Health & Safety Manager
Nationality: Malaysian
Business Unit and country: Monier Malaysia
In the Group since: 2004
Why did you decide to work for Monier?
In Malaysia, Monier is known as a large and reputable multinational corporation. Before joining Monier, I had just completed my Bachelor in Business Studies. Therefore I was looking for a company which could offer me the opportunity for development and for career options. I was also especially interested in the international character of a company. I felt that I had found all that in Monier and my feeling has not betrayed me: I was able to develop and now work in a very interesting position, which gives me the opportunity to interact with a network from all over Monier.
What was your first position in the group, and what were your subsequent career moves?
In 2004, I started as Executive Secretary to the CEO of Monier Asia Pacific. This person is responsible for a number of Asian countries where Monier is active in, not just for Malaysia. Therefore already my first position covered very interesting tasks from the viewpoint of a group of companies. When I was promoted Health & Safety Executive in 2007, this view of course intensified. Within Health & Safety, we are working in a network of H&S personnel from all over the Monier world. This network is led by someone on Group level. With this person and all of my other contacts in Health & Safety I am in dialogue on a regular basis to share knowledge, develop ideas and of course to employ Health & Safety measures within my area of responsibility, which are the offices and plants in Malaysia. Since 2012 I am now Health & Safety Manager for this country. To support this, I am currently pursuing a Master degree in Occupational Health & Safety.
To what extent have your experiences in the group helped you develop your personal and professional skills?
I gained a lot of self-confidence working in Monier on the job. Luckily, at Monier my colleagues and superiors saw this with goodwill and supported me. This was certainly an important factor for me to further develop my skills and abilities and apply for different jobs within the company. In my later roles, I learned a lot about leadership and how to manage people, which is not a skill everybody is easily comfortable with. Within my working environment, however, I felt supported and well during my learning processes.
In what way is Monier unique? How would you describe the company culture?
First of all, the people in Monier are very friendly – this is at least my experience. This of course facilitates to work well together as a team, which was always a great focus in our office here in Malaysia, but also within the world wide Health & Safety network I am now active in. With regard to the management style in Monier I especially like the fact that there is an open-door policy; for me it was and is always easy to communicate with my superiors, discuss my ideas with them or ask for their advice. It is never only a one-way communication as in me reporting to them or they giving me instructions. Instead, I have always experienced communication as a helpful dialogue.
