If the government puts in place appropriate policies and mechanisms, the businesses will continue to grow and so the corporate culture, said Hoang Quoc Vuong, Chairman of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

An overview of the virtual forum. Photo: Phi Khanh

“Corporate culture helps businesses in a favorable period to develop quickly and sustainably, and in the pandemic period, it helps them overcome challenges and difficulties,” he said.

At PetroVietnam, the culture of gratitude has helped them in recent years overcome obstacles, Vuong said. “We have created favorable conditions for employees to work and gain high productivity, and they chose to stay with the company in the most difficult times instead of quitting,” he said. 

Vuong was speaking at the Culture and Business Forum 2021, which was organized in Hanoi on December 5, after PetroVietnam was taken as an example of successfully building corporate culture. 

According to Le Tan Phuoc, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for the Business Culture Development, PetroVietnam was one of the corporations having kept stable production amid the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to the strong relationship between workers and leaders.

He added that while many companies faced massive resignations, others had to cut wages and employee bonuses, the workers and leaders of PetroVietnam have overcome difficulties together.

“In this case, corporate culture shields the business from payroll alteration and helps them attract talents and affirm their employers' reputation,” Phuoc said.

Le Tri Thong, Vice Chairman and General Director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ) believed that the humane character is the core of the company's corporate culture concept.

“Humane” in the pandemic period is about love and responsibility, he added.

“Every time the government issues a directive on preventing and controlling Covid-19, we will send an open letter to all employees to appease them, telling them there would be no salary and bonus reduction,” he said.

“We also want to spread our love by helping more people in the community through a number of initiatives, including Zero dong supermarkets. Taking part in these activities, our employees who supported the needy people see that they are luckier than others as having such opportunities to share difficulties with others,” he said.

Recognizing the achievements of the local businesses at the forum, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung shared that corporate culture has helped many businesses overcome difficulties. 

However, the minister also wondered about the cultural life of workers in many industrial zones that have not been paid enough attention. “The workers' accommodation is not good as expected, how do businesses solve this problem from the perspective of social security?" he asked.

In response to the question, Thong said that it is necessary to have a social security infrastructure including a dormitory for employees as well as improving the quality of their life. 

“Each business is developing its own culture, so we should have a common corporate culture infrastructure to together develop,” he added.

Tieu Yen Trinh, Founder, and CEO of TalentNet Corporation said there is a need for strategic investment in connecting the education sector with businesses and the government, anticipating future skills. 

“When it comes to cultural acquisition, it means acquiring new skills and trends that will help employees grow with the company in the future,” she said.