During the month of February, Smart Relocators in Singapore took its staff away from the familiarity of the office to help others and spend quality time together.

The company was also recognised for its efforts towards greater sustainability with the award of its EcoVardis silver badge.

At 5am on the morning of 5 February, some of the Smart staff joined the volunteers at Willing Hearts, a local charity that operates a soup kitchen that prepares, cooks and distributes about 7,000 daily meals to over 70 locations in Singapore, 365 days a year.  “Our goal for that morning was to support its operation by volunteering in its kitchen to prepare and distribute fresh meals to lower income families,” explained Terence Wee, the company’s managing director. “We firmly believe by giving back to our local community, we can instil a sense of purpose and build more social responsibility within our team. The collective effort and outcome of the activity was positive and has boosted the team moral fostering a sense of camaraderie that reinforces our commitment to continue this tradition, and encourage other organisations in our industry to do the same for their communities.”

Over that weekend the whole Smart team came together for a day out at the waterpark followed by a relaxing staycation and barbeque at a retreat. Terence explained that conquering the fear and experiencing the exhilaration of the water park helped bring his whole team closer as they played and exchanged inspirational stories, good food and plenty of laughter.  “The retreat was a valuable opportunity to regroup for team building, and foster relationships as colleagues which aligns our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts,” he said. “On a personal level, the event was successful and has created lasting memories outside our daily grind.”

Terence added: “Our goal was to get everyone to participate and allowed us to further strengthen the team with teamwork, communication and aligning towards common goals by fostering collaboration and open communication, resulting in a more cohesive and efficient team.”

EcoVadis 

Smart has also recently started its sustainability process with EcoVadis to assess the company’s sustainability rating. “By committing to understanding the effect our business has, we're taking one step in our journey towards better environmental, social and ethical practices and sustainable procurement, helping to achieve a more sustainable world,” explained Terence.

He added that by working with EcoVadis, and achieving the silver badge, it has allowed the company to assess its policies and performance, and strengthen its relationship with customers and partners, potentially opening doors to new business opportunities where more corporates are demanding these credentials. “By working with EcoVadis, the assessment process identifies areas for improvement for us, and provides us with valuable insight to help us excel and implement strategies for a more sustainable future. We urge our industry peers to come together, stronger, to build a more sustainable future together.”

Terence said that by participating in the EcoVadis assessment as a way of helping to build a more sustainable future, he hopes to continually improve his company’s performance and remain a leader in responsible business practices.

Photo: Staff volunteered at a local charity that operates a soup kitchen.