Sysco LABS was the strategic partner for the Human Resource Think Tank (HRTT), a forum organised by the Association of Human Resource Professionals. The company’s Managing Director,RasikaKarunatilake and Director – People Operations, RehanAnthonis, shared their insights on effective human resource management with more than 130 local and global HRM business professionals in attendance.
The fifth edition of AHRP’s Think Tank series brought together industry veterans and professionals to explore solutions to challenges encountered by the HR community. The event focused on the timely theme of “Creating Future-Proof Organisations: Engaging and Retaining Talent in a Volatile Environment.” Specifically, the event provided a platform for the people experts at Sysco LABS to discuss their strategies in mitigating these challenges, standing as a testament to the importance Sysco LABS places on people and culture and crucial in sustaining innovation.
Conducting one of the sessions at the event, RasikaKarunatilake, who has been driving people strategy at Sysco LABS since its inception, highlighted the importance of employee engagement in a post-pandemic, volatile world. He outlined why organisations should strive for a positive employee experience, from pre-hire to post-exit, and then delved into how to create and establish a successful People Engagement Strategy to achieve this and in turn, reduce turnover.
“Employee engagement has become crucial more than ever before. Simply put, it’s the emotional commitment an employee has to their organisation and its goals; we have noticed that engaged employees care more about their work and the company. To achieve intrinsic motivation and retention, developing an employee engagement framework becomes imperative. The ideal framework comprises of five key components: care, passion, openness, growth and purpose. Organisations that champion engagementwill be able to improve retention in an increasingly volatile world”, explained Rasika Karunatilake, speaking on steps organisations can take to navigatebrain drain.
Rehan Anthonis launched a white paper titled ‘A Study on creating future proof organisations: focusing on engaging and retaining talent in a volatile environment’ at the event. The white paper was an amalgamation of inputs from thought leaders in the SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) as well as from speakers and panellists across a series of knowledge-sharing sessions before the forum.
RehanAnthonis – Director, People Operations at Sysco LABS presenting the whitepaper launched at the event.
Sysco LABS is the Global In-house centre for Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY), the world’s largest foodservice company. Sysco is a Fortune 500 company and the global leader in selling, marketing, and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare, educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Sysco’s family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries.
With more than 71,000 associates, the company operates 333 distribution facilities worldwide and serves over 700,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2022 which ended July 3, 2022, the company generated more than $68 billion in sales.