HRM September 2018 All Hands On Deck by HRM Asia

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PSA’s Ong Kim Pong on teamwork, training, and technology

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear HRM Magazine Asia readers,

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Paul Howell SENIOR JOURNALIST

Kelvin Ong JOURNALIST

Yamini Chinnuswamy SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Muhamad Azlin Ismail SENIOR MEDIA SALES MANAGER

Tasnim Rangwala ACCOUNT MANAGER

Edwin Lim SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER

Jenilyn Rabino EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER

Joanna Bush PHOTOGRAPHER

Ted Chen

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t HRM Asia’s Future of SME Workforce Congress 2018, one HR practitioner brought up the subject of governance in her organisation. The company had established committees, she explained, where employees were given the opportunity to weigh in and question decisions made by senior leadership. “Our management is not afraid of questions – they welcome them,” she said. This sentiment struck me because it was so markedly different from something I have been following in the US: the rise and fall of a company called Theranos. As recently as three years ago, Theranos was claiming that it had created a disruptive new technology that could run hundreds of laboratory tests on just a single drop of blood. Investors pumped hundreds of millions of dollars to help Theranos scale up, and the “technology” was even rolled out for patient use across dozens of pharmacy stores. But the whole company was a sham. The tech simply did not work. To keep that a secret from investors and the public, founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was ruthless in firing anyone who asked a question she did not like. Her second-in-command intimidated and belittled anyone who dared to highlight problems. Moreover, teams were not allowed to communicate with one another,

even though they were all supposedly working towards a singular goal. Concerned employees went on to file complaints with federal regulators (or spill the company’s secrets), and Holmes has now been charged with criminal fraud. However that pans out, it’s safe to say that her leadership style was not one that valued people, teamwork, or integrity, and that this ultimately led to her downfall. As PSA’s Regional CEO for Southeast Asia points out in this month’s Leaders Talk HR, integrity is a “very important virtue” for any good leader. In this in-depth interview, Ong Kim Pong also outlined how the international port operator is keeping technology firmly in view as it sails towards the future. At Marriot International, which is featured in this issue’s edition of HR Insider, employees are in fact considered to be the hotel chain’s most important asset. Regan Taikitsadaporn, Chief HR Officer in the Asia-Pacific, shares a quote from Marriott founder J Willard Marriott, which really says it all: “If you take care of [employees], they’ll take good care of the customers, and the customers will keep coming back.” Best wishes,

YAMINI CHINNUSWAMY Journalist, HRM Asia

CONTACT US: Read something you like? Or something you don’t? Perhaps there’s some insight we haven’t considered? Have your say on HRM Asia’s news, features, and contributions by emailing: info@hrmasia.com.sg

MEET THE TEAM

PAUL HOWELL

MCI(P) 028/07/2017 ISSN 0219-6883

Editorial Director paul.howell@hrmasia.com.sg

KELVIN ONG

Senior Journalist kelvin.ong@hrmasia.com.sg

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YAMINI CHINNUSWAMY Journalist yamini.chinnuswamy @hrmasia.com.sg

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2018

ON THE COVER

ALL HANDS ON DECK

PSA’s Regional CEO for Southeast Asia says the international port operator is keeping technology firmly in view as it sails towards the seas of the future

“Transformation is why PSA is what it is today. It’s why we have kept our strong brand, and our rich culture” – ONG KIM PONG,

REGIONAL CEO FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA, PSA

F E AT U R E S

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

Marriott International’s Chief HR Officer for Asia-Pacific explains how the hospitality giant’s talent-first mentality is key to ushering in a new era of intense growth

16DESIGN THINKING FOR HR

Design thinking has been taking the business world by storm. HR Executive Magazine’s Steve Boese explains how it is relevant to HR, especially for any organisation looking to digitalise

LEARNING: SINGAPORE’S 22 DIGITAL BIG ASPIRATION GAP

The results of HRM Asia’s latest research project show there is a growing gap between how important digital learning is to HR, and actual investment in the required infrastructure

28BENEFITS FOR THE LONG HAUL Strategically developed non-monetary benefits are now a key tool in HR’s battle for staff retention. HRM Magazine Asia explains how the practice has evolved over the last decade

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CULTURE 32 SHAPING AND MINDSETS Juliana Ang, Chief HR Officer of NTUC Income, says the organisation’s digital transformation has been allencompassing. She believes the biggest challenges have been cultural, and not technological

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STAYING 42 AGILE THROUGH LIFE-

LONG LEARNING

Henkel’s Singapore President Thomas Holenia explains how a culture of continuous learning can add value to every employee, as well as to HR professionals themselves

REGULARS 04 06 15 46 47 48

BEST OF HRMASIA.COM NEWS HRM FIVE READER ADVICE UPCOMING EVENTS NEXT ISSUE SEPTEMBER 2018

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BEST OF HRMASIA.COM

What’s on

.com Watch - How AirAsia’s startup mentality helped it soar

Azran Osman-Rani, former CEO of both AirAsia X and iFlix Malaysia, shares how companies can inculcate a startup mentality, and thus find success.

YES!

NO!

Because we would already know their abilities and working style

Because they’re more likely to leave a second time

53%

25%

13%

Because they would be familiar with the company

Because they might be trying to get “an easy ride”

Your Say

Last month, we asked: Would you reconsider hiring a former employee? This was your response.

Your Say

Last month, we asked: What is the most important element of a great workplace? This was your response.

12 % Competitive wages and benefits

46 % Engaged employees who feel empowered to get involved

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14 % Continuous

learning culture

28 % Open communication and transparency

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Share - From the HRM Asia Forums

“Whether we like it or not, businessesare going global and are expected to operate anywhere, anytime. Talent is increasingly global as well and available resources are spread across every corner of the globe”

Watch - How HP Inc computed its culture of diversity

We caught up with HP Inc’s Head of HR for Asia-Pacific to find out how the PC maker has re-initialised its people strategy.

Lukas May, the Head of Banking at TransferWise, highlights the growing trend of “digital nomadism”

eryoften,documentsarethe vehiclesthatdrivebusinessforward –theformsthatgather employeeandcustomerdata; theproposalsthatwinbigprojects; theagreementsthatgrowbusiness”

Chandra Sinnathamby is the Head of Adobe Document Cloud, Asia-Pacific, on why paperless technology is central to digital transformation

“THERE ARE STEPS THAT CAN ENSURE A SUPPORTIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT FOR MEN – LIKELY TO BE IN THE MINORITY IN THE WORKPLACE – AND TO RECOGNISE THEIR CONTRIBUTION, JUST AS WE SHOULD WOMEN” Chin Ai Li, the HR and people development manager at Julia Gabriel Education, Singapore, explains how gender diversity takes on a slightly different angle in the early childhood sector

Connect

Don’t wait for the printed magazine each month – the best of HRM Asia’s news, features, and analysis are available both online and through the daily e-newsletters. Even this magazine issue can be read cover-to-cover in an electronic version from Thursday, September 6. With fully-dynamic links to even more content, including video and archived materials, the HRM e-magazine is everything you know from the printed product, plus much, much more. Sign up at www.hrmasia.com/content/subscribe for daily email updates, and the first look at every story, opinion, guest post, and HRM TV episode. Remember to also stay updated throughout the working week by checking into www.hrmasia.com on mobile, tablet, or computer. And connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to make your mark in the HR community in Asia-Pacific All combined, HRM Asia’s multiple platforms and huge variety of content give HR professionals and business leaders the world’s best view of the fast-evolving HR universe, here in Asia. SEPTEMBER 2018

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NEWS ASIA

SINGAPORE

FOREIGN WORKERS SALARIES PROTECTED EMPLOYERS WHO CUT the salaries of their foreign staff have come under the spotlight of Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower. At present, employers can reduce the basic monthly salaries of their work permit holders as long as they have that worker’s written consent. However, disputes around this mechanism have risen significantly over the last three years. As such, the Ministry of Manpower is considering barring any unilateral changes to work permit holder conditions. Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo noted that there could be job losses as a result of the reduced flexibility. “While [the proposed move] will provide workers with more certainty of their wage for the entire duration of their stay in Singapore, it could also lead to possible early termination of employment even when the worker is willing to accept a lower wage,” she said. “We will thus consult with relevant stakeholders to determine the best step forward.”

INDONESIA

BETTER EDUCATION NOT IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT A NEW STUDY SUGGESTS that an improving quality of education has not yet led to similar advances in employment for youth in Indonesia. While the latest Youth Development Index (YDI) – released by Indonesia’s National Development Planning Agency – shows progress in health, leadership, and education metrics among youth, employment opportunities appear to remain low. Reasons for the discrepancy have yet to be determined, but it may be that strides in education quality are still not enough to match employment opportunities, which are largely in white-collar sectors – and thus require university qualifications. Gellwynn Jusufm, National Development Planning Agency principal secretary, told The Jakarta Post that “there are [also] other factors, like infrastructure, that could improve employment opportunities as youngsters would be able to travel around and look for jobs more easily.” The YDI measures youth development in five domains: education, health, and wellbeing, employment and opportunity, participation and leadership, and gender and discrimination.

TAIWAN

HTC TO SLASH 1,500 JOBS SMARTPHONE MAKER HTC will eliminate

1,500 manufacturing jobs in its home base of Taiwan. The cuts will reduce the company’s total workforce by almost a quarter (22%), and will be implemented by the end of September this year. HTC was once a major player in mobile innovation, alongside Samsung and Apple, but it has struggled in recent years. Sales fell by 68% over 2017 despite

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launching a new flagship product. The U12 Plus received only a lukewarm reception and has since been plagued by technical issues. The company has made several attempts at righting the ship over the last few years. In 2015, it eliminated 2,000 jobs – 15% of its workforce – and it has also recently sought to restructure and align its virtual reality and smartphone divisions.

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SAUDI ARABIA

EXPATS DESERT ARABIAN SANDS OFFICIAL DATA SHOWS that Saudi Arabia

is leaking expatriate workers by the hundreds of thousands. The number of foreign workers in the country in the first quarter of 2018 fell by 6% compared to a year previous; down to 10.2 million. It has been said that more than 1,500 expats have left the country every day since 2016. The losses are thought to be related to the Saudi government’s intent to increase employment among Saudi nationals.

As part of this goal, the Saudi government implemented a tax targeting expatriate dependents in July, 2017. Currently, the fee is 100 riyals (S$37) per month, but it is expected to rise to four times that amount by 2020. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made the creation of jobs a key focus under the National Transformation Programme. Unemployment among Saudi citizens is currently at 12.9%. The government aims to hit 9% unemployment by 2020.

AUSTRALIA

DOMESTICE VIOLENCE LEAVE LAW ENACTED

AUSTRALIA

FIRED OVER POLITICAL TWEETS AN AUSTRALIAN WOMAN has taken legal action against her former employer,

who she believes fired her for tweeting about abortion legislation. During her employment with Cricket Australia, Angela Williamson made several tweets criticising a recent legal decision in her home state of Tasmania, which mandated that public hospitals would not be allowed to provide abortions. Williamson is taking her case to Australia’s Fair Work Commission, with the claim that Cricket Australia breached the country’s Fair Work Act by firing her. “It raises an important public issue around how employers should not sack their employees in circumstances where they have expressed a political opinion,” her lawyer said. “Cricket Australia respects an individual’s right to their opinion. However, it expects that employees will refrain from making offensive comments that contravene the organisation’s social media policy,” a spokesperson for Cricket Australia said.

MILLIONS OF AUSTRALIAN workers will now be eligible for unpaid family and domestic violence leave – up to five days off each year. The new entitlement follows a recent decision by Australia’s Fair Work Commission. Casual (ad-hoc and shift) employees will also be able to apply for the new leave. However, some workers covered by existing enterprise agreements will not immediately qualify. The Australian government plans to introduce legislation to cover these workers as well. The Commission defines family and domestic violence as “threatening or other abusive behaviour by an employee’s family member that seeks to coerce or control the employee, or causes them harm or fear”. The definition of family member here is also broad. It could include current or former spouses or partners, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, or grandchildren. Employees might be required to provide evidence – such as a police report or court declaration – that they are using the leave under genuine circumstance, but for now, the exact details appear to be up to employers’ discretion.

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N E W S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

FITBIT EMPLOYEES CHARGED WITH STEALING TRADE SECRETS

FRANCE

FRENCH WORKER WINS RIGHT-TODISCONNECT BATTLE RENTOKIL IN FRANCE has been ordered to pay a former employee €60,000 (S$95,000) for failing to respect his right to “switch off” from his phone and computer after work. The former employee was a regional director within the company’s French operations, and was expected to “permanently leave his telephone on…to respond to requests from his subordinates and customers”. However, Rentokil did not consider him to be officially “on call”, even when such calls took place outside of regular office hours – and as such, did not compensate him for this work. France’s Supreme Court ruled that the employee was indeed “on call”, because his contact details were listed explicitly as someone to be called during emergencies. Under France’s right-todisconnect laws, employees of companies with more than 50 staff should be able to ignore emails outside of work hours. The companies are expected to draw up a charter specifying what exactly constitutes work and outside-work hours.

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SIX FORMER and current US-based Fitbit employees have been charged with possessing stolen trade secrets from Jawbone – Fitbit’s now-defunct, former rival in the wearables market. Federal prosecutors filed an indictment stating that all six were former Jawbone staff, who violated confidentiality agreements by receiving trade secrets after their departures. Jawbone had previously filed a lawsuit against these same employees and Fitbit, claiming

that the latter had “systematically” plundered more than 300,000 confidential documents. It is said that both Fitbit and Jawbone eventually settled. However, that was too late for the struggling Jawbone, and its parent company AliphCom – both were beyond saving. Jawbone now exists only as a spin-off from the original, known as Jawbone Health. If convicted, the six employees will each face up to 10 years in prison.

IRELAND

RYANAIR PUBLISHES SALARIES OF STRIKING PILOTS

€

IN RESPONSE TO a potential strike by pilots and aircrew, Ryanair decided to publish their salaries publicly. The budget carrier posted on its website that its pilots, who hail from Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Germany and Portugal, earn between €190,000 (S$303,000) and €220,000 (S$350,000) a year. It also said cabin crew earn up to €40,000 (S$64,000) a year - “more than double the living wage”. The pilots were fighting for better working conditions and pay, while cabin crew in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Italy were reportedly demanding the airline give contractors the same contract terms and benefits as full-time employees. Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said these demands were “entirely unjustified”. “Ryanair cabin crew enjoy great pay…industry leading rosters, great sales commissions, uniform allowances, and sick pay,” he said.

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EUROPE

AMAZON WORKERS STRIKE ON “PRIME DAY” THOUSANDS OF GERMAN and Spanish workers of Amazon celebrated the online giant’s “Prime Day” by walking off the job. The “Prime Day” sale is the online retailer’s annual flagship shopping event, spanning a 36-hour period. The workers were calling for better working conditions and compensation – particularly health benefits. In Spain, the strike took place at Amazon’s biggest warehouse in San Fernando, just outside the capital of Madrid. The majority of Amazon’s 1,600-strong Spanish workforce, is based there. “Strikes aren’t good for anyone: not the company, the workers, or the customers, but we need to keep putting pressure on local management,” said Douglas Harper, a representative of the Comisiones Obreras union. “Amazon’s total pay is at the high end of the range in the logistics sector,” the company countered. “It includes an attractive salary and an extensive benefits package.”

GLOBAL

MATTEL TO TERMINATE MORE THAN 2,200 EMPLOYEES MATTEL, THE MANUFACTURER behind

Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels cars, and other popular toys, is cutting more than 2,200 jobs. The cuts will impact almost a quarter of the company’s global non-manufacturing workforce – mostly those in back office and support roles. The layoffs are part of a wider US$650 million (SG$883 million) restructuring plan that the company hopes will help to cut costs.

Other cost-cutting moves include selling factories in Mexico to mark a new strategy to move away from manufacturing. Mattel lost more than US$240 million (S$326 million) last quarter – more than four times as much as it did over the same period last year. The company partly blames the recent demise of Toys “R” Us, one of its biggest customers, for its own woes.

GLOBAL

PAY RISE FOR ONE-IN-10 AT NIKE SPORTS BRAND NIKE Inc will be giving some 7,500 employees a salary boost, following an internal global pay review that started two months ago. This equates to 10% of its total global workforce. A company spokesperson said the pay raise was applicable to selected employees across all levels and locations. In May, the company started a probe into its workplace culture and practices, after employees made complaints about an allegedly exclusive and toxic environment. That led to a number of long-time senior executives, including Brand President Trevor Edwards, stepping down. CEO Mark Parker also made a very public apology to staff in a company-wide town hall meeting, where he said the company “just can’t accept” the lack of equal treatment across teams. It would work towards creating a workplace where “every voice is heard,” he said. This latest pay hike will be annualised over the balance of the company’s fiscal year.

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F E AT U R E

L E A D E R S TA L K H R

ALL HANDS

ON DECK ONG KIM PONG, Regional CEO for Southeast Asia at PSA International, talks to HRM Magazine Asia about navigating the choppy waters of disruption within the maritime industry in Asia-Pacific B Y YA M I N I C H I N N U S WA M Y

lder generations of Singaporeans will remember PSA as the Port Authority in Singapore, an icon alongside the likes of Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines. But what was then an acronym, is now simply a legacy of its humble beginnings as a state organisation – PSA has been an independent commercial enterprise for more than 20 years now. These days, it is a world leader in port operations – managing 40 different terminals across 16 countries. “We were corporatised in October, 1997, but we held on to the three-letter name – PSA – because of the branding,” says Ong Kim Pong, PSA’s Regional CEO for Southeast Asia. “Over the years, we had built up immense capabilities, and also a high level of trust with our customers.” Interestingly, Ong – who joined the company at the turn of the millennium as a senior operations research officer – admits that he didn’t have high expectations for his journey with PSA to begin with. “When I first joined PSA, I gave myself five years. I didn’t think I would stay more than that. That was 21 years ago,” he admits. But having seen the company grow from strength to strength over the last two decades, he is eager to see how it continues to transform to

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meet the challenges of a new era. “Transformation is why PSA is what it is today. It’s why we have kept our strong brand, and our rich culture,” Ong notes. That branding and culture cascade across all levels of the company, including in its recruitment processes. “We believe everyone makes a difference, whether you’re in the frontlines or the backend,” he explains. “As we try to attract young people to be part of the company, it’s about believing in what each individual can contribute to the organisation – and how the organisation can, in turn, harness each person’s potential.” Ong, who is fond of using analogies and metaphors to bring his point across, is quick to liken the running of an organisation to that of an orchestra. “A good organisational culture is actually a collection of individual voices and thoughts. And like an orchestra, if each person plays their role well, and if everyone is synchronised, they can produce a beautiful symphony. Whereas if people aren’t in sync, the whole note breaks – and when that whole note breaks, the whole symphony breaks,” he says. “Everybody has a role, everybody makes a difference.”

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F E AT U R E

L E A D E R S TA L K H R

“I believe that integrity is a very important virtue for any good leader – we want to make sure that they’re not putting forward their own agenda, but rather, the agenda that is best for the organisation” What are some of the key business challenges that PSA is grappling with right now?

The big ones are labour competition, a general increase in labour costs in this part of the world, and technology.

How is PSA approaching the technology challenge in particular?

Technology actually can enable processes, so we’ve been exploring it for a while. Automated vehicles are a good example – if we can convert automated vehicles to handle transport of containers, we can reduce our dependency on drivers. Over the years we have actually been finding it more and more difficult to find those drivers

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anyway, partly due to competition from Uber and bus companies. So even though technology might be a high investment to begin with, if you consider the operational costs spread out over the lifespan of each development, it’s substantially less.

What trends are currently impacting the shipping industry?

There are three emerged trends, as well as three emerging trends. One emerged trend is actually the presence of mega vessels. When I first joined, we used to see big vessels of, say, 300 meters and 6,800 TEU [twenty-foot equivalent units; commonly used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals].

That was really the biggest vessel we ever saw some 20 years ago. It was the workhorse serving the maritime distance from Europe to Asia. Fast-forward to today, these 300-meter vessels are just serving within Asia and much bigger vessels have emerged. Now, we are seeing 400-meters-long vessels and each vessel is now in the capacity of 18,000 to 20,000 TEUs. And just to give you a scale – one TEU can actually store 15,000 pairs of nice shoes like what you’re wearing today! So can you imagine 20,000 TEUs on a vessel?

That’s a lot of shoes! So everything has become bigger?

Yes, vessels have upsized to mega vessels. That’s the first ‘M’.

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container transport company] which was declared bankrupt early last year, partly due to very steep competition within the shipping industry. The three emerging trends, are what I refer to as the three ‘C’s. These are still emerging and playing out, but all very much related to demand management change. The first ‘C’ is eCommerce, which is high mix and low volume, compared to the “good old days” when production lines used to provide the same kind of goods en-masse. The second ‘C’ is connectivity. The world has actually grown smaller in this sense, and consumer behaviour traits have

changed. With the mega vessels and mega alliances, there’s a need for a lot more consolidation and connectivity from one end to the other.

Q time?

one

Because people want to know where their goods are at any

Yes – tracking and tracing has become very important for consumers. The last ‘C’ is the creation of disruptive technology. For instance, the ways Uber has affected taxi drivers, or how Airbnb has affected hotel chains and hotel booking systems.

I LIKE:

Music. It’s a way for me to connect with people, especially my kids

I DISLIKE:

Situations of indecision or sitting on the fence. Hedging excessively holds everyone back. We must be nimble enough to adjust our decisions when necessary SOMETHING THAT INSPIRES ME:

I like jogging. It’s a time when I don’t have my mobile phone with me, so I can reflect on the day or week, or on issues that are bugging me ADVICE FOR MY YOUNGER SELF:

If I could relive my life, I would like

to engage my mentors and elders a lot more and listen to the insights they are able to share. The experience that our elders have can never be learned from textbooks CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

Back in 2000, I was able to be part of the international business at PSA, and I have not looked back since. I’ve been to Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Hong Kong, and even Chennai in India. Collectively, these overseas experiences have given me a lot of insights into a lot of different things WHERE I’D LIKE TO SEE MYSELF IN FIVE YEARS:

I would like to be actively involved in new areas such as connectivity – getting all our ports connected

The second ‘M’ would be the mega alliance. Again, to rollback 20-plus years ago, we had around 20 shipping lines holding about 80% of the market. Today, we have only three major alliances: 2M, THE, and Ocean Alliance, altogether taking up nearly 90% of the world market. Serving alliances versus serving the shipping lines is very different, because mega alliances have a lot more interconnectivity requirements. The third ‘M’ is the merger and acquisition activity – in the last three years, we’ve had what I call “Five Weddings and a Funeral”! One wedding was when the CMACGM shipping group acquired American President Lines. Meanwhile, the funeral was for Hanjin Shipping [a South Korean SEPTEMBER 2018

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F E AT U R E

L E A D E R S TA L K H R

How do these trends then alter your workforce approach?

I’m a hiker, so I’m going to use hiking as an analogy. In preparation for a good hike, we have to understand the weather conditions, and so on. So similarly, our staff have to understand that the objective is to ‘reach the summit’: to be the best in the world; to be a world-class organisation. So first of all, we need to have a clear objective, and to communicate it. Secondly, we need to identify the potential hazards: the trends, the challenges, and so on. These have to be identified because if anyone is not careful, they could end falling off the path. So it’s important to identify them early, and then prepare with handrails and guides. You can’t just say, ‘Hey, let’s go to the summit. Do your best!’ Training and skills upgrading are very important, because not everyone may be fit enough for a hike. We need to train them for the journey.

How does this relate to your own personal philosophy towards leadership?

A good leader is actually a good steward. Stewardship is about looking after something – taking the responsibility given to you, and making it even better for the next leader. I wouldn’t call this a leadership style; it’s more a responsibility that I feel.

What are you looking out for as you shape that next generation of leadership?

I like to identify and train new leaders in two different character traits. One is presence of mind. It sounds a bit fuzzy, but I see it as the sum of whatever skills that they have, applied appropriately to each situation. Another thing that I look out for is integrity, which I believe is a very important virtue for any good leader. We want to make sure that they’re not putting forward their own agenda, but rather, the agenda that is best for the organisation. Such integrity can be actually cultivated through a positive culture in the organisation.

How do you make sure that new hires fit into this positive workplace culture?

When we hire somebody, we first look for

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their skillsets. After they come in in, we’ll start to teach them about understanding the needs of everyone. We also let them have multidisciplinary training. A person will never stay in a particular role forever; we make sure that they get rotated – between different business locations, and maybe even countries.

How else is PSA working to develop a talent pipeline for the future?

We work very closely with multiple parties, such as the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, which has set up the Maritime Singapore Connect Office to connect employers with students and jobseekers. I also sit on the International Maritime Centre 2030 Advisory Committee, which has the vision for Singapore to become a global maritime hub for connectivity, innovation, and talent. We also have lots of academic collaborations with the Institutes of

Technical Education, with polytechnics, and with universities. We actually work with the professors to come up with curriculum that’s very specific to the port processes of the future. They’re going to be highly automated; we’re going to need people who can get to grips with engineering systems. We also have our living labs, where we develop innovative and cutting-edge technology solutions – for example, the automated guided vehicle system.

Where do you see PSA being in five to 10 years?

I have a very clear vision that I don’t want us to be just another port organisation. Instead, I see state-of-the-art technology digitalising the supply chain, and enhancing it with global connectivity. To get there, we will need technological investment and human capital investment. Both of these will have to be married together. yamini.chinnuswamy@hrmasia.com.sg

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HRM FIVE

MANAGING THE CHANGE CHALLENGE BY YAMINI CHINNUSWAMY

One of life’s great ironies is that change is, almost always, the only real constant. In the age of digital disruption, there is simply no way to avoid the transformations that every organisation must embark on. But humans are wired to be wary of change. This isn’t just psychobabble. It’s a proven fact of neuroscience. As such, organisations need to take care when trying to enact change. Change that is poorly managed is not only liable to fail – that is, fail to take root – but could also cause panic and anxiety among employees. If you’re looking to enact effective change, here are a few strategies to keep in mind.

Engage stakeholders

People are more resistant to change when they feel that it is being forced upon them. If you want to evolve as an organisation, you will need to involve the whole organisation. This could be through focus groups, anonymous surveys, or training seminars, to name just a few options.

Ensure open and transparent communication

Nobody likes to be left in the dark. If change is necessary for the ongoing health of your organisation, do take the time to communicate this to employees. If you are able to lay out a clear and reasonable plan, and outline the potential benefits, they will be much more likely to understand and get on board.

Start small

Don’t get too ambitious. As with any big project, you’ll want to move in stages. So start with a small goal that is easily achievable. Early success is more likely to get people on board, because it will tangibly demonstrate that change is manageable, and beneficial.

Appoint champions

Change champions are a proven way to embed and implement change within organisations – an efficient change champion will act as the link between ground-level staff and the change management leaders. Change champions should come from all across the organisation. Do consider allowing people to volunteer for the role, but also be sure to actively recruit key “influencers” as well – you want people who have “sway” with their fellow workers.

Track and measure progress

Keep an eye on how things are going, and put some outcomes in place so you can know exactly what is or isn't working. This way, employees are less likely to dismiss your change management plans as yet another paper-pushing exercise. You will also have the opportunity to celebrate when goals are met, or to fine-tune the process when necessary. yamini.chinnuswamy@hrmasia.com.sg

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HR TECHNOLOGY

Design thinking for HR Why are so many HR leaders in Asia talking about design thinking? HR Executive Magazine’s STEVE BOESE says it’s because there are natural applications to the function – around technology implementation in particular

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hy are so many HR leaders talking about design thinking? In the last few months, a number of the guests on my regular podcast – HR leaders from Red Hat, T-Mobile, General Motors and NBCUniversal, for example — have brought up a phrase that, even as recently as last year, I don’t recall hearing.

That phrase is “design thinking”, and while you probably have heard the term, you might not have considered it from an HR or HR-technology point of view. Design thinking has been described as an iterative process that tries to understand a business problem, as well as who and what it is impacting. Those using this strategy challenge existing assumptions and approaches to solving a problem, and ask questions to identify alternative solutions

that might not be readily apparent. Design thinking is a solution-based approach and usually prescribes a series of specific phases, stages, and methods to help designers and business teams arrive at improved, user-focused solutions. In this piece, I’ll look at each of the typical stages of a design-thinking process, their application, and how we can leverage these ideas as we evaluate, deploy, and manage the HR technologies.

Empathise The first stage in the design-thinking process is gaining an understanding of the business or people problem you are trying to solve. This is different from trying SEPTEMBER 2018

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HR TECHNOLOGY

workplace technology. Project teams can’t empathise with employees if they don’t meaningfully include them at all stages of the process.

Define

All too often, decisions around software selection, implementation, and configuration are made by central project teams, consultants, and vendor staff who have received little input from the users whose jobs will be impacted by the new workplace technology to determine the list of detailed technical requirements for a new HR system or the specific elements that need to be included in a new management training course. Design thinking suggests that the designer or project leader thinks deeply about the people who will be impacted by a new solution or process. They should engage and spend time with them to better understand their motivations and challenges, as well as develop a deep appreciation for any physical or environmental characteristics that are important to the solution. But the key to making this information-gathering stage successful is empathy, which can help

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designers and leaders to get past their own assumptions and gain insight into users and their needs. For HR-tech projects, this means making sure that the project managers and HR leaders actually spend time with and observe the “real” employees who use the HR and workplace technologies in their jobs. All too often decisions around software selection, implementation, and configuration are made by central project teams, consultants, and vendor staff who have received little if any input from the users whose jobs and work processes will be impacted the most by any new HR or

During this stage, designers and project leaders gather all the information and input from the initial phase. The team can then review and assess this information with the goal of defining the core problems identified. But a key element of design thinking is the goal to make “humans” the central point of the problem you are seeking to solve. For example, a traditional target metric might have been: “We need to decrease the number of questions for the employee call centre about payroll and benefits by 10% this year.” Instead, a design-thinking approach would define the problem as, “Employees should be provided a platform for payroll and benefits that is easy to use and understand, and where they can find information.” In this stage, the designers and project team gather their ideas to establish the required solution features, functions, and any other process-design elements to address the problem in a human-centered way. The goals of almost all HR-technology initiatives can be expressed in these “human” terms: “Make access to information faster and easier for front-line workers.” “Give managers better guidance to mentor and coach new employees.” “Arm new employees with resources that welcome them and show them that the organisation is ready to support them.” These are “human” expressions that have more meaning to project teams and employees than metrics and abstract corporate goals. It is hard to rally most people around meeting a metric, so the goals of any HR-tech project should resonate and connect in a human way, especially with those whom you will ask to make (sometimes substantial) changes in how they get their work done.

Ideate During this stage of the design-thinking process, the project team is able to start generating specific ideas and approaches. With the understanding of the users of

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the solution and their needs from the “empathise” stage, the more detailed observations and desired solution features from the “define” stage, and clarity about what the team is working towards that is specified in the human-centered problem statement, the team can begin generating ideas. This is often the time where team members are encouraged to “think outside the box” to identify new solutions to the problem statement created, and these ideas often feed back to the “define” stage – participants often discover different ways to look at the problem. In this process, all ideas should be considered, as it is important to get as many ideas or problem solutions unearthed as possible. There are plenty of ways that rapid, iterative, and creative ideation can manifest in HR-technology projects. Let’s take just one recent example—the move of many organisations away from annual performance reviews to a more rapid, lighter and feedback-driven approach to guiding and improving employee performance. By thinking creatively about how best to coach, develop, and reach organisational performance objectives, HR leaders have been able to drive significant changes in how employee performance is managed, and how the HR technologies that support these processes have developed and evolved. A similar kind of evolution has been happening with employee engagement surveys – the larger point being Design Thinking approaches create an environment in which many kinds of ideas can be proposed, even those that just a few years ago would have been considered crazy.

Prototype In the “prototype” phase, the project team’s goal is to produce fast, lightweight and iterative solutions, with the goal of evaluating them for effectiveness in solving the problems identified. The project team can experiment with many potential solutions to find the optimal approach for each of the problems identified in the first three stages. These can be implemented on a pilot or small scale, then investigated by the project team and end users, before decisions are made about whether to continue, improve, or reject the solution entirely. At the end of this

Tech challenges laid bare THE HR TECHNOLOGY market can be a confusing place at the best of times. With many multiple vendors, offering a wide range of different solutions and packages, it

can be hard to know where to get started, let alone have confidence in the information available. HRM Asia’s HR Tech Think Tank – in Singapore on October

19 October 2018 Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre

stage, the project team will have a better understanding of the available solutions, and how each one addresses or fails to address the defined problems.

Test During the test phase, the project team and the solution users will thoroughly test the complete solution or product using the best options identified. The goal is to determine if the selected solutions can truly stand up to their application in the “real world” and not just in a small pilot or under highlycontrolled conditions. The test phase is the final phase of the classic design-thinking model, but since design thinking is meant to be an iterative process, the results revealed can be fed back to the ideate phase if the need for more solution alternatives becomes clear. The team can even return to the “empathise” phase, and further refine the selection to create the most complete and meaningful solution as possible. For HR-tech projects (leaving out areas like payroll), the best outcome of the testing process is getting validation from the end users that the problems you identified in

19 – will offer HR professionals the chance to dive deep into the challenges they face and the ways technology can (and sometimes can’t) help. This first-of-its-kind, interactive oneday programme will feature expert HR technologists going through the practical ins and outs of each of eight separate functional areas. Find out more at: www. hrtechthinktank.com

earlier phases will actually be addressed successfully. Too often in HR-tech testing, we focus on things like process completion, error rates, and output reports. While all are important, design thinking challenges project teams to make sure their users are positive about the proposed solutions, and that their needs (remember, we started with empathising with them) are going to be met. “How do you feel about the solution?” is a question you should ask as often as possible during the “test” phase. Once you’ve gone live, it is usually too late. While the concepts surrounding design thinking are not new and are wellunderstood by the design, engineering and maybe even the marketing industry, they have not always been applied to the kinds of challenges that HR leaders face. But as many experienced and progressive HR leaders have been telling me lately, designthinking concepts and approaches are becoming more common. There’s plenty of opportunity here for HR leaders to use these approaches to create better solutions and experiences for their staff.

About the Author STEVE BOESE is HR Executive Magazine’s® Inside HR Tech columnist and is also co-chair of the HR Technology Conference and Exposition® in the US. He writes an HR blog, and hosts the HR Happy Hour Show, a radio programme and podcast. SEPTEMBER 2018

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19 October 2018 Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre

Launching for the first time in Singapore, HRM Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HR Tech Think Tank, is a one day unique hands on-interactive event that will deep-dive into the latest HR Technologies that are enabling faster, better and cheaper solutions to HR practices and people operations.

Choose Your Think Tank

Choose to join a 4.5 hour deep dive that will explore the following HR Tech solutions:

Recruitment Tech

Engagement Tech

Talent Management Tech

Learning and Development Tech

C&B & Wellness Tech

Payroll Tech

AI & RPA Tech

HRIS/HRMS

Each of these sessions will explore the latest trends and how these technologies are transforming practice; they will also explore common adoption pathways and challenges, overcoming barriers to adoption, how to get top down and bottom up buy-in, adoption case studies and outcomes achieved, and live interactive demos of solutions.

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ur d yo an r ST re ce fo G cu an w + Se end k no $88 att oo SGD b LY ON

HR Tech Think Tank will provide you with the opportunity to:

DISCOVER solutions to solve real HR and people problems EXPLORE how you apply these solutions to your own problems; and INTERACT with the technologies to get a sense of how they can be adopted into your organisation

Exclusive session by

JOHN SUMSER

US-based Futurist and Technology Commentator John will lead an exciting, interactive deep dive into the ways AI and other technologies are currently being applied to HR, but also ways that they could be applied in years to come, further highlighting the myriad of opportunities that technology is providing HR leaders in Asia today – and in the future.

AGENDA:

8:30 Registration 9:00 Welcome Address 9:20 HR Tech Think Tank Breakout Sessions 10:35 Morning Tea Break 10:50 HR Tech Think Tank Breakout Sessions (continued) 12:20 Lunch Break 13:20 HR Tech Think Tank Breakout Sessions (continued) 14:45 Afternoon Tea Break 15:00 HR Tech Think Tank Findings Presentations 16:00 Emerging Intelligence - AI, Analytics, Predictive Tools and Data with John Sumser, US-based futurist and technology commentator 17:30 End of Event

This is your opportunity Who Should Attend? to build your digital CIO’s / IT Directors acumen and to deepen Talent Management CHRO’s your understanding of how C&B HR Tech can enable your HR Regional / APAC / Country L&D Heads of HR Employee Engagement / department and/or function Head of / GM / Director / SVP / Experience to be efficient, reduce VP of HR Payroll / Admin / Finance costs and mitigate Functional Head of / GM / HR Transformation transactional Director / SVP / VP of: HR Technology burden. Recruitment

HRIS

Want to be a facilitator?

Are you a technologist across any of these categories and would like to join? Contact Luke Kasprazak at : +65 6801 4579 or email: luke@hrmasia.com.sg

We look forward to welcoming you at the HR Tech Think Tank in October. +65 6423 4631

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info@hrmasia.com.sg

www.hrtechthinktank.com

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RESEARCH

D I G I TA L L E A R N I N G

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BIG GOALS; SLOW START Singapore HR and learning and development professionals have some big plans for their digital learning programmes, HRM Asia and Elementrixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; inaugural Thriving in a World of Digital Learning research has found. But there are some significant roadblocks to those ambitions, including the fact that many organisations have been slow to get started on technology adoption B Y PAU L H OW E L L

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RESEARCH

D I G I TA L L E A R N I N G

Too much choice? The vast majority of survey respondents indicated they expected their organisations to expand their use of digital learning over

METHODOLOGY THE THRIVING IN a World of Digital Learning research was conducted under the supervision and advice of Professor Keith Houghton, Senior Academic Research Strategist with Research Coaching Australia. He assisted with the survey design, response analysis, and insight development of this report. The survey was distributed

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% 9.5

15%

To ex a s te ma nt ll

% 1.9

5% 34.

the coming 12 months. That might be expected, but it is important to note that this growth will come from a relatively low base of current usage (see: Table 1). Asked to what extent current learning and development programmes already featured digital elements, almost half of

to a selection of HRM Magazine Asia readers via the HRM Asia website, its Daily Dispatch newsletter, and through direct email over a three-week campaign in June this year. After controls for position

and company size, a total of 116 qualifying responses were received. Elementrix has undertaken a similar piece of research with HR and learning professionals in Malaysia – look out for cross-border analysis on www.hrmasia. com during September and a second benchmarking study of both markets in the second half of 2019.

8% 30.

15%

Do n’ tk no w

la To rg a e e ve xt ry en t

8% 19.

1% 12.

% 6.5

Co m pl et el y

% 0.9

m T exodeo a te ra nt te

4% 22.

8% 30.

% 0.9

To ex a la te rg nt e

Table 1

No ta ta ll

Yet change – as Stacy and the majority of respondents to the study agree – is the only strategy that makes sense. Technology-led innovations, including gamification, microlearning, and even augmented and virtual reality tools, are set to redefine what an effective training experience is, throwing out many of the benchmarks that organisations currently base their traditional efforts against. George Aveling, “Chief re-imagineer” for Elementrix, says this was one of the key drivers behind the research. “We sense a growing urgency in the learning and development community around the world to ‘get into’ digital learning,” he notes. “However there is little evidence-based thinking on these issues as yet, and little guidance on what to do next.” He says the study aims to fill this knowledge gap using reliable data and analysis, and through that, will further strengthen the learning and development community in Singapore.

CU RR OF EN DI T A GI ND TA E L E XP LE EC ME TE NT D U S SE

tacy (not her real name) is the HR leader of a Singapore-founded company with operations in four Southeast Asia markets, and a total workforce of more than 500 people. Her responses to the Elementrix and HRM Asia Thriving in a World of Digital Learning survey in June were typical of the wider national population – and she later shared with HRM Magazine Asia some of her frustrations with the process of implementing new learning technology at the enterprise level. “I know options like video and micro-learning are where the industry is heading, but that will require a wide-scale transformation of the entire organisation,” she said. “Our current learning outcomes measure up well against the corporate benchmarks, so it is difficult to justify the necessary resources and effort to change.”

Current Expected in 12 months

the survey population (44%) said these options had little to zero influence over their current learning strategy. At the other end of the scale, less than 1% of the respondents were from companies where digital had “completely” taken over the learning function. Contrast that with the expected vision for in 12 months’ time and you’ll see a significant movement to the right of the graph. Only 16.9% of respondents expect to face little or no digital elements in their learning programmes, while 6.5% expect these tools to make up 100% of their learning programme by this time in 2019. Another of the issues identified through the survey was the broad notion of digital learning today, and the many different elements that it consists of. While basic e-learning initiatives have been leveraged on for some time now, the future of digital learning includes much more than this alone: social learning, gamification, libraries of video content, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and video simulations are all expected to play a role. But many learning professionals have had difficulty analysing which of these, if any, or indeed which combination, would be best for their organisation and situation. After all, a

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58 %

73 %

– GEORGE AVELING ,

“CHIEF RE-IMAGINEER”, ELEMENTRIX

13 %

Aug ream liteynted

Virt ual real ity Expected in 12 months Current

Implementation concerns But the reality of digital implementation may still hold some of those expectations back. This is because there remains a significant skills gap between this new digital direction that the majority of surveyed HR professionals expect their organisations to embark on, and the digital competencies of those leading the change. Take any one of 14 digital learning options for organisations to consider, and at least 40% of the research population believed their organisation does not have the

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A learrtificia ning l

“The organisations that develop competency to design engaging learning experiences will develop a firstmover advantage over their competitors.”

14 %

A leadr aptiv ning e

27 %

16 %

i leaM rnicnrog

29 %

33 %

Gam ifica tion

21 %

single learning and development programme could combine many or just one or two of these, and still be an effective intervention. This dilemma was highlighted in the research, which asked respondents to list the elements their organisations were currently utilising, and those that they expected to be using within the next 12 months. The expected change in just the next year (see: Table 2) is nothing short of dramatic. While currently e-learning is utilised by 73% of the HR professionals surveyed, that figure drops down to 58% over the coming year. The shortfall is then spread over several different digital learning options, with all of the other listed tools seeing an expected increase over 2019, some by as much as 10 percentage points. Social learning – where skills are developed through groups of colleagues discussing topics and uploading, sharing, and liking content – is expected to overtake video libraries as the second-most frequently-used element. But it is just one of six options that are each expected to be incorporated into between 23% and 34% of learning programmes next year.

CURR ENT DIGIAND EX TAL L PEC EARN TED T ING YPES OF 22 %

sim Vide ulat o ions

23 %

leaSrocialning

22 %

librVaideo ries

34 %

27 %

29 %

E-le arni ng

29 %

Table 2

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PRINT HRM Asia - WSG 2018 Elevate and Celebrate.pdf

1/8/18

10:09 am

Barriers to entry

SINGAPORE RESPONDENTS did indicate several significant barriers to their organisations finding more success with digital learning. The following three factors were each raised by at least 60% of respondents: Learning and Development competencies are lacking; and teams are unable to design effective digital learning solutions Getting learners to embrace digital learning Budget limitations

in-house skills to effectively implement the solution (see: Table 4). That rises to as much as 81% for the more advanced options, such as learning via augmented reality interventions. Aveling says this represents both a challenge and an opportunity for learning teams in Singapore. “The organisations that develop competency to design engaging learning experiences will develop a first-mover advantage over their competitors,” he said.

Budgetary blues Another potential roadblock for some organisations is securing adequate budgets for new digital learning initiatives. As Stacy noted in the opening to this excerpt, many of the options represent a significant turn away from traditional learning methods. These may well have been delivering quite reasonable – or even above average – learning outcomes for many years, leaving functional leaders with the task of having to fix something that doesn’t appear broken. Still, it is a potential issue for fewer than half (33.7%) of the HR professionals surveyed. Most believed their organisations already had adequate budgetary capacity to incorporate digital elements in their learning and development programmes, with

“OUR L&D FUNCTION HAS ADEQUATE BUDGET TO DEVELOP LEARNING PROGRAMS THAT INCLUDE DIGITAL ELEMENTS.” 24.8%

Table 3

Agree

Strongly disagree

25.7%

4.4%

Disagree

Strongly agree

37.2% Neutral

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RESEARCH

ENC Y T E P M E A COROSS THE C A F N ATIOUTIONS AC? S I N A G OR NING SOL ATFORMS 68% R U O Y L S G I E P S DO AP IN DE LOWING 64% 67% G FOL 2%

81%

D I G I TA L L E A R N I N G 78%

80%

Table 4

62%

the normal distribution highlighted by the survey skewed only slightly toward the negative side (see: Table 3). A much bigger issue is the measurement of outcomes, and translating that into an expected return on investment (ROI) that holds well against traditional learning methods. The research asked respondents about their level of satisfaction – in terms of learning outcomes – from their learning programmes that incorporated at least some digital element, and found the population either did not know, or did not have stronglyheld views. Aveling says this result is understandable. “Organisations traditionally do not measure ROI from Learning and Development at the business impact level,” he said. “In the world of measurement, this refers to ‘Level Four’ in the Kirkpatrick training evaluation model.” Compounding this issue is the lack of hard data to provide evidence of ROI. In a fastchanging and uncertain environment, that has meant senior leadership teams across Singapore organisations have been unable to support significant increases in digital learning budgets: “This level of precision does not exist at present,” Aveling notes.

learning and development teams reticent to fully embrace digital learning options, there are also similar problems with the end-users of many interventions. The Thriving in a World of Digital Learning research found that learner motivation for digital training was much lower than many might have expected. Over 60% of the survey respondents said the engagement of employees with existing digital learning methods was either “low” or “medium”; just 14% found a “high” level of motivation across their workforce. Aveling says this will be a key metric to watch in future research, and may be the result of a power shift toward the learner –

MOOCs

Artificial intelligence

Analytics

Augmented reality

Video simulations

Video learning

Social learning

Micro learning

e-learning

Design thinking

Learning experience design

40%

Gamification

53%

60%

Adaptive learning

63%

57%

Virtual reality

47%

they can now pick and choose the content and platforms that most appeal, with many rejecting opportunities that don’t meet their expectations. The relatively low skills in technology application and learning experience design among HR teams (as discussed above) is likely exacerbating this issue, he said. Likewise, the ongoing conflict between learning programmes and the need for staff to pay attention to their own work and KPIs may also be playing a part.

Full report available online The Thriving in a World of Digital Learning research has also been conducted in Malaysia. The full, combined report, with additional insights and benchmarking metrics, will be available on www.hrmasia. com from September 25.

Acknowledgements THE THRIVING IN a World of Digital Learning was conceived and developed by Malaysiabased business consultancy Elementrix, with support and input from HRM Asia and Smart Up. Research Coaching Australia provided statistical expertise in both the survey generation and analysis stages. George Aveling, “Chief Reimagineer” of Elementrix thanked each of the survey participants in Singapore.

“We believe there are major learning points for corporate learning departments to take action on in order to be effective players in this new world of learning,” he said. “The knowledge gained from this research can help the learning and development industry in Singapore to accelerate in the new world of learning made possible by digital technology.” “We hope that you are of this opinion as well.”

Low learner motivation While there are some at the top end of SEPTEMBER 2018

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SECTOR FOCUS

C O M P E N S AT I O N A N D B E N E F I T S

BENEFITS FOR THE LONG HAUL Strategically developed non-monetary benefits are now a key tool in HRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s battle for staff retention

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t’s a tough business environment out there at the moment. Not only are whole industries being disrupted and transformed, but the war for professional-level talent – skilled people who can cope with and adapt to all of that change – is heating up like never before. Employer branding and talent attraction are key weapons in the fight that every organisation is facing, but value-for-money employee retention is an even more pressing concern. In the past, a lot of retention efforts were based around financial rewards: throw a big bonus or pay rise toward key staff and effectively “buy” their loyalty for another year or six months. But that strategy has been proven ineffective over anything but the shortest terms. A Princeton University study found that higher incomes only increased total happiness of employees up to a relatively low level of US$75,000 (S$100,000) per year. Beyond that, any increase in pay does little to increase the daily mood, and thereby retention, of key staff. Rather, it is non-monetary and cultural rewards that keep talents not just at their desks, but contributing to an organisation’s goals and objectives. Employers can get that desperately wanted “buy-in” for a fraction of the cost of financial rewards, and with much greater impact. Rosaline Chow Koo, founder of CXA Group, says employers should always aim to create a work environment that improves employee morale, engagement, and productivity. And one key way to achieve this is through a welldesigned employee benefits programme. “Studies have shown that happier and more engaged employees take less time off, are more productive, and fall sick less often,” she says. “Companies of any size can begin to implement wellness programmes for their staff. It can be as simple as self-conducted teambuilding workouts after work, allowing a flexible working schedule, or even choosing to stock the pantry with healthy, low-carb food (check those sweet biscuits and salty crackers!)” Koo says CXA itself offers an excellent case in point. The startup company recently embarked on its own “Living Lab” health and wellness programme over eight weeks. This involved a series of fun and engaging activities combined with pre-and post-programme health checks. “The programme made a big difference, with 66% of employees reporting improved activity during and after it, while 43% of employees reported an improvement in happiness, and 28% of employees reported a reduction of stress levels,” she says.

Not just doctors and nurses Of course non-monetary incentives can include

much more than health and wellness-related expenses for staff. Particularly with larger organisations boasting a modern outlook, a host of lifestyle options can be included in a comprehensive benefits programme to doubledown on the retention advantages. These include on-site gymnasiums with group fitness classes, childcare centres, in-house catered meals, scholarships and reimbursements for tuition, paid time off for voluntary work, in-house spas or vouchers, and the list goes on. Some organisations are also experimenting with unlimited leave options; while others have made it policy for all positions to be done remotely if that is the employee’s preference. David Litteken, Senior Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific region at BI Worldwide, says a complete benefits programme will have both health and lifestyle options for staff. But the important thing is that these are put together in a strategic fashion, taking the workforce demographics and preferences into account. “A comprehensive benefits programme should be built with a design thinking methodology, with a view to enhancing the Employee Value Proposition,” he tells HRM Magazine Asia. “The objective is to build a package and programme that not only engages and energises staff, but also reinforces the organisation’s key values.” The true engagement and retention strength comes when the benefits programme is combined with other workplace improvements that help staff feel at home in the office. “Making a cool, fun, hip place to work is actually the easy part,” Litteken says. “That then needs to be backed up by transparency and agility of leadership.” “This creates that all-important feeling that ‘my boss has my back’,”

Common features No matter what size the organisation or what region it is operating in, and no matter what sort of benefits will be made available through it, an effective benefits programme will have a number of common features. Litteken says a Design Thinking methodology is an important tool for the development stage. “The organisation needs to map out exactly where the retention and engagement challenges are,” he tells HRM Magazine Asia. Along with the strategic element and careful research into the workforce demographics and its individual wants and SEPTEMBER 2018

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SECTOR FOCUS

C O M P E N S AT I O N A N D B E N E F I T S

The changing scope of benefits fits-all base line of wellness services. Today, there is a wide range of benefits that employers are leveraging to enhance not only employee health, but also their engagement with the organisation and general happiness at work. That leads

WHILE EMPLOYEE HEALTH

has long been a concern for progressive employers, it has only been in the last 10 years that benefits programmes have moved beyond the typical insurance schemes that offered only a one-size-

to increased retention and a more productive and effective workforce. Here are just some of the things that are now on offer at some of the organisations now regularly topping the best employer branding lists around the world:

$ On-site gymnasiums with regular fitness classes

Onsite childcare centres

Onsite spa and massage services

Paid time-off for voluntary work

In-house catering for meals

Unlimited leave

Scholarships and reimbursement for continuing education

+ Onsite dentist

Sabbatical programmes

Preventive health and wellness programmes

Financial advice and assistance with retirement planning

Sleeping pods in the office

needs, experts all highlight the importance of effective communication in the rollout and maintenance of a new programme. “It’s important to consider all the communication elements that your workforce could demand, including social,

Remote working opportunities

Allowances for training shoes and other fitness products

mobile, and paper-based platforms,” Litteken says.

Starting small While the list below has some big and very unique items that only the biggest employers

will be able to afford, both Litteken and Koo say there is a benefits programme fit for every organisation – even the smallest outfits. “It shouldn’t matter what size the company is,” Litteken says. “Whether it is two or three people, or 200,000, no organisation should let size be a deterrent from looking at a holistic benefits programme.” Koo says a low-cost, flexible starting position for smaller organisations would be the implementation of a Virtual Wallet system of points and benefits targeting a multigenerational workforce. “Employees at each stage of their life would have different priorities,” she says. “A young family might place more priority on their children’s education and wellbeing, whereas a more mature family might be more concerned about retirement.” “A Virtual Wallet gives employees the power of choice – they choose what works for them based on their needs, life stage, and personal preferences.” Several vendors in the employee health marketplace, including CXA will offer these kinds of flexible benefits programmes. They are typically built over an intuitive, easyto-use digital platform that can scale up or down with the organisation. For its part, BI Worldwide operates more as a consultancy, helping its clients to conceive, research, and develop appropriate engagement and retention strategies – including through flexible and wideranging benefits programmes. It uses data and scientific research to determine the right mix of engagement levers to ensure a workforce is at its happiest – and thereby most productive.

MARKETPLACE - COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS BI Worldwide

CXA Group

BI Worldwide is dedicated to building loyalty programmes and incentives across a wide range of clients and industries. It is a global company with 25 offices around the world, all focused on serving Global 2000 corporations and delivering measurable results that have a positive impact on clients, their workforces, and ultimately their businesses. BI Worldwide looks at how thought and emotion combine to drive human decisions and behaviour, using scientific research and data to determine what will truly inspire any given team or workforce.

Founded in 2013 by insurance and employee benefits industry veteran Rosaline Chow Koo, CXA helps Asian workplaces combat chronic disease and escalating healthcare costs by shifting existing spend from treatment to early detection and disease prevention. The company built Asia’s first flex-wellness marketplace, providing employees personalised with benefits and rewards for healthier behaviour, while proactively seeking ways to prevent disease and transfer risks. CXA has grown significantly and now has over 600 clients with 240,000 employee participants.

www.biworldwide.com

www.cxagroup.com

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Shaping culture and mindsets The challenges of digital transformation are purely cultural, writes JULIANA ANG, Chief HR Officer, NTUC Income

ecently, our company was ranked top in the Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark. NTUC Income beat 24 other insurers, including both traditional competitors like Aviva and AIA and newer kids on the block such as Etiqa Insurance and FWD Singapore. While this accolade is a pleasant surprise, it was certainly not a fluke. In fact, NTUC Incomeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital journey took root as early as 2014, when we saw the need to reimagine insurance and the way our customers interact with us. As we made the shift from a traditional insurer to one that is digitally empowered, one area we paid particular attention to was ensuring our employees made the transition successfully and came onboard this transformation journey. Through my years as an HR professional, the biggest leadership challenge that I have faced in any organisation has been trying to shape a new culture and shifting peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mindsets along with that change. The reason is simple. By its nature, change is difficult, and, to persuade people to change can be harder. Even with the best intentions

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and preparation, a change as mammoth as bringing the entire organisation through a digital transformation is bound to have its challengers and naysayers. For me, any organisation-level strategy can only succeed if employees and management can come together to agree on, mobilise, and effect change. My role as Chief HR Officer is to support the company in its shift to become a high-performing digital insurer, while at the same time, engage with and bring our people on board for the journey. I have a few principles that have served me well in this regard:

Have a clear purpose for change NTUC Income embarked on our digitalisation journey because it was a business imperative that would support the company’s long-term growth and sustainability (or, as some would say, “survivability”); not because it was fashionable to do so, or – worse – because our competitors were doing so. It is important as a leader to demonstrate this clearly to employees in order to win them over to the change, and to show that the change is taking place for the greater good of the company, and by extension, its people. The other way to bring people to the same page is to demonstrate the benefits of change. In other words, by being outcome-driven and letting the results speak for themselves. In our case, the HR team had recently launched “HR on the Go”, a mobile application that allows employees to apply for leave and get approvals for their expenses and claims. This was in addition to them also being able to gain entry to our offices via a shake of their mobile phones, through a new, mobile access application. The intention has always been clear – we want to empower our staff with greater conveniences and efficiencies brought on by digitalisation, and to let them experience these first-hand. Indeed, if seeing is believing, then having something tangible would only deepen that belief and fuel further action. In short, we wanted to encourage learning through experience. To this end, we ran several digital-centric events and initiatives that were designed to encourage such experiential learning. These included our inaugural “IdeaSmash” hackathon in 2017, where for 36 hours our staff were challenged to think and act like a start-up. They designed solutions to real problems faced by the modern world.

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

More recently, we created “Future+”, an innovationfocused community within the company where staff get first-hand updates and exclusive invites to related news and events. Again, these have been specifically curated to get our people curious and excited about the digital ecosystem in Singapore.

Be sensitive My approach to change management has always been to win people over one at a time. To do that effectively, it is important to employ a multiplepronged strategy and thereby set the field for all-round internal buy-in. At NTUC Income, our strategy was to build an ecosystem that comprised the C-Suite, employee ambassadors, and like-minded partners. They were then able to seed, mobilise, and effect change at all levels of the organisation.

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If there was anything I would like to emphasise, it would be the importance of support from the top of the house. To put our money where our mouth was, we deliberately resourced a member of our executive committee to lead and champion digital transformation at NTUC Income. To succeed, be sure to appoint someone who is well-liked and also wellregarded as a collaborator. Any attempts to effect change will be futile if collaboration from all stakeholders is not forthcoming. To this end, this senior member of our management team became the head of our Digital Transformation Office. They were then charged with bringing out a groundswell of goodwill for digitalisation and innovation within NTUC Income. Even as we now introduce even newer ways of working

to the company, it is important to be mindful of any potential tension that may arise from the new-versus-old dichotomy. Hence, we made it a point to have existing staff work alongside fresh change-makers that we hired at the Digital Transformation Office. Not only do these experienced employees possess precious institutional knowledge about the company, they also serve as an effective bridge between the new and the not-so-new ways of doing things.

Different strokes It is important for leaders to recognise that employees adapt to change in different ways, and at different rates. This is why I have always advocated for a change management process that involves three key steps: Awareness or knowledge of the change in hand Hands-on experience or experiential learning as I explained earlier; and

Practical involvement in specific change-related projects. It is worthwhile having “ambassadors” or “catalysts” for change around to positively influence their peers and, as much as possible, ensure everyone speaks a common language. One good example of how this has manifested within NTUC Income is the way we introduced our “Customer Experience 2.0” workshop. To be rolled out to everyone, as well as new joiners, this introduces the Design Thinking approach to problem solving, and empowers everyone to deliver positive experience to their customers – both internal and external. Ultimately, it is about empowering our people to be innovative, and building an environment where we challenge ourselves, harness agile thinking, and experiment with new ways of working. Indeed, if we are to continue to be successful – and we have all the ingredients in place to do so, it is imperative that all 1,800 of our employees thrive with us. As Chief HR Officer, that is my goal. And it is our job in the HR team to organise ourselves and the company to get there.

About the Author As the Chief HR Officer of NTUC Income, JULIANA ANG leads the HR team in its development of HR vision and strategies, so as to build a thriving and flourishing social enterprise that can have lasting impact on its customers throughout Singapore and the region.

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F E AT U R E

HR INSIDER

CANNIE KWOK

Senior Director, HR, Brand, Marketing, Sales and Consumer Services

CLARA SIU

Vice President, Total Rewards, HR Services and Technology, Asia-Pacific

REGAN TAIKITSADAPORN Chief HR Officer, Marriott International Asia-Pacific

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PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST SUKIE LAU

Senior Director, Compensation and Benefits, Asia-Pacific

JOANNA TSANG Senior Manager, Talent Management Solution, Asia-Pacific

REGAN TAIKITSADAPORN, Chief HR Officer at Marriott International in Asia-Pacific, shares how the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest hospitality company is attracting and retaining talent during a time of intense growth B Y YA M I N I C H I N N U S WA M Y

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F E AT U R E

HR INSIDER

arriott International – the world’s largest hospitality company – plans to hire a further 19,000 employees in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year. But Regan Taikitsadaporn, Chief HR Officer for Marriott International in Asia-Pacific, and an 18-year veteran of the industry – is more excited than intimidated by the challenge. “From a tourism and travel perspective, Asia-Pacific is probably one of the fastest-growing regions of the world – driven by the strong economy, the income of the rising middle class, and also increasing ease of travel,” he says. “This year alone, we’re expecting to open another 80 hotels. That’s one hotel every five to six days.”

Of course, Marriott’s competitors are also growing, and have their eyes set on much of the same talent. Taikitsadaporn concedes that there is a fierce war for potential recruits, and not just with other hotel chains. There are also cruise lines, airlines, and even independent restaurants – all competing for the same people and skills. In this competitive landscape, Marriott’s approach to standing out from the crowd is about placing talent front and centre of everything. “Marriott has a very strong culture that revolves around putting people first,” he says, noting that it’s a common theme in any talk with the company’s senior leadership. “We are very focused on helping employees grow their careers.” In late 2016, Marriott International closed a deal to merge with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide – thus creating the world’s largest hotel operator. This acquisition has only heightened the company’s ability to provide employees with opportunities to progress.

“Rather than lose someone from the company, we would rather take a chance on someone who may have the potential to grow into that higher level position” – REGAN TAIKITSADAPORN,

CHIEF HR OFFICER, ASIA-PACIFIC, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL

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“Now that we’re one company, people can grow their careers faster without having to leave the company. This has helped us keep pace with our competitors,” notes Taikitsadaporn.

Robust development Putting people first means a rigorous, annual human capital planning process, where HR and leadership review existing talent, have career conversations with them about their aspirations, identify successors, and put development plans in place. It also means making opportunities available to everyone. “We don’t have traditional career tracks. Employees create their own career paths. We have countless examples of people who jump from one discipline to another,” Taikitsadaporn says. “All our jobs are posted – that’s a requirement within the company. Some jobs have minimum requirements, and some might have certain required levels of experience, but other than that, anyone can apply to a job they’re interested in. It’s a global posting system that everyone can access.” Employees are also spoiled for choice in terms of learning and development, with a wide-ranging cadre of training opportunities across multiple levels. For example, there’s Voyage, a 12 to 18-month programme for university graduates to be fast-tracked into supervisory or entry-level management work. The programme spans multiple tracks, from finance, to rooms, and from sales and marketing to HR, and features an intensive curriculum to develop the company’s future leaders. Service culture training also comprises a big part. With 23 different brands in the Asia-Pacific region alone, much goes into keeping these brands distinct. There’s a “luxury university” to develop leaders within Marriott’s luxury brands, a “lifestyle university” to develop leaders in that tier, and so on. “On top of all that, we have discipline training,” Taikitsadaporn says. “For instance, there is a culinary academy where we bring our executive chefs from the region for a couple of days for training and exposure, and to learn about innovative new trends in dining and food.” At the line level, Marriott International is also working on digital learning. “In

EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES TO LIVE THEIR BEST LIVES JOURNEY WEEK is a cornerstone of Marriott International’s talent retention programme, and this year’s iteration saw it take over more than 600 Marriott properties across Asia-Pacific in April this year. The week-long schedule of activities included career coaching sessions, hotel open houses, local school engagement, résumé and interview preparation workshops, as

well as diversity celebrations. Employees in senior leadership roles also shared their own career journeys to inspire others to reach their own career goals. “Journey Week is a platform that reinforces our company’s global employer brand campaign: ‘To the Journey’,”

the past, we were focused on in-classroom learning – having participants sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecturer,” Taikitsadaporn says. “But what we’re finding today is that younger employees like to learn using digital platforms like YouTube, because it allows for more flexibility to learn where they want to learn, and when they want to learn. “It also gives us more flexibility, because it allows us to keep people ‘on the floor’. Instead of having to pull people out of the business for a couple of days of training, we can keep things running while people learn at their own pace.”

How to woo a millennial Indeed, with the millennial demographic already comprising the largest part of the workforce in most of Asia-Pacific, the intense focus on levelling up has become more crucial than ever for Marriott International. “Millennials are ambitious. They want to grow their careers. They start a job and within six months, they are asking what’s next,” Taikitsadaporn points out.

says Regan Taikitsadaporn, Chief HR Officer at Marriott International Asia-Pacific. “The series of events brings to life our value proposition: that Marriott International offers unmatched career opportunities coupled with a culture that empowers [our employees] to live their best lives.”

“So it’s really about staying ahead of the game, and having that career conversation with them early on. It’s about showing that we are interested in helping them grow their careers, and also making sure they stay engaged and busy.” On a day-to-day basis, that involves enlisting high performers onto inter-market councils, placing them on taskforces to open up new hotels, or even sending them to fill temporarily vacant positions at sister hotels. It mean creating projects and experiences beyond day to day work, that develop and keep them engaged – and maybe even taking a calculated risk, when the need arises. “Rather than lose someone from the company, we would rather take a chance on someone who is not 100% ready but who may have the potential to grow into that higher-level position,” Taikitsadaporn says.

Taking care of people, and business Taikitsadaporn is quick to explain that the all-encompassing “people first” approach to HR at Marriott has been in the company’s DNA from the beginning. SEPTEMBER 2018

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HR INSIDER

Taikitsadaporn recites a famous quote from his company’s founder J.Willard Marriott: “If you take care of the associates, they’ll take good care of the customers, and the customers will keep coming back”. Indeed, “taking care” of the employees is formalised into Marriot’s TakeCare movement, which was launched a few years ago. There are three aspects to this, as Taikitsadaporn explains: “Taking care of me as an individual, you (each other), and us (the company).” “But it’s not just a HR-driven or topdown initiative,” he points out. “We also have TakeCare champions, roughly one for every 50 employees. The key for us is to empower our associates around a common philosophy, especially in Asia-Pacific, where it’s so diverse – what resonates in Japan may not resonate in India or Australia.” Another pillar of TakeCare centres on community service. This is partly customerdriven: as employees become increasingly socially conscious, they are demanding the same from their services. “For example, when we pitch for a lot

AT A GLANCE Number Of Employees (Asia-Pacific)

135,000 Key HR Focus Areas Culture Learning & Development Human Capital Planning

Size of HR Team

130

of Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibition opportunities – which is a big part of our business – one of the things we are frequently asked about is our position around sustainability, human rights, and social impact,” says Taikitsadaporn. But it’s also about the fact that

employees, too, increasingly want to see their employers drive positive change in society – especially the vital millennial and Generation Z demographics. “People want to be part of a company that has a good reputation. Regardless of whether they’re active in volunteering in their own time – which, actually, many of the younger folk are – people want to be associated with a company that has a good reputation, not just in the sense of making lots of money, but in terms of having a strong purpose in society,” says Taikitsadaporn. “So we have something called Serve360, which involves a few different aspects – such as giving back to the local communities we operate in, ensuring that our operations are sustainable, and also helping disadvantaged people have the opportunity to work. Our employees are very much involved in this: it’s not just a feel-good thing, but it helps bring teams together. It brings us closer to the community, and it helps the business as well,” he adds. yamini.chinnuswamy@hrmasia.com.sg

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Staying agile through lifelonglearning Skills development is at the forefront of every HR professional’s mind at the moment. Henkel’s Singapore President THOMAS HOLENIA explains how a culture of continuous learning can add value to every employee – and HR themselves

mid a volatile and dynamic business environment, coupled with

rapid technological changes, more and more businesses have put priority on increasing the agility of their organisations. To not do so is to risk losing their competitiveness or becoming a casualty of disruption. In tandem, increasing the agility of the workforce and fostering a culture of lifelong learning are becoming top priorities for many governments and leading companies A key enabler of an agile organisation is having energised and empowered teams. In an entrepreneurial corporate culture, for example, employees have greater autonomy and authority to make decisions and drive changes. In turn, this encourages self-initiative and dynamic collaboration across departments and ranks, where ideas are exchanged freely and outspoken feedback are valued. For this to happen, HR needs to ensure strong leaders are at every level of the organisation. At the same time, digital capability is critical to business success. For example, the use of modern communication technologies and enterprise networks – such as Yammer – can enable thousands of employees around the world to exchange information, knowledge and ideas. Also, consumer goods companies are leveraging big data insights and e-commerce to deliver an exceptional shopping experience and drive exponential sales growth. As companies continually evolve and transform their digital landscape, employees must learn to use new apps, software, and devices that help them become more productive and innovative. They must also understand the latest technological evolution and digitalisation trends to tap the right opportunities.

Still not ready for change? Yet, a survey of CEOs in Asia-Pacific by executive search firm Odgers Berndtson showed that many companies were ill-prepared for the changes SEPTEMBER 2018

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PROFESSIONAL DE VELOPMENT

that confronted them. It revealed that 63% of CEOs of global companies were reacting to disruptive forces, rather than anticipating or leading changes. These CEOs were also concerned that only half their senior executives had the right mindset to be effective in the face of disruptive change. In another study, McKinsey has reported a lack of understanding and skills as one of the reasons for the slow adoption of Industry 4.0 in Southeast Asia markets, despite the potential for productivity gains worth between US$216 billion and US$627 billion (S$296 billion to S$859 billion). Furthermore, in an everchanging environment, new jobs are continually being created as many current ones become obsolete. According to real estate firms, CBRE and Genesis, 50% of occupations today will no longer exist by 2025. Going beyond training and development programmes to address ongoing skills gaps and mismatches, many governments and companies, including Henkel, are emphasising the need to develop a mindset and culture of lifelong learning. This requires creating a new environment to support employees in acquiring new skills for emerging jobs and to engage proactively in continuous learning.

and employees participating actively in their career planning. Third, as the pace of globalisation and digitalisation accelerate, employee mobility and workplace connectivity will increase. Fourth, there will be an emphasis on individualisation, such as providing regular feedback and on-demand, high-quality learning. And fifth, there will be an increased demand for flexible working arrangements. As our work cultures become more selfdriven, mobile, connected,

Trends across the workforce There are five global workforce trends that are all forcing organisations to adopt continuous learning philosophies. First, the share of millennials in the workforce is set to increase, especially in emerging markets in Asia. The second trend is the democratisation of work, with a shift towards self-directed work

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and flexible, companies will need to complement conventional classroom training with new learning approaches and help their employees adapt to new learning habits and behavior. Digitalisation, especially, has led to a proliferation of new formats and new content, and has mad learning on demand possible. On Henkelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s digital learning environment, there are more than 250 courses in up to 16 languages in different formats. These include interactive online learning, webinars by leaders and experts, and case studies. We are also piloting game-based learning, where teams collaborate virtually to solve fictitious business problems, and, meanwhile, expand

their professional network with colleagues from different countries. Employees can participate in massive open online courses anytime, anywhere, supported by live chats with experts. Also, our partnership with Lynda.com provides employees access to more than 7,600 video courses conducted by external experts. In terms of content, a key priority is to develop the digital capabilities of our employees through digital training and upskilling. Digital training provides education on digital issues, such as digital marketing, and develops digital mindset and behaviors. Digital upskilling provides learning paths for specific roles and responsibilities. We also offer learning paths for professional upskilling as well as experiential learning to accelerate leadership development. With a wealth of online and offline learning formats and content available today, more and more individuals and employees are empowered to take charge of their lifelong learning journeys. Ownership thus rests on each person to manage their time and seize opportunities to continuously upskill themselves, with a determination to remain relevant, agile and competitive in a changing global marketplace.

About the Author THOMAS HOLENIA is President of Henkel Singapore, and Managing Director of Global Supply Chain Hub in Singapore.

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READER ADVICE I HAVE BEEN LEADING the HR function for a medium-sized business in Singapore for the last five years, and have recently come into conflict with the Chief Technology Officer. I have been urging the business to consider a wholesale change to the enterprise resource planning software that we operate, but can’t get the CTO to even consider the numbers I have put together. Have you ever had to go over someone’s head to get the business on the right track? ERP Switch, Singapore

Going over the CTO’s head may not offer the outcome you’re looking to achieve. Such a move has also been labelled as ‘wounding the king’.’ If you’re in conflict with the CTO but know your plan is the right way, try a new strategy. First consider how decisions are made and who influences whom in your organisation. Typically the two ways to things get done are through power or influence. Below is a simple model of influence and authority:

As you think about the wholesale change to the enterprise, who has the power to make this decision? It could be someone with authority or with positional power. It could also be someone with influence, but no authority – another type of power. Many decisions at work stem from the ability to influence. The left hand side of the chart is where you want to be. As an HR leader, you may not have the authority over the tech function, but can influence its decision making. With the CTO

Influence / Authority

No Influence / Authority

Influence / No Authority

No Influence / No Authority

in mind, use this chart to create a cadre of influencers to build your case so that the CTO will readily discuss the idea, review the options, and at the very least discuss the numbers you’ve put together. Whether it’s a medium or large firm, changing an enterprise system will have multiple decision makers. Who can you pull into the discussion to help influence the CTO? As you bring together that cadre, explain how this new system benefits them, and legitimise the reasons for this wholesale system change. You’re now building consensus for your idea and a community of change ambassadors. The Principle of Consensus helps decision makers when they’re

unsure which road to take. The CTO will see how others react to this idea. When making a major purchase decision - such as a new enterprise resources system, the CTO might feel better about this decision if others are satisfied. You’re now on the road to mobilising and sustaining change with a solid and strategic group of supporters.

JANE HORAN is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on helping organisations build inclusive work environments and meaningful careers for their people. She has held senior AsiaPacific management positions at The Walt Disney Company, CNBC, and Kraft Foods.

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For more information, visit https://isca.org.sg/cpe-events/

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SEPTEMBER 2018

9/5/2018 2:54:06 PM

CALENDAR Second half of 2018

UPCOMING EVENTS

20 SEP

VIETNAM HR SUMMIT

Vietnam HR Summit and Expo is the national largest annual gathering of HR professionals and business leaders in Vietnam. Held at the White Palace Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, this year’s event will focus on the theme: “Transform to Win”.

28 SEP

READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

HRM Asia’s Readers’ Choice Awards are back! Don’t miss the gala awards ceremony, held in the exquisite ballroom of Capella Singapore on Sentosa Island. You’ll enjoy some great food and wine, witness some fantastic entertainment, and share in the celebration of over 35 different award categories.

19 OCT

HR TECH THINK TANK

Don’t miss this first-of-its-kind, interactive learning event in which HR professionals work together to roadtest solutions for some of the biggest tech-related challenges facing the function today. With a roundtable discussion format across a single day in Singapore, the Think Tank will get HR professionals of all levels thinking and acting on the myriad of opportunities to make their work both easier and more impactful.

10 OCT

HR DRINKS, SINGAPORE This new, monthly, invitation-only networking event is exclusive for the HR community in Asia. It is a deliberately social environment, where HR professionals can meet, exchange ideas and share advice, or even just a few stories. Register your interest at www. hrdrinks.com.

6 NOV

CHRO SERIES 2018, JAKARTA

The role of the Chief HR Officer is becoming more important than ever as these employee-focused leaders become partners to the CEO, drive strategy, and ultimately enhance business success. For the first time in Jakarta, this exclusive one-day event is shaped around the unique HR challenges faced by businesses investing in today’s competitive workforce.

Do you have an upcoming event to share with the HR in community in Asia-Pacific? Email paul.howell@hrmasia.com.sg with the details. SEPTEMBER 2018

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HRM ASIA.COM

9/5/2018 4:44:20 PM

NEXT ISSUE

Next Month Coming Up

in the October-November 2018 issue

HRM Magazine Asia has searched high and low for the best emerging HR leadership talent in this part of the world. We count down the top nine leading lights from Southeast Asia in the magazine, with the entire short list of more than 20 candidates featured online from September 17.

Plus: HR Insider

Recruitment Sector Focus

Jane Tan, Director of HR for Bosch in Southeast Asia (second from left), explains how the engineering giant is using continuous learning to help its 100,000 staff in Asia to adapt to the digital; business environment.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very different world for specialist recruitment teams and agencies these days. HRM Magazine Asia reveals how these groups are adapting to the digital business environment.

See it online first at www.hrmasia.com from 48

HRM ASIA.COM

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Despite the disrupted accommodations industry, serviced apartments are still the Number One choice for many expatriates in Singapore and AsiaPacific.

Tuesday,Oct 23

SEPTEMBER 2018

9/5/2018 2:57:33 PM

JUNE 2018

IBC CHARTERHOUSE AD_SEP 2018.indd 49

HRM ASIA.COM

9/4/2018 10:49:37 AM

OBC TIMES SOFTWARE AD_SEP 2018.indd 50

9/4/2018 9:24:01 AM