Jobstreet by SEEK Celebrates Malaysia’s Purpose-Driven Employers at the SEEK People & Purpose Awards 2025
From public votes and panel-judged submissions, the SEEK People & Purpose Awards honoured 76 winners leading Malaysia’s HR transformation
Nicholas Lam, Managing Director of Jobstreet by SEEK in Malaysia (centre, in grey waistcoat), celebrates the evening with the inspiring winners of the SEEK Passion and Purpose Awards 2025 — a night dedicated to honouring organisations and individuals who are cultivating meaningful workplace cultures and setting new benchmarks across the broader HR community.
KUALA LUMPUR, 4 June 2025 - Jobstreet by SEEK recently hosted the 2025 edition of the SEEK People & Purpose Awards, celebrating exceptional human resources (HR) practices and leaders who champion purpose-driven success across Malaysia. Held at M Resort & Hotel in Damansara, the event honoured 76 winners from a wide range of industries, including prominent organisations like Zupresso, Petrosains, AEON, CIMB, CelcomDigi, and OCBC.
Guided by the theme “Empowering Purpose with HR Excellence”, the annual awards featured passionate and purpose-driven HR practitioners who are cultivating meaningful workplace cultures and redefining benchmarks across the broader HR community.
Now in its second year, the SEEK People & Purpose Awards continues to celebrate outstanding achievement across human resources through three core pillars:
Top-Voted Employers – A total of 30 organisations were honoured in this category, selected through a national public poll conducted by Ipsos Malaysia. Drawing responses from Ipsos’ panels as well as audiences from Jobstreet by SEEK, the results reflect the collective voice of Malaysian workers. Overall, the survey found that compensation, career development opportunities, and work-life balance are the top three reasons why Malaysian talent endorsed employers.
Submission Categories – Evaluated by a refreshed panel of 16 independent judges, these awards spotlighted both organisational initiatives and individual excellence across the following categories:
Best Employee Development Programme – Recognising strategic, holistic initiatives aimed at upskilling employees, fostering professional growth, and supporting career progression within the workforce. Silver Winner: Shell Shell stood out for its strategic, future-ready approach to upskilling and career growth—going far beyond typical training. The judging panel noted that Shell’s exceptional employee development programme seamlessly integrates leadership involvement, structured career growth, and continuous learning into a well-resourced, future-ready framework. With comprehensive initiatives like the Shell Graduate Programme (SGP), Power Up Summit, and personalised Graduate Development Plans, the company cultivates a strong learning culture rooted in mentorship, digital learning, and sustainability-focused upskilling. Notably, 83% of its senior leaders have emerged from internal development pipelines, a testament to Shell’s investment in scalable, impactful talent growth.
Best Sustainable HR Practices – Honouring organisations that embed sustainability into their people strategies by balancing business goals with long-term social responsibility and sustainable human capital management. Top Rated: CIMB (Platinum winner) and IOI Properties (Bronze winner)
CIMB and IOI Properties were rated highest, and recognised for embedding sustainability into their HR frameworks while driving meaningful change. Both companies demonstrate impressive efforts in their HR initiatives by setting distinct organisational roadmaps. While highly focused on business goals, they are equally committed to digitalisation, cultural transformation, and corporate citizenship. A notable mention is Zupresso, which used a more agile and tech-forward approach to achieve similar results. Together, CIMB, IOI and Zuspresso managed to demonstrate that different paths can still lead to sustainable, inclusive HR excellence.
Best Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives – Celebrating forward-thinking organisations that cultivate inclusive cultures, champion equity, and create equal opportunities regardless of race, gender, orientation, ability, or background has an opportunity to thrive.
Platinum Winner: Wipro Unza
Wipro Unza clinched this award, thanks to its clear DEI strategy and strong top-down commitment. Judges noted that Wipro addresses all parts of the assessment through extensive statistics that justify its implementation. One judge said: “Top management dedication greatly drives the development of Wipro's DEIB culture, which genuinely exemplifies leadership through example.” With structured policies, diverse hiring practices, leadership engagement and clear alignment with corporate values, Wipro Unza demonstrates that sustainable DEI is not just a statement—it is a strategy in action.
Employer of the Year – Awarded to the organisation demonstrating outstanding performance across multiple HR dimensions, including, but not limited to, workplace culture, employee benefits, DEI, career development, training and development, HR sustainability, tech adoption, and flexibility.
Platinum Winner: CIMB
Recognising outstanding performance across all key dimensions of HR—from employee wellbeing to innovation—CIMB wins this year’s Employer of the Year. Judges highlighted its comprehensive, evidence-based approach. “They are a well-established bank with lots of programmes to support their staff,” one judge shared, pointing to initiatives spanning mental and physical wellbeing, as well as leadership development. CIMB’s FORWARD23+ strategy underpins its people-first approach, with another judge noting, “CIMB Group’s holistic and forward-looking approach to human capital underscores its position as a top employer in ASEAN.” The bank’s deep integration of personalised talent management, sustainability, and innovation makes it a clear leader in organisational excellence.
The People Leader of the Year – Recognising a senior HR leader (with 10–15 years of experience as of 1 January 2025) who has demonstrated impact through visionary leadership, innovative HR strategies, and lasting influence within and beyond their organisation.
Gold Winner: Lawrence Song Yew Beng, Managing Director and Head of Human Resources Department, Daikin Malaysia Sales and Services Sdn Bhd
This award shines a spotlight on a senior HR leader whose vision and impact have gone beyond HR strategy to shape culture and business growth. Lawrence Song stood out for his strategic clarity, leadership presence, and tangible impact. “His thesis looks specifically at the what and how—not just generic achievements,” one judge noted. “It puts a spotlight on his charisma, gravitas, and the small yet powerful actions that drive big agendas and lasting culture change.” Balancing the dual roles of Managing Director and Head of the Human Resources Department, Daikin Malaysia Sales and Services Sdn Bhd, Lawrence has led transformative initiatives that contributed to RM1 billion in revenue growth. From fostering innovation to creating spaces where employees thrive, his leadership exemplifies what it means to be a people-first change maker.
SEEK People & Purpose Excellence Awards – 26 organisations across large corporations, SMEs, and recruitment agencies were honoured for recording the highest number of job ad views on Jobstreet by SEEK in 2024, reflecting their strong employer brand presence and ability to engage top talent in a competitive market.
The awards night brought together over 400 industry professionals for an evening of celebration, networking, and knowledge-sharing. It also marked Jobstreet by SEEK’s ongoing mission to empower Malaysians through meaningful work, inspired and enabled by purpose-led employers.
Officially sponsored by Ambition Group and TalentConsult, and powered by insights from Ipsos Malaysia as a survey partner, the awards brought together top employers from over 15 industries to celebrate the achievements of both organisational and individual trailblazers.
To read the exclusive winner interview, please visit https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2025/06/26/the-people-factor
For more information on the winners and award criteria, please visit https://my.employer.seek.com/page/seek-people-and-purpose-awards-winner
For event highlight video, please view it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ewXtwBbJ8