TSMC Enhances Employee Relationships by Introducing Silicon Garden Meetings

[Daniel Nenni]

TSMC is committed to promoting a more diverse and inclusive workplace. By keeping communication channels open and providing various communication channels, more than 70,000 employees around the world at every level are encouraged to leverage their expertise and provide valuable insights. To listen to employee feedback in a timely manner, TSMC has gone beyond regulatory standards by expanding the scope of labor-management meetings.

In addition to the current 13 site Labor-management Meetings, TSMC has established ten new Silicon Garden Meetings (Labor-management Meeting) by function/division and launched a dedicated opinion collection system in Q4 2022. This move allowed employees to voice their opinions via employee representatives during quarterly meetings and they can also use the online system to express their opinions at any time. The implementation of this dual-track mechanism enhances communication between the company's management team and employees. As of May, 2023, TSMC has received more than 147 employees’ feedbacks which serve as crucial references for enhancing management practices.

TSMC values all voices that contribute to its progress and long-term success. By fostering an open-style management system and a diverse and inclusive workplace to attract and retain talented people who share our goals and interests, everyone works together to achieve the common goal.
- Lora Ho, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and ESG Committee Chairperson at TSMC

TSMC Internal Communications Structure​

Optimizing Communication Efficiency: Dual-track Approach of Physical Meetings and Systems for Employee Representatives​

TSMC values employee opinions and rights. In response to the continuous growth of the Company’s workforce and its diverse composition, as well as the commitment to embracing diverse perspectives and creating an inclusive workplace, TSMC has introduced a new initiative by establishing new Silicon Garden Meetings (Labor-Management Meeting) at function/division level in November, 2022. This is in addition to the current 13 site Labor-management Meetings that were established in accordance with Regulations For Implementing Labor-management Meetings by the Ministry of Labor. By renaming the labor-management meetings to the "Silicon Garden Meetings", TSMC aims to emphasize the cooperative and collaborative relationship between the company and employees to improve communication effectiveness.

Furthermore, TSMC also constructed a tailormade “Employee Voice for Silicon Garden Meeting” system which would allow elected employee representatives to collect opinions and feedbacks more efficiently. Employee representatives are now able to provide feedback to business units, either anonymously or non-anonymously, and receive prompt responses. In a departure from the past practice of attending meetings solely to receive updates on company operations, EWC events, or corporate’s regulation adjustments, employee representatives can now engage in two-way discussions with company representatives during quarterly meetings to discuss pending suggestions. With the launching of Silicon Garden Meeting, it has transformed employee representatives into crucial bridges for enhancing communication between the company and its employees.

The Operations of TSMC Silicon Garden Meeting​

Key Concerns of “Employee Voice for Silicon Garden Meeting”​

Silicon Garden Meeting employee representatives are like neighborhood leaders, as employees can confidently express their opinions through trusted or familiar individuals. This allows for the Company's response to be conveyed more effectively and in a softer tone which further enhances two-way communication.

- Annie Chen, Employee representative of Supporting Function

TSMC acts proactively in promoting the values of a diverse workplace and fostering an inclusive work environment. In addition to quarterly meetings, the Company will also evaluate the need to establish additional meetings as the organization expands. Furthermore, feedback and suggestions from each employee representative regarding the operation of the mechanism will be collected. By adopting a rolling discussion approach, communication between the company and employees will become smoother. Everyone works together to achieve the common goal, creating a win-win situation for all.

https://esg.tsmc.com/en/update/inclusiveWorkplace/caseStudy/35/index.html

 

[nghanayem]

Getting feedback from only 147 people sounds like pretty low participation for company that large. Hopefully this is just a byproduct of a newer system that still needs traction. I have no doubt TSMC is a great place to work, and employees need to be heard to keep it that way. It sounds like TSMC is crossing their Ts, but it is always hard to say with certainty from the outside. Best wishes to all TSMC employees on this fourm, you guys are awesome!

 

[freshshine1]

That's interesting, 147 voices is a good start and I hope this gains more traction going forward, especially in Asian countries where the coporate culture expects you to suck it up and move on.

1. There is a common saying in Taiwan "reasonable requests are called training, unreasonable requests are called grinding (and get experience from this occasion)", which a lot of the firms use to rationalize their workload.
2. Managers who have their performance reviews coming up may see these "voices from employees" as a stain on their report card and will have other subordinates to deal with it.

Along with some other factors contributing to this suppressive form of work culture, employees as a result are less lenient to speak up (or message may simply be misinterpreted along the way). A lot of companies in Taiwan look up to TSMC as a beacon and in return it is up to TSMC to require similar forms of ESG back to their suppliers.

 

[blueone]

How is diversity and inclusion defined in Taiwan?

 

[Tanj]

2. Managers who have their performance reviews coming up may see these "voices from employees" as a stain on their report card and will have other subordinates to deal with it.

That stain on the report card kind of reaction is not unique to Taiwan. Some managers everywhere "manage upwards" where they communicate demands down and successes up. The ideal of learning from those doing the work, listening to their ideas and solving for problems they see, may be found in management training but countered by personality of ambitious people who see it slowing them down.

Then even when a company culture advocates listening to you can find they also advocate "everyone get behind the decision" which can just mean "don't raise issues" in practice. Great and poor managers are not limited to any one culture.