Knowledge Exchange on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with Public Service Department of Malaysia
PETRONAS Leadership Centre (PLC) together with PETRONAS Government Regulatory and Advisory (GRA) and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) team collaborated with The National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) in hosting a Knowledge Exchange on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) with the Public Service Department or Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) to share what are some of the structured approaches that can help organisations understand, embrace and progress together with DEI.
On the morning of 11 October 2023, the 360 Hall was buzzing as we invited our esteemed guests from various ministries for this insightful session. Puan Sh Sakinah Sy Ishak, Head of Strategic and Business Planning Excellence in her capacity as Acting CEO, PLC, warmly welcomed our guests to PLC’s new campus. In her welcoming remarks, she highlighted the importance of developing diverse talents from different backgrounds for a brighter and more prosperous future for PETRONAS.
During the event, we were fortunate to hear from YBrs. Encik Rosnan Nordin, Deputy Director General from the National Department of Culture and Arts about his experience as the art director for many momentous national events. For many years, he was the man behind the curation of our National Day Celebrations, but this year posed a different challenge for him as a person in a wheelchair. Yet, he managed to lead a contingent of 20,000 people, and still made his way end-to-end across Dataran Putrajaya to ensure that the event ran with military precision. It was clear that very little could hold him back from his commitment, passion, creativity and his goal to preserve our poetic culture for the future generations.
Now, how does PETRONAS play its role in developing leaders who can lead inclusively? First, we need to understand that PETRONAS is continuously evolving to reach our new goals of MFT 50.30.0. This means that we need new DNA, fresh ideas and varied expertise, which comes from a bigger pool of talent. In order to achieve our DEI aspirations, PETRONAS established a bespoke working D&I Committee in 2019 that was tasked to monitor measurable targets in 4 key areas of D&I; gender, culture, age, and nationalities.
Representing the D&I committee, Puan Zatul Iffah Malik, Talent Development Specialist from PLC explained that PETRONAS aims to create a working culture where employees feel like they belong. It can start with the little things, like tailoring our signature yellow coverall for women and eventually lead to the implementation of policies and systems like paid parental leave, Flexible Working Arrangement (FWA), and enhanced mental health coverage that make employees feel supported in their role. It is an ongoing learning process to attract a diverse talent pool that can help us progress together.
Leaders play a big role in realising these targets and PLC is on a mission to help them learn how to manage diverse teams. One example is through the Conscious Inclusion programme, where the leaders are taught to become more aware of their unconscious biasness that could get in the way of making objective decisions. The effectiveness of these approaches is then measured through employee feedback in the PETRONAS Organisational Culture Survey (POCS) to gauge where our leaders are in this journey, and if we are on track to meet our targets.
PETRONAS continues to explore ways to become more inclusive in its recruitment process, which led to the set-up of the Neurodiverse Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Project & Delivery Team. PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad has also started creating a talent pool of people with disabilities through graduate programs which recognise their capabilities beyond their disabilities. These are some of the ways that we can empower the community and ensure that we stay true to our purpose of enriching lives wherever we operate.
As the knowledge exchange came to a close, YBrs. Datuk Zamri Ramli, CEO of the Advanced Leadership and Management Programme (ALMP) by INTAN, was invited to say a few words. He acknowledged that the government has quite a way to go in implementing DEI practices and it was inspiring to learn from PETRONAS on the approach that can be taken. It was an interesting sharing session, and we look forward to more collaborations with the Government in exchanging nation-building ideas.
