BANK RANKINGS: SINGAPORE whatever they want to do,” Fye said. He said employees look beyond just the dollars and cents. “They’re looking at the ratio of quality of life, sustainability, and if the organisation is providing opportunities, career development, and of course, will enrich their ability to work from home,” Fye added. In another study by Randstad – a global human resources services firm – results showed that about 48% of Singaporeans would not take a job if it does not offer a hybrid set-up or the option to choose whether to work at home or in the office. UOB is one of those financial institutions that has come to value the work-life balance setup. “UOB is the first Singapore bank to officially implement our hybrid working policy on a permanent basis for our employees in July 2022, offering flexibility for colleagues in eligible roles to work from home or at a location other than the assigned work within the city of their work location,” said Dean Tong, head of Group HR at UOB. Now that more than 50% of UOB’s employees practise its hybrid working policy, its internal annual engagement survey reflected a large increase in productivity scores, said Tong. Employers adapt It is very much emphasised by these human resource managers that a good working environment would equate to a productive workforce. But they also agree that it is of utmost importance to see a person beyond their employment. ZiYing Wu, Head of Human Resources Crédit Agricole CIB Singapore, told Asian Banking and Finance that they launched the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for their staff to avail themselves of confidential and professional services. If employees get to experience personal or work-related stresses, the EAP is an avenue for them to have any mental or physical health issues addressed. Similarly, Maybank, UOB and HSBC Singapore have each established a counselling service for their workforce to remedy the damaging effects brought upon by
the COVID-19 on people’s lives. Noting the opportunities they have opened for employees to access mental health support, Fye said, “We also try to train a group of Maybank bankers... to respond and advise them.” Over the past few years, Maybank has had over 10 employees across various departments trained to counsel staff with privacy afforded utmost value and respect. “Of course, we want to know if we can help. But sometimes the staff doesn’t want to talk, and we respect the privacy of others if they choose not to,” said Fye. Working environment According to these Singapore bank employers, there has been a higher demand for jobs within the environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape as well as the technology sector. UOB’s Tong observed that roles in technology, anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, sales, services and operations saw greater attraction for applicants. “We are making sure our employees are equipped with future-ready skills, too. This can be seen through the various programmes that we have implemented such as our groupwide flagship training programme, BetterU, to invest in upskilling and reskilling our people,” Tong said. UOB also began its Group Technology and Operations
Dean Tong
Ziying Wu
Mukul Anand
We are making sure our employees are equipped with future-ready skills,too
Academy last year which upskills and certifies their estimated 6,000 technology and operations workforce in areas such as cybersecurity, software and infrastructure, Tong said. On the other hand, Crédit Agricole CIB’s Wu said that more job opportunities in ESG for the banking sector signal the greater push toward carbon neutrality. Notably, the French international bank said it hired its very first Singapore-located sustainable banking teammate in 2022. “As we see a growing importance and need in this area, we envision that this could be the start of a growing sustainable banking team in Singapore, enabling us to better support our clients with their sustainable finance strategy in line with our bank’s leadership as a pioneer in sustainable finance and our group’s targets to accelerate the transition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” Wu said. Mukul Anand, head of human resources at HSBC Singapore, said the bank is committed to boosting the skills of young talents in Singapore. Its Global Graduate programme participants in Singapore surged 35% in 2023, whilst university and polytechnic work placement programmes also jumped 33%. “Our people are our greatest asset and we are committed to helping them develop skills for the future,” said Anand.
Employees look at the ratio of quality of life, sustainability, and if the organisation povides opportunities
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