PwC Annual Report 2020-2021

Building trust and making an impact

Annual Report : Clients | Firm | People

The outbreak of COVID-19 caused great uncertainty nationwide, as businesses had to rapidly adjust to the much-needed Movement Control Order (MCO) in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. It was a period of unprecedented challenges, especially at the onset of the pandemic, where businesses were figuring out how to operate remotely and adapt to new ways of working.

As part of our reporting, we have compiled a few stories on how we have worked under these circumstances to continue delivering on our client commitments, including helping businesses and the government solve important problems, helping our people maintain their wellbeing and our communities to be resilient and prepared for any eventualities.

Delivering on our purpose in a pandemic filled world

Click on the links below to see how we have helped clients, our communities and our people navigate opportunities and challenges during the pandemic.

National Vaccination programme	National MyDigital initiative	Restart Malaysia	Covid-19: Recovery and resilience	Contribute through our New world. New skills programme

In FY21, we have helped nearly 30 organisations in digitalising their processes/operations and in establishing a more digitally-ready workforce.

Komuniti Guru Digital Learning+

A collaboration with Arus Academy, designed to upskill teachers digitally to help them reimagine education
46 teachers ‘graduating’ at the end of the 6-month long programme.
> 1,000 learning materials were created, accessible to all teachers in Malaysia
>60 volunteers, >1,000 hours.

PwC’s COVID-19 Response & Recovery for our people

When the first Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced by the Malaysian government in March 2020, PwC immediately activated its Incident Response Team (IRT) which was led by our Managing Partner and supported by our Operations Leader, People Partner, and Human Capital Leader. An employee pandemic handbook was quickly developed and shared with our people. This handbook is regularly reviewed and updated in line with changes in MCO and National Recovery Plan (NRP) phases as well as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) announced by the government. It contains details on work arrangement guidelines, escalation guide for staff who are tested positive for COVID-19 or for those identified as close contacts, and a home quarantine guide for COVID-19 patients. The IRT and our Managing Partner also kept in constant communication with our people through various channels such as virtual townhalls and emails, which reassured our people during the first few months of lockdown.

The IRT also ensured that expenses for masks and COVID-19 RTK Antigen tests were covered under PwC’s medical claims to assist PwC staff in staying safe during the pandemic. Throughout the year, staff who were required to be physically present in the office were given face masks and shields. We have also supported our people who are in care giving roles, parents are allowed to take up to six consecutive days off to care for their children who have contracted COVID-19.

We administered a firmwide vaccination survey to understand our people’s vaccination status. Thereafter, we registered the firm for the Selangor COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (SCVP). The cost of the vaccine was borne by the firm through our people’s flexBenefits - Medical Plus entitlement. About 500 of our people were able to secure a vaccination slot through this programme.

As of end of 2021, almost all of our people have received their vaccinations or are in line to be vaccinated. We started several initiatives to support and encourage our people to get vaccinated.

Among them:

3 days of vaccination leave
flexCare to assist family members in receiving their vaccination.
flexMed (medical leave without the need to produce a medical chit) for staff experiencing vaccination side effects
4 talks on COVID-19 and vaccination (>400 attendees)