From Recruitment to Retention
How Sabrina Built a Winning Workplace Culture
When people say HR is just about “handling people,” they often overlook the emotional labor, risk management, and daily problem-solving behind the scenes.
Sabrina’s story shows exactly what that looks like.
From her early days in recruitment to her growth across other core areas of HR, she has seen how trust, communication, and empathy shape the employee experience—and how ignoring process can lead to costly mistakes. Her journey offers an inside look at what it takes to keep a workplace human, even in difficult situations.
Q: Thank you very much, Sabrina, for taking this interview with us. Could you briefly share your background in HR and some major events during your career?
Sabrina: I’ve been in HR for approximately 12 years. I started as a recruitment consultant. In HR, there are many pillars—you can specialize in one, become a generalist, or work as an HR partner etc. I chose recruitment as my first focus. This role greatly improved my communication skills; you need to be presentable because first impressions matter, even if it seems harsh. I built connections with candidates at all levels.
At age 23, right after graduating from a government university, I closed a senior manager position in my first month on the job. That was a huge confidence boost for me as a junior.
Recruitment is very much like sales: you have weekly KPIs, such as sending out 30–40 resumes to clients and hitting certain closing rates. Over time, though, I realized I wanted to expand beyond recruitment and learn about employee engagement, training, payroll, etc. I became a generalist and have stayed in that role since.
Being a generalist means you need to multitask constantly. My experience in recruitment taught me how to manage many candidates and tasks at once—skills that transferred well when I expanded my responsibilities.
One valuable lesson came from my former HR Manager: never rely 100% on systems but understand how it works for us. Systems themselves rarely fail; errors usually come from people who set them up incorrectly. Understanding how to diagnose these issues is crucial for HR expertise.
Q: Can you share some challenges you faced with employee relations and disciplinary actions?
real-life situations don’t always fit the textbook.
Sabrina:Employee relations and discipline are among the biggest challenges in HR. While there are standard procedures—counseling, show-cause letters, warning letters—real-life situations don’t always fit the textbook.
For example, I once dealt with a case where a director told me, “I don’t want to see this person tomorrow.” As HR, this puts you in a difficult position because proper process must be followed (show cause, domestic inquiry, warnings, etc.). Sometimes staff will resign rather than go through formal proceedings because they feel stressful or embarrassed by repeatedly visiting HR. It’s important to maintain privacy and confidentiality, but perception can still be an issue.
I’ve had cases where employees resigned and then claimed at the labor office that we forced them to do so. For instance, a pregnant employee was found to have engaged in theft at the workplace. Upon being confronted, she pleaded for a final opportunity and expressed a desire to resign in order to avoid the matter being escalated to law enforcement. However, after her resignation, she later claimed that she had been constructively dismissed. Even with clear evidence (like CCTV), if processes aren’t strictly followed, the company can still lose at the labor office.
Q: What bad practices have you seen regarding “quiet firing” or poor termination practices?
Sabrina:I’m fortunate that most companies I’ve worked with had good leaders and avoided such practices. Only once did I encounter a situation where a director insisted an employee be gone by the next day after six years of service—without due process. In such cases, HR must explain the risks: if the employee files a claim within 60 days, the company could face legal consequences.
Even if management has the resources to compensate, it’s still not best practice. It puts HR in a tough spot and can damage trust.
Q: How do you handle emotional or even threatening situations during disciplinary actions?
Sabrina: Safety is always a priority. If someone becomes aggressive or threatening (as happened once with an employee who had substance abuse issues), I make sure there’s enough distance and witnesses present. We’ve had to involve the police when necessary.
Listening is key—often employees just want to be heard. Even if they’re angry, letting them express their emotions helps defuse the situation. You need to analyze quickly, stay calm, and maintain professionalism.
Q: What skills are most important for HR practitioners managing difficult situations?
Sabrina:
Analytical thinking: Assess situations quickly.
Emotional control: Stay calm under pressure.
Effective communication: Know when to listen and when to speak.
Safety awareness: Protect yourself and others.
Adaptability: No two cases are ever exactly the same.
Empathy: Understand different backgrounds and perspectives.
You also need to research employees’ backgrounds before handling sensitive matters, especially in large organizations where you may not know everyone personally.
Q: How did you manage the transition from factory-based HR to your current role in the port industry?
Sabrina:It was completely new. I joined this company in 2022 when it was about to kickstart the first phase of construction in the northern area of Malaysia. Our company operated with a very small team back then about 14 members.
There was no existing HRIS system or even accurate payroll software nor attendance machines. Convincing management to invest in such systems was challenging since we weren’t profitable yet; it took a year of efforts before approval.
With this growing HR facilities, we grew to a team of less than 60 staff within two years time while maintaining low attrition rates. Personal connection and company culture play huge roles in retention—staff feel welcomed and supported from day one.
Q: How did you convince management to invest in new systems?
Sabrina:By showing how these investments improve candidate experience and staff retention. When candidates see proper systems and benefits in place, they’re more likely to join and stay. We also demonstrated how quick HR response times help employees focus on their jobs.
Q: What changes have you seen since implementing new systems?
Sabrina: Switching to cloud-based systems lets staff access information easily—anytime, anywhere—such as payroll, claims, leave modules, memos, public holidays, etc. Our response time is fast; we aim to solve most staff’s queries within 30 minutes. This allows our employees to focus on their core work.
We also created a staff lounge from an unused area, making it a comfortable space for relaxation or informal meetings—small changes that make a big difference to morale.
Q: Is remote work supported?
Sabrina: We don’t have a formal remote work policy but by case by case basis. Flexibility is important—we trust our staff but if concerns about productivity arise, we believe it is important to address them appropriately.
Q: How do you address micromanagement complaints?
Sabrina: We listen carefully and assess whether it's an ongoing issue or a one-off misunderstanding. Sometimes it’s just a matter of tone or miscommunication between superiors and staff. We try to address these through friendly conversation rather than formal disciplinary action.
Q: What communication challenges do you see within companies?
Sabrina: Communication differences often stem from personal backgrounds—some people may naturally express themselves more cautiously. During interviews, I aim to understand a candidate’s background to better support their integration and growth in the workplace.
To foster stronger communication and collaboration, I reckon workshops on effective communication—particularly helpful for newer or less experienced team members.
For smaller teams, offering personal counseling sessions can be a discreet and supportive way to address individual concerns.
As for our company, we do encourage internal events for team connection.
Q: What advice would you give new HR professionals?
Sabrina: Be professional with kindness and empathy. HR is about humanity—balance fairness to both staff and company.
There was once a leader who told me, "If the company collapses, everyone will collapse." Those words stayed with me.
Be open-minded, keep learning, and always communicate transparently with both leaders and employees.
Key takeaways from Sabrina’s story:
Recruitment builds foundational skills to HR —especially communication and multitasking.
HR must balance empathy with structure: skipping due process, even under pressure, can backfire legally and culturally.
Introducing new initiatives takes persistence and patience, but even small wins can create truly meaningful journey.
Understanding personal backgrounds helps HR tailor communication and support more effectively.
“Be professional with kindness”—a reminder that HR is, at its core, about people.
If you’re in HR and have a story to share—from factory floor to C-suite—we’d love to hear it.