclusion in all aspects of life including at the workplace. Why is D&I important? Because when people from different backgrounds interact with each other, they learn new things. This leads to increased innovation, problem-solving skills, and higher levels of creativity. But, unfortunately, as we know, there are certain groups of people who are often left out of the mainstream of society. These groups include women, people of colour, LGBTQ individuals, disabled people, and many others.

So, how can HR help with this? The answer is simple: by creating a positive environment where individuals can thrive. This will lead them to be more engaged, innovative and creative which will, in turn, help the entire organization to be more successful. HR also plays a crucial role in raising awareness and educating all employees about D&I, so everyone is on the same page. It is only through education that change takes place.

How to achieve success in D&I?

“One of the key things that investors look into companies is sustainability, as in the diversity in human capital. There's that dynamic, but also just a whole shift as well. Just everything is becoming much more employee-centric. And it should be because your employees are your organization.”

Laila continued: “My natural response is to find data when you challenge things. Usually, when you talk to business leaders, they respond to data. Check people retention D&I, or reward strategy. There's always data about it. So if you think things should be changed, have the right balance of qualitative and quantitative information, generate insights based on it, and then propose a way forward. But sometimes changing a big thing is hard. So you can start with small and incremental changes until you get to the point. I don't think there's one formula to it, but for me, I look at the data. I try to see the small wins and that then becomes a momentum of wins. Making people believe in this change by using data. Track the small and positive things, to make people confident. Then you will have people who buy-in and you will find support. That's when you know a change will happen.”

The Holy Grail, from Laila's HR perspective, is business performance. And in general, she also looks at studies on what are the predictors of a good organization, on fortune 500 companies, very successful companies. She checks analysis on what are the common variables or factors that make them successful like engagement rate, posture, feedback, retention, for example.

Southeast Asia is a sleeping giant, Laila concluded, it has huge untapped markets and tons of opportunities. Look at the region as an enormous open door to enter new markets. This is your chance to walk through that door.