Chief HR Officer Carmen Li Talks Company Culture: Growth Mindsets and the Kampung Spirit

From humble beginnings selling health and beauty products from a pushcart to running multiple physical stores and an advanced logistics hub, Henatenn has shown tremendous growth over more than a decade.

Originally starting with just the two co-founders, Henatenn now has around 150 staff across Singapore and China who share their entrepreneurial spirit. With how much the organisation has grown, we catch up with Henatenn's Chief Human Resources Officer, Carmen Li, to find out what life at Henatenn is like for new joiners.

Authenticity, kampung spirit and a growth mindset

"Henatenn's company culture has been evolving very quickly. In the beginning, our company started with our two co-founders, Ben Lin and Eugene Tay. Over the past 18 months alone, we have acquired a lot of different professionals to join the group. I would say that our company culture involves merging the old and the new. What has been retained is the authenticity, the kampung spirit, and the mindset of growth."

Carmen Li, Chief Human Resources Officer

Through the growth of the company, the team discovered its values together: being entrepreneurial, being innovative, being a people developer, and — very importantly — collaboration.

A growth mindset is about continuously learning as a team

"We are a bunch of entrepreneurs coming together for the first time, and we're walking this path together. There are a lot of mistakes that we make, whether collectively or individually, but we'll then come together to talk about it, and we will keep moving forward and striving forward. To me, that makes us a great army."

Carmen Li

The kampung spirit: everyone coming together

"Our 'Kampung Spirit' is a key highlight in our crowd. We have our annual Atrium Sales that everyone in the organisation looks forward to participating in — be it at the cashier, moving stocks, staying back to tally our sales numbers, or looking forward to seeing how much sales we have achieved."

Carmen Li

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Hungry to learn and grow, welcoming diversity

"I always like to say coming to work is like inviting new people to join the party. In our recruitment strategy, we really hope to bring in a really diverse pot of talent. We're always open to hear newer ways of doing things. The best decisions come from the ground, from people who are experts in what they do."

Carmen Li

Onboarding is a serious joint effort

"We take the initial 6 months of everyone who comes into the party very seriously. It is a joint effort across our corporate services team, IT team, and HR. We definitely include our employees to experience our retail at the atrium sales or even go to the warehouse and observe the technology being used behind the whole supply chain."

Carmen Li

Strong feedback as the foundation of growth

"The founders and management committee absolutely believe that 70% of growth comes from actually doing the job, 20% from coaching and mentoring, and only 10% from classroom learning. Professional development comes from strong feedback — from your mentor, your stakeholders, and the whole ecosystem. Kampung spirit is key."

Carmen Li

The crowd favourite is the annual dinner and dance, where staff from every work location come together to celebrate the spirit of excellence, collaboration and entrepreneurship. Through these efforts, Henatenn is home to entrepreneurial staff who learn together, grow together, and celebrate wins together — while expanding Henatenn's international footprint in markets like China and beyond.