HRM 15.6

www.hrmasia.com

TALKING TALENT WITH YOUR CEO WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HIRE CLONES FLEXI-WORK STRATEGIES

ISSUE 15.6

Earning stripes Price inc. GST $9.95

AT YAHOO

EDITOR’S NOTE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sumathi V Selvaretnam ASSISTANT EDITOR Shalini Shukla-Pandey JOURNALIST Sham Majid SUB-EDITOR Paul Howell PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATOR Azimah Jasman SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amos Lee GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Paul Lozano SALES DIRECTOR Steve Lye ACCOUNT MANAGERS Edwin Lim Jolene Ong Ryan Kwa Shamaine Chua MARKETING MANAGER George Smith MARKETING EXECUTIVE Rafiq Jalil MANAGING DIRECTOR Kaveri Ayahsamy PHOTOGRAPHY BY Frank Pinckers (pinckers.com) PRINTED BY Times Printers Pte Ltd PUBLISHED BY

15.6

Dear HRM readers,

T

The HRM Asia office is still riding on a high after the successful completion of our 13th HR Summit, which took place on May 18 and 19.

It was great seeing many familiar faces at the event and I do hope that you brought home some new knowledge and strategies to propel your HR agendas even further.

A key highlight for me, personally, was attending the C-Suite session by global business guru Ram Charan.

Getting buy-in from the C-suite has always been a challenge for HR. I enjoyed how Charan really got down to the crux of the matter, and explained how HR needs to link its initiatives to clear business outcomes such as costs, revenue and margins in order to be heard in the boardroom.

This month’s feature story, “Talking talent to your CEO”, explores this topic further.

Plus, our learning and development feature, “Business skills for HR” gives you an overview of the specific skills that you need to advance your HR career.

The cover story for our June issue turns the spotlight on internet giant, Yahoo. Its Regional HR chief Vineet Gambhir shares how operating the business with a start-up mentality and engaging employees on all fronts has helped the company reap rich returns.

In other exciting developments, HRM Asia is delighted to announce that a new instalment of the HR Summit will be launched in Hong Kong next year. Do stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Happy reading!

Proudly owned by Diversified Group of Companies

HRM Asia Pte Ltd 60 Albert Street, Albert Complex #16-08 Singapore 189969 Tel: +65 6423 4631 Fax: +65 6423-4632 Email: info@hrmasia.com.sg

Best Regards,

Sumathi V Selvaretnam Editorial Director, HRM Asia

CONTACT US:

MICA (P) 163/07/2014 ISSN 0219-6883

Read something you like? Or something you don’t? Perhaps there’s some insight we haven’t considered?

Have your say on HRM’s news, features, and contributions by emailing: info@hrmasia.com.sg

ISSUE 15.6 HRMASIA.COM

1

CONTENTS 15.6 COVER STORY 16 Earning stripes at Yahoo

For an organisation as diverse and extensive as Yahoo, it’s a surprise that it behaves like a start-up in many ways.

HRM speaks to Yahoo’s HR chief in AsiaPacific to get an insight into the company’s philosophy

16 FEATURES

10

10 Never hire clones

Encompass Digital Media Asia is a multi-million dollar broadcast and digital media services company that has experienced a whopping 404% growth in channel play-outs over the last three years. The man and driving force behind this achievement is its managing director for Asia, Deepakjit Singh.

20 Having a quality

conversation with your CEO Having effective CEO level conversations requires a blend of understanding of what goes on in the mind of a CEO as well as knowing what motivates

2

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

them and gets their attention.

HRM finds out how HR can have highly effective C-suite discussions

26 Having a voice

Employee engagement is already a key tenet of most workforce strategies. But the call for employee empowerment is also becoming increasingly audible. HRM investigates

31 The greatest HR Summit yet

The Spire HR Summit 2015 has further cemented its status as the crème de la crème of HR events in Asia

39

26 32 “Flexing” the schedules The rigid working shackles are off for many employees as organisations embark on formulating flexible working policies. However, how can firms go about crafting its own flexi-work practices without compromising on productivity?

39 Boosting mental health

Are your employees displaying signs of stress-related problems? HRM looks at ways to boost mental health at the workplace

42 Business skills for HR

HRM looks at the core business skills that will boost HR’s value as a business partner and give workforce professionals a stronger voice at the executive table

50

50 HR from the classroom

Every month, HRM speaks to a young university talent hoping to carve out a career in HR upon graduation.

52 UOB: Tapping on special talent

How can companies tap on the special-needs workforce to create an inclusive business environment? UOB shares its award-winning inclusive employment initiative

REGULARS

56 HR Transformation

47 Twenty-four Seven

In this special feature, HRM looks at how seventy-year old home-grown noodle manufacturer Tan Seng Kee Foods overhauled its HR systems and processes to stay relevant and competitive in a changing marketplace

4 News 15 Leaders on Leadership 48 Talent Ladder 49 HR Clinic 49 An HRD Speaks 55 In Person 55 Resources ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

3

NEWS

ASIA

SINGAPORE

ASIA

SALES AND OPERATIONS JOBS HARDEST TO FILL

WORKERS IGNORE CYBER RISKS

The recruitment landscape remains an employee’s market, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder Singapore. The research found that 93% of employers in Singapore intended to hire in the next twelve months. Of those hiring, 72% would be recruiting employees for new positions. This positive hiring outlook however, was being impeded by a shortage of manpower.

Sales and operations jobs are proving the most difficult to fill, with 37% and 25% of organisations in these sectors hiring respectively. This was followed closely by administration roles at 21%, and engineering and customer service openings.

“Employers understand that they are competing for talents, and nearly half of them attributed this to the lack of skilled talents available,” said Jessica Ang, Marketing Director, CareerBuilder Singapore. “However, there are a multitude of reasons behind this labour shortage; ranging from lack of an employer’s branding, to recruiters using the wrong tools to attract candidates.”

Amidst the multitude of hiring tools, online job boards are most commonly

INDIA

used. More than two-third of employers (68%) recognise online job boards as effective recruitment platforms, which is an increase from 53% in 2013. Social media recruitment is also gaining popularity, with 25% of hirers turning to social media in their talent searches.

Employers are also starting to look to technology to address recruitment issues. Cloud-based recruitment software or software-as-a-service (SaaS) technologies offer a mix of functions including the distribution of job postings across multiple platforms and the ability to perform automated candidate relationship management.

“There is a need to educate hirers in Singapore on making SaaS technologies part of their recruitment strategies. Of those surveyed, only one per cent is using SaaS in their recruitment efforts; and half of the hirers said that they were unaware of SaaS recruitment solutions,” said Ang. “The situation is expected to continue and hence, it is pertinent that recruiters start tapping on new technologies to boost their hiring efforts.” of professionals say they will now challenge their colleagues by voicing their opinions

58%

WOMEN IN CHARGE PREFERRED Two key sectors are breaking gender stereotypes in India, with a growing preference for female bosses, a survey

by TimesJobs.com found.

The preference for a female boss is high in the media and entertainment industry, with nearly 67% respondents preferring to work under a woman leader. Respondents from the consumer durables and fast-moving consumer goods sectors also showed equal preference for male and female bosses, the survey revealed.

4

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

Source: New Norms @Work study by LinkedIn

Female bosses are also believed to be more considerate. About 69% of respondents felt that female bosses were more ‘considerate and understanding’, 19% believed they were ‘fun and flexible’ and 12% rated them as ‘practical’.

Even as organisations are promoting more women leaders in the workplace, the survey shows the preference of most employees are still skewed towards male bosses.

“One of the reasons the preference is skewed towards male bosses is because of the dearth of women leaders in companies. This pattern is not specific to India but is seen globally. Also, in many industries, employees may not have worked with a female boss at all,” TimesJobs.com Chief Operating Officer, Vivek Madhukar, explained.

Employees visit inappropriate websites while at work, despite typically being fully aware of the risks to their companies. That’s the conclusion of new research by enterprise security services provider, Blue Coat Systems. Staff in China visit the most pornographic websites at work (19% of workers admitting to this), with Mexico (10%) and the UK (nine per cent) not far behind.

“Pornography continues to be one of the most popular methods of hiding malware or malicious content,” said the report. “Even though awareness of the threat posed by adult content sites is high, workers are still visiting these potentially dangerous sites.”

Indeed, although 65% of global respondents viewed using a new application without the IT department’s consent as a serious cyber-security risk to the business, 26% admitted doing so.

In Singapore, 37% of respondents used new applications without IT’s permission, compared to 33% in the UK and 30% in both India and Mexico. On the flip side, Australia and France were the lowest offenders, at 14% and 16% respectively.

Obvious risky behaviours, such as opening emails from unverified senders, still happen at work. Nearly one third (29%) of Chinese employees open email attachments from unverified senders, even though nearly three out of four (72%) see it as a serious risk. US workers view the threat even more seriously (80%) and open fewer unsolicited emails (17%) as a result.

“While the majority of employees are aware of cyber security risks, in practice most still take chances,” said Hugh Thompson, Chief Technology Officer for Blue Coat Systems. “The consumerisation of IT and social media carry mixed blessings to enterprises. It is no longer realistic to prevent employees from using them, so businesses need to find ways to support these technology choices while simultaneously mitigating the security risks.”

NEWS

6

INTERNATIONAL

US

US

THINKING OF A NEW JOB...

IT WORKERS STRESSED OUT

US employees appear to be casting dreamy glances at new job prospects, despite being content in their present roles.

According to a recent survey by Monster, 43% more workers are pondering new job prospects this year than in 2014.

While 71% of those polled cited happiness with their current position, 73% were considering another job. In fact, 60% of respondents said they were already armed with a résumé that had been updated within the previous three months.

The preparedness to switch jobs regularly may be age-related, the survey suggests, with 79% of those aged 25-44 having worked at their current employers for six years or fewer.

This is compared to the 70% of those aged 55 and above, who had worked at their current employer for more than six years and 52% of those aged 45-54, who had worked at their current company for more than six years.

In fact, not only are 25-44 year olds looking to change around more regularly, they are finding job chances in different places from those in previous generations: • 76% were likely to update their social media profiles when looking for a new position; • 69% were networking on social sites for potential employment; and • 68% were assessing job listings on social media sites.

“Staying at one job until retirement has become a thing of the past. It’s always a good idea to take stock of your career path and figure out how you can get where you want to be,” said Joanie Courtney, Senior Vice President, Global Market Insights at Monster.

“If you find yourself in the market for a new job, there are several activities you can do today that won’t take too much time but will reap huge benefits now or when you’re ready for the next step in your career.”

Monster worked with Survey Sampling International to conduct a nationally representative survey of 1,004 adults working full time.

Employees in the US IT sector are subject to high levels of stress and are seeing their work invade their personal lives, a survey has deduced.

According to findings of GFI Software’s fourth annual independent IT Admin Stress Survey, a whopping 78% of those surveyed had encountered workplace stress, while nearly 82% of respondents were seriously contemplating departing from their present jobs due to stressful working conditions, up from 78.5% in 2014.

Key findings from the survey revealed that: • 78% of all US IT workers polled feel their job is stressful, up one percentage point from 2014 • Close to half (45%) have missed social events due to overrunning issues and tight deadlines at work, up from 38% in 2014 • A further 40% also cited missing time with their children due to work demands creeping up on their personal time • 38% of IT workers frequently lose sleep due to work pressures

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

• The proportion of respondents encountering stress related illnesses rose slightly, to 27% from 25% in 2014 • Nevertheless, a further 19% continued to report feeling in poor physical condition due to work demands, up two percentage points from last year The new survey also highlighted a rise in the number of respondents citing that a relationship or friendship had failed or had been severely damaged due to work commitments interrupting their personal lives.

Over 25% encountered this in the last year, a rise from 23% in the previous year’s survey.

The independent blind study was conducted by Opinion Matters who polled 205 US IT administrators at companies with 10 or more people.

US

SENIORS MORE UPBEAT Senior managers are more likely to have positive views of their office than their front-line employee counterparts.

This is according to the American Psychological Association’s 2015 Work and Wellbeing Survey.

The survey deduced that more senior leaders saw their firm’s culture positively, with chances available to them and frequent utilisation of programmes and policies crafted to benefit employees.

Senior leaders were more prone than front-line employees to say their company appreciated employee involvement (71% against 51%), worklife balance (68% against 55%) and recognition (63% against 52%).

More senior leaders also reported having chances for involvement in decision making (78% against 48%) and internal advancement (55% against 41%).

Moreover, about seven in 10 senior

leaders revealed they frequently participated in training activities (68%), enjoyed activities crafted to involve employees (71%) and utilised flexible work practices (69%), as opposed to half or less of front-line workers (49%, 38% and 39%, respectively).

With senior leaders benefitting disproportionately from available workplace programmes and policies, 70% said they felt “treasured” by their employer, as opposed to just over half of front-line workers (51%).

The survey also found that 94% of workers who felt “treasured” said they were motivated to do their best, as opposed to just 37% of those who do not feel cherished.

The workplace survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association.

INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL

US

BIG DATA? NAH...

FIRMS STRUGGLING TO MATCH UP TO MOBILE WORKFORCES

A significant proportion of senior HR figures continue to remain cynical about the merits of Big Data and advanced analytics.

A new global report, entitled Evidence-Based HR: The Bridge Between your People and Delivering Business Strategy, was released by KPMG International recently. It showed that 55% of respondents remained unconvinced about the potential of Big Data and advanced analytics to make a true difference to the HR function.

However, 82% anticipated their firm would either commence or enhance the utilisation of Big Data and advanced analytics over the next three years.

The report also revealed that nearly one in three (30%) nonHR executives did not concur that the HR function played a sufficiently robust part in meeting the businesses’ strategic goals, a view shared by only eight percent within the HR function.

Despite this considerable gap in discernment, there was still a firm view among non-HR executives that HR could become more value-driven, with 49% agreeing that HR leaders were able to clearly show correlations between people management initiatives

NEWS

Many organisations are facing difficulties in their bid to cater to the needs of on-the-go workers. and business outcomes.

This is according to Part I of the 2015 Mobile Other findings from the study Trends in the Workplace survey released recently by showed that: theEMPLOYEEapp.

• Over one-third (35%) of The survey deduced that 40% of US workers respondents had either not yet claimed they don’t work in a traditional office applied advanced analytics or environment, and 55% revealed they travel for work.

Big Data tools to enhance the In order to stay connected, half (49%) of the efficiency of their HR function respondents utilise mobile devices and almost a or didn’t know third (28%) utilise tablets in their work, whether they had or though 70% of responding workers are not; not offered with these devices by their • More than threeof employers think there’s little companies. quarters of The study also highlighted a to no negative impact on the company when a candidate respondents (76%) direct correlation between employee has a bad experience during anticipated the engagement, efficiency and the capability the hiring process. rising use of datato easily access company information by Source: The 2015 driven insights in mobile.

Candidate Behavior study the HR function to Sixty-two percent of employees cited

by CareerBuilder positively affect that easy access to company information profitability over the directly influences job satisfaction and next three years; and half (51%) claimed they are more productive when • Corporate culture was identified they are able to do so via a mobile device. as the largest hindrance to In addition, over one-third (41%) claimed they the use of evidence in people are unable to access company documents and management (32%), followed information from their mobile device; 36% added they by lack of skills and resources had difficulty easily accessing company documents (30%) and the quality of the outside of the workplace or are unable to do so at all. data (29%) TheEMPLOYEEapp’s second annual study The Economist Intelligence Unit (consisting of three parts addressing employee use conducted the global survey of 375 of mobile technology in the workplace) surveyed executives in September last year. more than 200 US-based workers.

UK

LEAVE DILEMMA Employees in the UK are refraining from utilising their leave allocations.

A major YouGov survey of British workers’ attitudes to holiday and absences, commissioned by the business information services company Wolters Kluwer, has revealed that 13% of employees felt they couldn’t take time off and that four percent were concerned their employers would be annoyed if they took days off.

In fact, a third of British employees claimed they did not utilise all of their annual leave allowance last year as their workload was too great.

82%

The survey showed that short-term absences are a continuing issue for UK firms, with 49% of employees surveyed saying they had taken genuine sickness absence in the last year and five percent confessing to pulling an unwarranted sickness-related absenteeism.

Surprisingly, 16% of younger workers (aged 18-24) conceded to faking they were ill to take time off work.

“This is a real cause for concern for employers and demonstrates that many UK workers feel, for a variety of reasons that they can’t take time off,” said Mike Allen, Managing Director of Wolters Kluwer’s HR solutions division, Croner.

“Managing short-term absences such as holidays and sickness is a real challenge for UK business. Organisations need to focus on interventions and management of short term absence and holidays to ensure that employees have a healthy work-life balance.”

“Bosses should ensure that employees feel able to take annual leave without fear of what they may return to.”

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

7

INF GRAPHIC

What do employees desire?

Gauging the needs of your employees is one of the most important ways of keeping them happy and productive. But what makes them truly satisfied? HRM shares some insights from The Global Career Aspirations Survey by Right Management

BALANCE TAKES PRIORITY

TOP 5

CAREER ASPIRATIONS:

HAPPINESS TRUMPS SALARY

TOP 5

DEFINITIONS OF SUCCESS AT WORK:

Happiness/enjoyment

26%

17%

Salary

19%

Earn a lot of money

13%

Doing the best work

18%

Help other people

11%

Respect and recognition

15%

Help society

6%

High performance

10%

Achieve work/life balance

45%

Be the best at what I do

TOP EXPECTATIONS OF

LEADERS

TOP EXPECTATIONS OF

CO-WORKERS

for my knowledge 53% Respect 59% and experience

51% 37% 32% 30%

Mutual trust Transparency Opportunities for learning and development Relationship of equals regardless of job title

48% 46% 41% 21%

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

ONLY 1 IN 10 EMPLOYEES

define success at work as high performance WHY ARE EMPLOYEES

LOOKING TO EXIT ?

TOP MOTIVATORS FOR LEAVING

35%

Mutual trust from my colleagues at work

Work/life balance

Respect for my knowledge

Higher compensation

Relationship of equals Transparency (no politics) Friendship

Sources: • The Global Career Aspirations Survey by Right Management • Some icon graphics are by freepik.com 8

DID YOU KNOW

35% 25%

Better work culture

25%

More challenges

HR MARKET ROUNDUP

NEWS

THE CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP EARNS SPOT IN TOP 5 For the second year in a row, the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has ranked fourth overall in the Financial Times’ annual worldwide survey of executive education providers. It measured direct feedback from organisational and individual clients who rated leading executive education providers for quality and impact.

CCL also ranked number five globally for Open Enrolment programmes and number eight for custom programmes. It was placed in the top 10 of eight open Enrolment sub-categories: Preparation; Course Design; Teaching Methods & Materials; Faculty; New Skills and Learning; Follow-up: Aims Achieved; and Facilities.

“This year’s Financial Times rankings reaffirm CCL’s promise to deliver results that matter to clients,” president

and CEO John R. Ryan said. “We are grateful for the opportunities to accelerate the leadership journeys of individuals, teams, organisations and entire communities.”

“It is most welcome to receive another positive affirmation of our impact on leadership development globally as we strive to advance the practice for the benefit of society worldwide,” said Roland Smith, Vice President and Managing Director of CCL in Asia-Pacific.

“As we continue to support leadership development journeys all across the region, we are committed to bringing our latest knowledge on talent, innovation, change, women leadership, strategic leadership and others, to support Singapore’s strategy of being a home for business, innovation, and talent,” he added.

TOWERS WATSON LAUNCHES TOTAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT SOLUTION Responding to growing client demand for healthier workforces, Towers Watson, a leading global professional services company, has launched HealthVantage in partnership with UK-based Fitbug and Australia-based HealthLogix.

This comprehensive online health management solution incorporates new technology, including wearable devices and online applications for smart devices, to give an organisation’s workforce a full health “refresh”.

Employers across Asia-Pacific are increasing their focus on understanding health risks and costs. Health costs, in particular, are taking a toll on employers today: Towers Watson’s latest Global Medical Trends survey found that the regional cost trend for Asia-Pacific was projected to be 9.3% in 2014.

Faced with large and rising health cost bills, employers are adopting new technology as an additional channel to help them maintain a healthy workforce more efficiently and encourage long-term behavioural change.

For the employee, HealthVantage contains smart device-based activity monitoring; nutrition and sleep tracking; and a host of health-related content that is targeted to issues relevant to that individual. It also includes social media and gaming components to allow employees to connect with other users.

For the employer, the tool provides a dashboard of overall workforce health; identifies and forecasts health risks; and gathers and analyses data to pinpoint specific issues, such as what might be driving the organisation’s leading health risks. Multi-language capabilities make HealthVantage suitable for an Asia-Pacific regional rollout. In addition, a consulting element makes the tool a bespoke solution for companies.

“Towers Watson research shows that employees are far more likely to participate in health programmes at work if they feel their employer has a sincere interest in their wellbeing, said Rajeshree Parekh, Asia-Pacific Director — Corporate Health and Wellness at Towers Watson. “The first step in demonstrating such interest is to connect with them in a meaningful way — that is what HealthVantage sets out to do.”

RESOURCE SOLUTIONS ASIA ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH HONEYWELL Resource Solutions has announced a threeyear partnership with Honeywell.

With effect from May 1, Resource Solutions will be providing a full recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) solution supported by Talentsource, encompassing direct recruitment and preferred supplier list management with dedicated teams based on-site in Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. The teams will manage recruitment for Honeywell across those three markets, as well as Taiwan and Macau.

Commenting on the new partnership, Simon Bradberry, managing director of Resource Solutions in Asia-Pacific, said: “We are delighted to be entering into a strategic partnership with Honeywell. This new regional RPO partnership takes Resource Solutions into new geographies expanding our RPO regional footprint here in Asia-Pacific. We look forward to working together to deliver a quality service and a leading RPO solution that will enable Honeywell to attract the very best talent in the market”.

Neng Pin Yap, Honeywell Asia-Pacific vice president of HR, also commented on the partnership: “The partnership with Resource Solutions will enable us to build staffing delivery capability, integrate resources, and drive cost synergy, which will better support Honeywell’s growing business in this region.”

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

9

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

Never hire

CLONES Q

Tell me about yourself. Who inspires you? What are your career aims?

Encompass Digital Media Asia is a multi-million dollar broadcast and digital media services company that has experienced a whopping 404% growth in channel playouts over the last three years. The man and driving force behind this achievement is its managing director for Asia, Deepakjit Singh

China. The diversity in the team has definitely helped improve innovation within the business.

I am extremely passionate about my Now, working with a mix of work. I’ve always been that way. Before different people requires leaders to getting engaged to my wife, I used to be very in tune with their talent. I work 20-hour days, from 9am to 5am ensure that I’m able to motivate this the next day. However, after marriage, diverse group and help they work I work somewhat fewer hours: 16 to towards a common goal.

18 hours on average daily. I work long People have to be able to trust a hours because I’m always passionate leader as a person too. For instance, I about what I do, whether I was in the once had a staff member whose wife Shalini Shukla-Pandey pharmaceutical business before or the was very ill. He wanted to leave the job shalini@hrmasia.com.sg media business now. It’s in my DNA to to take care of his wife and children do so. I believe that to truly build one’s but also needed the money for her career, one has to put in the effort and work hard. medical expenses. I made arrangements for him to work My family has been extremely supportive in my quest for from home so that he was able to take care of his family and perfection at work too. Even after having the discussion I didn’t lose a good talent. I knew this person would never with my wife about my work hours before we got married, let me down, after I helped him in his time of need. she was supportive. There are times when I have to meet Commitment towards your people is critical. Another my wife and son at dinner and then return to the office. staff member’s plight came to light when I noticed her Marriage is important to me. Without a happy marriage, productivity dropping and overall work standards falling.

I wouldn’t be able to have a successful career. A stable Upon some coaxing, it turned out that she had been in family allows me to focus on my work and career. debt through several loan sharks. I got my lawyers to deal with the loan sharks and used company funds to pay off What is your leadership style? her debts. I then sat with her and worked out a 24-month I believe that growth comes from plan to deduct some cash from her monthly diversity. A leader should never pay to service repayments of the debt amount At least hire clones of himself. This is because these to the company. Needless to say, she was very employees will tend to always agree with you appreciative of the gesture. of staff are welland not actually provide different ideas that I learnt the importance of being a good leader engaged at Encompass can improve business. In my own team, I have when I was a junior employee myself. I had just Digital Media hired an Indian, a New Zealander and talent from gotten married but was practically living in the

Q

10 ISSUE 15.6

50%

HRMASIA.COM

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

BIO BRIEF Deepakjit Singh brings over 20 years of experience in management, sales, operations and engineering to Encompass Digital Media - one of the world’s top digital media services providers and a leader in global satellite and terrestrial connectivity.

In his role as Managing Director of Asia, Singh is responsible for all facility operations in Asia including network origination; satellite transmission; terrestrial interconnect and switching; encoding and transcoding; and production services. This enables him to help clients navigate the global media landscape and take advantage of emerging trends. Singh also sets strategies for the growth and development of Encompass brand in Asia, and over the last five years Encompass has grown to become the largest playout services provider in the region with over 110 channels playing out of the Singapore Facility.

Singh joined Encompass through its acquisition of Ascent Media. Prior to joining Ascent, he worked with Bharti Airtel as Senior Vice President, where he developed the media and outsourcing business as well as the company’s digital media exchange strategy. For over a decade, Singh was instrumental in growing British Telecom’s satellite and broadcasting service areas, and he was also one of the main architects of BT’s Global Media Network.

Deepakjit Singh, Managing Director – Asia, Encompass Digital Media

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

11

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA

“Beyond just business, I believe it is important to develop the most crucial asset to any country or brand – its people. This is why I recently spearheaded an initiative to support the development of local talent”

Me Myself I I love: My work.

I dislike: Dishonesty.

My inspiration is: My wife.

My biggest weakness is: That I’m a workaholic.

In five years’ time I’d like to: Still have the fire of innovation in me to come up with new ideas.

Favourite quote: “Nothing’s over till it’s over” – Rocky Balboa.

12 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

ENCOMPASS DIGITAL MEDIA office for six months due to a project we had to complete. There was definitely a strain on the marriage. In the end, we finished the project on time and my general manager personally called my wife to tell her she should be proud of me and my achievements. All our fights and marital issues disappeared, and I had the motivation to work even harder for my boss.

Q

You are clearly in tune with what’s happening on the ground. How do your employees describe you?

The Megapod Deepakjit Singh, Managing Director, Encompass Digital Media Asia, says his most recent crowning achievement is the “Megapod”. Through his guidance and leadership, Encompass Digital Media Asia recently embarked on a US$7 million upgrade of its facilities – generally unheard of in the usually conservative broadcast industry – to become the region’s biggest monitoring and teleport hub.

The new play-out facility was completed in December 2013. It now offers fully automated, end-to-end central monitoring on a globally unprecedented scale, with up to 250 channels now delivered from its 88,000 square foot facility in Singapore.

Utilising one of the world’s most advanced broadcast monitoring systems, the Megapod offers complete automation of numerous labour-intensive broadcast monitoring processes, which have in turn minimised human error, generated new efficiencies, and increased the overall quality of the play-outs.

“Megapod is a one-of-its-kind facility in Asia which enables our customers to manage and monetise their media assets in a more efficient and error-free environment,” said Singh. “The innovative design and fully automated processes enable real-time monitoring and processing of the content for delivery across the globe on multiple screens.

“With Singapore’s vision to become a global media hub for the creation, development, and distribution of original content, facilities like the Megapod are complementary to the ecosystem that is being built to realise this goal,” Singh added.

I think I generally take good care of my employees. Even as I fulfil the role of a leader, I’m rarely bound to the desk in my office and try to never be too far away from the ground. I put in conscious effort to make my rounds around the facility at least once a day.

I also refer to all my staff by name, and leave the door to my office open for any of my employees to approach me.

My employees probably say I’m tough of the biggest players in the broadcast and never shy away from being tough industry. With a similar number of when I have to be. They will be able to people three years ago, we have been see my helpfulness and concern for able to achieve this 404% growth due them as well. They know I’ll always to our technological advancements. stand by them. This is a family. We It’s better to use 160 brains, not might fight at times, but as the head of 320 hands. For instance, staff are the family, I won’t allow empowered to think about corporate guys or whoever what training they want so else to say anything. that we can get more value Also, there hasn’t been out of it. any change in the top three It also pays to have a watch TV from Encompass Digital levels of the company workforce whose mindMedia on average each year for the past four years. I sets can change fast to

33 million people

believe this shows high staff engagement levels within the company, and towards me too.

Q

Under your leadership, Encompass Digital Media Asia experienced over 400% growth in channel play-outs in the past three years. How did you do it?

Starting from a humble facility in Loyang playing out just 25 channels, Encompass Digital Media Asia has indeed grown rapidly to become one

keep up with changes in the media industry. Think about how fast radio gave way to black and white television, which then stepped back for colour television – and now the rage is all about digital television. My team is motivated to change the way they work and learn new things.

Q

I understand you are a proponent of grooming the next wave of talent. Tell me more.

Beyond just business, I believe it is

important to develop the most crucial asset to any country or brand - its people. This is why I recently spearheaded an initiative to support the development of local talent.

Through a partnership with the Singapore Management University (SMU), Encompass Digital Media Asia donated a total of $100,000 to fund a bursary programme for needy students. Over the course of 15 years, we will provide an annual, bond-free $6,000 bursary to a full-time undergraduate student studying in SMU’s School of Information Systems, the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, or the School of Accountancy.

Apart from monetary sponsorships, I proactively seek to groom talents for the broadcast industry. I try to regularly engage students in university talks, sharing my passion in broadcast and dispensing insights and advice to those who are keen to venture into the industry.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 13

CALLING F UTU RE LEADERS

SEPTEMBER

JULY

GENERAL MANAGER

SENIOR MANAGER

LEADING FROM ASIA

LEADERS ON LEADERSHIP

What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

I

t is often said that “with great power, comes great responsibility”.

A move into management may appear to be a perk in many ways, but it also comes with a whole new set of responsibilities and challenges. As a leader, your overall role in the company and your day-to-day activities will change significantly. You are now responsible for leading and motivating your team to accomplish the central goals for your organisation.

One of the most important qualities a leader can possess is to listen. As your team’s motivator and mentor, it is key to communicate clearly. Being a leader means you’ll be tasked to set and achieve goals, solve problems and make decisions.

To achieve effective teamwork, everything centres on clear, constant communication with you as the facilitator. Therefore, a willingness

to serve and listen is necessary. Value diverse opinions and focus on the growth and wellbeing of your team members. Cultivate a culture of trust and you will be able to motivate your team to go above and beyond. Take the time to invest in people and they will invest in you.

There may be times when the going gets tough. My experience over the last two decades of serving in various leadership positions is that a good manager has to take on the roles of being a coach and cheerleader in both good and bad times.

Be prepared to adapt and even thrive in challenging situations, which can occur often, while keeping the company vision and best interests in mind. Build yourself on strongly held, principled beliefs. To be a successful leader, it’s important to show passion that will inspire others to follow.

A

SANJAY AURORA Managing Director, Darktrace APAC

t Darktrace, we’ve developed an enterprise security technology that functions like the human immune system – protecting IT infrastructure against insider threats by being selflearning and adaptive.

With leadership, we adopt the same approach – our teams should always safeguard their assets (talent) by encouraging innovation and personal development. Employees form the backbone of every organisation, and I try to live by my favourite quote from John Quincy Adams, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are a leader.”

Most individuals who take up leadership positions would have spent a significant amount of time in a particular company or sector.

It becomes easy to overstate the importance of past experience and the

NG CHEE SOON President & Managing Director, Sennheiser Electronic Asia

effectiveness of tried and tested methods – what we call legacy approaches. In today’s dynamic business environment, challenges constantly take on new forms, which demand new solutions.

Leaders must develop the ability to unlearn and relearn new ideas, otherwise, we limit what our employees can deliver and what we can achieve as a collective.

To encourage a culture of innovation, on the ground observation and twoway dialogue is key.

While I am based in Singapore, Darktrace APAC also has employees in Australia and Japan. I make it a point not to just give instructions from 3,000 miles away on the phone, but to be in the trenches regularly with my colleagues.

To lead effectively in this region, leaders must make time to be physically present to guide and support each team, particularly through tough or uncertain times.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 15

HR INSIDER

EARNING STRIPES AT YAHOO

For an organisation as diverse and extensive as Yahoo, it’s a surprise that it behaves like a startup in many ways. HRM speaks to Yahoo’s HR chief in Asia-Pacific to get an insight into the company’s philosophy Sham Majid sham@hrmasia.com.sg

16 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

HR INSIDER

V

ineet Gambhir, Vice President and Head of Talent – AsiaPacific, Yahoo, is sharing the concept of his “HR 5.0” theory, when he makes a bold assertion.

“I believe (the concept of) ‘Big Data’ is already outdated,” he declares.

“Today is the era of predictive analysis and Big Data is no longer the big thing.

It is rather, you being ahead of the curve and predicting the data before the data is needed. Big Data then becomes the weapon; it doesn’t become the end result.”

So what exactly constitutes “HR 5.0”?

According to Gambhir, HR has transformed from that of a transactional, administrative, backoffice role, to a support function, then to outsourcing and offshoring and the creation of globally diverse workforces, and then to a business partner role.

And what about the fifth generation of global HR? “The fifth trend, which we are at now, is what I would call HR 5.0. (It) is where you are actually the pro-active partner and where you are the leader of the discussion and the business actually takes its inspiration from you,” he explains.

For those already fascinated by his deep and insightful analysis of the future of HR, Gambhir isn’t done just yet.

“The trend I am seeing now is what I would call the ‘stem cell’ approach,” he espouses.

“Stems cells are undifferentiated cells that can perform any function in the body. This is the future of HR. If I could take a group of high-potential HR individuals and seamlessly move them between specialist and generalist roles, my investment in the function could

actually be significantly lowered, yet the impact on the business would be higher.”

Tackling trends through HR answers For a multinational technology conglomerate such as Yahoo, Gambhir says the organisation is very proud to have put in place what the organisation describes as a best-in-class shared services model.

“From the word go, we are able to actually go make things happen in a pretty streamlined manner,” he says.

“We have this very intelligent, focused and common pool of individuals who can just about interface with any employee using a concept called ‘HR Answers’. We can pretty much address any employee sitting anywhere across the globe, having the common pool of expertise and using the latest tools and technologies.

“If I have a need in Taipei, I can pretty much service that from Bangalore, and vice versa.”

Gambhir explains this team is assembled with some of the best people from the all of the HR functions.

“Conversely, some of the best Centre of Excellence leaders or generalists have come out of this group,” he says.

“So you can think of it as a very focussed research and development group within HR, which is the breeding ground for some of the top talents. This group is highly analytical, very data driven and hence, we are able to get ahead.”

Preventing Yahoos from becoming ex-Yahoos With Yahoo having received 43,000 job applications globally in the first quarter of 2015 alone, it is obvious the organisation has no trouble attracting

AT A GLANCE

Total Number of Employees at Yahoo Singapore: Approximately 200 Size of HR Team at Yahoo Singapore: 5

Key HR Focus Areas at Yahoo: - Attracting the best talent - Creating a culture of engagement and innovation

candidates for a myriad of positions.

“We had about 150 applicants to every (available) position,” reveals Gambhir.

“We feel really fortunate when we see that interest. I see so many people telling me, ‘I love the new Yahoo and its agility, and I would love a chance’,” he says.

Still, actually retaining employees already in Yahoo is one of the things that keeps Gambhir up at night.

“I say this with guarded humility and I think Yahoo has been one of the first digital companies to be in existence,” Gambhir explains.

“Sometimes, we are very general exporters of our talent because if you go look at any major digital company, there will be ex-Yahoos in their workforces for sure. One on hand, that’s a matter of pride but on the other hand, that has been something we want to balance.

“I do want to make sure as an HR head that we are able to retain our key talent and for that, there is going to be a multitude of strategies.”

According to Gambhir, employees do not leave because of compensation.

“Someone leaves because they didn’t have the right manager experience, or they didn’t have the right cultural experience, or they don’t think they are innovating,” he explains.

“We do not solve everything through compensation. We solve it through behaviours. We don’t believe in bureaucracies and hierarchies – we have employee pulse surveys and an overwhelming majority of individuals have said they find it really inspiring and great to do work for us every single day.”

Despite the overwhelming number of job applications, Gambhir says Yahoo’s recruitment framework is not invincible.

Gambhir says while a candidate may possess the best résumé, the organisation looks at cultural fit and whether candidates can help the company which is currently undergoing a rapid transformation.

“Do you have it in you to tolerate cycles of ambiguity, cycles of fast-paced change, cycles of passion, and the urge

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

17

HR INSIDER to move the company from Point A to Point B?” he asks.

“You can have the best candidate, but not everybody will be suited for that journey.”

“Being able to gauge that beyond the technical résumé I believe is the biggest challenge and not just for Yahoo, but I would even say for a lot of companies who hire in large numbers.”

Gambhir cites an example of how all Yahoo employees abide by a certain cultural idiosyncrasy.

“We call this the ‘Dog-Fooding’ where you have the latest applications and one of our goals is that we actually try out our own products,” he says.

“For example, since our acquisition of Tumblr, many of us have opened a Tumblr blog and we are trying out its features. It is a fun and interesting way to explore our own products.”

“You have to be able to live the cultural fit. You cannot be aloof from a company’s product if you are going to make a difference.”

Going against traditional ‘culture’ When one enters the Yahoo office in Singapore, it is impossible to ignore the splashes of purple and orange colours adorning the office walls.

In addition, the office is splattered with random words on walls, refusing to conform to the standard and orthodox nuances of corporate workplaces.

“I would say ‘vibrant’, ‘passionate’, and ‘innovative’ would be the words which would describe us,” says Gambhir.

“Here is what is unique about Yahoo: we are a large company, large enough to be like any other big company, yet we behave like a start-up. We are an absolutely entrepreneurial company.”

Yahoo’s current strategy, which epitomises the culture of innovation, is focused on Mavens (Mobile, Video, Native and Social). “We have made a lot of investments in these areas, and this has definitely given Yahoo an advantage.

It has enabled the company to generate over 1.1 billion dollars revenue only from the Mavens business,” Gambhir says.

“Our CEO Marissa Mayer has made Yahoo a mobile-first company, and by literally putting emphasis in this area which was untapped, basically, we have attained 95% year-on-year growth of our revenue in this area,” he explains.

“How that can happen is when the people work together in a vibrant culture.”

The open and transparent culture personifying Yahoo can also be encapsulated through an initiative known as Processes, Bureaucracy, and Jams (PB&J).

PB&J is an internal forum where employees can give feedback on how to make their jobs easier and boost their productivity.

It is one of an armada of schemes that showcases Yahoo’s transparency and allows employees to have a voice.

“You can pretty much submit any idea for process improvements; the ideas are voted upon and the highest-voted ideas just happen,” says Gambhir.

For example, as a benefit to employees, Yahoo provides the latest smartphones

to every worker, regardless of rank.

“What we noticed was that the 16GB phone was not enough for people to be able to share applications. So, one of the ideas which came up on a Friday was why employees can’t have 64GB devices? The idea was submitted on Friday and on Monday, it got implemented,” elaborates Gambhir.

Even Yahoo’s CEO is not insulated from the transparent culture.

“For Your Information (FYI)” is a weekly session where Mayer shares company updates with employees worldwide.

“FYI is an employee forum she personally leads and once again, the questions can be tough and extremely difficult,” Gambhir discloses.

“People post their questions on a moderator and the questions are voted upon. Mayer personally addresses those questions publically in front of all the employees worldwide.

“We have also started something called the ‘collaborative FYI’ which is a local version. Not only do we do the global one, but the local one is more customised and more specific.”

“In my 21 years, I have never seen a CEO stand up every week in front of the employees like that.”

Talking about careers When it comes to career roadmaps at Yahoo, Gambhir says the organisation avoids having just a once-a-year discussion on employees’ careers.

Rather, it has a year-round discussion

WHO’S WHO IN HR

VINEET GAMBHIR

Vice President and Head of Talent – Asia Pacific, Yahoo

18 ISSUE 15.6

RICO CHAN

Vice President and Head – India, South East Asia and Hong Kong, Yahoo

HRMASIA.COM

OLIVIA WONG

Human Resource Business Partner – South East Asia, Yahoo

JEANETTE ULRICH (visiting from Sunnyvale)

Manager, Candidate Experience – Americas, Yahoo

DEREK LING

Senior Recruiter – India and South East Asia, Yahoo

ASHLEY CHUA

Human Resource Client Advisor – South East Asia, Yahoo

HR INSIDER that happens multiple times.

Every quarter, every employee will have a set of goals.

“You track the progress of those goals and training, learning, and development gets centred around those goals,” he explains.

Secondly, Gambhir says Yahoo does not believe in having generic classes where thousands of employees sit in before “ticking” off the boxes stipulating that L&D has been accomplished.

“We believe it is a customisable solution to every person’s needs,” he adds.

In terms of training programmes, Yahoo collaborates with a number of external and internal resources, and it also has a dedicated learning and development group.

“We have it in two parts. One is the technical training and the other is what we call the soft skills training,” says Gambhir.

People who have consistently performed or outperformed in the company are brought in as a cohort and afforded with in-residence training.

The Accelerated Development Program (ADP) is a three-year development programme for Yahoo’s high potential talents, where participants are given industry case-studies to work on.

Leadership opportunities are also prevalent throughout Yahoo. Once, if not twice a quarter, Gambhir says the organisation has a Key Talent Discussion, where each one of the executives will review.

“It’s literally as if we are tracking the progress we have made as leaders towards our employees,” he states.

“So in a quest to create people who are surpassing you in their ability, you will push them and share with them your experiences.”

One platform Yahoo utilises to reward and recognise its employees is a programme known as Yahoo Bravo.

Gambhir explains in the company’s internal intranet, employees can give a ‘bravo’ to their colleagues, consisting of badges and icons demonstrating the values they represent.

“Then you have monetary based awards as well, where you can give spot awards to individuals,” he adds.

Attracting and retaining talent Yahoo holds a long-term strategic view of its hiring needs. The company maintains warm ties with its former employees as many do return to their old stomping ground after stints elsewhere.

“We call these the boomerangs and almost 10% of our recent hires have been boomerangs – where people actually came back when they saw the new Yahoo,” he explains.

“Within seven days I’ve had people come and say “Could you hire us back?”

While Gambhir acknowledges that Yahoo’s employees may be tempted by other job prospects, the organisation should not “restrain people from experiencing the outside world.”

“What we want to do is to guide and educate them on how to differentiate a really good career trajectory to the softer ones,” he explains.

“I think when employees feel we actually care about them making the right career decisions, they value that.

We are not saying to anyone, ‘Please never leave us for the rest of your life.’

We have to be practical.”

Managers at Yahoo have honest and proactive discussions with their staff to help define the next step in their careers.

“We tell them we if can’t get you in an X amount of time to your next career step, we can help you achieve that later in your career somewhere else.”

Engagement on all fronts Yahoo is well-placed to discuss ways to enhance employee engagement. After all, the organisation bagged the IBM Award for Best Engagement Strategies at the 2015 HRM Awards.

So just what are some of its plethora of engagement initiatives?

Firstly, the office is stacked with a pantry laden with free packets of crisps, chocolates, drinks and snacks for employees to grab, without any charge whatsoever.

Breakfast and lunch are also served daily from Monday to Friday, with a catering company personally delivering food to the office.

“The food programme is a huge hit that people really appreciate. We even collect feedback on the food and improvise it every time so even the employees are engaged in making those decisions,” says Gambhir.

Nevertheless, Yahoo takes health and the wellbeing of its employees very seriously.

“In all the wellness programmes we have done, we have different people offering things like massages, freshly squeezed juices, and yoga classes, all the way through to teaching people how they are able to take care of themselves in any given day,” explains Gambhir.

“We have even distributed the bands which track a person’s cardio particulars and the number of steps he or she takes.

So our commitment to fitness is very key and one of the first parts of engagement.”

The second engagement area is centred around “community”, and Gambhir shares an example that arose from the recent earthquake in Nepal.

The company has been facilitating fundraising efforts globally through its Community Impact Portal, ‘Yahoo For Good’.

“When employees see that, they feel they are the ambassadors, not just for themselves.”

Operating as a startup According to Gambhir, Yahoo has made 52 acquisitions over the last couple of years.

“We still aim to operate as one Yahoo,” he elaborates.

“It’s amazing and I think our willingness to embrace others and our willingness to showcase them makes it such an open and inclusive culture. We are a large company, an Internet pioneer, and yet at the heart of our culture is the spirit of a startup. We operate in lean teams with perfect agility.”

“That is probably the single most unique thing for us.”

Gambhir wraps up by recalling a key message espoused by CEO Mayer.

“Something our CEO said in one of the employee forums that really resonates with our hearts is that we have to earn our stripes every single day,” he says.

“That’s absolutely true, then and now”.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 19

C-SUITE

Talking talent

with your CEO

20 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

C-SUITE

Having effective CEO level conversations requires a blend of understanding of what goes on in the mind of a CEO as well as knowing what motivates them and gets their attention. HRM finds out how HR can have highly effective C-suite discussions Shalini Shukla-Pandey shalini@hrmasia.com.sg

M

any CEOs are disappointed in their HR people.

According to business advisor to CEOs and corporate boards, coauthor of the book, Boards That Lead, and Spire HR Summit 2015 speaker, Ram Charan, most CEOs would like to be able to use their chief HR officers (CHROs) the way they use their CFOs – as sounding boards and trusted partners – rely on their skills in linking people and numbers to diagnose weaknesses and strengths in the organisation, find the right fit between employees and jobs, and advise on the talent implications of the company’s strategy.

“But it’s a rare CHRO who can serve in such an active role,” he writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Terry O’Connor, Group CEO, Courts, believes that any CEO who is disappointed with their CHRO [or as he refers to as Chief Talent Officer (CTO) in Courts] should be disappointed in themselves because this means that they are not working as effectively with the people’s side of the business as much as they are with the numbers.

“Consider how much access and exposure to the wider facets of the business agenda and strategy a CHRO is given, and the face-time that CEOs give to their COO or CFO,” he says.

“It would hardly be fair to expect CHROs to be as strategic as the other C-level roles.”

Still, CEOs are, arguably, smart people, says Prof Arijit Chatterjee,

Associate Professor – Management altogether. “With the proliferation Department, ESSEC Business of CXOs, I wonder if the CEO is School, Asia-Pacific. “Even if they increasingly getting out of touch employ top executive search firms with his or her own organisation,” (who look at past accomplishments Chatterjee ponders. and references), or use the usual “We know that most strategies fail competency and diagnostic tools because of bad execution. Leadership (that supposedly take a cannot be delegated, sneak peek into future neither is it only about potential), CEOs are board meetings and likely to use their own analyst interviews,” he judgment to assess says. “Implementation whether a particular challenges, therefore, person will be the right must be accounted person for the job in for (even in stretch that particular firm,” goals) during strategy • Keep it short when it needs he explains. formulation and the to be, and detailed when it “If we think of CHRO needs to flag needs to be. the executive search the “people issues” • Have the organisation-savvy firms as property to the CEO early in to make the distinction dealers who know both the process. These between the two. supply and demand issues can range from Source: Terry O’Connor, Group CEO of Courts well, bringing that propelling middle capability in-house is management to quite difficult.” anticipating potential Chatterjee says that while the interpersonal conflicts at the top.”

CHRO might know more details about the profile that the firm needs, it is What’s C-level talk? quite difficult for him or her to know Having effective C-level what is available in the executive conversations requires a blend of labour market. “Moreover, to be able understanding of what goes on in to assist CEOs in finding the right the mind of a CEO as well as knowing person, CHROs need to be aware of what motivates them and gets their not only the supply and the demand, attention. but also about the most effective team The starting point for CHROs to composition that is likely to deliver engage their CEOs in a strategic results in the firm,” he adds. “CHROs, conversation should be from therefore, have a tough task.” business objectives rather than from Apart from recruitment, getting an HR perspective, says Don Yeo, people to perform is another task Deputy CEO – Policy & Corporate

Key to great CEO conversations

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 21

C-SUITE

Development Group, CPF Board.

“This requires CHROs to acquire a far deeper understanding of the business in which their organisation operates than what is typical of CHROs today.”

O’Connor says that CHROs will intuitively know what’s in the mind of their CEO if they are exposed on a regular basis to the overall business strategy and are given enough face time. “This bridges back to the earlier question about involving CHROs in strategic conversations and ensuring that they are set up for success,” he explains.

The Hershey Company has got it right. All functional leaders, including the head of HR, attend all key business reviews. “More than any other subject in these reviews, the talent discussion involves all leaders,” says Frieder Rummel, Senior HR Director – Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa, the Hershey Company. “The head of HR is leading and facilitating these talent discussions.”

A CEO is largely interested in five things, says O’Connor: • Growth • Innovation • Talent pipeline • External market changes • Culture building “Conversations between CEOs and HR chiefs should revolve around how best to support the growth of the company and if we have the right people to be game-changers,” he

“Conversations between CEOs and HR chiefs should revolve around how best to support the growth of the company and if we have the right people to be game-changers” Frieder Rummel, Senior HR Director – Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa, the Hershey Company

explains. “The HR agenda in terms of the breadth of resources and talent should line up with the business objectives.”

Questions to ask include: • Is there enough talent within the organisation with core competencies to drive business continuity, as well as those who are creatively and mentally agile enough to switch functions effortlessly?

• Do we have the technical skills to drive success and strengthen our market leader position?

• Most importantly, how do we ensure we remain a thriving environment for our employees and how do we attract like-minded

people to join our organisation?

As far as contributions from HR are concerned, Rummel believes most CEOs see themselves as key owner of the company’s talent, and they want effective support from HR in attracting, developing and growing the talents. “Some CEOs are also interested in personal feedback and coaching,” he adds.

Engaging C-suite To avoid being perceived as an administrator or payroll personnel, HR needs to be brief about the dayto-day, and instead focus on the high-level strategic agenda, exciting top hires with the hiring policy and building company culture and shared

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 23

C-SUITE

values, says O’Connor.

“Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of paper credentials, it is even more critical that an HR Chief is a ‘people person’ who has a wellrounded knowledge of the business,” says O’Connor.

“Kiran Kaur, our Chief Talent Officer, is a fantastic example of this. She started out in Courts leading our customer service team, before moving into warehousing and operations,” he explained.

“Her exposure to different facets of the business gave her a keen understanding of the culture and people-oriented values and she has proven to be a truly top-flight HR leader.”

Chatterjee says that CHROs can best engage with top level executives by: • Learning more about their shortterm and long-term goals, • Understanding what supporting organisational arrangements HR can deploy to achieve those shortterm and long-term goals, and • Aligning these supporting organisational arrangements with the strategy of the firm.

“CHROs should integrate themselves with all members of the top management team through information exchange, collaborative behaviour, and joint decisionmaking,” he adds.

Indeed, HR should support all its talent, leadership and culture recommendations by meaningful numeric performance indicators – business leaders are used to base their decisions on quantitative facts and rightfully expect HR to work accordingly, says Rummel.

“Talented HR leaders should acquire business experience through assignments in other functions and aspire and prepare to become CEO candidates themselves,” he adds.

“This will increase their business literacy and understanding of their business leaders’ expectations.”

More CEOs are narcissistic Business media often bemoans the narcissistic tendencies of top executives.

About ten years ago, Professor Don Hambrick and Prof Arijit Chatterjee, Associate Professor, Management Department, ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific undertook large sample studies on CEOs who have high self-regard.

“We found that CEOs with narcissistic tendencies favour bold actions that attract attention, resulting in extreme and fluctuating organisational performance,” says Chatterjee.

In another study, the professors examined why some CEOs take more risk than others. “We introduced the concept of ‘capability cues’ – contextual signals that decision makers might reasonably interpret as indicators of their current level of overall ability – arguing that positive cues will induce boldness, while negative cues will induce timidity,” Chatterjee explains.

Analyses showed that capability cues generally influence executive risk taking, but highly narcissistic CEOs are much less responsive to recent objective performance than their less narcissistic peers; in contrast, highly narcissistic CEOs are especially bolstered by social praise.

“In sum, both context and character can be a source of CEOs’ confidence, which in turn influences their risk-taking behaviour,” says Chatterjee. “Instead of considering them in isolation, it is a fruitful endeavour to understand how they interact to affect decisions.”

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 25

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT

Having a

VOICE

26 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT

I

spran Kandasamy, Vice President, Asia-Pacific, CommScope, cites Benjamin Franklin when explaining the concept of employee empowerment.

The quote is: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”.

“It is a basic condition that if someone is involved in developing or deciding something, then they will be much more deeply invested in ensuring that any outcome is successful,” says Kandasamy.

“Empowerment drives engagement.”

Defining employee empowerment

Employee engagement is already a key tenet of most workforce strategies. But the call for employee empowerment is also becoming increasingly audible.

HRM investigates

Sham Majid sham@hrmasia.com.sg

So what exactly constitutes employee empowerment?

According to Kandasamy, CommScope – a multinational telecommunications company – defines employee empowerment as “enabling employees to make decisions about their jobs and helping them to take ownership of their work, as well as taking responsibility for the results produced”.

“Giving our staff some degree of control in their capacity as an employee is a powerful engine of professional and leadership development, both of which contributes to a culture of talent nurturing,” he explains.

Kandasamy emphasises that first and foremost, CommScope believes that its greatest resource is its employees; they

are the principle drivers of the company’s growth and performance excellence.

“Employee empowerment is a way for us to ensure that we continue to have the right people in the right positions with the right skills, doing the right things at the right time,” he says.

“Lean into Excellence” According to the Third European Company Survey – Workplace practices: Patterns, performance and well-being by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, autonomous teams exist in 20% of established businesses (see: boxout).

The research found that employees make decisions about daily tasks jointly with managers in 40% of the companies surveyed, and by themselves in an additional six percent.

Kandasamy says CommScope is a proponent of employee involvement in decision making and continuous improvement activities. Its “Lean into Excellence” initiative was designed to encourage employees to achieve streamlined operations in three areas: culture, people and process.

“We have various initiatives including but not limited to suggestion systems, work teams, Kaizen, profit improvement programmes, and regular

Five types of European firms Based on the Third European Company Survey- Workplace practices: Patterns, performance and well-being by Eurofound, there are five types of workplace structures among European firms.

They are: • ‘Interactive and involving’: joint decision-making on daily duties, moderately structured internal organisation, restricted investment in HR management, but wide-ranging practices for direct participation.

• ‘Systematic and involving’: top-down decision-making on everyday duties; highly structured internal organisation; high investment in HR management; and broad practices for direct and indirect participation.

• ‘Externally oriented’: steep levels of collaboration and outsourcing; top-down decision-making on everyday duties; moderately structured internal organisation, moderate investment in HR management; and little direct and indirect participation.

• ‘Top-down and internally oriented’: top-down decision-making on daily assignments; little collaboration and outsourcing; highly structured internal organisation; moderate investment in HR management; and moderately supported direct and indirect participation.

• ‘Passive management’: top-down decision-making on everyday duties, moderately structured internal organisation; hardly any HR management investment; and little direct and indirect participation.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 27

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT discussion sessions with the managers,” Kandasamy elaborates.

The organisation also continuously reaches out to workers via internal surveys to determine areas where the company perhaps does not have enough employee empowerment.

“CommScope is always seeking new ways to provide employees with the opportunities to take charge of their own career development, and this is one of the best ways to do so – by finding out from the employees themselves where greater degrees of work flexibility would help them perform better,” he adds.

Empowerment plus points Another recent survey has laid bare the tangible benefits of employee empowerment.

According to the Robert Half Management Resources research, approximately one in three (32%) chief financial officers (CFOs) conceded they would be more productive if they gave their workers greater autonomy at the workplace (see: boxout).

Kandasamy says increased empowerment results in employees who are more effectively engaged, and this translates into better results for the company.

“Employees too can benefit from this via reward recognition programmes, and ultimately being part of a more successful company,” he explains.

“One of the ways in which we encourage engagement via empowerment is by the use of incentive plans that reward the employee based

Four steps to empowering workers According to venture capitalist Scott Hartley, there are four proven methods to empower a company’s workers to be more productive.

They are: • Create self-esteem motivations Every worker is different and while some many fancy a public display of recognition and commendation, others may prefer a quiet chat privately. Because of this, it is crucial to generate self-esteem incentives that will result in the best effect, while keeping the inclinations of workers in mind.

• Give incentives Handing out incentives to workers to ensure they put in that extra effort can be fantastic for the production line of an organisation. Providing staff with incentives naturally makes them more contented and much more productive, both of which create a formula for triumph.

• Eliminate irrelevant tasks Every firm and every role has a proportion of once vital duties that have become pretty worthless over time. Can your business relate?

If so, the time may be ripe to eradicate any duties that do not exactly have an effect on safety, quality, sales and efficiency. The general tenet is that if a duty is not helpful to any of these merits of your organisation, it may be time to cease performing it.

Providing your workers with significant duties to execute will avoid them from having to waste their time on pointless issues, and enable them to pay attention to more crucial duties. The result is they’ll feel they are doing more with their time.

• Streamline expectations Every assignment that you give to your workers should have a chief goal and that goal should be where workers give 100% of their attention. Giving someone too many goals to work towards and anticipating too much from them will only prevent them from actually succeeding in that chief goal that needs to be done. Set concise goals and streamline your expectations and both you and your workers will benefit.

Source: Four ways to empower your employees to be more productive, By Scott Hartley

28 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

on the long-term performance and success of CommScope.

“Such a model reflects CommScope’s message to its employees that they have a stake in the company and that they can help control where it goes. It also cements the notion that CommScope takes great pride in the care of its employees.”

Too much power?

Will handing over a significant portion of the decision-making to employees lead them to take matters into their own hands without consulting their superiors?

Kandasamy is not perturbed by this prospect.

He says CommScope’s dedication to empowerment also includes an ongoing and dynamic process of reviewing, adjusting, and improving.

“As we believe that our employees are our greatest resource, we also take their feedback very seriously whenever we conduct our reviews on empowerment,” Kandasamy explains.

“We consider and evaluate all feedback provided to measure the effectiveness of the process.

“If there is a lack of control, then the feedback should be able to quickly surface the issue, and pave the way for changes to be made.”

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT

More employee empowerment = more productivity A new Robert Half Management Resources survey has highlighted how an additional dose of employee empowerment can be advantageous for bosses.

About one in three (32%) chief financial officers (CFOs) confessed their organisations would be more productive if staff were given more independence at work.

In fact, only 13% of executives were afraid their competency would drop if they afforded staff more freedom at the workplace.

CFOs were asked, “If you gave your staff greater autonomy over how and when they do their jobs (such as flexible work hours, working remotely or less direct supervision), what effect, if any, do you feel it would have on your own productivity?”

Their responses were:

32% No change 54% Decrease in productivity 13% Don’t know 1%

101% Increase in productivity

*Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding

“Giving employees greater autonomy has the added benefit of making managers more productive,” said Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half.

“When staff have the freedom to decide how their work gets accomplished, they develop

management skills much earlier in their careers. Leaders gain the gift of time, which they can devote to strategic planning and other critical initiatives.”

McDonald recognised that relinquishing control can be tough.

“Letting go as a manager isn’t easy,” he said.

“However, executives can start small with something as simple as offering telecommuting options or giving additional responsibilities to their most capable team members.”

The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources and was conducted by an independent research firm. It involved telephone interviews with more than 2,100 CFOs at companies in more than 20 of the largest US markets.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 29

HIGHLIGHTS

THE

GREATEST HR SUMMITYET The Spire HR Summit 2015 has further cemented its status as the crème de la crème of HR events in Asia Sham Majid

sham@hrmasia.com.sg

B

reaking all records and hitting new firsts.

That would be the perfect way to sum up the Spire HR Summit 2015.

Held on May 19 and 20 at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, the Summit smashed last year’s record of 4,172 attendees – with a total of 4,196 HR and business professionals gracing this year’s spectacle.

This year’s Summit was also considered to be the most successful edition yet, with delegates, sponsors and speakers all waxing lyrical about Asia’s biggest and grandest HR event.

The 2015 edition saw a total of five streams, comprising of C-Suite, 30 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

Strategy, Retention, Talent and HRM. The exclusive C-Suite stream was privileged to play host to Ram Charan, global advisor to CEOs and Jack Canfield, America’s number one success coach and co-founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul, among a host of other distinguished speakers.

“The Spire HR Summit 2015 is an aggregation of some of the best HR and most experienced HR brains in the Asia-Pacific region and you not only get great content in terms of people giving out lectures, it’s also a beautiful place for networking and the showcasing of products by people who are in the domain of selling to HR,” says Neeraj Sanan, Chief Marketing

Officer, Spire Technologies & Solutions.

The headline acts Undoubtedly, Charan and Canfield were the most eagerly-anticipated speakers at the Spire HR Summit 2015.

Charan hosted an exclusive C-Suite workshop titled “Boost Your Business Know-How and Build a LeadershipPowered Company” on the first day, while he also presented a much-debated talk titled “Is it Time to Split HR? Understand How Your Company Really Works and What the CEO Wants You to Know” on the second day.

In his first presentation, Charan highlighted key areas that CEOs want HR to better understand and showed how they can more effectively link their outputs to business metrics. He also went through a detailed diagnosis of a business problem, and illustrated how HR can identify and

HIGHLIGHTS According to him, people generally underestimate the HR function.

“We see humans as resources, to be used up, as opposed to them being our associates and partners,” he explains.

“In my company, all of the expertise lives in the heads of my employees. If I lose them, I’ve lost a huge asset.”

The Chicken Soup for the Soul co-founder says he enjoyed himself at the Spire HR Summit 2015.

“Firstly, the quality of the people that the event draws is very high. I’ve enjoyed meeting the other speakers and the participants in the workshops that I’ve conducted,” he says.

“Everyone is really eager to learn and willing to participate; and they are representing a lot of big companies, along with the government as well. The Expo area was phenomenal and I was going around picking up brochures just to see what other people were doing. Everything from the food, the desserts and the water was top draw.”

Canfield says he would be thrilled to Jack Canfield, America’s number one success coach overcome key issues. return for next year’s According to edition.

Charan, CEOs have recently begun to take “If I’m invited and if I have the free charge in helping their HR people move dates, I’ll be glad to come back,” he adds. out of HR early and go into line jobs.

“Until you run a budget in a line job; Marking new firsts until you compete with the outsiders, For the first time ever, attendees also got you don’t develop the same skills. Forty the opportunity to download the official percent of chief HR officers of Fortune Spire HR Summit 2015 app.

100 companies have had these non-HR The app allowed attendees to explore experiences and that’s what we need to the five Summit conference streams; increase,” he explains in an exclusive bookmark their favourite sessions; access interview with HRM. exclusive speaker notes; take a virtual Charan’s counterpart Canfield captivated tour around the Expo; play the exciting delegates on the second day with his Dessert Safari interactive game; and exclusive C-Suite Workshop titled “Shift Your collect points to win a variety of prizes.

Company into High Gear – How to Get From The Dessert Safari, which has won an Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.” award as an innovative catering concept for Speaking in an exclusive interview the exhibition industry, also proved to be with HRM, Canfield says organisations a resounding hit with all attendees. They must engage with all employees about the eagerly queued all over the Expo for their organisation’s vision and the goal. favourite local and international desserts.

Ram Charan, Global Advisor to CEOs and Business Guru

A platform for sharing and discovering Alan Ovens, Director, CIPD International, says the Spire HR Summit 2015 was a perfect platform for the organisation to reach out to its target market.

“We’ve had quite a range of demographics in terms of the people who have dropped by our booth and they are all HR professionals, and they are exactly our target market,” explains Ovens.

Ravi Ganasen, Sales Manager, Lumesse, labelled his Spire HR Summit 2015 experience as “great”.

“For Lumesse, this is our first time joining the HR Summit and we have found a lot of prospects who have the knowledge and know what they want,” he explains.

Anna Britton, Assistant Director of the British Council’s Professional Development Centre, says the organisation values the opportunity to meet key HR people.

“Because we had such a positive experience last year, we were keen to build on that and hence, we have decided to come back even bigger this year,” explains Britton.

Kellie Egan, HR Director, Australia and Asia-Pacific, Atlassian, who flew from Australia for the event, says the Summit brings about new ideas and allows HR professionals to incorporate different research practices and reinforce that what they are doing is actually working.

All in all, the Spire HR Summit 2015 lived up to its billing as Asia’s premier HR event. HRM Asia promises it will be an even more exciting and captivating spectacle next year!

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 31

FLEXIBLE WORKING

“FLEXING”

THE SCHEDULES The rigid working shackles are off for many employees as organisations embark on formulating flexible working policies. However, how can firms go about crafting its own flexi-work practices without compromising on productivity? HRM finds out Sham Majid

sham@hrmasia.com.sg

W

hile ample examples abound of flexible working, Katherine Mancuso, Global Vice President of Human Resources, ShoreTel, cites two really unique instances when her own firm had to resort to this measure due to unforeseen circumstances.

“We had a fire drill in New York a couple of weeks ago and staff was asked to evacuate the building,” she says.

“We didn’t know how long they’d be on the street, and so the guys grabbed 32 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

their laptops and rather than waiting around, went to the local coffee shop and in some instances, they went home and they were able to continue to look after our customers and do their jobs.”

“It was great, because as it turned out, the building wasn’t opened again until five hours later. In this instance, our employees were more productive as a result of our approach to flexible working than they would have been if we were a traditional, nine-to-five type organisation.”

Another occasion of unintended flexible working occurred during the recent “oncein-a-century” storm in Sydney, Australia, on 21 April 2015 that caused chaos throughout the city and in the suburbs.

“After a request from the New South Wales State Premier for people who were able to stay at home to do so, ShoreTel management encouraged employees to work from home, yet ShoreTel Australia remained ‘open’ and available to customers,” adds Mancuso.

FLEXIBLE WORKING Jennifer Wu, Senior Talent Manager, APAC for LEWIS PR, also recalls a scenario whereby an employee’s child was sick at home for a week and that the employee was able to be with their child and also work from home.

“This allowed the parent not to worry or focus on how many days they were out of the office for; for us as an organisation, not to worry about deadlines not being met and most importantly, the child had their parent by their side 24/7,” she explains.

“We also have a flexible work arrangement in place for a working father who needs to work from home once a week due to personal circumstances.”

According to The Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) biennial employment survey, nearly one in two companies (or 47%) in Singapore offered at least one formal flexible work arrangement, a rise from 38% in 2011.

However, while flexible working is increasingly being adopted by many organisations, firms are still continuing to calibrate their flexible practices while negating drops in productivity levels.

Making a case for flexi-work Kate Colley, Head of People for National Australia Bank, says results from their annual employee survey show that employees who work flexibly tend to score higher in engagement and enablement; they are also more likely to stay with the organisation for longer.

“National Australia Bank’s flexible working principles are a fundamental part of the way we do business and are critical to NAB being recognised as an employer of choice,” she explains.

“We believe that everyone has a part to play in making flexible working a reality – individuals managing their own work and life well-being, people leaders recognising the benefits of flexible working and colleagues being supportive of their workmates’ arrangements.”

Dyanne Ierardo, HR Director, Asia Pacific, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, concurs with her counterpart.

“We believe that our employees contribute their most impactful and effective work when they are engaged, have workplace flexibility coupled with access to integrating work/life demands,” she explains.

“In Asia, we have been enabling and supporting flexible working practices for well over a decade.”

According to Ierardo, flexible working practices are common across its company throughout the AsiaPacific region and the organisation has an over-arching philosophy that requires for both managers and employee to share accountability for business performance.

Likewise, Mancuso explains that ShoreTel, along with many other global organisations, have identified that a traditional nine-to-five day does not necessarily support the company’s business needs.

“For example, employees who work cross-functionally or have regional responsibilities, with colleagues and partners in different timezones, may not be able to join a conference call in an office at 9pm,” she says.

Tellingly, Mancuso discloses that 36% of its global workforce is not based in a traditional ShoreTel office – they work from home, or on-site with customers.

In fact, according to the Smart Business, Smart Surroundings report by Regus, out of the more than 22,000 workers globally who were asked to identify the location where they are most productive apart from the main office, 53% selected a business centre.

Surprisingly, only 34% of respondents selected their homes, although this rises to 63% for those who are able to invest in a professional workspace within their home.

Wu says LEWIS keeps its flexible working policy flexible.

“We don’t set a specific day, number of days, in which employees can work from home. If and when an employee does need or want to work from home, they just need to let their office head know,” she explains.

“Our main policy is that the employee is available and contactable on all of our standard communications channels.

LEWIS has a completely mobile policy, so this means they could even be working from another country (which happens) and they are still completely accessible to the team.”

In fact, Wu explains the organisation puts a lot of trust and faith in their employees.

“It’s not about where employees work, it’s about the work they deliver,” she stresses.

“Flexible working is exactly that – flexible. The employees know it’s there, so in the event they need to use it, they do.”

Crafting the apps for flexi-working Over at accounting firm KPMG, the company offers a whole suite of flexible working arrangements such as compressed work schedules, job sharing and flexible work contracts, says Quek Shu Ping, Head of People, Performance and Culture at KPMG in Singapore.

“These include flexi-time arrangements which allow employees broad variations in their working day and permanent individual arrangements allowing bespoke home-working or parttime working arrangements – created and designed with the needs of the individual in mind,” he says.

According to Quek, the firm’s parttime arrangements consist of employees working four hours a day and between two to four days a week.

“This benefits both employer and employees as they may attend to their childcare and elder care needs, and yet be able to complete their work in a timely manner,” he explains.

“Our Tax function also piloted the Work From Home scheme in 2012 and further introduced a Flexi-Working Hours Scheme in 2013 to allow staff greater work mobility. This implementation helps to support our employees to achieve both a successful professional career and a fulfilling personal life.”

Ierardo elaborates that in Asia-Pacific, Verizon is transforming the physical ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 33

FLEXIBLE WORKING workspace into an “activity-based use their mobile device as a desk phone, workforce, but it is also making their working “ model with upgraded facilities to take and make phone calls from their people more productive. and technology to enable employees office phone number, join conference “A sales person can spend a great deal options when they are in the office and calls, transfer people into and out of calls of time travelling and away from their in/out of customer visits. and collaborate with desktop sharing,” traditional office. With a laptop and “We also support different start and she explains.

ShoreTel Mobility, they can work in an finish times as we are operating with a “For example, with ShoreTel Mobility, airport, in a taxi, in a hotel – they’re not global mindset, compressed work weeks, our calendar and conference dialer are constrained by geography or logistics,” part-time and home-based working integrated on our smartphone or tablet, so adds Mancuso.

– everything from one day a week to we know what conference calls are on our Over at NAB, Colley elaborates the full-time. The demands of the business schedules and can join them with a single organisation possesses flexibility in and the individual job role are factors click of a button in the application.” when and how leave is taken, job sharing, that determine what agreements compressed working weeks, part are in place on an individual level,” time work and working from home. she says.

In addition, she discloses that all Ierardo states there really isn’t a roles at NAB are open to applications one-size-fits-all policy at Verizon. from NAB people proposing full “Different employees will have time, part time or other flexible varying needs and requirements and working arrangements.

According to a recent survey conducted online, by Harris all managers work closely with their “At the Group level, we have Poll on behalf of EY, approximately one in 10 US workers respective HR Business Partner to recently made our 12-week paid claimed they have “suffered a negative consequence as a address any requests that are out of primary carer’s leave policy more result of having a flexible work schedule” and the proportion the ordinary,” she adds. accessible to new fathers and other is even higher for millennials, or nearly one in six.

While Mancuso acknowledges non-birth parents and we are Other findings revealed that: there is value in having employees looking to roll out a similar policy • Across the board, millennials highly appreciate increased work from an office to work for our offices in Asia,” says Colley. flexibility and paid parental leave and claimed they would collaboratively, meet face-to-face, Furthermore, to formalise be more prone to recommend that company to others, be and engage with colleagues, she its range of flexible working more engaged, less likely to quit, more likely to join the says ShoreTel encourages its people arrangements that allow NAB company and work longer hours if they were offered. to focus on the work that needs employees to work in a way that • US Millennials are the most likely generation to say they to be done, rather than enforce a better suits their lifestyles, Colley would change jobs or careers, give up an opportunity for a requirement to sit at a desk for a explains NAB at the Group level promotion, and to “take a pay cut to have flexibility.” set period of time. has developed a comprehensive “There are examples of jobs “Flexible Working Toolkit”. that require a level of face-toAccording to her, the toolkit face service, for example a receptionist All of the company’s business calls provides holistic information, resources who needs to be available during certain come through on its mobile device and e-learning support that are business hours, but for other types of through ShoreTel Mobility. centred around NAB’s flexible working employees, we focus on outcomes and “Even if we missed a call, we can principles including ensuring equity for productivity rather than hours clocked up quickly view voicemail messages using all, enhancing business outcomes, an in the office,” she elaborates. the visual voicemail application and efficient approach, effective partnerships, “Our engineers are an example of a group select those that need immediate empowering and transforming, and of employees who tend to work nonattention, allowing us to quickly review evolving and improving. traditional hours. They often prefer to start and respond to a customer with a Colley says some NAB teams have work a little later in the day, and will work question or a co-worker with a problem – adopted staggered working hours long into the night, because this is when all while on the go,” she says among the team members to allow for they are most productive or most creative.”

“So, by making the tools available to those with family commitments in the Mancuso reveals every employee at everyone, we provide our employees with morning to start and end their days later.

ShoreTel has a laptop, and the company’s the flexibility to do their job, where ever “We also have a number of staff in Asia mobile Unified Communications they may be.” who have opted for shorter work weeks, application, ShoreTel Mobility, is available According to her, the benefit of this part time hours (e.g. working for 5 half as an app to download onto smartphones. is that not only is the organisation days a week) and working from home on “This application allows our people to providing greater flexibility to its some days in the week,” she says.

Enduring a “backlash” for flexible working?

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 35

Looking for employee spa benefits?

One Spa Programme, Two Unique Experience!

The Luxury Experience

Ikeda Spa Prestige at Clarke Quay

The Cosy Experience Ikeda Spa at Bukit Timah

Wellness@work Programme

EXCLUSIVE to HR Manager

Enjoy the following spa benefits when you flash your staff pass / name card.

• • • •

25% off ala carte spa treatments for first visit Birthday 1 for 1 spa treats Event & goodie bag sponsorship Corporate wellness workshop (PIC claimable)

Book a complimentary spa trial (60 min massage) to find out more about us. *T&C Apply

Email marcom@ikedaspa.com with the following header “Wellness@Work Programme”

Singapore’s Award Winning Japanese Spa Renowned as one of the best day spas in Singapore, Ikeda Spa is a quaint retreat that feels just like a Japanese hot spring resort. Authentic interiors and personal service make this oriental retreat an exclusive privilege for a select few. Experience the art of Japanese relaxation without flying.

Country Winner for Best Luxury Day Spa

FLEXIBLE WORKING On a personal level, Colley explains that throughout her career at NAB, the bank has supported her need to work shorter day weeks in order for her to meet her family commitments.

“As a people leader, I also encourage my team to work from home and now have two members formally working from home once a week,” she adds.

“A large part of the success of flexible working is ensuring that our people have the right infrastructure and support to work well in an offsite environment.”

Merits of flexi-work While firms are ramping up their flexible working practices to accommodate the diverse needs of employees, some hardlined bosses will always be suspicious of the merits of flexible working and its perceived productivity levels.

According to Wu, she stresses the important aspect to focus on is actually not flexible working.

Rather, she says the key is to focus on is making sure the organisation hires the right people to join the business who believe in the same vision and who has the same values as the firm.

“If you get this right, then things like working hours, whether an individual is more productive working in the office or from home, how many sick days they’ve had – they no longer matter,” she explains.

“We have seen where we’ve accommodated individuals that they in fact work even harder on days they work from home to ensure the team in the office doesn’t potentially suffer from them not being there. It’s also about communication and making sure both sides communicate clear expectations right from the beginning.”

Wu says LEWIS also understands that circumstances change.

“So for us, if a flexible work arrangement has been agreed, it should also open to potentially changing due to employer or employee needs. We make sure we keep an open and flexible mindset and we ask our employees to do the same,” she adds.

“It’s not about where employees work, it’s about the work they deliver. Flexible working is exactly that – flexible. The employees know it’s there, so in the event they need to use it, they do” Jennifer Wu, Senior Talent Manager, APAC for LEWIS PR From NAB’s perspective, Colley says the firm’s “Flexible Working Toolkit” provides comprehensive guidelines and checklists for both its people and their managers to ensure that flexible work solutions continue to support the way the organisation work and the business outcome it needs to achieve.

“In Asia we have also observed through our recruitment process that people seek to join NAB because of our strong diversity and inclusion agenda as well as our strong commitment to advocating work-life balance through policies such as our flexible working policies,” she explains.

Ierardo maintains that managers and employees are accountable for performance.

“We have a transparent performance management cycle embedded in our culture and our managers are equipped to address performance concerns when they arise, rather than waiting until the yearend review,” she explains.

“If a flexible arrangement is not working, the manager is responsible for addressing and correcting any issues that are impacting business performance.”

Nevertheless, Ierardo says the company has a strong employee engagement score of 85% from a recent internal employee opinion survey in the region.

“As we have been implementing the workspace upgrades around the region, our employees respond with an 80% agreement that the new style of working improves collaboration and enables flexibility,” she adds.

According to Mancuso, ShoreTel has encountered examples of employees who planned on resigning due to family relocation or other personal needs, and in some cases, the firm has been able to retain talent due to accommodations that could be made that suited both the business and the individual.

“We also benefit from having a workforce that is 25% female, which matches the industry standard in technology companies, with 25% of management positions also being held by women,” she says.

“We believe that our flexible work arrangements support women to take on more demanding and higher level roles.

This is not the case in many industries, and you will find that a woman’s decision to have a family can negatively impact career goals and advancement.”

Wu points out that just last year, LEWIS had an average growth rate of around 25% in APAC. “So what we can say is that flexible work arrangements has not hampered or slowed our growth in any way,” she says.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 37

MORE ENGAGED, MORE EFFECTIVE,

MORE PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES.

Whether it is support for mind, body, or life, Workplace Options provides the assistance employees need to be their best.

• Global EAP • Counselling • Work-Life

• Stress Management • On-Site Critical Incident

Through 13 Global Service Centers and a worldwide network of professionals, we support 48 million people across 59,000 organisations in 200+ countries and territories.

To learn more about how we can make your workforce better, visit www.workplaceoptions.com

CORPORATE HEALTH

Boosting mental health Are your employees displaying signs of stress-related problems? HRM looks at ways to boost mental health at the workplace Sumathi V Selvaretnam sumathi@hrmasia.com.sg

E

mployees spend a large amount of their waking hours at the workplace. Stress at work is often inevitable but not keeping it in check can be detrimental not only to the employee’s well-being, but the organisation’s as well.

According to the findings of the Singapore Mental Health Survey, conducted in 2011, one in seven young people in Singapore are afflicted with a mental disorder before the age of 30.

In 2014, the Institute of Mental Health treated some 600 people

aged 20 to 29 for depression – a nine per cent increase over the 550 young people who sought help in the previous year. Doctors identified increasing competition at work as one of the contributing factors to this predicament.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 39

CORPORATE HEALTH According to the Health Promotion Board, significant levels of stress, poor management practices, and high work intensity all negatively influence the relationship between mental health and productivity.

“It is also important to note that mental health is more than just the absence of mental illnesses, such as depression, but also relates to the set of mental wellbeing capacities that helps one to positively experience life and effectively manage its challenges,” says Gary Khoo, Director, Preventive Health Programmes Division, Health Promotion Board.

Enhancing mental health is something relevant to all employees and can bring positive benefits for both individuals and their employers. These include increased job satisfaction, enhanced employee morale, higher engagement, increased staff retention, improved productivity and, ultimately, increased profits, says Khoo.

On a very basic level, employers come out ahead when their employees are operating at their best, says Choo Kum Seng, Director of Business Solutions (Asia-Pacific), Workplace Options. “If employers can provide mental health support to employees at a reasonable cost, then there is an incredible advantage to do it.”

Creating a supportive work environment In some organisations, employees who

Measuring effectiveness How do you assess if your workplace health initiatives are truly making a difference in your employees’ lives?

Companies can use simple questionnaires for feedback or tools, such as an assessment scale. One such resource is the Singapore Mental Wellbeing Scale and Depression Anxiety Stress scale, which is available on the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy Mind Hub at www.hpb.gov.sg/healthymindhub.

constantly clock in long hours are lauded for their hard work and dedication.

However, truly progressive employers actively encourage their employees to strike a balance between their work and personal lives.

“When there is poor work-life balance, some employees may struggle to cope, which in turn impacts negatively on their mental well-being as well as their senses of satisfaction and engagement towards the company,” says Khoo.

One common practice followed by progressive companies is the availability of flexible work arrangements, such as flexi-time and telecommuting.

Going further, companies can also consider setting up committees to look at employee health and welfare matters, and conduct regular company-wide

Would you consider an open vacation policy?

Workplace Options works with a number of companies around the world that have adopted an open vacation policy for employees. In such companies, employees are allowed to take as much time off as they need or want.

“On the surface, this seems like it could be dangerous for the employer. But what has happened is that employees understand that they have a job to do, and they do what they need to do to get it done,” says Choo Kum Seng, Director of Business Solutions (Asia-Pacific), Workplace Options.

“This allows employees the flexibility to take a day off when they need to without worrying about whether they will have enough leave left over for a holiday later in the year.”

Such arrangements not only encourage work-life balance, but also boost productivity and make employees feel more empowered, he explains.

40 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

engagement activities such as Sports Days or Family Days. “These initiatives not only help to promote a sense of work-life balance, but also encourage social bonding and help build support networks that employees can tap on during difficult times,” Khoo says.

“Leadership also plays a pivotal role in setting the tone, endorsement of time and resources, and encouraging employee participation,” he adds.

Managers need to set the tone, says Choo. “Setting expectations for employees is also incredibly important.

This responsibility usually falls on managers, especially those dealing with younger employees. Some younger employees feel pressured to always be accessible and to be working at all hours of the day. Companies should explain what is expected from Day One and allow employees to structure their time to meet those demands in the way that makes the most sense for them, personally.

“Everyone’s schedule and demands outside of work are different. The companies that understand this, communicate that they understand this, and open lines of clear communication so employees can discuss their needs.”

“They are the ones that generally do the best job of creating a culture of strong mental health among employees,” Choo adds.

“Helping employees understand that it is OK to disconnect and manage their personal affairs can go a long way to fostering an employee population that is healthy, focused, and productive.”

Embarking on a workplace wellness programmes Before selecting a suitable mental well-being programme, companies first need to understand the needs of their employees.

“For the programme to be effective, companies should plan based on their employees’ needs and address the challenges they face. They can assess their employees’ current levels of mental well-being, stress levels and satisfaction via mental

CORPORATE HEALTH health assessment tools or employee engagement surveys,” says Khoo.

Being armed with such information allows companies to identify and scope programmes to address specific areas they may wish to focus on.

Mental wellbeing programmes at the workplace today are going beyond lunchtime talks. Service providers such as Workplace Options are able to create more customised programmes that meet individual needs.

The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), for example, is an employee benefit that organisations purchase on behalf of their staff. “EAPs are intended to help employees deal with personal problems that might adversely impact their work performance, health, and well-being,” Choo says.

“EAPs generally include short-term consultation and referral services, and support the employee and their dependents. They have direct access to health care professionals 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and all calls are strictly private and confidential.”

In one instance, an employee called up a Workplace Options-run EAP service to express her frustration at being passed over for a promotion, despite her best efforts at work. In her conversation with the counsellor, the employee who was also a cancer survivor, began to open up about her mental and physical struggles over the past years and became very emotional.

“Following a lengthy discussion, the counsellor began to help the woman talk through her feelings,” Choo shares.

“By the end, the client became much happier, even beginning to laugh as they discussed self-help strategies that could assist her in managing her emotions.”

In the follow-up call two days later, the woman reported being much more atease knowing that someone legitimately concerned with her well-being was available through the EAP service. “They made arrangements to have additional regular scheduled sessions and the woman was incredibly grateful to have access to the support,” Choo says.

Workplace stress triggers Employees will, at some point, feel the pressure of work-related stress, which is the psychological and emotional tension reactions experienced when they are exposed to the pressures of managing demands at work.

Some of these workplace-related issues include: • Pressure to meet deadlines or targets; • Challenging projects or excessive workloads; • Threat of or actual job loss; • Work re-deployment ,conflicting demands ,unclear expectations or changes in the organisation; and • Poor interpersonal relationships or support in the workplace.

Employees who experience difficulties may be reluctant to seek help due to the stigma associated with poor mental health and apprehension regarding their employer’s reaction to them seeking help. It is therefore important for employers to nurture work environments that are supportive and encourage them to seek help when necessary.

Source: Health Promotion Board

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 41

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

Business skills for HR 42 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

T

he nature of HR has changed over the decades. It has moved from a transactional function, handling things like payroll, to becoming a more business-oriented element of an organisation. Nowadays, it is not new for the chief HR officer to be part of the C-suite or for true HR business partners to be present in an organisation.

However, industry experts say that though HR has a presence at the executive table, the function is still perceived by many to be transactional.

HR can change this mindset by improving skills and aligning goals with the business needs of the company. HR professionals also need to build relationships with leaders and departments in order for their views to be heard.

Building a business mindset

HRM looks at the core business skills that will boost HR’s value as a business partner and give workforce professionals a stronger voice at the executive table Priya de Langen

Experts say that HR professionals need to look beyond just learning hard or soft skills, and align their ideas with the organisation’s business goals.

“It is more about changing mindset and becoming transformational, rather than transactional in the way that HR sees itself and the ways employees see HR,” explains Darryl Parrant, Managing Director, Align HR Group. “A lot of employees at all levels see HR as the ‘gatekeepers’; as the people who enforce the rules, pay people, recruit and onboard, the people who make things difficult rather than easy.”

Parrant says that it is essential that HR work on the skills that can help them gain a deeper understanding of the organisation. “We need to look at business strategy; business execution; business alignment; and business collaboration. Those four skills have the word ‘business’ in them and none of them have ‘HR’. So, reskilling is about understanding the business and the depth of the business and how it operates and the commercialisation activities,” he states.

Parrant adds that reskilling for HR is really about where the business is going and how HR can partner with the key ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 43

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT people and find opportunities to align, while managing the obstacles to ensure that the business is on the right path.

Chris Dewar, Faculty Director, Design & Development for Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) affirms that HR needs to build relationships and have a strategic perspective. “It is not just about learning and understanding the core businesses but the ability to have a strategic perspective from a couple of different viewpoints. If you talk with your business leaders that you are supporting from ‘different lenses’, you have the chance of having more influence at the (executive) table.”

looking for,” she says. “How do the two groups work together translating all that data? Besides giving data to the HR, what else can the organisation provide? And if HR recommends something, does the department work with them or against them on it?”

He explains that HR comes up with a tactical action plan which it has to implement over a year or longer. Also, Align uses its team of experienced coaches and management mentors so that the HR team is aligned and fulfilling the project.

Service providers also offer coaching courses to HR to improve their coaching Reskilling HR skills and help them relate to stakeholders.

Recent studies show that HR needs Executive Coach International offers the reskilling in these areas, and service Professional Coach Training Programme, providers offer numerous programmes accredited by the International Coaching to help them achieve just that. These Federation, which takes about six months range from learning projects to skillsto complete. Loo says that mainly HR based courses. recruiters and management attend. “The Align HR Consulting develops toolkits, majority of HR and top management for example, on succession planning, join this programme as HR finds it really Collaborating on data performance management, and training important that they start to relate to a Big Data is a major topic in the and development frameworks: some person a lot more,” she explains. profession. With HR having Loo states that coaching is access to a huge volume of an add-on skill for HR that information it needs to link that can help them to listen to data to the business needs of the the needs of employees and company, industry professionals allow them to get the right • When asked about reskilling HR, 48% of business respondents reported say. information from the right that HR was “not ready”, compared to 36% of HR respondents “HR needs the technology parties. “They also learn • 57% of business respondents reported that their company was “not and reporting functionality to how to resolve conflicts and ready” when it came to talent and HR analytics, compared to 41 accumulate and manipulate improve their communication percent of HR respondents. the data, and then present the skills. When they pick up Source: Global Human Capital Trends 2014: Engaging the 21st-century data in a dashboard or metric coaching skills, they trust their workforce, Deloitte that allows good decisions instincts a lot more,” she adds. that impact the business to be Currently offered as an inmade. And if HR can lead and drive that, of the critical talent issues facing HR. house solution, CCL runs the Coaching they will be better positioned to sit at “The training is actually embedded in For Human Resource Professionals the executive table. This will also shift the entire process as we communicate (CHRP), a three day programme. Dewar the way people perceive HR,” explains throughout the design and development says that the CHRP helps provide Parrant. process and we provide training as part coaching skills for HR professionals Dewar of CCL says that the volume of of the hand over for HR to implement,” who are often viewed as an internal data available to HR leaders these days says Parrant. “It is on-the-job training – coach inside an organisation or those is almost overwhelming. “The challenge we consult first and then we partner and trying to coach a leader inside within the is how to pull the data that is useful and show the value of what the toolkit can do organisation. turn that it into information that helps to impact the organisation.”

CCL also provides the Talent Accelerator you make the (business) decision.”

Parrant says that Align also develops Programme (TAP), a three day course Mei Yee Loo, General Manager of ‘Action Learning Projects’. “We sit for HR practitioners who are involved in Executive Coach International, says: down with the HR team or CEO and we talent management – identifying high“If HR can link their data skills and determine a strategic issue that HR can potentials and helping develop leadership business acumen, it will be a huge asset do to add value to the organisation. We programmes. “What we do is in addition to the organisation.” However, she says then design a ‘real live’ case scenario or to how to have a talent review, the that for HR to work with data accurately Action Learning Project that the HR team programme teaches HR how to teach line there needs to be partnership among the then has to approach; prepare a project managers to have talent conversations. departments in the organisation. “HR plan with clear objectives, strategies, We also teach influence tactics that might have the data but the departments and measures; and then implement and are going to be most effective in the have the qualitative criteria that they are evaluate the impact over time.” environment that they are working in.”

Figures on HR:

44 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

eart H

ORANGE CLOVE CATERING ADVERTORIAL

The

of Your Event

This SG50, walk down Singapore’s food trail with Orange Clove Catering and discover how to spruce up your corporate event with what we all love.

W

hat comes to mind when you think of Singapore food culture? Is it those food photographs that you put up on Instagram, or the mandatory condiments that we pair with our food? There are also many dishes that we take pride in and will always recommend to our friends abroad when they are here on our island for the first time.

It is likely most Singaporeans will have a different interpretation of our food culture and that is the beauty of it. It reflects the heart of Singapore – the celebration of diversity.

We accept other cultures so unreservedly that we sometimes gather the best from all around and incorporate that into our very own. That is what makes us

and some of our dishes unique.

Many Singaporeans have over time, become connoisseurs themselves – always tasting and sourcing for novel cuisine, experimenting and bringing the art of fusion to its peak.

Singapore food culture dates back to the old days where the hawkers roam the streets with pushcart stalls.

You can now relive those times with Orange Clove’s Complete EventSolutions!

With a full transformation of your venue and provision of authentic live cooking stations, your guests will be transported to a colourful period in our food history.

Orange Clove’s new SG50 menus bring a convergence of multi-cultural goodness – Peranakan, Teochew, Chinese, Malay, Indian… You name it,

Curry Chicken with Potatoes we have it. Expect old school favourites such as Kok Kok Noodles, Muah Chee and Kueh Pie Tee! Presented in different forms, including buffets, live stations and finger food, you can make your selection depending on your event needs.

Our Signature Hainanese Chicken Rice presented in all its glory with ginger, chilli sauce and dark soya sauce.

What’s so special? Served in our own trio whole-grain mix, the rice is extra fragrant

and HEALTHIER! Another healthier choice is our Signature Curry Chicken, which does not make use of any coconut milk. As to how it still achieves a fine balance of spice and flavour- that is a secret that we will keep.

Contact us now to add a touch of nostalgia and ‘wow’ factor to your event! Let the Outstanding Caterer of The Year 2015* make you a hero. *Awarded by World Gourmet Summit

orangeclove.com.sg Hainanese Chicken Rice

Orange Clove Catering

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 45

$4 00

Sa ve

Re On Ea gi ly rly st S er $ Bi be $ rd fo 1,7 S re 9 p 30 5 ec th + i a Ju G l ne ST 20 * 15

HR COMPLIANCE SERIES

CONDUCTING WORKPLACE INVESTIGATION MASTERCLASS “Using the ‘science of interviewing’ in the workplace to improve investigative decision-making, efficacy and quality” 21- 22 July 2015 | Singapore

An investigation into employee wrongdoing can be expensive, time consuming and disruptive to organisational morale. It can certainly lead to a number of legal issues and other unexpected complications if it is not conducted in an ethical, transparent manner with the utmost care and confidentiality.

A well-run investigation can safeguard a company’s welfare, which can help detect the source of lost assets, identify responsible culprits and recover losses. It can also provide a solid defence to legal challenges raised by disgruntled employees. Crucially, a well-executed internal investigation will uphold the company’s integrities and signal to other employees that the organisation will not tolerate misconduct.

Conducting Workplace Investigation Masterclass will guide you through every step of an internal investigation, addressing potential fraud or misconduct, from receiving the initial allegation stage to testifying as a witness. In this course, you will learn how to lead an investigation with accuracy and confidence. This facilitator-led course includes a relevant practical workplace case scenario, which you will work through from initial investigation to resolution. This will provide a practical foundation for you to effectively manage internal investigations in your own organisation.

Must Attend for:

Our Expert Trainer Jonathan Davison Managing Director FORENSIC INTERVIEW SOLUTIONS

• Ex-Detective with the Greater Manchester Police • Over 12 years investigation and interview experience • Advanced Specialist Tier 3 Interviewer and a Qualified Trainer in the field of Investigative Interviewing

VPs/Directors/Heads/Managers of: Industrial Relations, Employee Relations, Union Relations, People Relations, Labour Relations, Legal and Compliance, General Affairs, Human Capital and Human Resources

Learning Objectives • • • • • •

Learn the skills needed and the methods used to conduct an effective investigation Highlight potential legal minefield that might arise during an investigation Use computer and internet technologies to make your investigations more thorough Efficiently collect and analyse internal and external documents Conduct witness and suspect interviews Preparing to testify as a witness

Contact Us to Register! Tel: (65) 6423 4631 | Email: info@hrmasia.com.sg

SEVEN

Bernard Ho Head of Talent Development & Learning, Asia, Global Human Resources, Asia, Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFJ

Job Field:

6.00AM

9.30AM

A typical day for the week starts with me hitting the treadmill to clock my distance. This is provided I am not engaged in early morning global calls with my HR and Learning counterparts from the Americas and EMEA or scurrying off to the airport on business. It is on the machine where I find time to reflect or “sharpen my saw” by going through meaningful educational presentations on TED.

8.30AM Assuming that all is smooth on the Pan Island Expressway, my morning continues with a hearty wife-made sandwich filled with greens, boiled chicken breast and hardboiled egg white (no yolk!).

Time for calls with my Asia and Oceania counterparts to align and track global and regional learning or HR projects.

11.00AM This pre-lunch period is used to catch up with my team to ensure that I address their business issues, and for some sharing and coaching.

12.00PM Heading out to lunch allows me to “sun” myself and I will either do so with my team, stakeholders, external consultants or friends in the profession.

1.00PM This is the period where I often engage in brainstorming

with my colleagues or partners on learning strategies, approaches and interventions.

3.30PM Since India and Pakistan are approximately 2 ½ hours behind Singapore and under my care, calls with them are typically arranged at this time.

There will also be days where I facilitate training programmes held in Singapore for an international audience.

6.00PM This is where I will start my final countdown by reviewing all documents that require my approval, looking through my emails, and making preparations for my business trip the next day or a 9pm conference call.

ALL Banking and Finance Customer Service

WE SEE POTENTIAL IN EVERYONE.

Engineering Healthcare and Medical Human Resources Information Technology Sales and Marketing

At a glance, he appears to be a young man lazing his day away. However upon closer inspection, we’re witnessing a budding engineer with a creative mind. You see, with more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment, we’ve learnt to spot potential in every candidate we place. With our skilled staff and specialist services set up in every industry sector, our applicants aren’t just placed in any job, they’re placed in a job that truly fits.

THE GMP GROUP 1 Raffles Place #13-01, One Raffles Place Tower 1, Singapore 048616 Tel: (65) 67362022 info@gmprecruit.com www.gmprecruit.com License No: 09C3051

SHAPING DESTINIES RECRUITMENT | TECHNOLOGIES | BANKING | INTERNATIONAL | EXECUTIVE SEARCH

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 47

TALENT

LADDER

Katie O’Callaghan

Nong Xia

Linda Hamill-Mamo

Katie O’Callaghan has been appointed as Regional Talent Director for Asia Pacific (APAC) at Geometry Global.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, she will lead the focus on recruitment, talent management and employee development.

As Regional Talent Director, O’Callaghan will be working closely with the APAC management team to drive the people agenda across the region, reporting to John Goodman, Chief Executive for Asia Pacific and Simon Heath, Global Chief Talent Officer.

“I am delighted to have Katie on board,” said John Goodman, Chief Executive for Asia Pacific at Geometry Global.

“She is a vastly experienced HR professional who will be a major asset as we continue to grow in Asia Pacific. As a business, we are focused on investing in and nurturing our people at all levels. Katie will lead a more systematic and structured approach to talent development, performance management and recruitment.”

Commenting on the issue of talent in Asia, O’Callaghan said, “Employees are one of the most critical assets for any business. It is imperative that we not only attract and recruit exceptional individuals, but also nurture and develop our current talent pool. By creating an environment where individuals can thrive and forge longstanding careers with us, we are aiming to build a leadership pipeline for the future.”

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced the appointment of Nong Xia as Senior Vice President, Head of Acquisitions and Development for Greater China.

He is based out of Starwood’s Greater China regional office in Shanghai, and will lead the development efforts in Greater China to grow the company’s footprint.

Prior to joining Starwood, Nong Xia spent 14 years with Hyatt Hotels Corporation as Senior Vice President, Real Estate & Development. He was responsible for development in Mainland China, Taiwan and the Mongolian Republic.

“Nong Xia was the ideal front-runner to oversee our development efforts in one of Starwood’s most important and fastest growing markets, where trends continue to point to exponentially rising domestic and outbound travel,” said Stephen Ho, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific.

“Even as we near our 150th operating hotel milestone in Greater China, we still have a long runway for growth. Nong Xia’s strong track record and award-winning performance is set to be instrumental in accelerating our footprint in the country.”

Matthew Fry, Senior Vice President, Global Development, said, “Footprint growth is a key priority for Starwood in 2015 and Nong Xia’s expertise, proven track record and strong relationships with owners and developers will help us continue to drive development in this fast-growing region.”

Linda Hamill-Mamo joins VMware this month as their HR Director for ANZ and APJ Marketing.

As a core member of the Australian Leadership team, Hamill will be partnering VMware’s sales and marketing teams on business transformation and the people side of change. She becomes part of the VMware APAC HR team under the leadership of Anu Datta.

Based out of Sydney, she will be heavily focused on talent management, diversity, mergers/acquisition, performance optimisation and organisational development.

Hamill has worked as an HR professional for over 20 years, the last 15 years within the IT industry and prior to that, within the health and retail sectors.

Hamill joins VMware from Microsoft where she worked for the last 4 ½ years as their Asia HR Director for Services and later, as the HR Director for ANZ. She has spent 10 years in regional roles including several years living and working in Singapore – an experience that she really treasures.

On her new role, she says, “I am really excited to be joining the VMware business with such a dynamic and motivated team. I could tell right from the interview process that the team is really genuine with a can-do attitude.

Now that I’ve started, I can see that is really a testament to the authentic leadership that comes through from the senior folks in the team.”

Regional Talent Director for Asia Pacific (APAC), Geometry Global

48 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

Senior Vice President, Head of Acquisitions and Development for Greater China, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

HR Director, VMware

AHRDSPEAKS

Managing a large and diverse workforce W

orking as an HR professional in a company like Dairy Farm, which oversees household names such as Cold Storage, Giant, Guardian and 7-Eleven, is both a privilege and a challenge. I feel proud that I play a part in managing an almost 10,000-strong workforce, and that our services reach out to all segments of society, and cut across all demographics.

At the same time, the challenge of serving the varied needs of our customers is the same one we face with our employees.

This is because our workforce composition reflects the same diversity that is present in our consumer demographic. I have learnt that patience and empathy are keys, and attentiveness is a must when managing different needs and the feedback of staff.

In particular, our older workers, or “golden employees” as we call them here at Dairy Farm, display commendable patience when dealing with difficult situations.

They are inspiringly positive in the face of demanding customer service situations, and trade their

physical agility for wealth and experience. In fact, they embody key attributes that we look for in new hires, and are often our brand ambassadors across stores.

My experience at Dairy Farm has taught me lessons both as an HR professional and a human being. I have been inspired by the organic and spontaneous ‘human relations’ that occur at our stores, whether at the checkouts, in the aisles or in the back of stores. Truly, HR is not just limited to a management level, but is often exemplified in the most simple of human encounters.

Jocelyn Chan Group Manager, Human Capital, Dairy Farm Singapore

HRCLINIC

How can HR manage employee diversity in globalising organisations?

I

n Samsung, we operate in over 80 countries and employees embrace diversity.

In addition to multiple generations and cultures, we invite new hires from varied industries and sectors as well as talents with retail business-to-consumer backgrounds and talents from technology and enterprise with business-to-business backgrounds.

Recognising the importance of embracing diversity, we begin with a comprehensive onboarding programme at three levels: local, regional, and at headquarter level.

The weekly programme emphasises cultural awareness and harmonising team approaches in line with Samsung’s values and beliefs. We organise a combination of activities to cater to a variety of interests for all backgrounds and generations, such as visits to the Innovation Centre, a trip to the Art

Museum and an experience at the Guide Dogs’ Home.

Given our Korean heritage, there is often the perception that we operate as a purely Korean company.

Recognising this, we run programmes to share the Samsung culture (rather than Korean culture) with emphasis on our Global Leadership Framework, which addresses values and competencies.

HR employees apply the competencies to all aspects of their work, from candidates’ selection to performance management, and from employee engagement to learning and career development.

Grace Wong

Vice President and Head of HR, Southeast Asia, Oceania and Taiwan, Samsung

Ask our HR experts. Email your questions to sham@hrmasia.com.sg ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 49

HR YOUNG GUNS

HR FROM THE CLASSROOM Every month, HRM speaks to a young university talent hoping to carve out a career in HR upon graduation

What attracted you to HR? Why are you studying it?

My personal interest lies in understanding how people function, and why people behave the ways that they do. My school experience has allowed me to work with a multitude of people from difficult cultures. This, in turn, has given me the opportunity to learn from them, and appreciate different viewpoints apart from my own. HR is a fitting area of work as the crux of it deals with managing the interests of individuals, which demands that a person in HR be able to look at things from different perspectives. I feel that going into this field will be of most relevance to my interest.

What aspect of HR do you hope to specialise in upon graduation?

Training and development is one domain which I find I can apply what I have learnt from both my majors: psychology and HR. More importantly, it is aligned with some of my interests. Boring as it sounds, I actually enjoy doing research as I feel that I get to learn new and interesting information. This aspect of HR allows me to evaluate existing training programmes and develop content for them.

I find it rewarding that people can gain useful knowledge and skills relevant for their job through training programmes that I have played a part in designing.

The top three things you want from your HR career?

I wish to be involved in HR project teams so that I get to come up with creative solutions for training

50 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

programmes. Also, continuous learning is something I wish to have in my career so that I can stay relevant and updated when I develop and design programmes.

Lastly, I hope to immerse myself in other aspects of HR so that I get to broaden my perspectives and gain more insights.

What challenges do you anticipate?

I think that it might be difficult to motivate individuals at the workplace, as employees may not always see the importance behind training and the need to stay relevant. In other words, there may be inertia for change at the workplace. As a HR professional, I feel it is crucial to look into the needs of the employees and provide training opportunities for them.

Also, every workplace has its own unique organisational culture and a key challenge for HR professionals is to adapt what has been learnt in theory and apply it well in the industry that they work in.

Your HR career five years from now?

I hope to specialise in HR consulting in the future. To take on this role well, I have to gain a lot of exposure and experience in other HR areas.

It is crucial that I get a good understanding of the business that my clients deal with so that I can help to maximise the organisation’s performance and potential in the long run.

I feel that an HR consultant will be an exciting and fulfilling role as I will get to have the opportunity to tackle problems and come up with wellresearched and supported solutions.

Amanda Tan Jia Qi Third-year social sciences student, First Major in Psychology, Second Major in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources, School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University

It is therefore crucial that I do my job well in a multitude of HR areas.

Hobbies and inspiration?

As someone with an outgoing personality, I like to unwind during the weekends with family and friends, by exercising or having a gathering over meals. Also, I like to join marathons for the fun of them, as I think that it is an interesting bonding activity with my family.

The benefits of multicultural HR teams

By Amanda Tan Jia Qi

A

ccording to a Forbes Insights report, diversity and inclusion are key areas companies are paying attention to. It is believed that a diverse workforce provides greater insights into business issues.

With the onset of globalisation, the workplace is more than often made up of employees of different nationalities who simultaneously bring varied cultural values and ideas.

Cooperative and well-managed multicultural teams are associated with lower levels of “groupthink” and increased sharing of diverse opinions. In addition, psychological research on culture has found that when multicultural teams sort out differences in their ideas, it can lead to greater creativity and innovation – ideals that are so crucial to businesses today.

Because HR professionals play such a strategic role in managing a multicultural workforce, if handled well, a company with such differing employees can reap many benefits.

Bridging cultural gaps By employing a multicultural HR team, HR professionals can learn to be more culturally exposed and sensitive. Being more culturally aware, HR professionals can act as middle-men in dealing with cultural diversity in the workplace. Due to cultural differences in working styles and values, multicultural employees may have a tendency to divide and socialise separately. This division can cause a buildup in tension at work, and jeopardise company goals.

By exposing and training HR teams to appreciate and sort out cultural differences at work, HR professionals can learn how to bridge divisions between employees.

The HR department plays a core role in implementing infrastructure initiatives to improve employee communication in organisations.

Gaining experience in dealing with multicultural colleagues can drive the HR team to come up with better support systems aimed at normalising cultural differences at the workplace.

Creativity and HR functions A multicultural HR team is likely to be more creative in generating beneficial ideas for the organisation in the long run. An effective multicultural HR team allows for idea expansion through cultural perspective-taking.

According to researchers, cultural perspective taking requires that individuals actively take others’ ideas into consideration, thereby creating room for idea elaboration and integration. This strategy allows HR departments to be more innovative and creative. More importantly, it allows such companies to gain a competitive edge over their rivals, as they are able to integrate, manage, and provide well for their employees.

Creativity and innovation are crucial to the success of the HR department’s reward and motivation initiatives. Such strategies have been known to improve employee welfare and satisfaction at work. Creativity is also crucial to the HR department as it aims to craft strategies to attract,

retain and motivate talents, as well as for other HR functions.

Potential tensions in a multicultural team Multicultural teams work best when members are willing to communicate openly about their differences and work together to bridge their cultural gaps. However, miscommunication and differences in working styles can cause tension between employees.

This conflict is especially prevalent in teams consisting of members from individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Employees from individualistic cultures may prefer direct confrontation when conflict arises. On the other hand, employees from collectivistic cultures prefer indirect confrontation. Such disagreements in decision-making can cause unnecessary delays and disruption to project plans.

Consequently, work does not get completed effectively or efficiently.

Hence, when tensions in the HR department occur, it can spell a huge problem for the organisation.

Being aware of these potential problems can allow HR professionals to be better prepared. Moreover, it can allow companies to come up with preventive strategies and infrastructure to guard against such issues.

In summary, the HR department is crucial to managing multicultural teams and more importantly, can influence other company managers to implement culturally sensitive practices in order to create a more conducive environment for creativitybuilding, efficient and effective work.

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 51

HIGH

IMPACT HR

UOB:

TAPPING ON SPECIAL TALENT How can companies tap on the special-needs workforce to create an inclusive business environment? UOB shares its award-winning inclusive employment initiative

Shalini Shukla-Pandey shalini@hrmasia.com.sg

U

nited Overseas Bank Group (UOB) is the first in its industry to put in place a structured employment process offering professional full-time office positions to people with autism.

Its efforts have borne fruit. Last month, it won the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) May Day Model Partnership Award in the Management Category for its inclusive employment initiative.

The only bank among 106 winners at this year’s awards, UOB was recognised

by NTUC for having redesigned its work processes and modified the workplace at the UOB Scan Hub – the bank’s nerve centre for the checking, digitisation and archiving of customer documents.

52 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

From left to right: Susan Hwee, UOB Group Head – Technology & Operations; Denise Phua, President, the Autism Resource Centre; Feng Zhi Hua, Clerical Assistant, UOB Scan Hub This effort has meant it is able to offer meaningful employment opportunities to people with special needs.

Examples of the redesigning and modifying efforts include setting up work stations for specific tasks,

and using different colours for work trays and the duty roster to clearly differentiate daily tasks.

Currently, people with autism make up 30% of the employees at UOB Scan Hub. Employees there must possess a

redesigning work processes under the sharp eye for detail and a methodical guidance of ARC, the bank assigned approach – qualities which match the work buddies to each employee to abilities of many people with autism. help them adjust to the working Susan Hwee, head of Group environment. In addition, Technology and Operations, ARC placed job coaches onsite UOB Group, said the bank was to guide their work and train honoured to be recognised for Today, people with autism represent supervisors on how to manage its efforts to champion inclusive employees with autism. business in Singapore.

“By focusing on an “We began our inclusive of all employees at individual’s abilities and journey at the UOB Scan Hub the UOB Scan Hub contribution in the workplace, with the vision to create UOB began the initiative meaningful and long-term with the firm belief that the job opportunities for our meaningful, long-term employment employees by understanding and opportunities would benefit both the focusing on their different abilities,” bank and the people it employs,” says says Hwee. “It is heartening to see Hwee. that this journey has touched the lives Since the initiative started, there of many of our employees and their has been an overall increase in work families. productivity and a decrease in employee “At the same time, the bank has turnover rate. also benefitted from having a stable “UOB will continue to invest in and reliable team of employees who training and developing career are committed and enthusiastic about progression plans to help employees their work – because the tasks draw on with special needs take on more the specific strengths that they have,” responsibilities at the Scan Hub,” Hwee she adds. concludes.

30%

UOB wins NTUC May Day Model Partnership Award The May Day Model Partnership Awards recognise individuals and organisations who have improved productivity at the workplace and invested in employee training programmes to create sustainable employment opportunities. The Management category focuses on those who have improved jobs through innovation, productivity measures and their employment sourcing practices.

Working with special talent

UOB started offering job opportunities to people with autism at the UOB Scan Hub in 2013, because the bank found that they had the right abilities needed for the job: strong attention to detail and accuracy in their work, high levels of concentration, reliability, and commitment.

Together with the Autism Resource Centre’s (ARC’s) Employability and Employment Centre, UOB redesigned work processes, modified its office environment and developed structured training programmes to enable people to join its Scan Hub team.

“When we began our discussions with the ARC on how we could redesign particular clerical roles to create employment opportunities for people with autism, we really were charting new ground,” says Hwee.

UOB and ARC established a structured employment process including selection, on-boarding, training and counselling to help its new employees with autism succeed. Besides

CASE STUDY Special talent at UOB Tay Wei Qun, an employee with autism who works as a clerical assistant at the United Overseas Bank Group’s (UOB’s) Scan Hub facility, looks forward to expanding his job scope and career opportunities with the bank. He has been working at UOB Scan Hub for a year. “I like everything at UOB Scan Hub and I can learn many new things,” says Tay. Another UOB Scan Hub employee with autism, Feng Zhi Hua, Clerical Assistant, says: “Working at UOB Scan Hub means I can finally do a job that I like and I can use the money that I earn to buy daily necessities and the things that I like.”

Co-workers enjoy the experience of working with talents like Tay and Feng as well.

“My colleagues with autism are helpful and complete the daily tasks assigned to them,” says Mary Tan, Senior Grade Clerk, UOB Scan Hub. “It has been an eye-opening experience working with them and they have also influenced me to pay more attention to details at work.”

Parents of UOB Scan Hub employees with autism also applaud the bank’s inclusive employment efforts.

“My son looks forward to leaving home for work every morning and has become more cheerful and willing to express himself,” says Feng’s mother. “I feel relieved and happy when I see that he is able to work and fit in with his colleagues at UOB Scan Hub because this way, he can have a more fulfilling life.”

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 53

HRM CONGRESS HIGHLIGHT

HRM CONGRESS POST EVENT REPORT

Change masterclass HRM Asia selected one of the world’s biggest leadership gurus to lead its first Organisational Development Workshop

H

RM Asia’s inaugural Organisational Development Workshop, held at the Hilton Singapore last month, was a highly engaging event with a lively group of senior HR leaders.

The two-day event was facilitated

by Arthur Carmazzi, who is considered one of the Top 10 most influential Leadership Gurus in the world. The founder of Directive Communication Psychology, Carmazzi is a senior consultant, advisor and mentor within the areas of change leadership, organisational development, and corporate culture transformations.

The fruitful discussions and hands-on activities on cultural changes in teams helped participants understand how emotions, cooperation and staff commitment can affect organisational culture. The presentations and interactive debates among participants confirmed the need for team members to

Ice-breaking game in progress

think beyond their own selves and work to cohesively take actions as a team. This fun and actionfocused workshop had participants reflecting on their team structures and how they could cultivate better instill behavioural changes in their organisations.

HRM Asia hopes participants keep in touch with the contacts they made and continue to participate in our upcoming HR congresses.

The speaker was very effective in connecting with the participants and was able to explain difficult, complex concepts in bite-sized nuggets” – Senior Assistant Director, Ministry of Manpower Singapore

54 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

Delegates taking part in an interactive team activity

Mark your calendars now!

• Social Media for HR Masterclass, 17-18 June 2015 • Employment Law & Compliance Asia Congress, 23-24 June 2015 • HRM Awards Best Practices Seminar, 30 June 2015 • HR Compliance Series: Conducting Workplace investigation, 21-22 July 2015 • Strategic Crisis Management and Communications Masterclass, 29-30 July 2015

IN PERSON MICHAEL VAZ

Director of Global HR Development, Service and Attitude – Luxury and Upscale Brands, Accor Hospitality How many years HR experience?

11 exciting years! The first year gave me a great foundation in HR practices. However, 10 out of these 11 years, I spent in the area of Learning and Development and I believe it will always stay that way.

Why HR?

Close to 12 years ago, I hosted an Annual “Employee party” at a hotel company I worked with. The following day, the HR director at the time came up and asked me if I had ever considered a career in Learning and Development. I love public speaking, exciting people in a training room, inspiring, and engaging them. In my role, changing mindsets to a better way of leading and living is a real motivator for me.

Why Accor?

I joined Accor two years ago as they offered me an opportunity to explore and grow in a new region.

Up until that time, I’d always been based in Dubai. I took on the Regional Director of Talent Development role for Sofitel China which turned out to be a truly inspirational year in terms of learning a beautiful new culture and innovating to adapt. It’s one of the things I’d recommend to anyone – try at least one or two international moves in your career! A year later, I was offered an exciting opportunity to take on the Global Director of HR Development role with the Luxury and Upscale global marketing team in Singapore. The move has proven to be one of the most exciting and innovative roles I’ve ever been blessed with in my career.

Biggest achievement?

Being able to play “Dad” to three loud, passionate, and happy kids every day.

BOOK REVIEW

Ease yourself into senior management H

ave you made the step up to senior management but feel lost amid a sea of complexities? Are you still unfamiliar with the skillsets and resources required to perform tasks to perfection?

If so, then Becoming a Top Manager: Tools and Lessons in Transitioning to General Management, will provide an important framework to assimilate yourself into a senior role.

Revolved around themes from INSEAD’s famous “Transition to General Management” programme, authors Kevin Kaiser, Michael Pich, and IJ Schecter provide sensible counsel and practical acumens for those seeking to climb up the corporate ladder to senior management positions.

By focussing on the stories of three managers making that shift in their careers, the book not only underlines the most important facets of becoming a successful general manager, but also pinpoints the mind-set changes needed – on both the personal and professional stages – to deliver constant achievement.

The book itself comprises of three sections: managing the business; managing others; and managing yourself. It is peppered with a host of scenarios to allow readers to gain a feel for the different issues arising from management complexities.

In addition, empty spaces titled “Your Thoughts” allow readers to jot down their own pointers and notes relating to particular scenarios.

Written in an easy and informal fashion, the book is a sound read for those looking to make a smooth adjustment into senior general management positions and to successfully lead through a host of complicated managerial issues.

After hours?

A 30-minute run while plugged into a passionate message

by Joseph Prince; a swim with the family; and a beautiful jam session with one of my guitars when time permits.

Family?

My wife Kathia and my three kids: Marc, Kristyn and Mia make up my other full-time role.

Title: Becoming a Top Manager: Tools and Lessons in Transitioning to General Management Author: Kevin Kaiser, Michael Pich, and IJ Schecter Publisher: Jossey-Bass Price: US$ 50

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 55

SME SPOTLIGHT

HR

Raymond Tan, Executive Director, Tan Seng Kee Foods

TRANSFORMATION

In this special feature, HRM looks at how seventy-year old home-grown noodle manufacturer Tan Seng Kee Foods overhauled its HR systems and processes to stay relevant and competitive in a changing marketplace Sumathi V Selvaretnam sumathi@hrmasia.com.sg

E

stablished in 1936, Tan Seng Kee (TSK) Foods is a home-grown SME that started off as a manufacturer for rice based noodles with just two employees.

In its early days, the primary focus of the business was on the manufacturing and operational side of the business.

Today, the company manufactures wheat and rice based noodles under the Kang Kang Brand and has a staff strength of 40. They work in various departments such as customer service, HR, export, research and development, as well marketing.

56 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

In 2012, in a bid to stay relevant in a competitive marketplace and become an employer of choice, TSK Foods decided to revamp its business systems and processes. It tapped on the Capability Development Grant from Spring Singapore to develop its human capital. This allowed it to come up with a more well-rounded HR system and tackle issues such as ts changing company culture, workforce management, as well compensation and benefits. “An effective HR management system in place ensures that our HR policies and benefits remain competitive in the market,” says Raymond Tan,

Executive Director, Tan Seng Kee Foods.

Finding the right talent to fuel the company’s continued growth is one of its main HR challenges today, Tan says.

“With the tightening labour situation globally, our employees are our greatest asset. There is a need to groom, attract and retain young talent to grow, and innovate as a SME.” He adds that an SME environment, with its many hands-on learning opportunities, is an attractive one for young talent as it allows them to readily apply their theoretical knowledge while gaining practical skills.

SME SPOTLIGHT Developing talent TSK Foods ensures that all its new hires start on the right foot. “It is important to work on a comprehensive training plan for new hires and chart a career growth plan together with them. As much as possible, we want to show them care and concern, and instil a sense of belonging in them,” Tan says.

New employees at the company attend a personal motivation course to find more about themselves.

“We also provide internal corporate culturalisation training to teach our new staff about the company’s mission, vision, and values, as well as its business,” Tan says.

The company conducts appraisal sessions every January and July where employees discuss their individual career development paths. Key performance indicators are established and the manager also talks about career progression opportunities within the company.

SMEs are able to provide rapid career progression for young talent as the smaller size of the management team allows it to make quicker decisions, Tan says.

Helping employees continuously upgrade their skills became a greater priority when TSK Foods branched out into research and development.

Employees now attend various training programmes to keep up to date with the latest developments in the industry. For example, through the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) training programme, employees gain in-depth knowledge about preventative food safety systems, and also learn how to identify biological, chemical and physical hazards to ensure a high standard of food safety and hygiene in the various facilities of the company.

TSK Foods believes that mentoring is the key to grooming young talent and helping them excel in their work.

Employees from each department are lead and mentored by their respective managers. “Every Thursday afternoon, there is an informal meeting whereby the staff from the various departments will be able to voice their concerns and seek advice from other departments.

Boosting productivity Tan Seng Kee Foods is currently embarking on a series of machinery automation projects funded

by Spring Singapore to improve its productivity.

“The automation of our machinery will increase productivity tremendously by reducing the need for manual labour intensive processes, ensuring that we have production capability and capacity to keep up with local demands and mass export our products overseas,” says Raymond Tan, Executive Director, Tan Seng Kee Foods.

The experienced managers are able to impart invaluable skills and advice to the newcomers to assist them in their careers at TSK Foods,” Tan says.

Improving employee health Employee enrichment activities at TSK Foods aim to be holistic, and are not just limited to the attainment of careerrelated goals. Under the Workplace Health Programme, for example, employees are sent for courses where they learn to conceptualise, develop, implement and facilitate various health initiatives to improve the health of all employees. “They learn how to come up with a targeted health plan for the company and seamlessly weave in the health activities into the work life of the staff,” Tan says.

Currently, employees participate in activities such as swimming, Zumba, kick-boxing and yoga. “We are looking into expanding the scope of fitness classes and activities to boost the health of our employees and to encourage further bonding between co-workers and the management,” Tan says.

The right remuneration When TSK Foods embarked on its project to revamp its HR, the company linked its

salary scales to job grades. This ensures that all employees are paid fairly, based on their qualifications and job scope and regardless of how long they have been with the company. The company also spent time clearly defining job roles and set up benchmarks for each of them.

“We pay competitively and we take care of the developmental needs of our staff as human capital is a valuable asset to us. More people are willing to work for an SME with good HR policies and effective HR management,” Tan says.

TSK Foods was awarded the Great Singapore Food Gifts Award last year ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 57

In-house Recruitment Opportunities

Regional HR Manager, Asia Pacific

Regional Learning & Development Manager

› Diversified leading industry players › Highly hands-on and business partnering scope

› US diversified industrial organisation › Hands-on and strategic-focused role

› Stand-up training delivery required › Challenging and hands-on regional role

Representing multiple global organisations in the region, we seek dynamic and passionate specialist Recruiters to join them.

Our client has extensive global presence and now seeks a dynamic HR professional to join them in the Asia Pacific team.

As Recruitment Lead, you will conceptualize, implement and manage recruitment, sourcing and employer branding strategies.

You will build an effective talent strategy for the operation that aligns with business’ objectives and growth, establish and manage strong partnerships with internal and external sources, manage recruitment metrics and lead projects for new initiatives and continuous improvement.

Dual reporting to HR Director and Regional MD, you will align HR plans with business strategies and provide high level professional and operational HR advice to business leaders. You will design, develop, implement and evaluate the impact of HR programs, policies and strategies required to support the current and future growth needs for the business. You will provide HR function with vision, direction and leadership with key accountabilities include organisational development, staffing and retention, employee and labour relations, and compensation & benefits.

With global presence, our client has an immediate need for a dynamic and hands-on Learning & Development Manager to play an integral part in their regional team.

For leadership role, you have 10 years relevant experience and for Recruiter, 5 years minimum. Those with hybrid in-house and agency experience with hands-on exposure to volume recruitment and executive search are preferred. Demonstrated ability in stakeholder management and dealing with ambiguity in a matrix working environment, with high level of initiatives, results-oriented, excellent interpersonal and communication skills are successful traits.

Degree qualified, you have minimum of 8 years of relevant experience ideally in MNCs. Ideally, you have regional corporate HR experience and proven success in driving and executing change management activities in a complex matrix reporting environment. Armed with excellent communication and strong influencing skills, you have demonstrated HR partnering experience with cross-cultural business leaders. You are highly hands-on, self-motivated, and flexible in operating independently and in a team environment.

Reference number: MH/JD48563B Contact person: Maureen Ho (Reg. No. R1105976)

Reference number: MH/JD48885A Contact person: Maureen Ho (Reg. No. R1105976)

Degree qualified with professional certifications in training, you have minimum 6 years of relevant work experience including 2 years in regional capacity in MNCs. You are highly energetic and hands-on, able to work independently in a fast-paced and lean environment.

You are a team player who is willing to share knowledge, develop others, and work in a cooperative and collaborative style to ensure delivery and quality of service. Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills are key success factors.

Reference number: MH/JD47740A Contact person: Maureen Ho (Reg. No. R1105976)

1143/05_15

As Recruiter, you will perform end-to-end recruitment process from partnering with stakeholder to qualify requisition to strategising sourcing strategies and employee on-boarding.

You will design, implement capability development programmes for frontline sales and management teams, partner business leaders and internal customers in building capability by generating solutions, facilitate talent development through coaching, leadership programmes, psychometrics and assessments, etc.

You will also lead the performance management and employee development processes by formulating initiatives to build and sustain a performance-driven culture, and participate in rolling out employee engagement related activities.

Your Human Resources recruitment specialists To apply, please go to talent2.com and search for respective reference number.

For a confidential discussion, you can contact Maureen Ho for the relevant position in our Singapore Office on +65 6511 8555  linkedin.com/company/talent2

Allegis Group Singapore Pte Ltd Company No. 200909448N EA Licence No. 10C4544

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 59

Your career in HR starts here.

Learning & Development Manager L&D business partner / Well-known regional company

You will assist to formulate and review the learning and development strategic plan partner business units in identifying training needs, develop relevant curriculum and lead a team to work closely with training vendors and internal trainers to roll out core competencies training programmes. You will ensure continued relevancy in training programmes by employing relevant data analytics tools to evaluate and review training programmes effectiveness. A degree in HRM with strong knowledge of the WSQ framework is essential, along with 5-6 years of experience in the corporate training function with at least 2 years in management & competency development.

Contact us at +65 6603 8024 / hrmg@capitagrp.com for a confidential discussion.

(JOB CODE: XIT)

Senior Executive, Organisational Development Focus on OD and L&D / Leading local conglomerate

This role supports the L&D Manager in executing organisational development programs involving improving organisational effectiveness, change management and building up of strategic capabilities. You will be involved in planning, supporting, coordinating and delivering L&D activities. You will also participate actively in internal and external quality and safety audits and handle projects related to TM and OD, serving as a supporter and change agent of initiatives implemented. A strong experience in L&D is required for this role, along with familiarity with Business Excellence standards such as ISO, Service Class, People Developer. Fluency in SAP or any LMS systems will be an advantage.

Contact us at +65 6632 0040 / hrmg@capitagrp.com for a confidential discussion.

(JOB CODE: AEO)

HR Business Partner (Regional/Global Role) Senior role in employee relations / Listed US firm

You shall implement global and regional HR policies and provide line guidance on workforce and succession planning, training needs. You will focus on working with the management and employees to constantly improve working relationships and increase productivity and retention rates. You will also take charge in resolving complex employee relations issues by conducting effective and objective investigations and keeping abreast of employment legal and regulatory compliance matters. This role requires about 10 years of solid HR experience in matrix environments dealing with employee relations, compensation and benefits, OD, conflict and performance management, employment law, etc. You will be expected to drive effective HR solutions and handle complex organisational issues in a consultative manner.

Contact us at +65 6632 0071 / hrmg@capitagrp.com for a confidential discussion.

(JOB CODE: AAK)

B U S I N E S S S U P P O R T | O U T S O U R C I N G | T E C H N O L O G Y | E N G I N E E R I N G | B A N K I N G | H E A LT H C A R E

Professional. Personalised. Passionate.

HR VENDOR

THE HALLMARK OF OUR TALENT SOLUTIONS

5-year winner

OF THE YEAR

2010 - 2014

60 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

CAPITA PTE LTD

EA Licence No. 08C2893 An ISO 9001:2008 certified company

MICHAEL PAGE

Talent Management Manager

VP Human Resources

Regional Shared Services Manager

› Visibility to senior management › Newly created position

› Industry leader in supply chain business › Distinguished multinational corporation

› Innovative and fast-paced environment › Esteemed multinational corporation

Our client is a reputable organisation with a strong presence in Asia Pacific. Due to increasing needs of the business, they are looking for a Talent Management Manager to lead the full spectrum of their talent management needs for the region.

In this role, you will design long term strategies in the area of succession planning, career development: internal/ external, learning & development. You should have demonstrated a track record of being a strong leader with excellent business acumen. Key to your success is your ability to engage and manage stakeholders.

Our client is a leading multinational in the supply chain space with a strong presence in more than 100 counties. The company is highly established in the supply chain sector and is widely recognised as an employer of choice, with a strong inclusive culture. Due to continuing business needs, the company is looking for a VP Human Resources to develop their human resource strategies for the South East Asia region.

You will report to the General Manager and will lead a team of 30. You will be responsible for developing a strategy for the management, development and retention of human capital, the implementation of programs and harmonisation of all processes, systems and policies across the organisation.

Our client is an industry leader in the professional marketing services arena with a global footprint. They are currently experiencing growth in Asia Pacific and have aggressive plans to expand their businesses and coverage within the region. Reporting directly to the VP of Human Resources based in Singapore and dotted line to the Global Head of Shared Services based in Europe, you will be tasked to set-up and streamline the shared services for the Asia Pacific region.

Autonomy will be given to you to build the team and you will participate in senior level decision making to ensure a return on investment of shared services set-up.

Please contact Eugene Wong (Reg. no: R1331128) quoting ref: H2739620 or visit our website.

Please contact Ashley Wei (Reg. no: R1434529) quoting ref: H2739590 or visit our website.

Please contact Sheldon Toh (Reg. no: R1438671) quoting ref: H2665590 or visit our website.

To apply for any of the above positions, please go to www.michaelpage.com.sg and search for the reference number, or contact the relevant consultant on +65 6533 2777 for a confidential discussion.

Get Connected. Stay Ahead.

Specialists in human resources recruitment

Human Resources

Michael Page International Pte Ltd (EA Licence No.98C5473) is part of the PageGroup.

Registered Office: One Raffles Place, #09-61 Office Tower Two, Singapore 048616

WORLDWIDE LEADERS IN SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT

www.michaelpage.com.sg

EMPOWERING YOUR CAREER Regional Payroll Manager

Human Resource Director (Singapore focused)

Global financial institution Lead payroll strategy across Asia-Pacific Regional team to drive worldwide strategies

Renowned MNC Pro-employee environment Attractive remuneration

Our client, a financial corporation with a worldwide brand, is seeking a Regional Payroll Manager.

Our clients is a USA based fortune 500 company. They are looking for a dynamic, outgoing individual to join their business in a strategic role, as a HR Director.

This is an opportunity to lead a team of payroll professionals to ensure that payroll processes meet agreed service levels. You will also manage and audit internal and external partners delivering payroll and benefits services. With knowledge of payroll legislation across the Asia-Pacific region, you will ensure compliance to regulations and manage change where it is necessary to reduce risk to the organisation.

Reporting to the Managing Director you will be responsible for full spectrum of HR duties.

• Candidate will have a team of 3 direct reports to manage day-to-day responsibilities.

• You will have privy to confidential company matters, contracts, legal issues hence maintaining confidentiality of these matters are required.

• You will be responsible to maintain and ensure smooth running of day-to-day HR activities.

• You will roll out new HR initiative locally and take on limited APAC responsibilities.

To be successful in this role, you should have at least 10 years’ experience of working in Human Resources with a minimum of 5 years managing payroll functions. Ideally, you will also hold HR or Finance qualifications. The ability to communicate in multiple languages would be an advantage, as would a proven ability to work under tight deadlines in a multi-national corporation.

If you meet the above criteria, please email your detailed CV in WORD format to Jon_Williams@KellyServices.com.sg. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Jon Williams EA Personnel Registration No R1439599

You should have 8 – 10 years of HR generalist experience with a degree in related discipline. Out-of-the box thinking and pro-employee initiatives will make you successful in this role.

If you meet the above criteria, please email your detailed CV in WORD format to Maggie_Ong@KellyServices.com.sg. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Ong Ai Leng Maggie EA Personnel Registration No. R1105973

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a leader in providing workforce solutions globally. For more than 35 years, Kelly in Singapore has been partnering the finest

local companies, key government agencies as well as some of the world’s most respected multinational companies to deliver the best talent in the market. Kelly’s centralised recruitment hub makes nearly 21,000 placements in Singapore last year. Complementing our general staffing capability, Kelly also offers great expertise in the sourcing of specialised professionals across technical disciplines such as Engineering, Technology and Science, as well as functional specialties for Finance, HR, Sales & Marketing, Procurement and Banking.

kellyservices.com.sg

Kelly Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd | EA License No. 01C4394 | RCB No. 200007268E

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 61

62 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM 63

64 ISSUE 15.6

HRMASIA.COM

速

HR Management Solution (HRMS)

Cutting-edge solution with world class service.

Tested & Proven Online HR System Stay current and compliant

Apply and approve leave online

Track and manage employee data efficiently

View personal payslips, IR8A and leave information

Integrate with most ERP/TMS solutions

Create detailed and customised reports

Trusted by 1,500+ companies in Singapore

$10 per staff monthly (Payroll + Leave)

*T&C Apply

Developed by

www.PayrollServe.com.sg | info@payrollserve.com.sg | +65 6336 0600

SELECT

ATTRACT

DEVELOP LEARN

ENGAGE

HELPING YOU GROW A STRONG PEOPLE TREE WITH OUR INTEGRATED HUMAN CAPITAL CONSULTING SERVICES

LEADERSHIP &

TRANSFORMATION

CONSULTING

Formerly Steve Morris Associates

LEADERSHIP, TEAM, ORGANISATION & SELF DEVELOPMENT

TALENT MANAGEMENT

COMPENSATION, BENEFITS & PERFORMANCE

E-TALENT & E-REWARDS SYSTEMS

www.alignSMA.com

www.alignhrconsulting.com

www.carrotsconsulting.com

margaret@alignSMA.com

darryl@alignhrconsulting.com

johan@carrotsconsulting.com