As one of the world's largest polymer companies, Covestro has been certified as a top employer in China for the third year by the Top Employers Institute, a global authority on recognizing excellence in people practices, due to its people-centric response in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and continuous efforts in driving a learning culture, the company said.

"Being recognized as Top Employer 2021 in China again underscores our achievements in caring for our employees and the continuous talent development efforts we have made in this very challenging year," said Covestro China President Holly Lei.

"I'd like to give credit to our employees who have shown remarkable solidarity and perseverance that enabled the China market to be the first to come out of the downturn," Lei said.

Covestro's business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life.

The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries.

Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people.

Being certified as a top employer showcases an organization's dedication to a better world of work through excellent human resource policies and people-oriented practices.

The Top Employers Institute program certifies organizations based on the participation and results of its HR Best Practices Survey.

This survey covers six HR domains consisting of 20 topics such as people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, well-being and diversity and inclusion.

People-centric response

When the pandemic broke out in early 2020, Covestro made the safety and health of its employees a top priority and swiftly put in place comprehensive precautionary measures.

Because of this quick response, Covestro's production sites in China were able to operate without disruptions, and none of their 2,700 employees on the Chinese mainland have been infected by the virus. The company introduced a host of people-centric measures to tackle the challenges that employees might face because of the pandemic.

These measures include launching an employee assistance program to provide 24/7 psychological counseling and assistance for employees and families; providing frequent support and updates on policies to colleagues, particular those in Hubei province, then the epicenter of the pandemic; arranging online learning resources, including fitness courses, to help employees adapt to the shift of working at home and enhance overall well-being; and setting up a fast expense claim channel for COVID-19 treatment with full insurance coverage.

L&D transformation

Covestro China initiated a "Learning and Development Transformation" program in the past year to help individuals maintain their competitive and innovative edge and ensure the company continues to lead in a hyper-competitive and volatile market that is filled with uncertainties.

As part of the L&D transformation, the new internal training initiative is designed to help employees pick up knowledge and skills in a wide range of subjects from experts within the company, while providing learning opportunity and new identity to the internal trainees to further their professional development.

The company has also upgraded the "training catalogue" to a "learning guide" with the goal of enhancing the learning experience.

"We believe we will not only improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our organization, but also boost self-steered learning culture and empower our people with these initiatives," said Lesley Lin, head of human resources at Covestro China.

Top Employers Institute CEO David Plink said: "Despite the challenging year we have experienced, Covestro has continued to demonstrate the power of putting their people first in the workplace. We are proud to share this year's announcement and congratulate the organizations who have been certified in their respective countries through the Top Employers Institute program."