At Swire, we aim to provide rewarding and fulfilling careers where our people can reach their full potential. We provide competitive remuneration and benefits designed to attract, motivate, and retain talent at all levels. We recognise the importance of personal and professional growth and invest in the development and wellbeing of our people.
Other ESG disclosures
Talent management
Attracting and retaining talent
We offer competitive remuneration and employee benefits, including medical benefits, retirement schemes, and bonuses. The Group provides recreational facilities such as holiday homes and leisure boats. We try to recruit locally, searching locally before searching internationally. Normally, vacancies are open first to our own people, then locally, and finally internationally. Remuneration decisions are based on roles and responsibilities, individual and business performance, and conditions in the employment markets and economies in which we operate. Work schedules are determined by job roles and local labour laws.
Our parental leave policy provides 14 weeks’ leave for the primary caregiver and four weeks’ leave for the secondary caregiver. The People section of this report provides details on our employment policies and practices.
In 2024, our new hire rate was 14% and the average staff tenure was 9.3 years. Staff turnover is monitored with a view to identifying and managing problems as they arise, and to retaining talent. The voluntary turnover rate for permanent staff was 13% in 2024, consistent with 2023.
Our goal is to enable our employees to flourish, encouraging them to take pride in our culture and to give them an experience which inspires them to do their best for our businesses.
Induction sessions for new Swire Pacific staff cover our organisational structure, history, principal operations, Code of Conduct, sustainable development (including SwireTHRIVE), intranet and staff association.
We do our best to ensure that employees receive regular, objective, fair and open assessments of their performance and are rewarded accordingly. Depending on the operating company and job duties of the individual, between 85% - 100% of employees at Swire Properties, Swire Coca-Cola, HAECO and our Trading & Industrial Division receive individual performance reviews.
Employees who have received notice of termination of their employment can access professional counselling through our personal assistance and outplacement service for six months after termination. The service is designed to help them search for new jobs and to adjust to their change of circumstances.
Engaging with staff
We believe in open and timely communication with our employees on matters affecting them. We communicate with our people through our intranet, social media, newsletters, surveys, informal gatherings and staff forums. By doing so, we tell people what is happening in the Group. We do our best to build constructive and productive relations with employee representatives.
In 2024, Swire Properties, HAECO group, Swire Resources, Taikoo Motors and Taikoo Sugar conducted dedicated employee engagement surveys. Engagement levels were mostly above 80%. The Swire Hong Kong Staff Association organises and sponsors sports and recreational activities, classes for interest groups and community services for our employees.
Subsidiaries also organise their own employee wellness and engagement activities (see People and Communities). HAECO Hong Kong’s HiHAECO app facilitates sharing, entertainment, learning and rewards. Swire Pacific (head office) and its businesses regularly feature staff stories in internal and external newsletters and online.
Training and development
We develop our people by on-the-job learning, mentoring, coaching, classroom training and online learning. In 2024, the average number of hours of training per employee was 45 hours, an 11% increase from the previous year. Overall, 100% of male staff and 99% of female staff received training in 2024. On average, we spent over HK$2,094 per employee, compared with around HK$1,460 in 2023. This does not include informal and on-the job learning, where much of our employee training happens.
Operating companies have their own apprenticeship, traineeship and internship programmes. Please see the sustainability reports of our operating companies for more information.
Building a pipeline of future leaders
Our Learning and Development team designs and delivers learning and development programmes for our management staff. Managers with high potential attend business management and executive programmes at INSEAD and Stanford University. All training programmes emphasise sustainability and aim to develop a strong corporate culture and leadership style that is consistent with our values.
Every year, we recruit high-calibre individuals with a view to developing them into future leaders within the Group. Through three structured programmes, which focus on management, finance and human resources, we provide them with coaching, mentoring and various development initiatives. Sustainable development and the business opportunities it creates is covered in their training.