The multinational conglomerate QI Group, which operates across education, hospitality, luxury goods, wellness, and retail sectors in over 30 countries, has built a workplace culture that positions employee development as a business imperative.
With a workforce exceeding 2,000 individuals representing nearly 50 nationalities, the company has created professional development systems designed to function across diverse cultural and geographic contexts.
QI Group’s approach to employee benefits centers on three interconnected elements: structured learning opportunities, embracing multiple perspectives, and community engagement that doubles as leadership training.
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Inside the Learning Tracks: Zone, STEER, QI Rising, and 2E
QI Group establishes leadership pathways and training programs for different career stages.
The Zone is a four-day invitation-only program led by Executive Chairman Vijay Eswaran, focused on self-assessment and purpose. The format includes guided exercises, reflection sessions, and interactive discussions that push participants to align personal goals with organizational direction.
STEER is a three-day training moderated by Co-Founder Joseph Bismark, covering service, teamwork, enrichment, excellence, and resolve. This program reinforces shared values while building core skills, so participants can leave with both technical knowledge and a stronger sense of team identity.
QI Rising is company-funded and emphasizes self-awareness, team cohesion, and accountability. It is designed to prepare employees who have been flagged for promotion to step into leadership roles with confidence.
Finally, Second Echelon (2E) provides founders’ mentoring for the next tier of leaders. By offering exposure to decision-making processes, this track helps create continuity in leadership while passing down institutional knowledge directly.
Diversity as a Daily Classroom
Staff span 46 nationalities, speak 50+ languages, and are 63% Millennials/Centennials, with an age range of 19–60. This diversity means that the company mirrors its global customer base, giving employees insight into different consumer mindsets and market conditions.
For gender advancement, the iLead Women’s Mentoring Programme pairs senior women leaders in the company with upcoming women managers. Women comprise about 49% of the workforce and hold 44% of management roles. These numbers highlight a relatively balanced leadership pipeline compared to global averages, where, according to a recent Grant Thornton report, women still occupy only about 35% of senior management roles in most multinational corporations.
Learning by Serving: The Employee Community Impact Program
Since 2013, employees have logged over 125,000 volunteer hours through QI’s community program. Each employee targets at least 12 hours of service per year. Activities range from tutoring children in underserved communities to environmental cleanup initiatives, with employees gaining organizational and interpersonal skills that can feed back into their professional growth.
Green Legacy, the company’s tree-planting initiative, has planted 25,000 trees across 11 countries since 2021.
Values-Driven Culture
QI has been recognized as one of the “Best Companies to Work for in Asia” from 2011–2024 in both Malaysia and Hong Kong
The company’s stated core values—Integrity, Service, Sustainability, Leadership—are framed under what it calls a Raise Yourself to Help Mankind (RYTHM) philosophy. RYTHM is baked into policies such as volunteer hour requirements, sustainability initiatives, and mentorship programs.
Company leadership has also stressed consensus-driven management, saying leaders should allow a variety of opinions for informed decision-making. In practice, this means employees are invited to contribute perspectives during planning processes, which helps align teams around shared goals and encourage creative problem solving.
QI Group’s structured learning programs, diversity-driven professional experiences, community engagement opportunities, and international career mobility create a professional development environment that can address multiple career advancement pathways simultaneously. It’s an approach designed for professionals seeking growth opportunities within a values-driven, internationally-oriented organization.
