DFI Retail Group [SGX: D01]

Patricia Wong is a passionate people leader who thrives on connecting talent with opportunity. With over nine years at DFI Retail Group, she has played a key role in shaping the company’s talent strategy, driving engagement and strengthening its employer brand. As Group People and Culture Director, she oversees talent acquisition, business partnering and employee experience for thousands across multiple markets. A firm believer in the power of culture, she champions diversity, inclusion and leadership development to create a workplace where people feel valued and inspired to grow.

Wong highlights the shift from traditional recruitment to a holistic approach that integrates employee engagement, employer branding, leadership development and technology to drive organizational growth and long-term sustainability.

Expanding Beyond Recruitment: Engagement and Organizational Growth

DFI was one of my clients before I joined the team, and even then, I admired how the brand genuinely connected with its community and customers. When the opportunity came to join the organization, it felt like a natural next step.

I initially came on board to focus on executive recruitment and advocate for smarter, more strategic talent acquisition. But what started as a focus on hiring evolved into something much bigger—reimagining how we attract, engage and retain great people.

Every initiative taught me something new about our dynamic industry—from the shift from offline to online experiences to the changing expectations of leadership. Recruitment, too, has transformed. Where we once prioritized highly tenured professionals, we’re now focused on finding rising talent who reflect our customer base and bring fresh perspectives.

Three to four years into my journey with DFI, my role naturally expanded into team engagement, employer branding and diversity and inclusion. These areas were a direct extension of the work we were already doing—broadening our talent funnel and raising DFI’s profile as an employer of choice.

I found myself getting more involved in embedding our values into daily operations, recognizing the contributions of our people, and cultivating a culture where everyone feels empowered and appreciated. One of the proudest milestones in this journey was launching our team member value proposition. It was an eight-month effort led by just one teammate and me. We listened. We interviewed leaders. We surveyed over 6,000 team members. What came out of it was a clear and powerful message: “Create Possibilities Every Day.”

This message is built on three pillars:

• Impactful Work – Even though I’m not on the retail floor, my role directly impacts our customers and communities.

• Growth with Opportunity – My own career path, from recruiter to engagement lead to business partner for Group Finance and Yuu Rewards, reflects what’s possible  here.

• Building for the Future – A consulting firm once told us that 70 percent of companies today won’t exist in 30 years. That stuck with me. It’s a reminder that everything we do today needs to ensure we remain relevant, resilient and essential for tomorrow.

Trust is the foundation of everything I do. I don’t believe people should have to ‘earn’ trust—it should be given from the start. This belief has shaped my leadership style and connects closely with my commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The next chapter is about deepening our culture, strengthening our culture, increasing retention and attracting talent who may never have considered DFI.

Leadership Philosophy: Adaptability, Trust and Empathy

For me, leadership is about adaptability, trust and curiosity. Change is constant; the best way to handle it is by continuously learning and evolving. To empower others, we have to keep growing ourselves—staying open to new ideas, perspectives and ways of working.

Trust is the foundation of everything I do. I don’t believe people should have to ‘earn’ trust—it should be given from the start. This belief has shaped my leadership style and connects closely with my commitment to diversity and inclusion. Over the years, I’ve become more aware of the unconscious biases that exist in the workplace. Leadership is about recognizing and addressing those biases and creating an environment where everyone feels valued.

Authenticity and empathy are equally important to me. Understanding where people are coming from and what they need to succeed is what makes leadership meaningful. It’s about listening, building relationships and making sure people feel supported in their growth.

Employer Branding: Standing Out in a Competitive Market

The key to effective employer branding lies in visibility and advocacy. While we’ve established our team member value proposition as the foundation, our focus now shifts to bringing it to life meaningfully. We aim to create ‘aha moments’ where prospective employees recognize themselves in our values and opportunities, even if they hadn’t previously considered DFI.

Employee advocacy forms a cornerstone of our strategy. With over 40,000 team members, if each shares positive experiences with just two friends, the ripple effect becomes exponential for our reputation as a great workplace.

We approach communication methodically, leveraging emerging channels, including social media and targeted messaging, to engage different talent personas. We’ve identified specific platforms and messages for each persona, understanding their diverse priorities—job stability, flexibility, work-life balance or career advancement. By strategically emphasizing the aspects that matter most to each group, we’re enhancing our employer brand in a targeted, intentional way.

The Role of Technology in Talent Acquisition and Engagement

Technology has transformed the way we approach talent acquisition and engagement. AI and automation help streamline processes, allowing us to do more with the same resources. We use chatbots and AI-driven tools to screen resumes, analyze candidate responses and assess key attributes such as passion and communication skills.

AI also helped launch our team member value proposition. Technology enabled us to execute this initiative efficiently, from compiling employee stories to producing our campaign video. As AI continues to evolve, we remain mindful of balancing automation with the human element of recruitment, ensuring technology enhances rather than replaces meaningful interactions.

Advice for People and Culture Leaders: Balancing Technology and Human Connection

The future of talent acquisition requires embracing inevitable technological advancement while maintaining human connections. Candidate experience matters significantly when hiring people—even rejected candidates might become customers. We must attract talent through the right incentives, whether through workplace flexibility or other benefits. Most critically, organizations need systematic upskilling programs, with leadership committing to regular learning interventions—possibly an hour daily for weeks at a time, made engaging through hackathons and similar approaches. This isn’t just beneficial but essential preparation, as many current human jobs could disappear within five years. Leaders must ‘put their foot down’ to ensure these learning opportunities happen consistently, making upskilling an integrated part of the employee journey rather than an afterthought.