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HR BRIEFING Agile workforces: How companies responded to the COVID employment crisis
Flexible working options for staff are likely to be sticking around for the long term.
As Singapore eases into the Phase 3 of its reopening, employees are likewise starting to wonder how the foray into the period before a post-COVID-19 normal workplace will look like. Last year, non-essential workers were thrust into working from home for indefinitely — most of them for the first time.
According to ByteDance-owned digital collaboration suite Lark’s Vice President of Commercial for Asia Joey Lim, in-person collaboration has dramatically dropped amidst the pandemic, and small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) have had to adjust to a hybrid workforce even since the circuit breaker measures have been lifted. In these environments, at least half of employees are working from home, while some staff are also able to access the office.
“As such, physical oversight has become virtually impossible and communication is more likely [to] falter, thus highlighting the need for SMEs to understand how their employees are communicating and across which channels,” comments Lim.
On the other hand, career shifts from one sector to another have also taken place. One example would be the transferring of some employees from Singapore Airlines to Pacific Logistics Group (PLG).
The employees’ exposure to a myriad of cultures, backed by their diverse backgrounds, are expected to serve as advantages when they are able to return to the airline. Not only that, the logistics company’s management training programme will also aid in expanding the knowledge and skills base across both organisations.
In an email interview with Singapore Business Review, PLG commented: “By leveraging our new employees’ experience in the aviation industry and their familiarity with freight terms, the training time is reduced and they are able to delve quickly into the job. Along with the excellent customer service and management skills amassed from their flying days, we hope to be able to set new logistics service standards, addressing current performance gaps in the industry.”
From one sector to another
The transition from the aviation to the logistics industry was relatively seamless, at least for Suzanne Chia - one of a group of transferees who shared their experiences with Singapore Business Review. She says this was in large part due to the training and professional support provided by the logistics specialist.
Skills in problem-solving, communications, customer service, and people management, as well as technical and operational know-how proved to be highly transferable, added Kevin Chin.
For Alvin Aung, the timing was serendipitous, with the pandemic (and job swap opportunities) coming just as he was considering a career change. “I was in the process of figuring out a suitable career path and (had) decided to apply for logistics as it is a multi-dimensional industry with opportunities to explore and develop more in-depth as a professional,” he said.
Specific technical knowledge such as country and airport codes as well as air freight terms were applicable across many industries and in responding to customer queries. “The difference lies in the work focus — previously, it was about passenger needs and safety; now, it is about providing the right solutions for clients, with larger working groups and stakeholders, involving freight,” added Yenny Juwita.
Onwards to a new normal
The final “new normal” of post-COVID working arrangements are not yet visible - with many in Singapore expecting the pandemic will last four-to-five years before the upheaval ends.
“Though the country has done well with keeping numbers low post-circuit breaker, COVID-19 is still affecting millions around the world and hybrid work arrangements will continue to be the norm,” says Lim.
As for the aviation sector, Chin says that more regulations would be implemented in ensuring safety aboard aircrafts and in airports.
Specific (aviation industry) technical knowledge was applicable across many industries, including the logistics sector.
Professionals in Singapore will need to wait several years before the “new normal” settles in
Structural changes have encouraged many to upgrade their technological infrastructure in the retail industry
Cross-border e-commerce sales will provide key to retail sector recovery
The trend surged due to international travel restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore’s retail industry is still miles away from recovery, despite several measures and initiatives to improve market conditions in the sector.
According to data from OCBC, retail sales in 2020 dropped 15.3% YoY. This was after the Department of Statistics reported a 3.6% YoY decline in retail sales for December 2020, bringing the slump to its 23rd straight month.OCBC economist Howie Lee observed that despite the contraction in overall retail sales, sales of computers and telecommunication equipment rose by 24.8% YoY in December 2020, reflecting the broader trend of increased consumer demand for electronics goods, as structural changes in the way people interact and work have encouraged many to continuously upgrade their technological infrastructure.
Whilst gradual economic recovery is underway due to the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, retailers will still have to rethink their business strategies and organisation moving forward to the post-pandemic retail market. Innovations in the retail sector have continued to provide hope for businesses amidst an uncertain future.
Leveraging on cross-border
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent circuit breaker measure introduced by the Singapore government have put e-commerce on the map amidst the rapidly changing consumer trends and demands.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing revealed in a speech that Enterprise Singapore is in active discussions with Amazon on introducing new programmes to help local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sell overseas. The programmes include listing optimisation, customer service, and international demand generation.
“The borderless world of e-commerce presents fresh opportunities that are up for grabs by all who are willing to try. Technology is neutral. Businesses that can master it faster and better, win,” Chan said.
The minister added that the competition is already on a regional and global level, and Singapore firms must position themselves to make the most out of the phenomenon as it is unlikely to end.
Meanwhile, IGD head of APAC insight Nick Miles mentioned that cross-border sales have been a growth segment of e-commerce in recent years. He added that whilst crossborder sales remain more focused on general merchandise products, food and consumer goods have a role to play with retailers and manufacturers using e-commerce platforms to tap into the demand for international products from Asia.
The borderless world of e-commerce presents fresh opportunities that are up for grabs by all who are willing to try
A lot more people shop online due to lockdowns and social distancing measures
whole range of services from import assistance, marketing support, sophisticated and user-friendly platforms, excellent logistics capabilities and huge amounts of data to help brands target consumers,” Miles explained. Such is the case for e-commerce platform Lazada and cross-border marketplace Tmall Global. According to Lazada head of LazGlobal Qian Yi, the increasing popularity of e-commerce reinforces the brand’s belief in building a strong e-commerce infrastructure, which Lazada has been investing heavily since its establishment in 2012.
“More consumers have shifted online for their daily needs, and have been forming new online shopping habits, which propels businesses to digitalise their operations and start on their e-commerce journey,” Yi said.
Lazada has upgraded its crossborder logistics capabilities in 2020, which include the launch of its newest warehouse solution Fulfilled by Lazada (FBL), which has helped enhance efficiency in cross-border shipping to allow sellers to upgrade their supply chain solutions.
“With enhanced shipping efficiency and diversified product offerings, consumers are now able to shop the world from the comfort and safety of their homes. We see it as complementary to the local marketplace businesses, which brings vitality to the market, and is for the greater good for our consumers,” Yi said. Meanwhile, Tmall Global has noted shifts in consumption patterns and attitudes toward online shopping.
“The pandemic has supercharged the adoption of and affinity for e-commerce worldwide. Consumer behaviors have changed dramatically, with a lot more people shopping online due to lockdowns and social distancing measures,” Tmall Global senior director William Zhao said. The brand has accelerated its merchant onboarding and incubation process to open doors for overseas brands, including Singapore, to sell to Chinese consumers.
“We’ve also shifted our platform from an invitation-based model to an open one, meaning merchants are now able to launch their own brands onto the platform, and with more flexible options to choose from that best suits their business model and location,” Zhao said.
Looking into e-commerce logistics
The rise of cross-border e-commerce has also posed opportunities for industries like logistics amidst challenges brought by international travel restrictions.
Singapore Post (SingPost) revenue for H1 2020 rose 9.6% to $707.8m, mainly due to growth in post and parcel and logistics segments, with strong e-commerce volume growth.
Domestic post and parcel saw significant e-commerce volume growth of 43% for the period ended September 2020. E-commerce revenue now stands at 32% of all domestic post and parcel revenues.
Meanwhile, the logistics segment revenue rose 20.3% for the period. SingPost’s courier subsidiaries CouriersPlease, Quantium Solutions, and SP eCommerce all experienced robust growth as a result of increased adoption of e-commerce in Asia Pacific. Yi mentioned that logistics is fundamental in the cross-border e-commerce value chain, especially in Southeast Asia that has a unique diversity and vast geography.
Technology innovations for postpandemic retail
The Singapore retail industry has maximised online technologies to drive up recovery amidst the impacts of the pandemic. According to a report by financial services company PPRO, 43% of cross-border e-commerce in Singapore as of January 2020 was from China.
Moreover, the decrease in footfall has led to the rise of immersive technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality. A report by Euromonitor International mentioned that these immersive technologies have allowed consumers to form new shopping habits going into 2021.
Livestream shopping and online shopping festivals are some of the trends that rose in 2020 due to travel restrictions. Alibaba Group’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival in November 2020 has ridden on these trends, with focus on helping more merchants tap the surge in Chinese consumers’ demand for cross-border online shopping.
What lies ahead for retail?
Now that Singapore is well on its way to recovery due to vaccination programmes and border reopening, the retail sector can also expect a better year ahead.
Miles noted that many businesses have been focusing their attention on ensuring supply of products in local markets to keep with demand.
“As a new normal emerges, cross border will remain a key new revenue stream, whilst restricted travel will also promote this trend further,” he said. Lee forecasts that retail sales will bounce back by 12.5% YoY in 2021 largely due to low base from the pandemic. However, retail spending will not return to pre-pandemic level until herd immunity is achieved within the local population and until Singapore opens up its borders to international travellers.
Nick Miles
Qian Yi
William Zhao
AIA Singapore takes the lead on destigmatising mental health
Singapore’s largest employee benefits insurer has a plan to improve mental health in the workplace for 1.2 million workers in Singapore.
Alvin Fu, Chief Corporate Solutions Officer at AIA Singapore
Mention ‘mental health’ at the office, and you can still hear the nervous banter as colleagues attempt to steer the conversation to more politically neutral territory.
It’s a reflection of the stigma still attached to mental health issues, despite widespread examples of the negative impacts of stress, burnout, and mental overload that almost every professional in Singapore will have witnessed at one point or another during their careers. Independent research confirms these anecdotal case studies.
According to a 2017 APAC Benefits Strategy Study, done by HR Consulting Group, Aon Hewitt, seven out of 10 employers recognised the link between mental health issues among their workforce. However, only 51% have implemented wellness programmes that specifically address mental health issues. And 38% of employers said they had no plans to address the gap in the near future.
At the individual level, the 2018 Institute for Mental Health report stated that 86.5% of employed people in Singapore did not seek help for mental health, in part because of the stigma that still surrounds it. So even when employers do make such services directly available to their staff, there remains a gap in participation levels among the workforce. Now, one of the country’s leading life insurers is looking to make a serious change to that equation. AIA Singapore is tackling both the lack of effective mental health and resilience training and development support schemes, while simultaneously busting some of the myths and misconceptions around mental health issues. It is making its “Resilience Mindset” training programme available free to not just its own staff, but all corporate solutions customers as well. The four-week programme, in partnership with Potential Project, a global leader in organisational effectiveness training, takes a deep dive into the causes of workplace mental health issues, as well as strategies to better manage stress.
Complimentary training for the Singapore workforce The training is available to all AIA Singapore employees and corporate solutions customers. As the largest employee benefits insurer in Singapore, AIA’s complimentary programme now available to one in three employed in Singapore (1.2 million workers), at no additional cost.
Alvin Fu, Chief Corporate Solutions Officer at AIA Singapore, said, “Our purpose is to enable healthier, longer, better lives for more people and mental health is a major component in fulfilling this mantra. There is no health without mental health. With Singaporeans being ranked as some of the most stressed workers in the world, mental wellbeing is a vital aspect of any workplace wellbeing program.”
“This mental resilience training scheme was initially trialled by the AIA leadership team in Singapore. The goal was to help them become better people managers, equipping leaders with the necessary skills to identify and address employee burnout. The results from the pilot run were incredible, with a recorded quadrupling of mindset shift towards more positive, optimistic, and selfless thinking recorded after the session, compared to before. As such, we decided to extend this training at no additional charge to all AIA employees and corporate customers as part of a broader effort to nurture a culture of workplace wellbeing across the country,” added Fu. The four-week programme consists of an introductory webinar, which is complemented by a series of subsequent check-in sessions, ensuring a positive, lasting change of mindset and workplace habits. Immediate impact Fu says AIA Singapore leadership team underwent the mental resilience training pilot programme in the second half of 2020. The results from that first intervention were a pleasant surprise to everyone involved. At the beginning, more than 25% of participants reported feeling “tired”, “stressed”, and/or “overwhelmed” in their daily work. By the end, there was a marked shift in those descriptions. 91% of participants’ language indicated that the shift towards more positive, optimistic, and selfless mindsets had almost quadrupled as a result of the programme. Some 97% of participants also said that they found the sessions “helpful” and would recommend it to their colleagues.
Pioneers in mental health coverage The Resilience Mindset programme is just one of the initiatives that AIA Singapore extends to its clients and their employees. Fu says this is part of the insurer’s broader commitment to improving mental health awareness and coverage in Singapore.
“In 2019, AIA Singapore became the first insurer in the market to offer insurance solutions for mental health conditions. Launched in 2019, AIA Beyond Critical Care is the first and only critical illness plan in Singapore to provide coverage for five prominent mental illnesses. By taking this first step to cover mental disorders, we hope to encourage more members of our society to acknowledge these conditions as legitimate health conditions that require treatment and support,” he continued.
Looking beyond insurance solutions, AIA Singapore also has a comprehensive award-winning wellness programme health and wellness programme: AIA Vitality. The first in the market when it was launched in 2013, AIA Vitality encourages members to make real and long-lasting improvements to their daily behaviours to improve physical and mental wellbeing. Since inception, AIA Vitality has grown to over 100,000 members in Singapore alone .
We hope our society will acknowledge mental disorders as legitimate health conditions that require treatment and support
