Human Resources Magazine, Malaysia, September 2016

The smart HR professional’s blueprint for workforce strategy

TAKE YOUR SEAT PAGE 22

RM12 / Q3 2016

KDN PP 17051/09/2012(030949)

humanresourcesonline.net

Q3 2016 « CONTENTS

COVER STORY 22 Corporate training regimes for a first-place finish In the HR scenery, while successful, the 70:20:10 model for L&D is giving way to bite-sized learning, hackathons and more. Aditi Sharma Kalra takes stock of the learning landscape.

Features 14 Q&A

Joydeep Bose, president and global head of human resources at Olam International, reveals the three tenets of culture which have played the biggest role in developing senior leaders.

18 Tickets to high-impact mobility policies

Aditi Sharma Kalra reached out to mobility leaders across Asia to identify the state and drivers of their employee mobility strategies.

26 The ultimate guide to hiring older workers as mentors Amid a rapidly ageing population, Jerene Ang looks into how organisations can rehire mature workers to tap on their experience.

14

Opinion 32 Event update – Training & Development Asia 2016 Here’s a guide to all the action from the two-day dedicated learning and development conference from Jerene Ang.

36 Unconventional Wisdom

See how Starbucks Malaysia’s new store – which employs 10 deaf partners (employees) – helps raise awareness of people with disabilities in the workplace.

40 Last Word

26

Aditi Sharma Kalra sums up the top HR and leadership lessons she has gleaned from popular TV shows.

Regulars 3 Ed’s note 4 In the news 6 Suite talk 8 Spacial Awareness

32

11 Snapshot 12 Whitepaper 38 Personal growth 39 Shelf life

36

Any suggestions or tip-offs for Human Resources?

Email aditis@humanresourcesonline.net Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia «

11

EDITOR’S NOTE

regional editor

Aditi Sharma Kalra Jerene Ang

senior journalist

editor, Hong Kong

Anthony Wong

journalist, Hong Kong

Laura Fransen

sub editor

James Foster

regional art director Shahrom Kamarulzaman

senior designer

web designer

circulation executive

regional head of advertising & sponsorship

regional directors

Fauzie Rasid Sherlyn Yap Deborah Quek Naomi Cranswick Yogesh Chandiramani

Jaclyn Chua

Carine Chang

regional sales manager

regional marketing manager

Isabel Ho

regional head of production

Sammi Zhang

regional producers

Nikita Erpini

Kenneth Neo

Priya Veeriah

Evon Yew

regional head of event services

Yeo Wei Qi

Evelyn Wong

regional finance director

group editorial director

group managing director

Tony Kelly Justin Randles

Human Resources is published 12 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd. Printed in Malaysia on CTP process by Percetakan Skyline Sdn Bhd No. 35 & 37 Jalan 12/32B, TSI Business Industrial Park, Batu 61/2 Off Jalan Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03-6257 4846. Subscription rates are available on request, contact the Circulation Manager by telephone: (65) 6423 0329 or by email to: subscriptions@humanresourcesonline.net COPYRIGHTS AND REPRINTS. All material printed in Human Resources is protected under the copyright act. All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the prior written consent of the publisher and the copyright holder.

Permission may be requested through the Singapore office.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in Human Resources are not necessarily the views of the publisher.

Get set for the new reality There are plenty of trends in the training space that make for a robust discussion on the current and future scope of the L&D function.

In a recent conversation, John Augustine Ong, Singapore learning lead at ANZ, expressed how, for decades, learning professionals have sought to make the lesson come alive for learners through experiential learning.

Virtual reality (VR), he said, is going to take that concept to a whole new level.

“From the Oculus Rift to Samsung Gear VR and a whole host of upcoming products that are being developed, I believe VR can be harnessed to create the ultimate learning experience for our learners by immersing them in ultra-realistic scenarios.”

So while the 70:20:10 model for learning and development still remains a widely used and successful framework, it is giving way to bite-sized learning, hackathons, and the early adoption of virtual reality tools that Ong talks about.

Taking the next steps in training has proven to be among the priorities of HR professionals in Malaysia, as demonstrated at our recently concluded annual L&D conference, Training & Development Asia 2016, Malaysia (full report on page 32).

At the conference, Neema Mehta, talent, learning and development director at Amcor, unveiled her tips on how a global business can deliver effective learning outcomes, among the number of topics discussed.

“Global programmes are great for consistency, but know who your target audience is, how they will benefit from this and know why this is important. Asia is a different market, and maturity in the business will impact how global programmes are received and should be implemented.”

Another facet of training is on this edition’s cover, where we take stock of Asia’s learning landscape. In a case study with Doris Tham, general manager of HR at Ricoh Malaysia, we find how consistently devoting time and effort to the leadership potential-performance matrix in training has enabled the office automation products leader to fill more than half (57%) the company’s management team positions through rank-and-file promotions. Read the full story on page 22.

In this edition’s Q&A, we introduce you to Joydeep Bose, president and global head of HR at agri-business giant Olam International, home to 62,500 employees worldwide across businesses such as cocoa, coffee, cashew, rice and cotton.

Having seen immense growth since he joined from a private start-up to the publicly listed company, Bose has seen Olam institute a number of key people strategies – a culture audit prior to any acquisition, rigorous training with the CEO for new hires in their first six months on the job, and aggressive elimination of bureaucracy.

In a frank conversation, he not only explains the implementation of such policies, but also addresses issues such as engagement rate trends in the past three years. See page 14.

In addition to working on the magazine, the Human Resources team is working towards the gala celebration for the HR Excellence Awards 2016 on 4 October at the Aloft Kuala Lumpur. The awards will recognise companies doing excellent work in human capital, having been judged by more than 60 HR practitioners from organisations across Asia. We hope to see you there.

Keep sharing your feedback with us on Twitter @mag_HR. Enjoy the issue.

Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee using Nikon D810 – www.elliotly.com; Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using Make Up For Ever & hair using Sebastian Professional – www.michmakeover.com

HumanResources

Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01, See Hoy Chan Hub, 118519 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd 2/F Connaught Harbourfront House, 35-36 Connaught Road West Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: 852-2861-1882 Fax: 852-2861-1336

To subscribe call: (65) 6423 0329 or email: subscriptions@humanresourcesonline.net

Aditi Sharma Kalra Regional editor Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia «

3

hrbulletin

News from humanresourcesonline.net

NEW RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT AND PROFESSIONAL VISIT PASSES

Effective 1 August 2016, Malaysian authorities have implemented new policies and reinforced existing regulations for all categories of employment passes and professional visit passes. A new advisory by Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL) notes that employers will no longer be able to include allowances when calculating the minimum salary for work permit eligibility. In the past, this was allowed on a discretionary basis. The new rules affect the following categories: • Those applying for regular employment passes (category I).

• Employment passes for a contract of less than two years and meeting the minimum salary (category II).

• Employment passes for foreign nationals hired for a limited duration and earning less than the normal wage (category III, created last year).

Category I employment passes are valid for a minimum of two years, while Category II employment passes are valid for less than two years.

According to the BAL advisory, the minimum salary of 5,000 ringgits (about US$1,245) per month cannot include allowances, and the foreign national must show a copy of the approval letter when entering the country.

For a professional visit pass, foreign employees must show a copy of the approval letter upon entering Malaysia.

THE 10 MOST IRRITATING OFFICE PHRASES

“Let’s deep dive into those value-added solutions that you propose to bring to the table for a cutting-edge conversation by EOD.” Ever come out of a meeting feeling like nothing made sense? GetVoIP has compiled a list of the most annoying buzzwords using data from Google’s Ngram Viewer tool.

1. “Bring to the table” – your co-workers would prefer you to bring pizza instead to the table.

2. “Cutting edge” – ironically, most companies that use this term are anything but cutting-edge.

3. “Deep dive” – code for spending eight hours on something your team will use 1% of the time.

4. “Deliverable” – half of your co-workers have no idea what “the deliverable” is.

5. “End of day” – code for: “I’ll rush through the project to appease your unrealistic demands.”

6. “Fast track” – code for: Your project may be relegated to the dumpster, never to be seen again.

7. “Guru” – Yoda was a guru and not a single person since.

8. “Reach out” – please don’t reach out to Doug: he doesn’t like you.

9. “Take offline” – realistically, taking it offline means taking the conversation over an online chat.

10. “Value-added” – leaving this phrase out is a value-add to any business conversation.

4

» HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

OVER SIX MILLION MALAYSIANS NOT COVERED

BY A RETIREMENT SCHEME

At the International Social Security Conference, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) deputy chief executive officer (strategy) Tunku Alizakri Alias said that while 10% of the Malaysian labour force was covered under the pension scheme and 46% under the mandatory EPF, another 44% were left out. According to reports by The Star, this amounts to more than six million Malaysians who are self-employed or in the semi-formal sector left out by any retirement scheme.

“We are a bit worried even if they (the 44%) must know what they are doing,” he said.

“In terms of financial literacy, they must try and upscale themselves as fast as possible,” he added, during the two-day conference – “Active Ageing: Live Long and Prosper” – jointly organised by the EPF and State Street, with The Star as the media partner.

Advising all employees to know what they want for retirement and to be prepared, he gave options of avenues, including Bank Negara or EPF’s retirement advisory services for those in need of help with financial health checks. EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said that based on local and foreign experience this was a very challenging policy issue.

AVERAGE ICT SALARY IN MALAYSIA RISES FROM RM7,706 TO RM8,114

The average monthly salary of an ICT professional in Malaysia grew from RM7,706 in 2014 to RM8,114 in 2015, an increase of 5.3%.

In comparison, an IT project manager in Malaysia earned more than their counterparts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and India, but much less than the ones in the US, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

In 2016, a 4.7% increase is projected, pegged at RM8,496 – the lowest growth rate in eight years. These findings are from a new report by the National ICT Association of Malaysia in collaboration with Jobstreet.com.

Middle level as well as senior managers registered the highest salary increases in 2015, at 6.3% and 6.2% respectively. Fresh graduates saw a rise in entry pay of 4.7% over 2014. Among sector-based salaries for ICT professionals, the construction/building/engineering industries posted the highest AAGR of the average monthly salary from 2009-2015 at 8.8%, followed by education (8.6%), automotive/heavy industry/machinery (8.5%) and electrical (8.5%). The oil/gas/petroleum industry, which has been experiencing a downturn, was among the top five paying industries.

J.P. MORGAN, PWC SKIRT AWAY FROM FORMAL DRESS CODES

According to an internal memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), J.P. Morgan is allowing employees to wear business-casual attire on most occasions. “The move – trading pinstripes for pullover sweaters – is relatively unusual for a Wall Street bank, in which suits are typically required for men and women due to long-standing industry customs and the etiquette involved in dealing with wealthy clients,” WSJ wrote. “It also reflects the ever-changing world of banking, in which big financial institutions are constantly evolving to stay relevant as financial technology firms attempt to take away business and as many bank clients, including in Silicon Valley, continue to shun formal wear.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has also ditched its traditional dress codes for staff in Australia, UK, India, and other offices. “It’s not a dress up or dress down policy – all we are asking our people to do is think about what they are doing each day, who they are doing it with, and dress in a way that reflects that,” said Sue Horlin, of PwC Australia, to The Telegraph.

THE WORLD’S MOST ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYERS THIS YEAR

Ranked as one of the top employers in Singapore, Hong Kong, and most of Asia, it comes as no surprise Google has yet again secured the top spot as the world’s most attractive employer.

This was among both business and engineering/IT students in the latest Universum Talent Survey. Polling more than 267,000 business and engineering/IT talent in the world’s 12 largest economies, the report found that among the business rankings, Apple proved a close competitor for Google having jumped five spots from seventh to second place. This was followed by EY and Goldman Sachs and PwC which dropped three places to fifth place.

On the engineering/IT side, Google was followed

by Microsoft, Apple and BMW Group. Additionally, IBM replaced GE in fifth place. Preferred industries among business talent included professional services (50%), management and strategy consulting (29%), banks and financial services (28%). Among the engineering/ IT talent, however, engineering and manufacturing was found to be the most preferred industry at 25%.

TWO IN FIVE WOMEN FACE PREGNANCYRELATED JOB DISCRIMINATION More than 40% of women in Malaysia experience job discrimination due to their pregnancy, as revealed in the Workplace Discrimination Survey by Women’s Aid Organisation. Polling 222 women across Malaysia, the online survey revealed the top five ways employers discriminate against pregnant women – making their positions redundant, denying them promotions, placing them on prolonged probation, demoting them, and terminating their jobs. The survey also found that one of these ways is in the questions asked during the job application process.

THREE-MONTH COOL-OFF PERIOD FOR CAT III EMPLOYMENT PASS HOLDERS

The Malaysian Digital Economy Corp has called for Category III employment pass holders to fulfil a three-month cooling-off period outside of Malaysia, upon renewal or change of jobs. As a result, foreign employees applying for a fourth year of a Category III employment pass, either as a renewal or as a change of jobs, must exit Malaysia for a three-month period.

The policy is expected to be implemented by 1 September, as shared by Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP in the latest global migration update.

The employment pass Category III covers foreign nationals working in Malaysia for up to one year who are paid below the normal minimum salary of 5,000 ringgits (about US$1,240) per month. This pass is initially valid for one year and may be renewed twice.

According to the new rule, at the end of the third year, employers who wish to sponsor the Category III worker for a fourth year must wait until the worker has exited Malaysia and satisfied a 90-day cooling-off period before they may apply.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia «

5

WORK LIFE » People GET INTO THE BOSS’S HEAD

Datuk Jake Abdullah CEO Astro Radio Why did you decide to work in the entertainment industry?

I have always enjoyed music and entertaining people, so getting paid for what I am passionate about was a bonus. My late father was a clerk at KTM and coming from a family of five, I knew I had to work hard.

What drew you towards Astro Radio?

I joined the company as an announcer and music executive in 1996. I still remember how excited I was at the thought of embarking on something revolutionary in the radio broadcasting industry.

It was also a timely opportunity as I wanted to transition from a job that involved a lot of late nights; for my daughter who was just a baby then.

Since then, 20 years have passed, and I have gained so many friends I can proudly call family.

Having held several positions within Astro, what led you to the role of CEO? I am proud that I went through the whole spectrum before I was made CEO. Having experienced different roles has influenced my management and leadership styles. I draw on the strengths of my team, and most importantly, I encourage them to believe in themselves and put this belief into action to drive the respective station brands to be the number one in their respective language.

I am a firm believer in teamwork and work closely with my senior leadership team and our radio talent to offer great content and creative and innovative solutions to our clients.

I am extremely proud of the results we have achieved – a 72% share of RADEX – and I dare say it is almost impossible to replicate such great teamwork.

Related to that, as the CEO, you are responsible for nine radio stations and more than 400 staff.

What is your leadership strategy?

There is no secret to my leadership strategy. I put the Jim Collins Level 5 leadership style into practice by coaching and empowering my people.

I am accessible to all staff and I make it a point to walk around the office and chat with them daily; the more I know about them, the easier it will be 6

» HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

for me to hone in on their strengths. I also organise weekly skip-level meetings which helps with our development. I love the social space and I urge senior managers to embrace digital advancements and social media platforms as we need to be able to reach and engage Millennials through their own language.

How does your management style differ across the Asian countries?

While I have not held this role in different countries, I have conducted workshops and seminars in Indonesia and India. I believe that people are any company’s biggest asset. Talent needs to be nurtured and guided as they are constantly looking for inspiration.

Therefore, I spend a lot of my time in these countries to learn and listen to the unique local languages and cultures while teaching and inspiring the people.

What is your view of human resources as a business function?

The paradigm shift from human resources to human capital is a strong indication of the increasing importance of human capital in the business. In recognition of the talent in the industry, I work closely with the human capital team to retain, engage and develop our talent pool.

The success of our radio business across all vernacular segments is also predictive of the strength of our talent. Where possible, we want to ensure a smooth transition for our talent between TV and radio.

For example, Johan, a comedian discovered through the comedy programme Raja Lawak on TV, is now a key member of JoHaRa Pagi ERA on radio and Ean, who is one third of the hitz.fm morning crew, was recently offered to host a show on the Discovery Channel.

How closely do you work with your CHRO? I have an effective working relationship with our director of human capital. We frequently consult each other on human capital strategies ranging from talent retention and engagement for the radio business.

What are some of Astro Radio’s main HR initiatives?

Guided by our philosophy that learning is a lifelong process, we have invested thousands of learning hours in leadership, soft skills, functional development and occupational safety training for our talent from diverse backgrounds.

Nurturing our talent is important as the success of our radio business is predicated off their strength.

At Astro, each talent will have the opportunity to customise their learning aligned to their

individual needs. This enables us to have consistent and yet customised learning for our talent.

Underlying this, a coaching framework is in place to ensure our talent receives continuous support and coaching in their journey.

All our talent are also encouraged to attend various training and development programmes.

These include open public programmes, internal corporate programmes conducted at the Astro Capability Centre as well as access to a variety of training modules via e-learning.

Other than programmes for our talent, fresh graduates of high potential are identified and placed through the Astro management associate programme, a two-year structured programme where they have the opportunity to experience a variety of roles within the company.

Employees are encouraged to attend open public programmes and internal corporate programmes at the Astro Capability Centre.

How do you spend your free time? What is your take on a work-life balance?

I enjoy fitness and martial arts, and when my schedule permits, I hit the gym during lunch time.

It is also no secret that I am a huge Liverpool fan.

I spin occasionally with my sidekick Skeletor and produce mix tapes for hitz.fm and MIX fm.

I am currently pursuing my MBA with the University of Liverpool and this takes up a bit of my daily time. I also make it a point to spend time with my wife, my three adorable kids and my two cats.

SpacialAwareness

A WORKSPACE THAT LEAVES EMPLOYEES WITH A THIRST FOR HARD WORK Where does one of the world’s leading soft drinks manufacturer house its staff in Malaysia? Let’s take a look at the commercial office of Coca-Cola Bottlers Malaysia, home to the commercial and support teams at Kuala Lumpur.

In Malaysia, through Bottling Investments Group, the Coca-Cola system manufactures, markets and distributes more than 20 products, including sparkling beverages (such as Fanta and Sprite), zero-calorie sparkling beverages (Coke Light, Coke Zero), juice drinks (Minute Maid Pulpy), teas (Heaven and Earth), isotonics (Aquarius) and water (Dasani).

Since 2010, the company has invested more than RM750 million in Malaysia creating more than 800 jobs and touching over 60,000 customers.

What binds this team together is the company culture, which Gaurav Sharma, HR director for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei at Bottling Investments Group, defines as: “We act like owners, with a hands-on entrepreneurial spirit, and we want to win and have fun together by combining working hard and having fun in order to have balance.”

The workspace highlights these elements of Coca-Cola’s culture by having lots of open space where employees can continuously engage with one another and get together “to share our winning ways and have fun together as a team”.

He explains senior leaders regularly work out of hot desks in the office, breaking through traditional corporate hierarchies and reinforcing the “opendoor” culture.

8

» HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

“Our office has lots of fun and attractively designed breakout spaces where the team can go to take a call or huddle together for a quick discussion.”

Apart from the spaces to collaborate, he highlights another one of the perks of working here: “All employees get to consume free Coca-Cola products at the workplace to their hearts content, which includes all existing and new products brought into our markets.”

With all of this thought behind organising the office space, Sharma’s take is the productivity discussion is no longer about the “quantity of time” an employee spends in the office, but about the “quality of work” an employee accomplishes within the time they spend.

“To achieve quality work, we need to ensure that our workspace provides lots of options for our employees to collaborate, discuss, ideate as a team and to continue enjoying our winning ways,” he says.

He leaves us with some practical advice for organisations looking to redecorate their offices.

“Office space should reflect a culture an organisation is trying to establish, for example, if you want an open culture, you need to be prepared to have senior leaders use hot desks. If you want to focus on teamwork or collaboration, then you need lots of meeting rooms where the teams can come together. If you want to focus on customer satisfaction, then you need space where your employees can visualise the customer’s picture of success.”

WORK LIFE » HR by numbers

Why phones are a problem at work Technology at work might be the key to fostering productivity today, but it clearly does come with its own set of challenges. According to a new survey

by CareerBuilder, smartphones, for example, are causing a distraction in the workplace.

More than eight in 10 workers (83%) have smartphones, and 82% of those with smartphones keep them within eye contact at work. And while only 10% of those with smartphones say it’s decreasing their productivity at work, 66% say they use them (at least) several times a day while working.

Two in three

of those who access their smartphone during work for non-work use, spend their time on personal messaging (65%).

75%

of employers say two or more hours a day are lost in productivity to distracted employees.

Source: Online survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder.

10 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

55%

of employers cited phones/texting as the biggest productivity killer in the workplace.

People « WORK LIFE

snapshot

15 minutes with ...

Jimmy Tan

Vice-president and head of performance and rewards Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia YOU’VE BEEN IN HR NEARLY EIGHT YEARS NOW. WHAT INTRIGUES YOU MOST ABOUT IT? The dynamism and learning opportunities it offers. HR is one of the rare fields which transcends all aspects of an organisation by being in the business of engaging and driving talent towards a common goal.

This provides challenges, thoughts, ideas and solutions that test your knowledge and ingenuity day in and day out, so there is never a boring day at work.

YOU’VE WORKED IN VARIOUS AREAS OF HR – FROM LEARNING TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. WHICH ONE HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? It’s hard to pinpoint one area, but I have spent a bulk of my career in compensation and benefits, and I am tempted to say that is perhaps the area I have enjoyed the most. To me, C&B offers the perfect mix of the analytical and the human side of HR. It is always interesting to see the assumptions we make based on data and feedback might not always correlate with the actual expectations and behaviours of the employees once we roll out certain initiatives or schemes.

The great news is that means we are able to collect more data and it enables the team to make more reliable assumptions that helps us to refine those initiatives into something our people want. And perhaps that ability to provide something that both benefits and excites others is why I enjoy this area.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE A TYPICAL WORKDAY ?

I think my peers would agree there is no typical workday for those in HR. My team maps out a set of initiatives and outcomes we want to accomplish in the beginning of the year and we break those down into specific projects that are carried out in stages or concurrently.

So, a “typical” day-to-day focus for us shifts according to the project we have at hand. I am blessed with an incredibly talented and supportive team empowered to run a lot of the operational necessities, and they are encouraged to find and implement solutions to issues we might face.

This essentially frees myself up to focus on the more strategic side of things, which involves plenty of engagement with key stakeholders to keep continuously enhancing what we can offer to our talent.

WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE HR ISSUE THAT IS ON YOUR AGENDA THIS YEAR? Our current focus is on reviewing our performance and rewards tools, products and strategy to allow us to better support and serve our organisation’s vision and mission.

This means we engage the business as our strategic partners and they contribute valuable input to better anticipate their needs and adjust accordingly. This improves the relevance of our products, efficiency of our tools and buy-in to our performance and rewards strategies.

“It is always interesting to see the assumptions we make based on data and feedback might not always correlate with the actual expectations and behaviours of the employees once we roll out certain initiatives or schemes.”

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE HARDEST PART OF YOUR JOB? Great question! I think being able to straddle between the “need-to-haves”, “want-to-haves” and “great-to-haves” is the most critical and perhaps most difficult part of this job.

We constantly strive to give our employees a competitive package and strong reasons to be a part of the team. Through insights from market intelligence or internal stakeholder discussions, we are able to yield the “need-to-haves” items such as certain industry or regulatory practices.

Successfully identifying the “need-to-haves” helps us to retain our key talent and negates the risk of breaking labour laws.

It can also help inform us when we are scoping out our “want-tohaves” such as certain practices from globally competitive players or ideas from employees. Lastly, we have what I term as “great-to-haves” goals, which are visionary ideas by innovative thinkers that inspire us to think about our role as HR practitioners.

From the revamping of performance evaluations to Amazon’s new corporate headquarters with a bio-dome of massive green spaces for their employees to have meetings or brainstorm and be inspired, these are the types of ideas that we take stock of and reimagine how we can fit them into our culture.

Thus, it is crucial that we are able to be grounded in assessing the affordability, competitiveness and suitability of a certain item we want to provide while continuing to be the enabler for talent and a creator of an environment that allows them to thrive in their work.

DO YOU HAVE AN HR MENTOR, AND WHAT’S THE BEST CAREER ADVICE THEY’VE GIVEN YOU? I have been incredibly lucky that at every stage of my career, I have been given great guidance, and I’ve held on to three pieces of advice.

First was that “it is OK to not know”. This gave me the courage to ask questions, share silly ideas, work harder and most importantly take on new challenges.

All simply because I know it is OK to be unsure about something because as long as I apply myself, I won’t be in this state for long.

Second was “to do great work, love what you do”. This speaks about the passion you bring into your role.

Having the courage and the desire to learn and do more was the catalyst for me to take up very different and bigger challenges. For example, I did not have prior experiences in leading a department, but I had the courage to try and the passion to be persistent and resilient until I succeeded in the role.

Final advice? Simple … “Get a mentor!” The best athletes in the world are surrounded by many coaches and mentors who provide valuable feedback and advice, yet some of us may feel the bigger our titles are, the less advice we need.

My mentors have consistently given me the advice, feedback, support and insights that have been instrumental to my career growth.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 11

WHITE PAPER » Leadership

HERE’S HOW MUCH EXPATRIATE PAY PACKAGES COST IN ASIA

Asia – Japan leads Asia in the quantum of expatriate pay packages for middle managers at US$329,000 per annum – while the total expatriate pay package in Singapore has fallen to its lowest in four years.

Singapore, where the typical total expat package for middle managers is now pegged at US$239,400, a fall of 8% over 12 months, is ranked ninth in the Asia Pacific region.

These findings are from ECA International’s annual MyExpatriate Market Pay survey, which also found Hong Kong has risen to fourth place in the regional rankings, with an average package of US$267,000.

Companies’ costs of an expatriate package are measured by three main elements: the cash salary, benefits (such as accommodation, schools, utilities or cars), and tax, with the biggest movement in this year’s survey witnessed in the salary and benefits components.

Singapore has seen a significant drop of more than US$5,000 in the past 12 months, evidenced in reduced base salaries (average salary down 12 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

6% from last year), incentives, allowances, social security and retirement plans.

While Japan is home to Asia’s highest expatriate packages, Mainland China has moved up to the second highest package, where the total package for an expatriate middle manager is worth over US$290,000, the region’s largest increase this year.

Lee Quane, regional director for Asia at ECA International, explained the reasons for the increase: “This is likely to be a product of the rising cost of benefits in China. Accommodation costs have increased in some major destinations for expatriate staff. Costs associated with benefits commonly provided have also increased, such as children’s education.”

He adds: “The cost of benefits provision in tier two locations is still much lower than in tier one cities and if they, alone, were to be taken into account, China would appear towards the bottom of the regional ranking.”

Malaysia now has the lowest total expatriate pay package in the regional list – falling behind

Sri Lanka and Pakistan, at an average cost of a total expatriate package just over US$176,000.

According to Quane, Malaysia’s dip is largely due to the impact of exchange rates.

“For the purpose of this comparison, salaries were converted into USD. As the MYR, the currency in which expatriates in Malaysia will receive some or all of their salary, has depreciated against the USD, the USD value of their salary has fallen. However, in MYR terms, most expatriate employees are likely to have seen an increase in their salary.”

Average expatriate pay packages for middle managers in Asia Pacific (US$ per annum) 1. Japan

US$329,000

2. Mainland China

US$290,000

3. Hong Kong

US$267,000

4. Singapore

US$239,400

5. Malaysia

US$176,000

Source: ECA International’s 2016 MyExpatriate Market Pay survey

Leadership « WHITE PAPER

THE FIVE TYPES OF WORKPLACE MILLENNIALS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT to them, as is leaving a legacy behind to be remembered by.

Global – With plenty of sweeping generalisations made about Millennials, Sage Asia’s new report, “Walk With Me”, endeavoured to identify five personality types Millennials represent in the workplace. Based on their key characteristics, attitudes and behaviours, these are the five types of Millennial personalities highlighted:

• The real “worlders” – resourceful, but likely to say they rely on technology in order to succeed. When it comes to their approach to work and making decisions, they tend to alternate between going on gut instinct and taking a more methodical approach.

• The principled planners – extremely methodical in their approach to work, they enjoy carefully planning for success. With an ambitious streak, they never take anything at face value and always ask a lot of questions.

• The driven techies – love their work and can’t bear the thought of sitting around twiddling their thumbs. They trust in the power and efficiency of innovative technology to keep them one step ahead of the competition. They have a strong belief in its ability to accurately target their existing and future customers.

• The instinctive explorers – cavalier, they love the unknown, as well as exploring uncharted territory. They trust their gut instincts and stick to their guns. A modern image is extremely important

• The thrill-seekers – easily bored and always on the lookout for the next challenge, they couldn’t care less about appearances. They work best around others and believe that making a social impact is overrated.

In addition to these personalities, Sage Asia’s research identified priorities of this generation at work – with 72% of Millennials in Singapore willing to sacrifice profit to stay true to their values. This rose to 78% in South Africa, while there was a slight dip in the US at 70%.

When it comes to work-life balance, two in three globally (66%) value life over work. For respondents in Brazil (71%), Australia (70%), Belgium (70%), Singapore (73%) and

Switzerland (70%), reducing the amount of hours they spend working and retiring early is a key focus.

More general trends from the study include 62% globally wanting to start more than one business of their own, and 34% starting their own business to be the master of their own destiny. Interestingly, while more than a third of young entrepreneurs say technology used is the most important element when it comes to the smooth running of their business, 59% of those surveyed – including 67% of Australians – say they are resourceful enough not to have to rely on technology to succeed.

Percentage of Millennials who value life over work Singapore

73%

Brazil

71%

Australia

70%

Belgium

70%

Switzerland

70%

Global

66%

Source: Sage Asia’s Walk With Me report.

YES, we recruit there.

Your single point of contact for all of your hiring needs globally

www.npaworldwideworks.com Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 13

14 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

Joydeep Bose « PROFILE

Joydeep Bose

President and global head, human resources Olam International Planting the seeds of growth

By AKANKASHA DEWAN

Art Direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman & Fauzie Rasid; Photography: Elliot Lee, Nikon Ambassador (Singapore) – www.elliotly.com

Q How has the HR function in Olam

changed over time?

The journey can be described as one of change and growth. In the time since I’ve joined, Olam has grown from a private start-up to a publicly listed company.

Through our initial public offering, we secured a strong capital base to embark on expansion. Our growth was mainly organic in the beginning. More recently, over the past five to six years, our approach has shifted more towards acquisitions.

From a more personal and HR perspective, I oversaw the formation of the group HR function. Our focus today is on HR working shoulder-to-shoulder with business heads and the leadership team to make HR an intrinsic part of the business.

As our company has grown, HR has become more deeply involved in supporting our business units and the organisation on a day-to-day basis so as to meet their growth requirements. We address issues about the talent pool that may get in the way of them meeting their business goals.

At the end of the day, the leadership has given HR the responsibility to manage the talent-related risks of our business and we take ownership for this. At the same time, with guidance from our CEO and the leadership team, we are focusing on how we want to shape the organisation going forward – from a cultural perspective as well as in ensuring we have a set of lasting shared values and vision for the company.

Q How would you summarise this

culture at Olam?

Our culture is fundamental to our success.

It is not a soft, touchy-feely matter, but rather a very hard part of our business. We realised early on in our journey that our unique culture has driven and will continue to drive our business growth, allowing us to gain a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace.

This unique culture includes, firstly, being very entrepreneurial; secondly, demonstrating a high level of stretch and ambition; and thirdly, ensuring every individual takes strong ownership.

These three key constituents, which we intuitively arrived on and internalised, have underpinned our success so far and we believe this very same culture will lead us to greater heights moving forward.

VITAL STATS Joydeep Bose is responsible for providing leadership to the human resources function globally across more than 26,300 employees in 70 countries. He has more than 25 years’ experience in the human resources field across industries such as chemical processing, telecoms, information technology and supply chain management.

Q How do you manage the cultural

displacement which occurs when you acquire new firms?

In looking at any transaction or acquisition, we evaluate the culture of the company as well as the economics of the deal. The business has realised that our culture is the one thing that has allowed and will continue to allow Olam to succeed. We have always been clear that we will not enter a transaction where we do not have control over influencing the entity’s culture.

While we understand that economic priorities can take precedence, we have been fairly diligent in looking into the culture of companies we have invested in.

Whenever we acquire a company, we hold a culture audit.

One other thing we have realised is that if the leadership has a clear vision about the type of culture they want to Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 15

PROFILE » Joydeep Bose from Colombia or Singapore, should have a similar experience working in the organisation. One way in which we ensure this is through our signature processes that cut across all parts of the organisation.

These high-impact initiatives differentiate us from our competitors.

For example, we have a signature process called “core process”, where all new employees who join at a certain level or above will come together within their first six months for a four-day training session with our CEO. In this, new employees go through very rigorous training with our CEO, who takes them through the business, what the future holds for the business and Olam’s values and culture. We have close to a dozen such signature processes to build a shared experience – and these apply to various aspects of our business.

Q Speaking about leaders, Olam

build, then it is easier for new employees to adapt. The three tenets of our culture, as shared above, are not constraining, but are liberating for employees.

We have seen that if we can provide an enabling environment for employees where they can think out of the box, take judicious risks, make mistakes and learn from them, have a growth mindset and take accountability for the outcomes, they will inevitably become engaged and meet expectations.

In fact, many employees from our acquired assets are now leaders of our businesses at Olam. We have seen them make the desired behavioural shifts in terms of embracing our culture as we hope to see in our new employees.

Q Considering your company is so

diverse and large, how do you align the culture across the firm?

As a global business spread across 70 countries and operating in 44 businesses, we recognise that the only way we can move forward together as one team is by having a strong unifying culture and vision. We have a clear vision of what we want to be, that is, the most valuable and diversified agri-business globally. This is extremely believed in by the entire organisation.

We also ensure that any employee in the company, whether they are

16 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

has been hailed for its leadership development initiatives. What’s your take to developing leaders effectively?

There is a clear expectation in what we mean by leadership. It embodies the three major elements of our culture I spoke about earlier. In assessing an employee’s leadership ability, we look at whether he or she is risk-taking, entrepreneurial, and has an ownership mindset in taking accountability for outcomes.

In our industry, you get buffeted by external challenges outside your control.

It is important for our leaders to take accountability and deliver regardless of what is happening around them. For instance, we can’t accept a leader saying he or she was unable to meet a target because the budget was cut.

With that in mind, we create an environment for employees who possess these elements to blossom and succeed in our company. When we hire employees, we look for fit and aptitude for these values.

Some people prefer working in a more structured environment, but we aren’t operating in such an environment, so we’re a little more careful in hiring them.

What we also offer is very empowering roles. We give employees responsibilities earlier than at other organisations – such as in defining their impact terms, financial budget terms and decision-making terms.

Because of this, our roles are very highimpact ones.

We find that the roles our employees play are the one key factor that keeps

them engaged. We believe that because of the jobs we provide our employees, our organisation is a factory for building leaders as we really nurture leadership skills. We also support our leaders throughout their career journey. We have a very strong mentoring and coaching culture. Staff are trained to coach, mentor and have constant communication and coaching sessions with their managers and managers’ managers. In this way, they receive feedback and can reflect on what went well, and what did not, drawing on the strengths and experiences of others.

Q Can you name any structured

leadership development programmes?

While we have leadership programmes that apply across the five bands of employees, we believe firmly in the saying that 80% of leadership development happens when you practise leadership, when you are put in tough situations.

Another 15% of leadership development happens with the helping hands of seniors and managers – we have employee socialisation often where we collaborate and get together to learn from each other’s experiences. We think just 5% of leadership development is achieved through classroom-based sessions. So for us, basically, leadership happens on the ground and by doing things rather than being trained in a classroom.

We have to move away from the thinking that training programmes help leaders significantly – they don’t help build leaders. Rather, you have to have an organisation that allows professionals to go through the grind to become leaders.

Tough situations build leaders.

We obviously don’t force or recreate tough situations, but the roles that we give employees create the challenging situations that they have to adapt to.

When you go through these situations for a few years, you automatically develop the ability to lead in a volatile world.

Q Indeed, you also mentioned such

types of roles also help in boosting employee engagement in the company – an aspect which the recent SHRI awards lauded you for in the awards this year. What is your view of employee engagement in Olam?

For us, employee engagement is extremely critical because Olam depends on the discretionary efforts of our staff.

We cannot standardise every activity

Joydeep Bose « PROFILE across the company because we have a huge presence in emerging markets and are in a business where a lot is dependent on nature or circumstance. Therefore, we need people on the ground who can apply their minds and make discretionary calls. You can only do this if you are fully engaged with the organisation. If you are only semi-engaged, and your superior wants you to take a decision in favour of the organisation, you won’t be able to due to the amount of risk involved.

The way we drive engagement is by making our organisation very accessible and open. We eliminate bureaucracy and hierarchy very aggressively. It is an expectation pushed downwards from our CEO and the leadership team, where an employee can meet with anyone in the organisation – regardless of seniority.

Ideas are also welcome, always. We allow people to pursue their ideas while providing them organisational support to bring their idea to pass. That also helps drive engagement in the organisation.

We are proud that our attrition rate is low despite the fact that a lot of our people are operating from very difficult locations around the world.

Q How do you measure your

engagement rates?

We measure engagement rates every two years. Right now this is at 77% – it was 84% previously. We believe it has dropped in these past three years as we have grown a lot through acquisitions.

We need to do a bit more work on the teams we have acquired from other organisations and help them reach similar levels of engagement we have in Olam.

Another reason for this drop in engagement is the commodity industry has been buffeted by strong headwinds in the past three years. Our efforts are ongoing, however, and we hope to address this decisively, sooner rather than later.

Q How do you plan to boost

engagement among your employees?

We revamped our performance management framework recently and did away with performance ratings entirely, so that staff conversations can happen without any element of fear or anxiety.

Today, we have in place a system called ASPIRE, geared towards making the employee the chief beneficiary of the performance management process – not

the organisation or his or her boss. ASPIRE aligns our approach to feedback on performance, personal development and career progress across the organisation.

The ASPIRE process responds to three key questions for employees. Firstly, am I doing a meaningful job? Secondly, how am I currently performing in my role and what can I do to improve? Thirdly, what does the future hold for me in the company?

The process begins with discussions at the beginning of the year between the individual and the manager on the meaning of the individual’s role. Each business unit’s leaders would also highlight their goals and targets to their teams at the start of the year.

Throughout the rest of the year, we will have regular conversations on the progress towards their targets.

These conversations are open and candid since there is no fear or anxiety over ratings, and we track these conversations to better address employee concerns and get feedback.

This system has been in place for a year and a half, and we believe it will help our employees engage more with the company in the future.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 17

Images: www.stockunlimited.com

For d been ecades , lon us g-te How ed for t rm m h ever e obili m , the ajori t y as r t e’s a busi y of Adit inter signme lot m i Sha ness le nts h natio ore ader rma Asia n ave d al re issa s pa Kalr – Av t l y i o a s ing t catio r ery he b faction Den eaches from ns. ills n niso out t iden owa the n o mo tify d high and Na a b y i s lity l ti -imp eade . act m onal Au rs ac s tr a obili ross l i a t y st rate Bank – gies to .

Relocation and Mobility « FEATURE or decades, long-term mobility assignments have been used for the majority of international relocations. However, there’s a lot more dissatisfaction from the business leaders paying the bills nowadays – given the renewed focus on costs and employee development.Such assignments continue to cost between three to eight times an employee’s annual salary – depending on the home and host locations, the level of employee and their family size.

T.J. Spencer, vice president of sales, and MD of APAC, at Oakwood Worldwide, notes that one in five mobility assignments now last less than 12 months compared with just one in ten in 2002. She explains, “In Asia Pacific one of the current trends that we are seeing is the continued shift towards shorter-term assignments as the rising number of Millennial employees in the workplace, takes hold.

Organisations are using temporary assignments and younger workers on developmental assignments to plug international skills gaps and remain competitive.”

She also finds organisations increasingly employing home-grown talent in Asia Pacific to create more regional specific roles, causing a rise in West to East mobility patterns as well as a rise in intra-regional assignments, particularly evident in Tier 1 cities.

In the near future, it is possible that low-cost, yet high-impact mobility strategies, could pave the way for a new wave of mobility assignments that are creative and flexible in their approach.

In pondering the question, we reached out to mobility leaders across Asia to identify the state and drivers of their employee mobility and relocation strategies.

CASE 1: Barbara Lam, manager – enterprise mobility, Asia Pacific, Avery Dennison Before 2014, Avery Dennison, a worldwide packaging material supplier, had a mobility

policy with a standard set of components for each assignee. Feedback from the business, however, pointed to changing needs – not all components were necessary for each assignee, given the need to balance individual needs with cost pressures.

With that feedback started the process of developing a new global policy matrix by Avery Dennison’s mobility team of three, headquartered in California with two members, one to support mobility for the EMEA region and one for Asia Pacific.

In charge of the latter is Barbara Lam, manager of enterprise mobility for Asia Pacific, who recalls the first step was to talk to the top global management and get buy-in before implementing it regionally.

“I explained to my key HR leaders in the region what we were doing, how and why this was going to help us move in a more costefficient way,” she says.

What ensued was the development of a new mobility strategy comprising three types of policies – long-term (more than 12 months), short-term (three to 12 months), permanent relocation and rotational for trainee programmes; and three types of compensation packages – full, basic and light.

“These are tailored based on the seniority and specific needs of the assignee, and the business needs. This approach has helped us lower the cost for the business, and accommodate the individual needs. We will continue to review the policy based on the feedback we receive,” she says.

Implementation of this policy required close collaboration with business unit HR representatives and the business units, especially some countries within the 16 covered under Asia Pacific.

“We spent a lot of time explaining and handholding them, which is worth it because then they know exactly what they need to do.”

Two years down, with more than 30 assignees being managed in the region, the real test of effectiveness of the policy is “repeat customers”, Lam explains.

“The volume of assignees hasn’t decreased, and the business keeps coming back to us, and has welcomed our programme.”

In addition, Avery Dennison conducts regular business reviews with its global service provider TheMIGroup to not only stay on top of costs, but also assignee satisfaction. Lam and her team also organise catch-ups with HR Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 19

FEATURE » Relocation and Mobility

Packing it all in: Avery Dennison conducts regular business reviews with its global service provider.

leaders, as well as speak to the assignees before and after a relocation to gauge their happiness.

“If they are not happy about something, they will say it diplomatically,” she quips.

CASE 2: National Australia Bank For Australia’s largest business bank, National Australia Bank’s (NAB) global mobility programme (GMP) comprises five policy types of assignments and permanent relocations – group initiated assignments, employee initiated assignments, short-term assignments, group permanent relocations, and employee initiated permanent relocations. Generally, assignments span up to three years, with about a year’s worth of extension. In the past financial year, more than 200 NAB employees were a part of this.

Dora Christophidis, NAB’s global mobility programme manager, describes the goal of GMP is to cross-skill employees and empower them with greater capability to assume leadership positions in the future. “We give our international assignees (IAs) the opportunity to live and work overseas, develop great global capabilities and eventually, share their newly developed skills and experiences with their business units back in their home country.”

This is reiterated by Andrew McCasker, NAB’s GM for private wealth Asia, who is in the fourth year of his international 20 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

assignment. “The opportunity to be exposed to cultural differences, while undertaking business has made me more aware and understanding of people’s views and beliefs.”

IAs, such as McCasker, can come from most parts of the bank, including product specialists, markets specialists, and support function specialists from finance, marketing, people and risk. Support for IAs include tax assistance preparation, various insurances, home and school search, orientation programmes, cross-cultural briefings and reverse culture shock support, spouse assistance, temporary accommodation and other allowances.

NAB’s mobility programme is also open to employees from Asia looking to relocate to Australia for greater exposure and career development.

Iris Lo, NAB’s regional events specialist, based in its Hong Kong branch, relocated to Melbourne in October 2015 on a shortterm assignment. “Having a comprehensive individual development plan, supportive people leaders and team members have made this secondment possible,” she says.

Driving this mobility strategy is NAB’s extensive effort to identify the most appropriate candidates – people who have a global mindset and resilience associated with change to be able to integrate smoothly into a foreign environment. In delivering the GMP, NAB ensures policy benefits and allowances are benchmarked for market competitiveness, while the design is consistently reviewed by external consultants.

Moving forward, NAB plans on improving its outreach, as well as enabling more women to take on higher-level roles on assignment.

At the same time, NAB continues to focus on fine-tuning its repatriation efforts to ensure international assignees can integrate back into their home country’s business unit seamlessly after their assignment. This can be achieved by using more effective assignment tracking, management and reporting closer monitoring or support of the relationship between the IA and the home business.

Kate Colley, NAB’s head of people for Asia, says: “Economic links between Australia and New Zealand, and Asia are important and growing rapidly and we must ensure we have the right talent to ensure we can successfully execute our business strategy.”

While the 70:20:10 model for learning and development still remains a widely used and successful framework in the HR scenery, it is giving way to bite-sized learning, hackathons, and hopefully, an early adoption of virtual reality tools. Aditi Sharma Kalra takes stock of the learning landscape.

22 Âť HumanResources Malaysia Âť Q3 2016

Education and Corporate Training « FEATURE

t is natural, but wrong to visualise training as the sole responsibility of the learning and development team. It is a pervasive culture of learning that truly and continuously brings talented employees to the next level of performance, thus uplifting the larger unit or team.

Yet, there are plenty of trends within the training space that make for a robust discussion on the current and future scope of the function.

In a recent conversation, John Augustine Ong, Singapore learning lead at ANZ, expressed the future L&D professional’s wish list. For decades, learning professionals have sought to make the lesson come alive for our learners in the name of experiential learning. Virtual reality (VR), he said, is going to take that concept to a whole new level.

“From the Oculus Rift to Samsung Gear VR and a whole host of upcoming products that are being developed, I believe VR can be harnessed to create the ultimate learning experience for our learners by immersing them in ultrarealistic scenarios,” he predicted.

Crash course in timely training Indeed, a number of organisations are taking steps in the right direction. The Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) 2015 Job Vacancy Survey revealed job vacancies in Singapore were at a six-year high, with the services sector, that accounts for the expansion of the healthcare sector, accounting for four in five of all vacancies (or 49,860) in September 2014.

To future-proof itself, Singapore General Hospital (SGH) invests heavily in a total learning framework that helps optimise the hospital’s limited resources in selecting the most suitable candidate for programmes, while ensuring a fair and transparent distribution of learning opportunities.

Goh Leong Huat, director of HR at Singapore General Hospital, explains that organisational development, and leadership and management training, feature heavily in SGH’s learning suite.

A hospital-wide learning fiesta is held every year to provide unique bite-sized learning opportunities for all staff. Ongoing training continually sensitises supervisors with the

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 23

FEATURE » Education and Corporate Training knowledge and skills to effectively handle workplace grievances, manage diversity and generally treat all staff fairly and appropriately.

“To build our leadership talent pool, the SGH leadership development rubric focuses on leadership at three levels – self, team and organisation,” Goh says.

Not only is such training timely, given Singapore’s nationwide SkillsFuture agenda, but is also relevant given that in Roffey Park’s new research of 1,400 managers across Singapore, Hong Kong and China, at least one in every four

“In Roffey Park’s research of 1,400 managers across Asia, one in every four respondents said their leaders were ineffective at connecting with them on a personal level.”

respondents said their leaders were ineffective at connecting with them on a personal level. For SGH, various measures have validated the training efforts. The hospital’s biennial employee engagement survey in 2014 registered a resounding 93% participation rate, with satisfaction scores significantly better than various national benchmarks across almost all the engagement categories surveyed. In addition, SGH won the TAFEP Exemplary Employer Award 2016.

A gravy train to innovation The banking industry, like others, is being profoundly impacted by emerging technologies and changing customer expectations. DBS’ challenge then is to future-proof its 22,000 employees across multiple markets.

“The way we work, our career development programmes have to create an enabling and empowering environment for change,” says Theresa Phua, Singapore head of human resources at DBS Bank. In response, learning at DBS has become more experiential through hackathons, human-centred design and agile methodology workshops.

24 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

In 2015, more than 2,000 DBS employees benefited from this across the region, and more than 1,000 experiments are still being run. In these sessions, employees learn to understand the customer’s job-to-be-done, their pain points and to prototype quickly and test solutions.

DBS is one of the first banks in the region to build and use in-house human-centred design and user experience capabilities.

The bank established the DBS Academy in Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan to help employees continuously develop their skills.

In 2015, about 129,000 training days were undertaken by employees.

Each year, the bank conducts nearly 15,000 training sessions, with a growing number of these being digital courses. Complementing the academy are online learning resources such as iGrow@DBS, a career planning portal based on a 4Ds approach: determine profile; discover opportunities within the bank; develop skills through courses; and decide on career plan.

“We also facilitate learning on-the-go and at one’s own pace through m-learning that includes two online libraries, Harvard ManageMentor and Intuition KnowHow,” Phua says. DBS SkillsFlex has also been introduced to complement the Singapore government’s SkillsFuture courses. All employees in Singapore ranked senior associate and below will receive SG$500 DBS SkillsFlex credit annually for customised courses.

In the proof of the pudding, DBS Bank recently won the I-Future award at TAFEP Exemplary Employer Award 2016, as well as the best candidate experience by a corporate HR team at the Asia Recruitment Awards.

Case study: Training to fill 57% of management roles internally “The odds are development will be about 70% from on-the-job experiences – working on tasks and problems; about 20% from feedback and working around good and bad examples of the need; and 10% from courses and reading.”

This observation was made by researchers at the Centre for Creative Leadership, Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger, in their 1996 book The Career Architect Development Planner. Two decades and counting – the 70:20:10 model for learning and development still remains a widely used framework.

Ricoh Malaysia, in the business of imaging and industrial products, adopts a 70:20:10

Education and Corporate Training « FEATURE

“Having consistently devoted time and effort to the leadership potential-performance matrix in training, Ricoh Malaysia has been successful in grooming internal talent to take up critical positions. More than half (57%) of the management team members have promoted through rank and file.”

Pass with flying colours: More than half (57%) of Ricoh Malaysia’s management team members have been promoted through the rank and file.

learning framework, whereby 70% of the talent’s development plan is on-the-job experience, 20% mentoring and coaching, and 10% training, courses and reading.

“We strongly believe in building internal talent by meeting our employees’ career growth aspirations and business objectives,” says Doris Tham, general manager of human resources at Ricoh Malaysia.

Talent is selected for Ricoh’s various training programmes on the basis of a record of consistent performance as well as leadership potential in taking up higher roles or responsibilities.

Once selected, the employees undergo assessments for specific competencies, behavioural and career motive assessments.

These assessment reports are used as a reference during career dialogue sessions between the talent, immediate manager and HR business partner.

This input is used for a range of programmes for talent across all levels. One of these is the 12-month leadership development programme for general managers and senior managers, where the modules include material on managing self, others, business and change.

A slightly shorter one at eight months is the executive development programme for supervisors and team leads; where modules include personal effectiveness, team effectiveness, effective communication

and effective execution. All the leadership development programmes include pre and post 360 degree feedback, competencies assessment and personal coaching.

Results of the 70:20:10 model Having consistently devoted time and effort to the leadership potential-performance matrix in training, Ricoh Malaysia has been successful in grooming internal talent to take up critical positions.

More than half (57%) of the management team members have been promoted through the rank and file. The direct sales workforce turnover rate has improved from 40% to 25% over the past three consecutive years. In addition, Ricoh’s business growth has been consistently strong over the past decade.

The future learning landscape will change due to market competition, globalisation and technology. Rounding up the case study, Tham points out that perhaps in the future, talented employees are no longer viewed as “assets” of the company, but rather as a services enabler or business partner in achieving shared goals.

She concludes: “HR leaders have to acquire new competencies on understanding and creating a shared culture, designing an agile work environment that engages people, and constructing a new model of leadership and career development in tandem with the new wave of transformation.”

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 25

FEATURE » Talent Management

Countries faced with an ageing population are likely to see a shortage of talent as these mature workers go into retirement. To combat that, Jerene Ang looks into how organisations can rehire these mature workers and tap on their experience.

26 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

Talent Management « FEATURE n ageing population is no stranger to countries all over the world. It is estimated that between 2015 and 2030, the number of older people (60 years or older) in the world is projected to grow by 56% – from 901 million to more than 1.4 billion.

This was according to the World Population Ageing report published by the United Nations in 2015.

The report also found that Asia is expected to see the third fastest growth (66%) in the number of older people over the next 15 years and by 2030, older people are expected to account for about 17% of the population in Asia.

As these older people retire and exit the workforce, countries in the region will be faced with a diminishing workforce.

One of the most popular ways countries are using to deal with this problem is by raising the retirement and re-employment age.

After much speculation about the reemployment age, at the 2015 National Day Rally, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced formal changes to raise the country’s re-employment age from 65 to 67 adding the change will take effect by 2017.

Earlier last year at a conference on ageing, health minister Gan Kim Yong pointed out the Lion City’s future in the next 50 years would depend partly on how it managed its ageing

population. He added that in the next 50 years, one in five Singaporeans would be aged 65 years and above making the society quite different than what it is today.

Gan explained that for the nation to age successfully, both individuals and companies must first rethink their attitudes towards work.

“The ability of employers to capitalise on the creative energies and experience of a workforce of different ages will be the key to unlocking productivity and economic potential of a fast maturing nation,” he said.

Old is gold Wong Keng Fye, head of human resources at Maybank, agrees with that notion saying: “As Singapore continues to compete in the global marketplace, we need to ensure that our workforce remains competitive despite a greying population.

“One way to achieve this is to tap on the growing pool of experienced and skilled mature employees,” he says.

Roslyn Ten, general manager of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), agrees and points out that amid an ageing population and

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 27

FEATURE » Talent Management

Looking into the future: It makes business sense to recruit and retain older workers for their wealth of experience.

shrinking talent pool, companies can ensure they have the talent to drive their businesses by holding onto their talent for longer – by employing and re-employing older workers.

“It makes business sense to recruit and retain older workers, as employers get to tap into a wealth of experience, skills and knowledge, and have higher loyalty and commitment as well as lower absenteeism for the organisation to stay competitive and productive,” she says.

“In fact, research conducted by TAFEP that surveyed employers’ attitudes towards older workers found that 76% of employers felt that older workers provided better mentoring and coaching; 73% felt that older workers contributed important insights that shaped crucial company decisions; 73% felt that the older workforce was loyal and committed; and over 60% believed that older workers were more reliable at work and resilient in the face of a crisis.”

Likening older staff in the organisation to the “Google” search engine, Wong says: “The best data repository rests with your people – the older staff in your company who have been with the organisation for the past 20, 30, 40 or more years.”

One of the benefits of hiring older colleagues as pointed out by Wong is they bring with them stability, commitment, reliability and a strong sense of loyalty and identity.

28 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

“Most older workers have gone through a lot.

Many of them may still be in their first or second jobs, staying with the same employer for about two to four decades. It is with a certain sense of contentment and appreciation that they have chosen to stay on,” he says.

“Older workers believe that if you do your best for your employer, your employer will recognise your achievements and reward you for it. In turn, you continue to grow within the company. This is a positive cycle.”

Older employees as mentors Maybank Walking the talk, Maybank employs more than 250 staff who are over 50 and about 50 staff who are aged 62 and above.

Wong gave the example of Mr Lee who was made a senior banker in Maybank’s global banking division when he reached the retirement age of 62.

“His role is to deepen the relationships with customers, to groom the younger bankers and to teach and nurture them,” Wong says.

“Mr Lee’s role is very much like an emeritus mentor, an ambassador for the bank. He sees the customers, develops paths to certain markets and paves the way for businesses to build up and flow in.”

Explaining why Mr Lee was appointed to the role, Wong says: “He can do this because he has

Talent Management « FEATURE spent more than 35 years – the larger part of his career – in corporate and commercial business.

He knows the ground, the way to do business, customer behaviours and how to sustain and enhance relationships with customers.”

Challenges to overcome Despite the obvious benefits older employees can bring as mentors, there are still mindset challenges that have to be overcome for this to work successfully.

Stephane Michaud, PhD, senior director – consulting at Human Link Asia (a Mitsubishi Corporation Company), points out that in a classic Japanese scheme when an employee reaches the age of 55, they are given a pay cut of 20% and less responsibility until they reach the age of 60 where the company may or may not re-employ them.

He adds Mitsubishi got rid of that scheme at its headquarters in Japan as it was “way too young for the Japanese”.

However, he says: “There’s still the mentality in the region that managers will still do that to employees when they reach that age and, of course, it brings anxiety.

“When someone feels like the company wants to get rid of them, they entrench themselves in their positions and they have less incentives to teach their subordinates.”

He adds this can also be a cultural problem “when departments work in silos and there isn’t a high level of trust and teamwork and there’s a lot of internal competition”.

“The way to prevent that is to change the culture to a more open one.”

Revealing a strategy he has to counteract the problem, he says: “In some countries in which we operate, I’m trying to make it comfortable for the mature workers to teach and transfer the knowledge.

“If they know they are valuable and the company wants to keep them for an extended period of time, they will feel more comfortable in sharing the knowledge.”

Michaud feels that instead of just being an adviser where they may not have an influence on decisions, if the mature worker is involved in designing and shaping their new role – even if it has to be a little bit modified – they will be more open to it.

He further notes that other than changing the retirement age in the company’s handbook, “it’s also about changing the

mindset to say that this individual has skills and knowledge that are useful to the company regardless of age”.

The employees’ point of view For many seniors, retirement does not necessarily mean an end to working. In Singapore for example, the employment rate for older workers has steadily increased, from 57% in 2009 to 65% in 2013. Last year, 99% of private sector local employees who turned 62 were offered re-employment.

According to the US Department of Labor, by 2020, 55% of that country’s workforce will be more than 55 years of age – an increase of 13% from 2000.

“The best data repository rests with your people – the older staff in your company who have been with the organisation for the past 20, 30, 40 or more years.”

– Wong Keng Fye, head of human resources at Maybank.

With more and more employees over the age of 60 choosing to continue working, American Advisors Group pulled out six tips for helping mature workers maintain a work-life balance.

These tips include: • Get the right job – are you more careeroriented or family-oriented? Do you want to work throughout the week or just afternoons? Do you value creativity or helping others?

• Look for flexibility – do you prefer to work from home or an office branch closer to your home? Do you require flexible start and stop hours? Do you prefer a job sharing arrangement?

• Discuss family needs – do your children rely on you for childcare – and if so, how often?

Research shows that 25% of parents say they rely on grandparents for child care support a few times a month.

• Exercise – One out of three adults aged 65+ say they have no time for physical activity.

Do you need an organisation that promotes health and well-being?

Not only can these tips help mature workers find the right job for their needs, but they are also relevant for employers in devising policies to help them answer these key questions.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 29

Highlights: HR Leaders Summit 2016 An exclusive peek into what 50 of Asia’s senior HR leaders discussed at a three-day conference in Phuket, reported by Aditi Sharma Kalra.

Sunshine, cocktails, a

barbecue, facilitated networking sessions, and three days of ideation with 50 of Asia’s most senior HR professionals – welcome to the HR Leaders Summit 2016.

The third edition of the annual signature summit organised by Human Resources was held in Thailand at the beautiful Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa from May 16-18 in an exclusive invite-only event.

Welcoming delegates on day one was an evening reception at The Lounge where everyone was treated to food and drinks in the backdrop of a floating stage, upon which regional editor Aditi Sharma Kalra opened the conference. She said: “We started with our vision of getting some of the smartest HR leaders in the same room, away from the grind of the office, and here we are coming up with ideas together. This is a rare opportunity.”

30 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

Stephen Mosely, president and MD of L’Oréal Hong Kong, presented the opening keynote as a C-suite insider, with his advice on what the rest of the C-suite leaders expect from the CHRO. “Think in terms of initiatives that will last, not just programmes that are the flavour of the month.”

Up next was Haroon Bhatti, CHRO of Digi Telecommunications, with an inspiring presentation on Digi’s move towards digitising the HR experience to enable data-driven decisions.

“In every decision you make, there has to be a clear and significant impact to the business,” he noted, while showcasing how fulfillment of an employee’s need is the best way to get employees to adopt digital HR. Following him was CEO of leadership institute Roffey Park, Michael Jenkins, with his take on compassion and resilience in the workplace,

proving that such traits make for equally successful leaders. Day one of the HR Leaders Summit concluded with an evening reception at The Lounge, filled with great food and drink and even better company and conversation.

Day two saw a mix of panel discussions, case studies and keynote presentations.

After a breakfast buffet, Sunil Narang, president and CEO of WDHB Strategic Learning, took to the stage to inspire delegates with his take on how learning expeditions can provide value to HR professionals.

Following that keynote was a panel discussion hosted by Kalra, featuring Bhatti (CHRO, Digi Telecommunications), Ravi Bhogaraju (global HR leader, Archroma) and Mohd Najid Yahya (CHRO, Felda Global Ventures) on ways HR can drive effectiveness for business growth.

They focused on how implementing communication behaviours strengthens relationships across the business.

Douglas Hamer, COO for talent learning and performance at Citi, then took centre stage to present a case study on how the firm puts employees in the driver’s seat of their careers.

“A career development portal is absolutely not an abdication of managers’ responsibilities in developing their employees,” he said, on the importance of preparing line managers adequately.

It was then time for another case study, this one by Paul Hotchan, assistant VP of executive recruitment and workforce strategy at Galaxy Entertainment Group, who set in action ideation around how HR teams can utilise social media and measure its ROI. Delegates then saw Human Resources’ former senior journalist Akankasha Dewan hosting Jean-Michel Wu (chief talent officer, McCann

Worldgroup), John Mullins (chief development officer, Ruder Finn) and Ken Hoskin (head of APAC talent, Airbnb) to identify how HR and marketing teams can work together.

The key learning here? The employee journey must look and feel the same across the organisation – when HR and marketing collaborate on employer branding – “there must be no difference between the customer experience and employee experience”.

Day two was concluded by Norbert Modla, global head of HR at JF Hillebrand Group, exhibiting how gamification can be implemented using leadership simulations, backed by coachingbased on the decisions employees make in the games.

The third and final day of the conference heralded an intriguing discussion on gender and other forms of diversity, led by Lisa Mulligan, executive director of human resources – international, at MRC Global.

Speaking on the need for “sponsors” in the workplace, she said: “We all need people in our careers who pull us up when we need it, and give us confidence to get back on track.”

The discussion she sparked continued until noon, wherein roundtable interactive sessions on five topics helped delegates sum up their learning from the conference, as well as give them an opportunity to discuss and debate with their peers.

Topics included understanding why HR strategy implementations can fail and the role of HR in overcoming uncertainty and pursuing business growth.

These sessions were moderated by leaders

such as Joyce Foo (country HR director, NXP Semiconductors); Asha Menon (HR director, Agility Logistics); Charles Hughley (general manager – global talent management, Johnson Electric); David Heng (managing director and head, talent management and culture building, CIMB Group); and Adrian Ole (regional HR director, Asia, International SOS).

The conversations continued well into the afternoon, concluding with a summary of the discussions by the roundtable moderators as well as Kalra’s closing remarks.

To finish everything off, delegates enjoyed a delicious lunch as the Human Resources team took a well-deserved break after organising the successful conference.

Human Resources would like to thank its generous sponsors and partners, without whom the conference would not have been possible.

• Gold sponsors – Roffey Park | WDHB Strategic Learning.

• Partners – Decode HR | Scotwork | The Naked Coach and Rock the Boat.

• Official venue partner – Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa. Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 31

Training & Development Asia 2016, Malaysia Jerene Ang reports on Asia’s only dedicated learning and development conference for HR leaders and L&D specialists featuring a stellar mix of keynote speakers.

After proving a hit in Singapore, the Human Resources team hosted the inaugural Training & Development Asia 2016, Malaysia, at PARKROYAL Kuala Lumpur on 1-2 June.

As Asia’s only dedicated learning and development conference for HR leaders and L&D specialists, the event featured a stellar mix of keynote speakers.

During the two-day conference, the industry’s best-kept training and corporate learning secrets were revealed by learning and development experts from organisations such as iCar Asia and Digi, along with great opportunities for networking, and powered by a host of sponsors and partners.

Day one featured discussions around the topics of aligning the learning and business strategy, high potential management and succession planing, and learning ROI. An opening keynote by Neema Mehta, talent, learning and development director at Amcor, unveiled the tips and tricks on how a global business can deliver effective learning outcomes.

She explained: “Global programmes are great for consistency, but know who your target audience is, how they will benefit from this and

32 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

know why this is important. “Asia is a different market, and maturity in the business will impact how global programmes are received and should be implemented. Localisation is good and necessary, but you want to make sure it is aligned to global programmes.”

She was followed by Ling Hsern-Wei, head of learning and development at PwC, who shared more about PwC’s journey of bringing learning into the workplace as well as the challenges and opportunities to look out for.

After a networking break, we dived into a panel on creating a conducive learning environment to increase employee engagement, moderated by David Heng, managing director and head of talent management and culture building at CIMB Group.

Following that, Iskandar Noor, head of group organisational learning and development at Felda Global Ventures, took the stage to share tips on enforcing the best leadership model to achieve organisational transformation.

After listing the leadership development maturity model, he noted: “Many organisations are stuck at level two. They want to move to level four, but they don’t have the basics in place.

Whatever stage you are in, it has to be in the context of your organisation.”

Post-lunch, Sasidharan Muniandy, senior manager for talent management at Scomi Energy Services, talked about how HR can build a strategy to identify, develop and retain high potentials. Following him, Perdeep Kumar, regional director for corporate learning at Harvard Business Publishing, shed light on how to design a learning programme that cuts through distraction and engages learners.

The first day ended with Zohrab Chong, vice-president of learning and development at AXA Affin General Insurance, explaining why engaging senior stakeholders is crucial for driving a learning culture.

“To me, culture is an unconscious day-to-day business. It is not culture when we try to show it or if we have to be mindful of it,” he said.

Day two saw an equally exciting line-up of speakers, including learning experts Kulwant Singh Bardh, CEO for APAC at KNOLSKAPE; Amita Nandi, senior consultant and master trainer for DDI; as well as HR leaders Animesh Mukherjee, head of the human resource centre of expertise for Digi Telecommunications, and Manish Arneja, global organisational development manager at Fonterra. The topics discussed

The Human Resources team would like to thank all sponsors and partners that made this conference possible: Gold sponsors 1. DDI 2. Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning 3. KNOLSKAPE Exhibitors 1. HCK Properties 2. Learning Rank 3. SEGi University Partners 1. Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management 2. Clocate 3. CLO-ME 4. HR Monk 5. Voices of Leaders

included learning technologies and innovation, employee onboarding and engagement, and training methodologies.

Digi’s Mukherjee kick-started the day with a keynote on learning for the future and HR’s role

in the journey. “HR’s job is not to do what the C-suite is asking of us, but to look forward and guide the C-suite on what they should do in the future,” he said.

He was followed by KNOLSKAPE’s Bardh,

who shared about the disruptions happening today on the way learning is done through an interactive simulation for the delegates on negotiation and influencing skills.

Post a morning coffee break, Fonterra’s Arneja gave useful tips on how to devise the right employee strategy to increase the level of employee engagement.

“Managers can account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement levels,” he pointed out.

From there, we went into a panel about the unconventional methods of employee participation, moderated by KNOLSKAPE’s Bardh.

Post-lunch, DDI’s Nandi took to the stage to share the secrets of reaping the maximum returns from L&D initiatives.

Following that, Cilia Rasasegram, general manager of people and culture at iCar Asia, pointed out how applying a positive thought process in the workplace can help make it successful.

“A positive thought process allows us to clearly evaluate the situation or problem at hand.

It energises us to overcome any obstacle faced,” she said.

Just before a short afternoon break, Amit Saxena, head of HR at Recron Malaysia, shared some tips on creating a constructive coaching programme to help the development of employees.

After the break, Saxena wrapped up the conference by moderating a panel where panellists from Amcor, Maersk and Scomi Malaysia discussed incorporating a training methodology that best fits the company culture.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 33

Employee Benefits Asia 2016, Malaysia Two days of conversations with more than 180 HR leaders and rewards specialists – all at Employee Benefits Asia 2016, Malaysia, as reported

by Aditi Sharma Kalra.

Perspectives on HR from a MD and a CEO, a case study on using evidencebased data analytics, facilitated networking sessions, and two days of conversations with more than 180 HR leaders and rewards specialists – all at Employee Benefits Asia 2016, Malaysia.

Having organised this conference across Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, one thing has become quite clear – when it comes to compensation and benefits programmes, organisations throughout Asia Pacific are keen on creative, yet cost-effective solutions.

To spark discussions on this topic, Employee Benefits Asia 2016, Malaysia, was produced

by Human Resources’ Evon Yew, as a twoday conference held on 17-18 August at Kuala Lumpur’s Connexion@Nexus.

The conference was inaugurated by Christopher Ong, managing director of DHL Express, Malaysia and Brunei, who also drives DHL’s Six Sigma and GOGREEN corporate programmes.

34 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

His keynote was a tale on crafting an effective total rewards strategy that drives business excellence. Following him was Hash Piperdy, chief executive officer of Mercer Malaysia, who came with 20 years of international consulting experience in the UK, Europe and Asia, having advised organisations around HR transformation and M&A integration projects.

Another business head then took to the stage, with an inspiring take on how SME employers can make the most of their rewards budgets. This was led by Adnan Lee, managing director of MBG Fruits, who set up his own business at the age of 19. After multiple failed attempts at expansion, he tasted success at the fifth attempt, and his business now has 31 outlets with a workforce of 300 employees.

With that, we moved into the first panel discussion for the conference – challenges and opportunities for capitalising on total rewards in Asia. Moderating this panel was Andrew Ng, HR director at Fonterra. The panellists were DHL’s

Ong; Sow Chat Gan, Asia Pacific benefits director for Honeywell; and Kenny Ong, MD of Universal Music Malaysia and Singapore.

After a hearty lunch, we dived straight into another panel discussion – this one on benefits planning for a multi-generational workforce.

Moderating this discussion was Steven Ooi, advisor health business, Tokio Marine Insurans.

He was joined by panellists Tricia Lim, head of rewards at Maxis; Dr Hazlee bin Abdul Hadi, head, occupational health specialist and medical advisor, occupational health services, Prince Court Medical Centre; and Chandralakshmi Thiruchelvam, director of compensation and benefits, Asia, Western Digital.

Up next, we had a speaker to ideate on healthcare programmes that benefit both the employer and employee. Dr Lim Pek Yean, occupational health doctor and resident medical officer at Sunway Medical Centre, has experience treating diseases in the trauma and emergency department of a busy government hospital, as well as managing health screening for the private sector.

With more than 20 years of experience, Tokio Marine Insurans’ Ooi took to the stage next with a keynote on structuring sustainable, yet costeffective healthcare and insurance programmes.

The day was ably concluded by Dr Hafez Hussain, executive director of the rehabilitation centre at the Social Security Organisation of Malaysia (SOCSO). In his case study, he shared how he had implemented a paradigm shift at SOCSO towards wellbeing.

Day two commenced nice and early with

Honeywell’s Gan opening the session with a presentation on the need to balance cost sustainability with evidence-based data analytics, while making business decisions. He took case examples of how rewards decisions can vary across geographies to make a point about analysing all the data available to us.

Leny Januar, business development manager at Sage, took over from him with a take on how the advantages of digitised HR strategies can be harnessed to boost efficiency and reduce costs.

Following her was a speaker with more than 31 years of experience in HR development, and who is also a corporate hypnotherapist with Austin School of Hypnotherapy (UK), an NLP practitioner, and a certified trainer with Motorola University (Singapore). Peter Ling, chief organisational development officer at Mah Sing Group, presented a case study on transforming a traditional company into a multinational organisation.

Ling was followed by Datin Sabariah Fauziah, vice-president (II) of group talent management services at KPJ Healthcare, who talked about the delicate balancing act between responsibilities in strategic human capital and developing career paths. Having served the KPJ Group for 22 years, she spoke on engaging top talent through enhancing flexibility and engagement in the workplace.

Next in line was a panel discussion on how a flexible benefits programme can be a winwin situation for both employer and employee, facilitated by Roshni Mahesh, principal and flexible benefits expert at Mercer Marsh Benefits.

Joining her were panellists Grace Chan Hwee, senior general manager of group HR and administration at Berjaya Corporation; Henk Jonge

Poerink, senior vice-president of global operations and MD at BESI; and Mah Sing Group’s Ling.

Following a stimulating discussion, peppered with lots of questions from the audience, we had two presenters taking the stage for an inside look at the evolution of the flexible benefits programme at Digi Telecommunications.

There was Animesh Mukherjee, who has more than 15 years of experience across a spectrum of human capital issues, and is presently head of the HR centre of expertise at Digi. Joining him was Sulaxmi Prasad, who has nearly 10

years of experience in the areas of rewards and performance, and currently heads rewards and analytics at Digi.

The conference then moved into creating a compelling employee value proposition, and integrating it with your rewards strategy, moderated by Anna Tan, country HR director at Schneider Electric Malaysia.

Joining her were panellists Yeoh Sai Yew, head of the people department at AirAsia X; Nadiah Tan Abdullah, HR director at the Experian Development Centre Malaysia; and Philip Karnøe, group head of HR at Lion & Lion Malaysia.

The concluding session for the conference saw Mooi-Fung Farm, HR director for Shell on stage. Having been with Shell for 19 years, she started her career in business before moving to HR, and has since managed sizeable teams across downstream, the service centre and upstream.

Her case study focused on career development – how to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for your talented employees. With that, a memorable couple of days came to an end.

Human Resources would like to thank all sponsors and partners that led to the success of Employee Benefits Asia 2016, Malaysia.

• Gold sponsors: Mercer | Sage | Sunway Medical Centre | Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia).

• Silver sponsor: Sanofi Pasteur.

• Association partner: International Professional Managers Association (IPMA).

• Media partners: Centre of Executive Education (CEE) | Clocate.com | Chief Learning Officer Middle East | CrowdReviews.com | HR MONK | Leaderonomics | Voices of Leaders.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 35

OPINION » Unconventional Wisdom

Starbucks Malaysia’s new store powered by deaf employees The store employs 10 deaf partners (employees), including a shift manager, among the coffee company’s diversity initiatives.

Starbucks Malaysia opened

a new store in July – and it was business as usual, except the store employs 10 deaf partners (Starbucks refers to staff as “partners”), including a shift manager.

This new diversity initiative by the coffee company is aimed at raising awareness of people with disabilities in the workplace.

Located in Bangsar Village II, the store is a first-of-a-kind for Starbucks globally.

Starbucks has partnered with The Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (SID) to facilitate the hiring, training and coaching of deaf partners as they navigate the retail store environment and to teach sign language to hearing partners at the store.

The company is also supporting a number of hearing partners at its local support centre to learn Malaysian sign language so they can communicate with and train store partners and recruit new deaf partners on an ongoing basis.

Starbucks’ deaf partners will receive the same operational training as its hearing partners, which includes barista basics, how to handle food, etc.

Sydney Quays, MD of Starbucks Malaysia and Brunei, said the company was proud to support people with disabilities to create a culture of empowerment and to bring new perspectives to the workplace.

“We have a rich history of creating opportunities for underrepresented groups and our aim is to raise public awareness of the value people with disabilities bring to the workplace and to enrich the lives of many more deaf partners,” he said.

Starbucks aims to increase the employment of deaf people across Malaysia over time.

Alvin YM Wong, chairman of SID Selangor and Federal Territory for Malaysia, added: “Through Starbucks, these

36 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

deaf partners are trained and empowered to move forward in their careers which will give them a sense of pride and accomplishment in the long run.”

Will the store experience change for customers?

Inside this store, when customers go to order, they will notice the usual greeting and sound of baristas calling out beverage orders has been replaced by sign language.

Customers can place orders using a simple menu card which they mark before passing it to the barista, with deaf partners using handwritten notes to communicate with customers.

Upon placing the order, each customer is given a number on the receipt, which is displayed on a screen once it is ready.

Mohammad Aizad Bin Ariffin (Aizad), from Starbucks Bangsar Village II, joined the company three years ago, with a goal to become Starbucks Malaysia’s first deaf store manager – and was recently promoted to shift manager.

He explained: “It’s an incredible feeling to share my journey and help develop other deaf partners. My next goal is to deepen my coffee expertise by becoming Starbucks Malaysia’s first deaf coffee master.”

Diversity initiatives at Starbucks Malaysia With a focus on employing under-represented groups in the workplace, Starbucks Malaysia launched the VIP programme last year to attract mature partners, above 55 years of age.

As part of the programme, Starbucks provides flexible work hours and other benefits for seniors.

There are currently more than 10 VIP partners working in Starbucks Malaysia stores, the oldest being 73.

CAREERS » Personal development

uptheranks Tracking HR’s industry moves Who: Sandeep Joshi From: Talent acquisition specialist at Scope International To: Talent acquisition partner, enterprise services at Commonwealth Bank d The Commonwealth Bank has employed Sandeep Joshi as talent acquisition partner for enterprise services.

Effective June, this role sees him relocating to Australia from Malaysia where he was most recently a talent acquisition specialist at Scope International.

Commenting on his appointment, he told Human Resources: “As this is my first job in Australia, the most important agenda for me is to understand the Australian market, its culture and environment, as well as identify the right pool of talent using the best practices that are used in the Australian market.”

Who: Hans Han From: Head of compensation and benefits, Asia Pacific at Huntsman To: Regional head of compensation and benefits at Bridgestone Asia Pacific d As of July, Hans Han is the regional head of compensation and benefits at Bridgestone Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. In this new role, he is responsible for the overall compensation and benefits strategies and programmes across Asia Pacific.

Before this role, he was the head of compensation and benefits for Asia Pacific at Huntsman.

Along with a master’s degree in HR, he has more than 20 years of work experience under his belt and has worked for prestigious firms such as Hay Group, Mercer HR Consulting, Jones Lang LaSalle and Johnson Controls.

Who: Shoba Mangaleswaran From: Talent acquisition specialist at Expedia To: HR and talent acquisition specialist at GoQuo d GoQuo appointed Shoba Mangaleswaran as its new HR and talent acquisition specialist. She was recruited by the travel technology developer and her appointment took effect in June.

She was previously the talent acquisition specialist with Expedia, and she continues to be based in Kuala Lumpur.

She comes with about six years of HR experience and previously served as the senior recruiter for talent acquisition at DISYS, among other roles.

personalgrowth SHOULD YOU BAN SMARTPHONES IN THE OFFICE? Texting may be the biggest productivity killer in the office, but Jerene Ang wonders whether officially terminating smartphone usage will do more harm than good.

If you look around the train on your daily commute to work, chances are you’ll be able to spot people playing Candy Crush, watching soaps or checking their email on their smartphones. Perhaps, you are even reading this article on a smartphone.

While these pocket-computers can be particularly useful for checking emails on the go, they can also be a major distraction in the workplace.

Recently, CareerBuilder released a survey about how smartphones/texting is the biggest productivity killer in the workplace as cited by 55% of employers.

That same survey found that 83% of workers have smartphones and 82% keep them within eye contact at work. More than six in 10 have also admitted to using it (at least) several times a day.

The easy, and most obvious way of preventing the productivity drain is to ban smartphones altogether – get employees to place their phones in little lockers until lunchtime or the end of the workday.

But is banning smartphones really going to help your productivity?

Knowing that today’s workforce – which comprises mostly Millennials – does not like to be micro-managed, a complete smartphone ban might do more harm than good.

38 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

A complete ban may not increase productivity by much, given the internet is accessible through work computers. It may also make work more difficult for those in teams with remote workers. Apart from that, it could potentially damage the organisation’s employer branding.

So what can HR do to prevent these little devices from sapping the productivity of the workforce?

Instead of a complete ban on smartphones, a better approach to preventing smartphone use is to implement a policy to limit its use at work, if it really is a big issue at your workplace.

Ensure the policy is reasonable, allows room for exceptions (for example, in the event of a personal emergency), is clearly communicated and strictly enforced.

Better yet, have an open dialogue or town hall meeting with employees to address the issue of smartphones being a productivity killer and let employees come up with the solution.

That way, a policy might not even be needed – sometimes employees just need a little reminder to manage their distractions and keep their productivity up.

Good reads to improve your business life

shelflife

Bulletproof: Building Better Employee Benefits

Pick of the month

Andy Bounds, Richard Ruttle Wiley S$24 A big part of a HR leader’s job is to interact and negotiate with people. This can range from convincing business leaders to buy into their next big initiative or keeping employees satisfied. Having to be in countless meetings and negotiations throughout the work day can be exhausting, especially if the conversations don’t go the way one wants. It makes one yearn for the secrets of having the upper hand in professional negotiations.

And such secrets are exactly what Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone You Meet reveals. By exploring the ways professionals can steer conversations in the direction they want, the book allows readers to gain an edge in dealing with people. That means no more feeling like the underdog, no more “losing” in conversations; but instead getting more of what one wants.

In this book, authors and communication experts Andy Bounds and Richard Ruttle will help readers achieve more from their conversations with others in every type of interaction – from socialising, networking, interviews and even negotiating a pay rise – through instructive and thought-provoking content, relevant to both beginners and seasoned professionals.

In nine short chapters, readers can expect to gain awareness of the bad habits that hold them back during discussions, acquire the skill sets needed to gain a competitive advantage from the get go and learn how to nail the final presentation via insights from some of the world’s largest companies.

Bookmark this!

It’s easy to talk too much. Especially when you’re nervous. Annoyingly, it’s also easy to talk too little, and become a nod-along beta dog. Especially when an executive uses your meeting to expand on her achievements. Neither approach works. One of you bores or frustrates the other. So it’s best to have a broad plan as to how you want the meeting to run – page 76.

Bookmark this!

There is a dual responsibility here and both employee and employer must own their part. It is the responsibility of an employer to educate and engage so people are able to consider the impact. It is the responsibility of an employee to demand enough information to understand the protection being provided.

– page 110.

Q3 2016 « HumanResources Malaysia « 39

Photography: Fauzie Rasid

Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone You Meet

Danielle Warner Artemis Speaks S$24 In today’s situation of talent shortage, organisations are increasingly including staff benefits as part of their value proposition to attract employees and retain top talent.

As the workforce becomes more diverse and mobile, it becomes clear that a onesize-fits-all employee benefits plan no longer makes the cut. So what can HR leaders do to build a benefits policy that caters to the diverse needs of the workforce?

In Bulletproof: Building Better Employee Benefits, Danielle Warner sheds light on how HR leaders can create a sustainable and strong employee benefit proposition, which will not only pay back in dividends and generate incredible return on investment, but also increase the retention of top talent, drive team morale and elevate the organisation’s employer brand.

Neatly divided into four sections with 20 chapters, Bulletproof: Building Better Employee Benefits will take readers through a five-step blueprint to build an employee benefits programme.

Workplace lessons I learnt from watching TV Aditi Sharma Kalra sees if all the binge TV watching can teach her a thing or two about work.

40 » HumanResources Malaysia » Q3 2016

When I was a kid, some evenings hot

enough to cause heat strokes in the Delhi summer earned me the privilege of spending time (after homework) sipping lemonade and watching TV shows in the cool indoors. No one can complain with an episode of Full House or Small Wonder.

Even as an adult, I’ve spent countless weekends binge-watching some of my favourite TV shows, and somewhere along the line, I ended up deriving lessons for both work and life from the characters’ imaginary lives.

Take for instance, one of my all-time favourites, the US adaptation of British TV comedy series created by Ricky Gervais, The Office.

Set in Scranton, Pennsylvania, it featured the lives of employees at a paper company called Dunder Mifflin – their relationships, politics and power, lasting nine reasonably successful seasons.

Most likely you can relate to the everyday situations the characters find themselves in – the know-it-all high-performer Dwight Schrute, the sensitive and intelligent Jim Halpert and the kind and compassionate Pam Beesly – led by the oblivious regional manager, Michael Scott.

Scott has to be one of the most memorable TV bosses. He’s a terrific salesperson, no doubt the skill that put him in charge of the Scranton branch, but his people skills are definitely unconventional.

Instead of putting his head around the strategy to hit next quarter’s sales targets, he spends most of his time on the office floor, talking to his people, giving them advice (at times, questionable), and generally leaving a trail of distractions and havoc.

Again, his methods were not always appropriate or sensitive, but the guy sure knew how to build company culture. In being forced to manage their boss, the team at Scranton really rallied together to function more as a family than as colleagues.

In parallel, the Scranton branch was even cited as among the company’s most profitable.

Most importantly, Scott’s style of management ensured there was plenty of humour as well as heart at the workplace – reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously while at work.

Business goals might be the end result, but for me, and many other Lighthousers, goals don’t need to be achieved with frowns on our faces.

Another show that has captured the entertainment mind space for decades is The Simpsons, set in Springfield, with the head of the family, Homer Simpson, working at a nuclear plant.

Kate Woodley, managing director of international assessment specialist cut-e in Singapore and Australia, calls out an episode where we see Homer and his colleagues at the nuclear power plant disengaged and unhappy under the leadership of Springfield’s resident mogul, Montgomery “Monty” Burns.

“We see the impact of this poor leadership: reduced efficiency, absenteeism and dangerous decisions made by the front line, who care more about eating doughnuts and skiving off work than about their role at the power plant,” she says.

To her, this teaches the importance of an engaged workforce at every level which should be supported by a people-focused leadership team.

With all this talk about TV shows, Human Resources’ former team member Akankasha Dewan (AK) got in on the fun, and told me about her current favourite, Suits. “Always back your team – because that is one of the best ways to earn their trust and keep them engaged,” she tells me (perhaps hinting at what I should be learning from the show, eh AK?).

This philosophy is constantly reiterated in Suits that features a successful corporate lawyer named Harvey Specter and his degree-less associate Mike Ross, where the concept of the show rests on Specter having hired Ross despite knowing that while talented, Ross is not trained in law.

But, of course, Ross makes mistakes, and often does not know details that a professionally trained lawyer should. In such situations, AK explains, Specter steps up to take responsibility for the actions of his subordinate and provides guidance.

“The fact that he does this for all of his subordinates, and not just for Ross, proves the value he sees in building a mutual support system among his team and showing them he’s there for them when they need him,” she says.

“It’s therefore little wonder that all junior lawyers in the firm constantly pine for, and work hard to get, Specter’s attention.” aditis@humanresourcesonline.net

Photography: Elliot Lee, Nikon Ambassador (Singapore) – www.elliotly.com; Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using Make Up For Ever & hair using Sebastian Professional – www.michmakeover.com

LAST WORD