What it does: Provides trading, logistics, assembling, and distribution services worldwide.
Best known for One of the largest conglomerates in Malaysia. Dealer of luxury cars such as BMW, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, and Porsche in the Asia-Pacific region.
Staff stats: Around 20,000 employees, with a male-female ratio of 74:26.
The good bits: Reported to have a friendly and performance-driven work environment.
The not-so-good bits: Slow career advancement due to a bureaucratic environment.
Sime Darby Berhad is one of the leading investment holding companies in Malaysia. The conglomerate operates in sectors of plantations, property, industrial, motors, energy and utilities, logistics, healthcare, and retail. It owns 270 companies in 18 countries with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia have the most extensive operations.
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the diversified multinational company is a major contributor to the domestic economy. The firm’s plantation division is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, cornering 5% of the global crude palm oil. Its plantation land covers 8,600 square kilometers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Liberia.
The company was founded in 1910 by British businessmen William Sime and Henry Darby. Originally named Sime, Darby, and Co., the firm initially ventured into the rubber industry. Over the years, it expanded its line of businesses to include palm oil and cocoa cultivation, heavy equipment, tire manufacturing, property development, and power generation. In 2007, the company merged with other Malaysian plantation groups, the Guthrie Group Limited and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad to form Sime Darby Berhad.
The workplace is said to be friendly. Senior employees are helpful and supportive of newcomers. They are willing to share knowledge and experiences that will assist fresh graduates in performing their daily tasks. Colleagues are also open to suggestions and new ideas that will make them more productive and efficient.
The organization is also reported to have a performance-driven culture. The firm claims that it recognizes and rewards high-performing individuals. The rewards package is competitive, balanced, and flexible which are designed to boost short and long-term performances.
As part of its social commitment, the company extended financial and educational assistance to thousands of school children in 31 schools in the country’s 10 districts through its Educational Enhancement Programme (EEP). The initiative is the firm’s undertaking to give back to the communities that it operates in, mainly focusing on raising education and environment awareness while enhancing knowledge and capabilities among the youth.
Employees will enjoy coming to work as they will feel appreciated, acknowledged, and valued in a friendly workplace. They will also be motivated to work better and strive harder with the expectation of financial rewards and recognition. However, the slow in career advancement brought about by the firm’s bureaucratic environment may affect their long-term career plan with the organization.
Sime Darby hires from all degree backgrounds and looks for organized and enthusiastic candidates who possess excellent written and verbal communication skills in Bahasa Malaysia and English. They must also be problem solvers, tech-savvy, and team players.
Aspiring candidates can upload their resumes on the company website or on the affiliated recruitment portals. They can also apply via employee referral, recruitment agency, or in-person. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for pre-screening by human resources (HR) within a month upon receiving their application. The phone interview will also inform them of the date and time of the written examination and interviews at the head office.
The next step in the hiring process is an interview with the HR manager and will ask the basic interview questions such as:
After the interview, candidates will take the one-hour written tests consisting of numerical reasoning and reading comprehension. Once they pass, they will be interviewed by the hiring manager who will ask job-specific questions which may include:
The company may contact their references to conduct a background check. HR will contact successful candidates within a week and invite them to come to the office to receive their formal job offer.
For interns, the reported monthly salary during their six-month training is pegged at 800RM (Malaysian ringgit). On average, the monthly salary for the positions of research assistant, marketing assistant, HR assistant, sales associate, web developer, accounting assistant, junior analyst, customer service representative, creative coordinator, administrative assistant, junior engineer, warehouse clerk, and management trainee range from 2,500 to 4,000 RM.
In addition, the organization offers non-monetary benefits and incentives to permanent employees such as medical allowances, annual leave, housing, and car loan subsidies, hospitalization and insurance coverage, free dental and optometry services, paternal and maternal leaves.
The organization offers an internship program for undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree and having at least a CGPA (cumulative grade point average) of 3.0 or equivalent. Through this program, candidates will experience hands-on training and will avail themselves of classroom-style learning sessions. At the end of the six-month course, they will gain experience and knowledge related to their field of study.
For better career advancement, employees can join the firm’s eight-month course called the Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs (PROTÉGÉ). This will provide them with the necessary skills and experience to thrive in the organization. The initiative combines intensive soft skills classroom training and on-the-job training opportunities to enhance their competencies.