Baidu: Improving wellbeing

Improving wellbeing in a high-turnover Chinese tech firm

Social engagement case study by EOS - Baidu

Picked for the Alliance Trust portfolio by Black Creek Investment Management as at 30 September 2022.

Area of Engagement

The EOS team raised concerns about working conditions and employee wellbeing at Chinese technology company Baidu in 2018, due to significant employee turnover. In May 2019, the team intensified its engagement on human capital management after the departure of several senior executives, including the chief operating officer.

Outcome

With growing competition from within the technology industry, the EOS team urged Baidu to disclose relevant human capital management indicators and talent retention efforts. In February 2020, the team wrote to the chair/CEO with a proposal to discuss its human capital management framework and the new standards from the International Organization for Standardization.

In March 2020 the team asked Baidu to:

• Enhance its disclosure of its governance structure for human capital management and provide a contextual explanation of how it is linked to Baidu’s core values and culture.
• Disclose time-series data (if possible) on turnover, retention rates and employee engagement.
• Disclose diversity and inclusion data quantitatively and qualitatively.
• Make disclosures on employee wellbeing, including mental health.

The company subsequently released a human rights policy, aligned to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UNGPs and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, one of the few Chinese companies to do so. In March 2021, the company issued a special report on how it was delivering its human rights policy, incorporating employee feedback and enhanced disclosure.