Human Resources Singapore, April 2015

April 2015

humanresourcesonline.net

GA RET HL ING , GR OU PM SIN GA PO RE'S CH IEF TAL EN TO FFI CER ,

ON THE MA TRI XW AY OF LIF E.

The smart HR professional’s blueprint for workforce strategy

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April 2015 « CONTENTS

COVER STORY 14 Q&A Gareth Ling, chief talent officer at GroupM Singapore, reveals how the company has crafted HR policies to ensure its large multinational and virtual teams can work optimally.

Features 18 Time for HR to get social How can HR leaders harness the full potential of social media to enhance processes such as employer branding and recruitment?

Akankasha Dewan explores.

26 Life’s one long lesson Jerene Ang analyses how organisations are developing their learning policies to ensure they are capable of negotiating the challenges of change.

Opinion 36 Learning & Development Franziska Huggenberger, BASF’s head of regional recruitment for Asia Pacific, on ways to craft an authentic employer brand that helps candidates realise they are a natural fit for the company.

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38 People Issues Acknowledging failure and embracing mistakes are sometimes the key to becoming an authentic and efficient leader, finds Susan P. Chen, director of HR for Asia Pacific at Visa Worldwide.

40 Unconventional Wisdom

Art Direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman; Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee using Nikon D810 – www.elliotly.com

In a case study, G. Thiyagarajan, regional HR director for Danfoss APA, shares how technology helped bring down the company’s recruitment costs by 70%.

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42 Upwardly Mobile Inge Giesbergen, HR manager at Flipit.com, explains how the SME found the best way to set up its HR function with limited budgets.

48 Last Word Retrospective advice comes easy to most of us, so Aditi Sharma Kalra pens down work tips for her younger self.

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

10 HR by numbers 11 Snapshot 44 Personal development 46 Shelf life

Any suggestions or tip-offs for Human Resources?

Email aditis@humanresourcesonline.net April 2015 « Human Resources «

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Set your talent up for success Have you ever realised how easy it is to identify poor performance? Take your pick from dubious leadership, unclear vision, lack of communication and transparency, or bureaucratic decision making.

On the other hand, when it comes to pinning down the indicators of high performance, it suddenly becomes hard to put a finger on what exactly went right.

Well-meaning companies have been striving to create an office environment that allows employees to perform at their best – providing them the resources they need, the authority to get the job done, and clear expectations about results.

However, the best organisations don’t just stop at that. This past month, we interviewed Gareth Ling, the chief talent officer at GroupM Singapore, who told us his role is to ensure the company attracts, retains and develops the very best talent – but that is very difficult.

On the one hand, Singapore is blessed with a low unemployment rate of about 2%. At the same time, Millennials, which make up a high proportion of GroupM’s workforce, still live at home (read: they don’t have many bills to pay).

What this does is create a low barrier to exit for the workforce, Ling explained, as a result of which an annual attrition rate of 25% is standard.

In that backdrop, GroupM constantly questions how it can create an environment which will encourage people to work there, and when they do, how best to retain them.

Rightly so, given that GroupM’s talent has to be resilient enough to work in an office with 40 different languages, in an ambiguous environment, all the while adapting to different working styles and ways of thinking.

Fun, focused and fast is how the company defines its culture. Work, at the end of the day, should be about enjoyment, Ling pointed out.

That, for employees, translates into progression opportunities, where the sky is the limit. One minute they can be a media buyer and the other they may be in a content team, as long as they have “the right attitude”.

Over at LinkedIn, a company “where you don’t ever stop beta”, a similar policy is in place.

In a feature on further education, YeeFong Ng, the company’s APAC head of learning and development, speaks about the concept of the “next play” – where LinkedIn helps staff make their next career move, even across functions.

As I pen this note, we’re looking to raise the curtains on the region’s biggest talent conference, Talent Management Asia, slated to take place in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

The two-day event, scheduled for the end of April, will see management experts from around the globe, and HR directors from Asia, team up to find solutions to the most pressing HR issues.

The conference is now in its third year and you can expect insightful presentations from those best placed to speak on the themes of talent management, including diversity and inclusion, leadership development and engagement.

As always, the learning from the event will be accessible to you even after the curtains close, through our daily HR bulletin delivered online, as well as our social media channels.

We look forward to seeing you there, and in the meantime, do enjoy the issue.

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Aditi Sharma Kalra Regional Editor April 2015 « Human Resources «

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SINGAPORE OFFERS THE HIGHEST SALARIES IN ASIA Besides being the best place to live in Asia, Singapore also offers the highest income in the region, per a Towers Watson report.

The study found base salaries at senior and top management level in the country are about 10% higher than those of their counterparts in Hong Kong.

Executives at the top of the hierarchy in Singapore reported an average base pay of about US$586,000 a year, compared with around US$445,000 a year in Hong Kong.

“Base salaries are, on the face of it, considerably higher in Singapore than Hong Kong, especially at a top management level, but the tax rates at those levels vary considerably and that has a bearing on take-home pay,” said Sambhav Rakyan, data services practice leader for Asia Pacific at Towers Watson.

While base salaries in Singapore remained on top of the table, those in Hong Kong stayed higher across the board than in Greater China. “It’s worth noting that the income tax environment in Hong Kong is more favourable than that of China, adding to Ho Kong more attractive take-home pay and therefore making Hong in that sense,” Rakyan said.

NE TRAINING NEW PROGRAMME P DESIGNED D FO FOR PMEs Singa Singapore’s Minister for M anpo Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin recently launched la recently an enhanced place-an a dan d trrai ainn programme pr called P-Max, for professionals, place-and-train managers and executives executives (PMEs).

From 18 March 2015 to the end of December 2017, P-Max will place and facilitate 3,000 PMEs for suitable jobs at SMEs. Training will be provided for management staff, supervisors, HR representatives from SMEs and their newly-hired PMEs. P-Max will provide post-training follow-up for six months. SMEs retaining newly hired PMEs for six months will receive a one-time assistance grant of $5,000. The programme is for Singapore citizens or permanent residents interested in pursuing a career in an SME or those who have started work in an SME for less than three months.

THE HAR HARDEST RDEST INTERVIEW IN T ER V IE W Q QUESTIONS U E S T ION S FOR LOCAL EMPLOYEES Explaining their future corporate ambitions is a task most locals struggle with during job interviews, according to a new survey by JobStreet.com, which found they get most uncomfortable when asked what their long-term career goals are.

Most stated they were either unclear about their goals or afraid their answers would appear unrealistic to potential employers.

The next most uncomfortable question cited by 25% of respondents was explaining why they wanted to work in that company. A lack of knowledge about the company, its culture and its possible career paths were the main reasons they were stumped.

They were also caught in a dilemma when it came to revealing their strengths and weaknesses to potential employers, concerned they would appear overly confident when revealing their strengths, or worried about potential job loss when discussing weaknesses. Additionally, most were not confident about turning their weaknesses into potential strengths.

APR

LOCAL FEMALE MILLENNIALS THE MOST FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT Female Millennials in Singapore are the most financially independent in the world, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), stating that 69% of them bring in equal or more in their salaries than their partners, higher than the global average of 66%.

Globally, the female Millennial was confident about reaching the senior-most positions in her current company, particularly those who were just starting their careers (49%). However, in Singapore, this confidence dipped to only 31% of female Millennials.

The group in Singapore was also less likely to leave their jobs to start a family compared with their global peers (11% versus 19%). Additionally, more female Millennials in Singapore were reported to be part of a dual-career couple (91% in Singapore versus 86% globally).

They also prioritise finance-based incentives in a job, ranking competitive wages (58%) and other financial incentives (52%) high. However, their global counterparts voted for career progression instead.

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» Human Resources » April 2015

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SINGAPORE IS THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE CITY (AGAIN)

WHAT IS DISTRACTING SINGAPOREANS AT WORK? Workplace distractions are preventing Singapore employees from doing their best. Accenture’s new research found that impromptu meetings or unexpected visitors were the biggest office distractions for local staff (83%).

These were followed by phone calls at 71%, instant messaging (32%) and text messages (28%).

About two-thirds of Singapore professionals agreed multi-tasking allows them to accomplish more. Seven out of 10 also said they multitask using technology, including for conference calls with work emails (73%), instant messaging (41%) and personal emails (29%).

Those who listened actively on calls typically either needed something from the call or were required to lead, participate in or follow up on the discussion.

WHY TOP LEADERS IN ASIA ARE QUITTING THEIR JOBS Tensions with global headquarters (HQ) is causing a majority of leaders in Asia to resign.

According to a study by CEB and Russell Reynolds Associates, only 25% of leaders in Asia have high intentions to stay with their current employer, as compared with the 38% globally.

The study found only 12% of leaders in Asia felt their counterparts in the HQ understood the business situation here. Less than one third also felt their opinions were heard by the global HQ. What took priority for leaders in Asia were factors such as senior leadership recognition, degree of empowerment, the market position, and ethics of an organisation. They also said they preferred to relocate internationally rather than within the country.

Singapore remained the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row, in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey.

This year’s results showed no changes in rankings of the top five cities, with Singapore followed by Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.

Reasons why Singapore topped the list included steep transport costs (three times higher than the base city, New York), and excessive car prices (linked to the “complex” system of certificate of entitlement).

“The situation of an unchanged top five is very rare for the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey and disguises some significant global drivers that are impacting the cost of living everywhere,” said Jon Copestake, chief retail and consumer goods analyst and editor of the report at the EIU. Moreover, the malls of Orchard Road were found to sell at a price premium over 50% higher than New York.

Developed markets proved prone to slides with Tokyo, the world’s most expensive city two years ago, falling to 11th place due to a weak Yen and low inflation. On the other hand, Seoul rose to 10th place.

HIRING MANAGERS PREFER CANDIDATES WITH SOFT SKILLS Do managers look for hard trade skills or prestigious degrees when hiring entry level employees?

According to a new survey by Instructure, it is neither.

A majority of the 750 respondents polled at US companies placed the most importance on soft skills such as work ethic for entry level positions.

While 85% of those polled said work ethic was the most essential consideration when hiring, almost all managers said they looked for candidates with the right attitude. The survey suggested hiring personnel placed immense importance on such soft skills because they were “difficult or impossible to be taught”. On the flip side, the least important trait was a candidate’s place of schooling (79%).

April 2015 « Human Resources «

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WORK LIFE » People GET INTO THE BOSS’S HEAD

Wong Kien Keong Chairman Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow

How have you seen the company evolve in the long tenure you’ve had here?

I have been with Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow and its predecessor, Baker & McKenzie, for 28 years.

When I joined there were only eight lawyers.

This has grown to over 100 lawyers or lawyer equivalents, about 20 paralegals and about 130 other staff within the same premises.

Our firm has changed from being an offshore law firm to a full-service international firm in a joint venture with Wong & Leow LLC. How would you define your leadership style?

My leadership style involves being pragmatic, fair, firm and friendly. I hire people whom I believe are better than me to ensure that our succession pipeline is of a high quality.

I also prefer adopting a consensual approach when dealing with others. At the same time, I ensure my decisions are firm and fair to all concerned and are executed in a timely manner.

My approach towards running the firm is a pragmatic one, simply because we need to adapt to our environment or the situation at hand.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy most working with very bright and smart people with passion and tenacity who add value, and who do not drain the energy of our staff.

What is the toughest decision you’ve had to make as a boss, and what did you learn from it?

Dealing with high-quality partners who may have lost focus, may have misaligned themselves or become disruptive to the enterprise is a tough decision to carry through.

We have had to deal with such tough decisions and choices concerning very smart and very high-quality persons from time to time. This was usually done after much thought, consultation and consensus building.

We have had to take this to a vote once, and this was the toughest decision we ever took, although it was amicable and the process was agreed upon beforehand.

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The lesson here is to plan well, hire well, make new partners carefully so that the risks for both parties are well understood, turn to new opportunities quickly in times of recession and absorb economic shocks as much as possible within the organisation.

When you’re struggling with stress or a bad day, how do you unwind and re-energise yourself?

I normally exercise, do yoga or listen to some music. I also like to spend time with my wife and son.

How do you engage and motivate staff when they are struggling with work?

I meet and socialise with them. We share mutual life stories and adventures together to take our minds off the work at hand.

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

Organisations today do well because they have high-quality human resource functions. Hiring high-potential persons, training them, coaching them, mentoring them and retaining them are real challenges and HR is crucial in dealing with these challenges.

Without a good partnership with and in HR, any organisation which hopes to be successful will find the process daunting. The management of talent is utterly important and high-performing talent which fit the organisation’s culture, ethos and mission is very hard to find.

Could many HR leaders make it to a CEO level?

Why/why not?

Anyone with the right attribute that the organisation needs in a particular time of its history would be suitable to be a leader and a CEO. That includes HR leaders.

Typically, a CEO must grasp the business of the organisation well, understand its culture, have a strategy to take it from where it is to where it should be. Following that, the CEO should chart a plan to implement that strategy, and must then be able to harness resources to implement that plan.

I don’t see why HR leaders can’t become highperforming CEOs. Most have a good EQ potential and if they have been working in high-performing organisations, they would have acquired great organisational smartness and intelligence, high quality business sense and financial savviness.

What has been your most memorable moment with the organisation?

I founded two local law firms which are affiliated with Baker & McKenzie. One is Wong & Leow LLC which is the joint venture partner of Baker & McKenzie LLC in Singapore, and the other is Wong & Partners in Malaysia, which is a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International.

These two firms are milestones in my life as they have become well recognised.

How can HR R contribute better to nal goals? organisational HR must be engaged in key discussions and be he decision making of the organisation involved in the to ensure it iss fully apprised of its vision, mission nd the strategy to achieve its goals. and goals, and ncouraged to own the strategy of the It must be encouraged organisation as well.

Further, it must be given the support and the base to draw from to discharge its tasks and s. Equally, high-performing HR must be programmes. assionate, engaged, and not fearful of intelligent, passionate, nged by the boss. being challenged sonnel should also be encouraged to HR personnel provide factss and evidence when assisting top managementt in their decision making.

» Human Resources » April 2015

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People WORK LIFE

SpacialAwareness A BLEND OF ART AND CULTURE AT LEO BURNETT

A creative business needs a creative office.

The team at Leo Burnett Singapore recently moved into a new office featuring cultural influences and art installations peppered all throughout the work spaces.

“Being a creative business, we really wanted to reinforce our core client offering – creativity that can drive business results. Our brief was a ‘crucible of creativity’,” said Josh Grace, managing director at Leo Burnett Singapore.

But to foster true creativity and innovation, an office needs to encourage collaboration.

“We found that our old space worked to separate people. Our goal was to create a new environment that got people to come together in both intentional and unintentional ways,” Grace said.

“When you combine these with a total upgrade of technology and the efficiency this brings, you can expect to see a great improvement in the overall functionality of the business.”

As a result, the new office has zones for private work, team work, relaxation and for presenting work.

“We have ways that force people to meet in corridors through happenstance.”

Grace and his team view Singapore as an incredibly exciting location – a melting pot of people, cultures and forms of creativity.

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“We wanted to blend the cultural influences in Singapore with the heritage of our 80-year-old international business. You see art installations around the office that bring this to life where we create montages of old and new, east and west.”

For other companies looking to redesign their workspace, Grace’s advice is to have a very clear understanding of the business identity and purpose, and the role they play within the local market context.

“Make sure you are able to articulate these to your design partner – who you should choose based on how you feel you can work with them and their design aesthetic.”

Leo Burnett Singapore chose the team from SCA Design to help design the office, based on cultural fit and the style of work it has done.

Grace also pointed out it’s key to engage a great project management company from the outset.

“We used Merx and they did a great job of managing time and budget.

Plus, they also had an established relationship with SCA which helped a lot in the process. With careful planning from the beginning, you can achieve a lot on a tight budget.”

What the working space boils down to is having pride in the area.

“If your staff are proud of the space and want to come into it, they become happier workers.”

» Human Resources » April 2015

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WORK LIFE » HR by numbers

Local grads in demand Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore have reported optimistic hiring activity for the next six months.

According to the latest survey by jobsDB, 70% of SMEs in the country are looking to employ new staff – especially fresh university graduates and diploma holders.

The survey also uncovered that Gen X employees possessed more favourable work attitudes compared with Gen Y. SMEs gave Gen X a 12% higher rating for attendance, punctuality, willingness to work longer hours and work output quality, compared with their Gen Y counterparts.

75% want diploma holders in their companies.

66%

of SMEs say they are looking to hire new university graduates.

83%

are searching for junior executives.

48%

expressed uncertainty towards hiring foreigners.

Source: jobsDB hiring survey

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People WORK LIFE

snapshot

15 minutes with ...

Carole Le Meur

Vice president of HR, Asia Pacific Baxter Healthcare WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST HR JOB, AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE HR? I started my career with Procter & Gamble in pharmaceuticals as a sales and marketing manager for seven years. I then shifted to executive search, supporting companies in FMCG and healthcare industries.

In those two experiences I was exposed intensively to talent acquisition and learnt the skills required to be a HR business partner.

Being able to influence organisations, people and culture was a key driver for me to move to HR. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? I enjoy having the power to influence the long-term evolution of a company through the selection of the most appropriate talent.

I also value creating the frame to build a healthy culture where employees enjoy coming to work, growing talent, and shaping HR to become true business leaders.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE A REGULAR WORKDAY AT YOUR COMPANY? My days are filled by people I meet in different forums: interviews, business reviews, personal development discussions, etc.

Travelling is also an intimate part of my job, so I have learnt to operate in a flexible environment, while having a long-term direction.

WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED? I remember two. The first one was when I was in my twenties.

At that time, I was working with a vice president of marketing in the hotel management industry in the US, and she told me that to be successful in my career, I needed to have a good partner in my life.

A few years later I realised what she meant. My husband has been a fantastic support all those years. We have three children, and he gave me the flexibility to be available to grow.

The second one was when I joined HR. A headhunter told me it was critical for HR leaders to be compatible with the business leaders they work with, as the two impact each others’ careers significantly.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE HR FUNCTION WILL EVOLVE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? It will get more effective in being able to identify and grow talent. It will continue to outsource transactional activities, and will gain a better understanding of what has to be managed locally in markets and what has to be run at a global level.

With increasing complexity, I believe seniority and experience in HR will become much more important and valued.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU FEEL HR CAN DO BETTER TO PLAY A BIGGER ROLE IN ORGANISATIONS? I am a strong advocate of HR being a business function and would encourage HR to sit at the business table to intimately understand the needs of leaders and the company.

April 2015 « Human Resources « 11

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WHITE PAPER » Leadership

A MAJORITY OF COMPANIES CLAIM HR IS NOT PULLING ITS WEIGHT

Global – Lacking the right capabilities to meet business needs, the HR function today is in need of massive reskilling.

Deloitte’s third annual Global Human Capital Trends report found the HR function’s performance had shown no signs of improvement since 2014.

Of the 3,300 HR and business leaders in 106 countries polled, only 5% rated their organisation’s HR function as “excellent” – the same percentage as last year.

Additionally, only 30% of business leaders believed HR has a reputation for sound business decisions, while 28% felt HR is highly efficient.

Slightly more than a fifth (22%) of respondents acknowledged HR is adapting to the changing needs of their workforce. Similarly, 20% feel that HR can adequately plan for the company’s future talent needs.

“To put it bluntly, HR is not keeping up with the pace of change in business,” the report stated.

The capability gap of HR leaders in Asia was found to be -30. Within Southeast Asia that gap increased to -38.

When it came to accountability for providing

innovative solutions and programmes, only 10% of HR and business leaders thought their organisation’s HR was excellent.

While 12% felt their organisation was excellent in “preparing HR staff to deliver programmes aligned with business needs”, only 11% thought it was excellent at “providing HR staff with appropriate training and experiences”.

“Perhaps because of these dim views of HR’s performance, we found an increasing trend of CEOs bringing in non-HR professionals to fill the role of CHRO,” the report stated.

Indeed, it was found that two in every five CHROs today are from other parts of the business.

The biggest challenge facing the HR function currently was engaging employees, listed by 87% of HR and business leaders, an increase from 79% in 2014.

More than half (60%) of respondents admitted to not having adequate programmes to measure and improve engagement, indicative of a “lack of preparedness for addressing the issue”.

The report also suggested ways in which

Respondents’ views of HR’s capabilities in providing innovative solutions 1

Excellent

10

Adequate 43

46

Weak N/A

Source: Deloitte, Global Human Capital Trends 2015: Leading in the New World of Work

companies can tweak their HR functions to make up for the current shortfalls. One of these suggestions was to design HR to “deliver solutions”, not just on the administrative side, but also ones which are able to resolve “critical business issues”.

Another suggestion was to embed HR specialists into the business, rather than locating them in central teams.

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Leadership « WHITE PAPER

SINGAPORE ONCE AGAIN THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE IN ASIA Singapore – The island nation has once again emerged as one of the best places to live in for locals and expatriates worldwide.

According to Mercer’s 2015 Quality of Living rankings, Singapore was ranked as having the best quality of living standards in Asia.

Covering 230 cities in total, Vienna emerged as the best place to live in the world, followed

by Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver respectively. Baghdad was identified as the lowestranking city worldwide.

The report ranked countries across categories, including political, economic, and socio-cultural environments, as well as healthcare and housing.

At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest ranking city in Asia, in 214th place, was Dushanbe in Tajikistan.

In Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur was the second highest-ranking city behind Singapore (26th) in the overall rankings. Other major regional cities included Bangkok (117), Manila (136), and Jakarta (140).

Tokyo topped the list in East Asia, while other notable cities included Seoul (72), Taipei (83), Shanghai (101), and Beijing (118).

South Asian cities saw the lowest ranking in quality of living with Colombo in 132nd place, followed by emerging Indian cities such as Hyderabad (138) and Pune (145).

Surprisingly, traditional business centres such as Mumbai (152) and New Delhi (154) were ranked lower than the emerging cities.

The decline in quality of living in these cities was likely due to problems exacerbated by the increasing population such as limited access to clean water, air pollution and traffic congestion.

The Pacific saw some of the highest ranking cities globally coming from New Zealand and Australia, with Auckland 3rd, Sydney 10th, Wellington 12th and Melbourne 16th.

“Employers need to assess whether their staff and families will encounter any drop in quality of living when relocating and ensure they are fairly compensated for it,” said Slagin Parakatil, principal at Mercer.

Quality of living rankings City

Ranking in Asia

Ranking in the world

Singapore

1

26

Tokyo (Japan)

2

44

Kobe (Japan)

3

45

Yokohama (Japan)

4

48

Osaka (Japan)

5

58

Nagoya (Japan)

6

61

Hong Kong

7

70

Seoul (South Korea)

8

72

Taipei (Taiwan)

9

83

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

10

84

Source: Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings

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PROFILE » Gareth Ling

Gareth Ling

Chief talent officer GroupM Singapore Managing through the matrix

By AKANKASHA DEWAN

Q Having been in this role for a little

West different from here in Asia?

The best advice I have been given upon my arrival here is to unlearn all that I have learnt – because everything here is completely different. If you try to apply the Western mindset to the working environment here, then you will quickly fail.

We have a very diverse workforce here in Singapore – probably about 60% local and 40% foreign. With that blend comes a need to adopt different approaches to different situations. If you try to force a one-size-fits-all solution, then you will quickly lose credibility.

believe we are not just doing work. The enjoyment we get from working with our clients is equally important.

We are also focused. While I have a talent strategy I am busy implementing, it is completely aligned with our business objectives – which are about transforming talent profiles in our organisation.

Before, we were working within a very traditional media context of buying and planning. That’s changing rapidly to programmatic buying – which is very digital and data-driven.

So, the talent and capability we need to deliver these new products to our clients in the new market is very important.

It is critical to understand that GroupM and its agencies are highly matrixed organisations. Our talent has to be resilient enough to work in an office with 40 different languages, and have the right mindset to work in an ambiguous environment and adapt to different working styles and ways of thinking.

Q What makes working in teams here

Q What are some of the biggest

quite unique for you?

I have found I need to ask my team the right questions to get the correct answers – rather than simply assume that I know what they are doing. If I don’t do that, I can be wrong in assuming I know what they are doing or what they want. In a Western context, people are more vocal and tell you everything you need to hear.

challenges you have encountered when dealing with such large teams?

We have 8,000 employees in Asia Pacific.

Singapore is our regional hub, and we have about 750 people in this market from GroupM and its six agency brands: Mindshare, MEC, Maxus, MediaCom, Xaxis, and Vocanic.

Essentially, that’s six different brand identities with six different cultures. And the critical agenda for me is not to, at any point, dilute their identities and cultures.

I am in the business of ensuring the foundation of GroupM – the talent teams

over a year, how would you describe working in this company?

It has been a wonderful experience so far, my first time working in Asia. Prior to this, I had been mainly in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Therefore, this was a completely new context for me.

Art Direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman; Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee using Nikon D810 – www.elliotly.com

Q How is the working culture in the

Q How would you define the working culture at GroupM? Fun, focused and fast. A key value of GroupM is fun – at the end of the day, we

VITAL STATS Gareth Ling joined GroupM’s regional talent team in 2012 and moved into the role of chief talent officer for GroupM Singapore in January 2014.

He is responsible for attracting, developing and retaining the best talent locally, and ensuring a successful talent network and agency mobility.

He has more than a decade of HR and talent management experience, working as part of a highly matrixed organisation structure and reporting to WPP.

and company strategies – support their unique businesses and strategies.

It can all quickly become complex because each of the agencies have a global management team supported by a regional management team, in turn supported by the local market management team.

So the messaging and goals between all the teams have to be aligned for our talent to know what is expected of them and what they are working towards.

Q How do you ensure these business objectives are aligned within GroupM’s diverse and huge teams?

Communication is absolutely essential.

We have in place clear channels to communicate effectively, as well as clear training and development for our talent.

We conduct specific briefs within our agencies about the type of talent and capabilities they need – some need entrepreneurial mindsets, whereas others need data-driven and digital ones.

On the other hand, some of the agencies have global clients based out of this market. We’ve got to find the right balance between the skills and experiences required among the agencies.

Q GroupM also practises hot-desking, where employees can sit where they want. What was the motivation for this?

Employees didn’t like it, initially. We introduced it when we moved to our new office two years ago, which was designed to cope with activity based working, or agile working. Everybody has a laptop and a locker, and that’s it.

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PROFILE » Gareth Ling We encourage our talent to sit with the group that makes the most sense to work with. For instance, if you are working on a content-heavy pitch, then you should sit where the content team is sitting so you can interact with it effectively.

We do designate different parts of the office to different agencies. Every agency has its own door and its own reception because they are individual businesses.

But within the agencies, there are just desks and working areas. We are all on one floor, on 55,000 sq feet of space.

I think the challenge, like in any circumstance of change, is winning the hearts and minds of your talent. You have to make them understand you are not doing this to be disruptive or to be difficult.

Instead, you are doing this for the benefit of the organisation and its clients.

You are trying to break down barriers.

Q Has it impacted team performance?

It has definitely improved communication and collaboration, and has also eliminated hierarchy. Everybody sits together and are equalised in the company – regardless of whether you are the CFO or the local MD. We’re about to conduct our employee engagement survey in May, and are expecting a significant uptake from when we last conducted it two years ago.

At the end of the day, however big we grow, we will continue to encourage a more flexible working environment.

We don’t like to be bound to a conventional office perspective, nor to a contractual hours perspective. We believe our employees should be able to work from anywhere and at any time, with no limits and boundaries.

Q Does that mean the company encourages a work-life balance?

We don’t believe in that. We believe in work-life “integration” because you will never achieve that “balance”.

People are ambitious and driven in their work, but they also have lives outside of the office. We treat them like adults, and accept they will be accountable for their time and deliver what they have to.

I see my job as implementing the right strategies to allow people to achieve that integration between home and work life.

But I think trying to apply rigid policies around flexible working isn’t going to work.

Q But with employees working from

different locations at different hours, how do you engage with them?

We have tried to implement the right kind of tools to support leaders in managing virtual teams.

We’ve moved away from the traditional paper-based appraisal system.

Instead, we’ve implemented a system called My 360, which adopts a holistic approach to performance management.

This is an electronic social platform which allows managers to go online at any point from any location and set their staff a goal. Employees can accept that goal and know its deadline, which can range from a week to a month. They can also set their own goals and inform their managers about what they’re doing to achieve those.

It’s become a completely different and more fluid way of being accountable for what you are achieving. Again, you can’t apply a conventional performance management approach to an unconventional work environment.

Q When you do encounter staff who are not living up to expectations, how do you help them become more efficient?

We are very focused on recognising high performance and high-potential talent, like most organisations. But what we don’t do is keep a blind eye towards low-performing talent. We are measured very much by

our clients, and must make sure we are deploying premier teams on their business.

So if somebody is on the bench, we must deal with that and not make excuses for it.

To create high-performing teams internally, we must train and make sure line managers understand that dealing with poor performance is a good thing, and not a negative thing to do.

At GroupM, we consider feedback as a gift, whether it is excellent or constructive.

Creating the right environment and conversational habit is critical to doing so.

We encourage people to take the initiative to give feedback in an environment where they will be listened to because there is no point in giving someone feedback if they are not going to listen to it.

What we don’t do is to encourage them to simply go up to people and point out their mistakes.

Q What then is the philosophy behind the HR function at GroupM Singapore?

My role is to ensure we attract, retain and develop the very best talent, but that is very difficult.

An annual attrition rate of 25% is standard for us. The fact that Singapore has a low unemployment rate of 2%, and that most Millennials – a high proportion of our workforce – still live at home, creates a very low barrier to exit. They don’t have a

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Gareth Ling « PROFILE mortgage to pay, for instance, which would stop them from leaving.

This creates a different dynamic for the organisation – in this context, we have to question how we can create an environment which will encourage people to work here, and when they do, how best to retain them.

While attracting talent, we follow our three Ps – pay, performance and progression. We have to make sure our pay scales are attractive, and that we track and manage the performance of our employees well.

We believe the sky is the limit when it comes to doing what you can here. One minute you might be a media buyer and the other you might be in a content team.

We can offer all that opportunity, but all you have to have is the right attitude.

Q So what type of people does GroupM look for?

We look for people with the right attitude and mindset because we believe we can teach them skills. We want the best of the best to come and work for us at GroupM. We are also building a strong relationship with the top universities in

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Singapore. We are launching an internship programme this year in which we expect to have 19 interns to come and experience life at GroupM.

Q How much of a role does technology play in GroupM’s recruitment processes?

A big one is the answer. We lead the market in terms of the technology we use for recruitment. We have an applicant tracking system called Jobvite which allows for video-interviewing.

Two clicks and it allows you to send us the video interview. We email pre-set questions to the candidates and they just need a smartphone or their laptop to record their interview.

Another piece of award-winning technology we use is Chequed, a digital reference system where we can pre-load questions for a candidate’s referees.

Here, candidates include the emails of a maximum of five referees. The system emails out to them, to complete a preordained questionnaire, which comes back to us after generating a report.

We also use tools like LinkedIn to source for talent more commonly now.

Q What do you think are the biggest HR challenges the company may face in the next five to 10 years?

Talent profiling is a big challenge for us – understanding what kind of talent we need to hire one year ahead from now. We can’t rely on the conventional approach of figuring out what possible vacancies we are going to have in the coming years.

We have to think about the fact that if our business is rapidly evolving and becoming more data-intensive, where are we going to get that new talent from? And what capabilities must they have?

Additionally, when we are competing for talent in the same small market against companies such as Google and Facebook, we need to have a point of differentiation which will encourage the best candidates to join us.

To do this, we need to leverage on our scale – we are the biggest in the market, and therefore, the best.

We’re part of a big regional network as well as a global network.

What we have to make sure is that our HR policies and structures allow the freedom of movement around our networks and our agencies.

17/4/2015 5:06:48 PM

FEATURE » HR Technology

Social media is here to stay and revolutionise the way HR works. Akankasha Dewan calls out the need for HR leaders to maximise its potential to increase the effectiveness of their recruiting and branding efforts.

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HR Technology « FEATURE ven though sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been around for about a decade, it has now become hard to imagine a life before social media. Today, bosses are increasingly acknowledging the role social media has to play in enhancing HR processes and priorities.

Innovative companies are mining connections on key social networking sites.

Brands are maintaining their reputation online, and watching how their own talent is interacting on public platforms.

They are also leveraging on social media to create talent communities that engage passive candidates and promote their brand.

A 2013 survey by JobStreet found more than 80% of Malaysian employers strongly believe social media tools can be used to drive business prospects. Likewise, more than 90% of the 900 local employees agree on its positive effects.

“Companies not taking advantage of this useful business tool may want to reconsider their policy on social media at the workplace, as 88% of employees responded they were more likely to join a company which was active in its social media platform,” the survey stated.

Clearly, social media is here to stay, and influence the way HR works.

“Social media has given HR an opportunity to demonstrate how it contributes to the organisation in an even bigger way,” observes Sue Olivier, regional talent development director for Ogilvy & Mather (Asia Pacific).

“We now know what people think about the organisation, what they say about it and what the most important issues are to people working in their company. If we pay attention, it gives us a more informed view on managing our people.”

Indeed, HR professionals today can benefit from using social media in a plethora of ways, increasing the function’s value as the company’s strategic business partner.

“From improved communications to external recruiting and even increasing employee satisfaction, social media allows HR to align to both the real-time and predictive environment, contributing to better strategy and tactics when it comes to employee retention, company brand-building and overall business revenue,” says Sabrina Jaksa, head of HR for Asia Pacific at Hootsuite.

Using social media as a recruitment tool Out of this wide range of social media uses,

recruiting stands out as a great example of how the HR function can utilise social media – especially in the Asia Pacific region.

The 2013 Kelly Global Workforce Index found 67% of respondents prefer searching for jobs using social media over traditional methods such as newspaper advertisements, online job boards or recruitment companies.

Thailand and Indonesia were identified as the top two countries in the world to embrace social media when looking for jobs, coming in at 79% and 70%, respectively.

“Online recruitment and social media have transformed recruitment and provided an exponential increase in the volume of job information in circulation,” the survey reported.

“People not only search for jobs online, but engage in conversations and swap information about jobs, careers and prospective employers.”

More than half of the Asia Pacific respondents (56%) had also been contacted about a potential job via social media, compared with 41% in the Americas and 38% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Social media has democratised hiring.

Suddenly, you have so much more information at your fingertips – a global database of candidates,” Olivier says.

“Today, pretty much all candidates get checked out instantaneously on social media the moment you have had a look at their CV.” She explains the recruitment process has been further democratised in terms of who can announce the availability of vacancies for a specific position.

In current times, not just HR, but representatives from any function, anywhere, can put out communications of all kinds on social media – including those for recruitment.

“Many more people have access to performing functions such as recruitment.

You now have a bigger pool of internal recruiters,” she explains.

Despite these advantages, Jaksa warns HR leaders that social media hiring cannot be used to replace face-to-face recruitment completely.

Instead, a synthesis of the two is what essentially leads to optimal results.

“While digital recruitment provides a more interactive outreach, the hiring process still requires a certain level of offline interaction, such as face-to-face interviews for recruiters to make the best hiring decisions,” she believes.

Olivier agrees, and adds face-to-face

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FEATURE » HR Technology recruitment is actually integral for some organisations – especially those in the services industry.

“As a service industry we rely on our people to deliver and improve our services, and you can’t recruit people from a distance without being able to assess the fit.

“In addition, our industry tends to be informal and personality based. Ultimately, there is no substitute for the face-to-face discussion.”

Judging a candidate’s social media profile But for bosses to effectively judge a candidate using their social media profile, they should keep in mind certain behaviours or values which differentiate between a good profile and a bad one.

In a recent survey by CareerBuilder, 51% of American employers, who had researched job candidates on social media, said they had found content that caused them to not hire the candidate.

Social media accounts with provocative or inappropriate photographs or information made up the highest percentage of unsuitable job candidate profiles online (46%).

More than four out of 10 (41%) employers also cited they had rejected job candidates because their profiles featured them drinking or using drugs.

Additionally, 36% of bosses had passed on candidates because they had posted messages which had bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employees.

“How we judge a candidate’s social media profile is dependent on the context,” Olivier says.

She advises that hiring managers need to ask themselves about the type of expectations they have from the role and subsequently from the candidate.

“More senior roles tend to carry higher expectations. The type of industry and organisation will also dictate what is deemed ‘acceptable’ personal social media posts and behaviour.

“Warning signs in a candidate’s social media behaviour (regardless of industry) would include rants against employers, posting inappropriate photos or a general lack of judgment in what is publicly shared.”

Jaksa agrees, and concurs that a candidate’s social media decorum, the type of content posted and online demeanour, are reflective of a person’s personality.

She warns, however, of the dangers of being over-critical when judging a candidate by their social media profile.

“Overall, recruiters should assess the candidate’s social media decorum. This is particularly important as the types of content posted and online demeanour are reflective of a person’s personality,” Jaksa says.

“That said, recruiters should not totally discount the capabilities of employees or candidates who seem to have a lack of social media presence. It doesn’t mean that they are not digitally savvy – they may just be guarding their privacy.”

Echoing Jaksa, Olivier says recruiters should be careful when looking at candidates’ profiles because candidates themselves have become more savvy about what they want visitors to their profile to believe.

“Although social media gives you a lot more information about people, we’ve learnt that you cannot judge a book by its social media profile only,” Olivier says.

“Sixty endorsements on a candidate’s social media profile doesn’t mean they are 60 times better than another candidate – it just means they are more savvy about getting endorsements.”

Learning how to use social media effectively

Savvy about social: Judging a candidate’s social media profile is dependent on context.

But with this added layer of complexity accompanying social media recruitment, are HR professionals today sufficiently skilled to accurately judge candidates through their online profiles?

Apparently not, according to Jobvite’s 2014

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SPONSORED RECRUIT CONTENT HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAGEUP

HR’S BIGGEST CHALLENGES As the global war for talent continues to heat up, the markets of Southeast Asia increasingly serve as the front lines.

With more companies around the globe looking to the region to advance their business goals by connecting with the qualified talent their organisations need to succeed, competition for the best candidates has never been higher.

But success is more than just about finding and hiring those candidates; companies must also rethink the way they engage, develop and ultimately retain that talent.

The biggest HR challenges The difficulties of talent management in today’s competitive landscape were brought front and centre in a recent survey of HR professionals, conducted by Human Resources magazine.

Having conversations with employees to understand their career ambitions, and the career paths available to them, is just the beginning.

The right technology can facilitate the process, helping to identify current bench strength with the skills to be effective leaders and provide the developmental support to help employees meet company goals as well as their career ambitions.

Winning the war for talent All of these issues are interconnected, highlighting the need for an integrated talent management approach.

Rather than using a mix of various solutions from different vendors, companies will find the greatest success in leveraging a single platform that combines recruitment, performance and development.

Armed with such a solution, companies will have what it takes to win the war for talent across Southeast Asia – and beyond.

When asked about their biggest challenges, the top three obstacles were: • Attracting and recruiting the best employees.

• Retaining employees and minimising turnover.

• Leveraging integrated talent management to support employees’ career planning.

While each of these issues presents serious concerns for today’s organisations, the truth is they can be overcome with the right blend of international talent management expertise and best practices, facilitated by an advanced unified talent management platform.

Recruiting the best employees In a competitive talent marketplace, traditional methods for attracting candidates are no longer effective; employers today must ensure they engage the right talent wherever they are.

That means moving beyond posting job descriptions to the same old job boards, and instead proactively sourcing candidates using the latest candidate relationship management (CRM) tools to engage active and passive candidates alike.

Additionally, as candidate behaviours continue to evolve, employers must change as well.

And as more candidates use their mobile devices to learn about job opportunities and apply to those positions, offering dedicated mobile career sites, as well as leveraging social media and video technology, is essential to attracting today’s candidates.

Retaining talent and minimising turnover A successful talent management strategy is more than just recruiting qualified employees; the company must also ensure those individuals stay in their roles for the long-term, rather than leaving for a new opportunity with a competitor.

To achieve this goal, companies must embrace a performance management strategy that enables them to continually monitor employee performance, and identify star performers and high-potentials, as well as under-performers and flight risks.

Equipped with this insight, HR professionals can respond accordingly and ensure all employees have what it takes to work to their full potential.

Leadership development and career planning To truly retain talent in a competitive landscape, employees must understand how their employer can help them meet their professional goals.

This article is contributed by Karen Cariss, PageUp founder and CEO

Since 1997, PageUp has helped employers worldwide attract, hire, develop, retain and improve employee performance. Our unified talent management technology helps you optimise your multinational workforce strategy, maximise business impact and continuously improve the return on your human capital investment.

Find out more at http://www.pageuppeople.com or write to karenc@pageuppeople.com

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FEATURE » HR Technology Social Recruiting Survey, which canvassed responses from more than 1,800 recruiters and human resources professionals across various industries and regions.

The survey found 82% of recruiters believe their social recruiting skills to be only “proficient” or less.

“Being a good judge of character comes with the territory for HR practitioners. But I do think we can all benefit from being more media savvy,” Olivier says.

“In the sea of available information, HR leaders need to decide which sources should be their priority and how they can best access it to gain information and insight, and to inform their talent approach and practices.”

Jaksa agrees, and adds the need to educate HR professionals on using social media is made even more compelling because social media in itself is constantly evolving.

“This means HR practitioners need to keep their skill sets updated through regular training sessions and online engagement in social,” she says.

“Employee training is another key area that HR practitioners are typically focused on, so the betterment of their skills naturally benefits the wider organisation as well.”

Social media training should, she stresses, be provided to not just HR personnel but all employees, as it can help make them great brand ambassadors of their companies.

If done properly, Jaksa believes proper social media training can lead to higher levels of engagement and retention in organisations.

“Employees can be great brand ambassadors on social media platforms once they are empowered with relevant social media skills and knowledge. If they know why employer branding matters, then you will get their engagement.

“Also, by monitoring social conversations around the business on a regular basis, HR and business leaders can evaluate and shape the organisations’ employee engagement strategy to ensure the company’s culture is aligned with employees’ needs.”

Overcoming the risks of social media But this training remains essential, not only to ensure better usage of social media and increase staff engagement levels, but also to overcome the risks inherent in using social media tools.

“Social media is unforgiving and instant,” Olivier warns.

“Anything negative can be picked up, retweeted and re-posted. If you aren’t quick enough to catch it, it could potentially cause a crisis for the organisation. How, and how fast you act, points to your brand values as a company – do you ignore the situation or handle it immediately?”

As such, she advises any organisation with an active social media presence to have policies which constantly monitor content online. The responsibility for this should be undertaken, she adds, between HR and the corporate communications divisions – especially when it comes to people-related issues.

“The final danger is probably inadvertent poor judgment from employees who post on social media – with or without company sanction,” she says.

Jaksa highlights learning how to manage social media accounts is even more integral for companies because they do not have much control over the type of content posted online.

“We don’t know what you are going to include in your post and whether that is in line with the company’s brand values and policies. All you can do is provide good guidelines and hope they will do the right thing.”

She adds that to deliver key business goals in the digital era, HR and business leaders need to look beyond the confines of social media as a marketing tool.

Instead, they need to plan a unified social media strategy across different departments within the entire organisation.

“It is only through adhering to a social business structure that enterprises are able to truly capitalise on social media capabilities.”

Such an approach to social media networks is advisable, especially because the proliferation of these networks is only going to increase in the future.

“We can expect even more social media talent tools in the future, leading to more choice, but also to the need for discernment in terms of functionality and value-add to your organisation,” Olivier predicts.

“Practitioners will see the value of educating themselves about using social media and become more discerning about how they use it.

“This will create opportunity for social media savvy HR practitioners who embrace new technology and are always on the lookout for new ways in which to make it work for themselves and their people.”

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THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY WENTWORTH PEOPLE SINGAPORE

SUCCESSFULLY MANAGING CHANGE WITH AN IT ROLLOUT Companies spend millions on new IT systems often without budgeting enough for the change management process; and then wonder why staff don’t or won’t use the new systems. This always leads to a dip in employees’ performance and morale.

Without end user consultation, especially with those who use it daily, companies will end up with systems that make it difficult for staff to complete their daily tasks easily. At its worst, confused users may end up entering wrong data, which can cripple a company’s performance.

Success in realising the perceived business benefits and return on investment is wholly dependent on planning change management activities alongside the IT rollout. Get it right the first time – otherwise it could extend your programme by 12-plus months and easily cost millions of dollars to rectify.

3. Business change • Jobs – although it may not mean headcount reductions, tasks and roles will inevitably change. Do the assessment in advance, as well as communicate job changes sensitively as they will unsettle all the teams impacted. Manage the emotional impact early – don’t ignore it or leave it for last, as staff will imagine the worse without positive intervention.

• Organisation structure – role changes could mean team changes. You may also find that various roles are now defunct and new ones created.

• Business processes and policies – conduct an impact analysis on processes and policies which have to change or could be improved. You may be surprised as to just how many may have to change.

Back to basics A new IT system can impact some or all of the following: • Staff jobs.

• Organisation structure.

• Business process and internal policies (especially for shared services).

• IT systems, software and hardware (may need to upgrade or change platforms).

4. Change journey • Recruit and support internal change agents – choose them wisely as they are your ambassadors and champions. Often they can also be your trainers and testers. Try to make sure they are your best people, as they are your linchpins; your local teams will be as strong as these people.

• Get external change experts to advise, mentor and train the change agents.

Anna Tan has successfully helped companies transform their business with IT rollouts for the past 18 years, and has indeed won various awards! Contact us for consultancy, advice, training or help.

The four essential elements to successful change management 1. Training • Effective training materials take time to develop – plan three days of preparation for each one-day workshop (use a professional rather than someone from IT, otherwise it’s going to be too technical).

• Localise training into employees’ mother tongue for complex systems – users will learn and retain information easier and quicker rather than struggle and misunderstand instructions.

• Use relevant examples of the current system and how this maps across to the new system – this helps users make the correlation.

• Don’t forget to train staff in the changes to business processes and policies.

• Consider a train-the-trainer programme to cascade training onto all teams. This will also give you the added benefit of using them as testers for usability and UAT (user acceptance testing).

• Produce quick reference guides and one-page cheat sheets to pin on desks.

• Keep training close to the go-live date or give refresher sessions to retain learning and reinforce new modes of behaviour.

• Better still, run business simulation trainings the week before with the full end-to-end system so users can start to embed the new behaviours in a “real” business environment rather than being thrown in the deep-end at go-live. This also gives IT a chance to test that all the new hardware, software and infrastructure works together.

2. Communication • All messaging needs to include: what the change is, why it is needed, when it is happening and what it means for the employees.

• Stakeholder mapping – know who has vested interests and keep them onboard.

• Communication plan (aligned with the IT rollout) – you can’t communicate too much. Most people forget, or just may not have absorbed the previous communication.

PHASE 1 Kick-off change team Localise and align change management strategy, approach and plan with global and regional.

• Develop stakeholder map and communications plan.

• Start establishing relationships with all key stakeholders to understand issues and concerns.

• Recruit and get ready local change agents.

•

PHASE 2 Market preparation Prepare market to identify tasks and resources, and provide training to conduct these activities.

• Continue to support local change agents.

• Start change readiness assessments.

• Internal and external communications and resolving issues and concerns, and mitigating risks.

•

PHASE 3

• •

•

•

•

Training Train the trainers.

Localise training materials and agree to training plans.

Align and work with markets to identify any role changes, and map current roles to new roles.

Check and resolve any compliance issues.

Continue communications and engagement.

PHASE 4

• •

•

•

•

Go-LIVE and BAU Training in new system processes.

Consider business simulations to continue practice and confidence.

Cut-over and go-live support – preparation and alignment.

Prepare and align user support and transition to BAU (business as usual).

Celebrate programme completion.

Find out more at www.wentworthpeople.com.sg or write to anna.tan@wentworthpeople.com

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FEATURE » HR Technology

CASE STUDY: OGILVY & MATHER ASIA PACIFIC Sue Olivier, regional talent development director for Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific, speaks with Akankasha Dewan about how the company has strengthened its recruitment and employer branding campaigns through the effective usage of social media.

Social media networks were a novelty five years ago, but today their importance is no longer debated.

Businesses worldwide have realised the power of social media and accepted that its usage has to be part of their organisational strategy.

“The functionality of social media tools in this space has made for early and wide adoption to the extent that it is hard to imagine a world without social media as a recruiting, tracking, rewarding, creating and connecting tool,” says Sue Olivier, regional talent development director for Ogilvy & Mather (Asia Pacific).

“It allows an organisation to have a relationship with potential or past employees and many companies do a good job of maximising its potential.”

Interestingly, social media has carved a significant niche for itself when it comes to recruitment. Various studies, such as Jobvite’s 2012 annual survey, stated that 92% of recruiters worldwide had embraced social networking as part of their overall strategy.

Ogilvy’s approach to social media recruitment One of the reasons why social media aids significantly in recruiting is it helps to narrow down the vast sea of candidates available based on specific requirements.

“What social media tools help you do is to fi lter information,” Olivier says.

When you search for a particular type of candidate for a particular role, a tool like LinkedIn gives you access to many potential candidates, but it also fi lters out a lot of inappropriate people.

“The more specific you can get, the more focused the result.”

Th is is especially useful for companies who recruit candidates based not only on their hard skills, but also soft skills such as personality and whether they are a cultural fit.

“Ogilvy has a well-defi ned working culture as a company. Our founder David Ogilvy was very specific in much of the work he published on the type of people he wanted to be part of the organisation,” she says.

Ogilvy has eight defi ned habits which the company’s hiring managers look for when hiring, growing and rewarding people. These include traits such as having courage and being playful.

“Our approach is that if you don’t hire for these qualities, it is unlikely they will develop them later.

“Because it is such a distinct culture, it is important we

hire for a natural cultural fit in the agency. In addition, our industry tends to be informal and personality based.”

She adds that when recruiting, the company is likely to check out all possible avenues of social presence – be it a Twitter account, blogs, LinkedIn profi le, etc.

But how can companies measure the effectiveness of such recruitment tools? And how can they know if such tools are, indeed, working for them?

Olivier explains that in the past, companies would generally measure the effectiveness of hiring by how quickly hiring managers could close the role.

“Now, it is quicker for recruiters to assess the quality of candidates that one recruitment tool delivers versus another, rather than just quantity of responses.

“You have more data more readily available to get an accurate return of investment. Experimenting with different recruitment strategies in social media tends to be more cost-effective than traditional media channels.”

“The functionality of social media tools in this space has made for early and wide adoption to the extent that it is hard to imagine a world without social media as a recruiting, tracking, rewarding, creating and connecting tool.”

The role of social media in Ogilvy’s employer branding strategy Besides using social media for recruitment, the advertising company leverages on the vast reach of its many tools to build its employer branding proposition.

“Every owned asset that you have – whether it is your website, your job board or your LinkedIn profi le – helps in building or diminishing your employer value proposition.”

The company utilises social media platforms quite extensively. Many of its offices have their own social media accounts and most of Ogilvy’s disciplines have their own owned communities.

The content in such pages is also shared among personal communities of employees.

Olivier explains Ogilvy has a high rate of returnees.

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HR Technology « FEATURE

Employees leave and come back – sometimes in a different discipline or a different office or geography.

To help them stay informed of its latest happenings, the company has alumni pages on LinkedIn for different communities – global as well as regional.

“The alumni page enables them to stay connected to the company’s wins, the stories, the office and people moves, the values of the brand, and such.”

For Ogilvy, this page has also proven to be an effective medium to advertise vacancies, especially because the page’s followers are mainly ex-employees who are already familiar with the culture of the agency and would make a good fit for the company.

Additionally, they are also more likely to recommend candidates who would be a good fit.

“Our own social media profi le includes the great thought leadership page, Ogilvy D.O. It plays a crucial role in creating awareness for the Ogilvy brand, our approach, the type of thinking and the work that we do. It is not a recruitment tool per se, but it aids in building the employer value proposition of the brand.”

instrumental to the service we deliver.”

In conclusion, Olivier says companies in general are on the right track to maximise the potential of these social media tools. Th is is fuelling the popularity of social media and increasing the role it has to play in being part of a company’s business strategy.

“There is an increased focus on talent management in all organisations – we all know that the people with the best people win.

“As a result of the heightened awareness, overall there seems to be a greater willingness by organisations to invest in talent and talent-related tools, whether for recruiting, tracking, connecting, developing or rewarding.

And as the interest grows, the business opportunity for these tools also grows.”

Ogilvy’s social media policies With social media having such a vast reach of audiences, Olivier stresses the messages any company delivers through these tools must be structured in the right manner. She adds social media content management should be part of an overall organisation media policy.

When crafting such content, leaders need to consider elements such as the seniority of the spokesperson represented and the tone of voice adopted. In addition, they need to deliberate on the nature of what content to include and what to avoid and how to handle negative press.

“We have a Social@ unit in our organisation which specialises in providing social media services to our clients. Their approach and insights are most useful for us.”

Olivier emphasises that handling social (and all other) media should involve the companies’ corporate communications teams, with a corporate communications policy in place. Th is should include social media guidelines for employees.

She adds the company follows both WPP and Ogilvy policies, which provide guidelines on responsible social media practice. All newcomers are exposed to these policies within the fi rst 100 days as part of the induction process.

“The agency business typically allows everyone unlimited access to social media at work and it is

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FEATURE » Further Education

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Further Education « FEATURE

Rather than an end in itself, employee education is being viewed as a cog in the wheel of continuous learning, as employers vouch for its benefits. Jerene Ang analyses how organisations are developing their recipes for learning and putting together the ingredients to help them stay one step ahead of change.

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FEATURE » Further Education n a world of continuous change, the constant upgrading of employees’ skills is crucial to helping a company and its employees stay relevant and on top of change.

Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2015 survey found that companies were seeking to transform their learning programmes to build the skills and capabilities of employees to fill gaps.

For this year, learning and development has been listed third as a talent challenge, with 85% rating it “important” or “very important”.

In the wake of a 211% increase in the learning and development capability gap in most companies, all research points to 2015 as a critical year for targeted investment in learning.

Companies that updated their learning and development programmes reported increased employee engagement and retention, given that employees are valuing development more.

Manojit Sen, Shell’s Asia Pacific head of HR (lubes), says: “To stay on top of change, we need our leaders and staff to be continuously re-educated and reorientated in order to stay relevant and successful.”

To share an example, he states how the company’s trading business has to keep up to date on the new trade laws passed by each country through continuous training.

“Otherwise, they run the risk of inadvertently taking steps that compromise our standing on business ethics and compliance in the eyes of the law and put our licence to operate in jeopardy.”

Tan Kwang Cheak, director of the HR and talent development division at MOH Holdings, points out the utility of further education.

“Further education should not be an end in itself. It should be viewed as the means to deepen employees’ knowledge, sharpen their expertise, and prepare them better for enhanced performance and contribution in their role within the organisation.”

The directions learning can take The importance of further education is in no doubt. However, the question is: how can companies structure their education policies to create optimal impact?

According to the Association for Talent Development, organisations spend the bulk (63%) of their direct learning expenditure on internal services such as staff ’s salaries, travel expenditure and administrative costs.

A further 27% goes to external services such as “consultants and services, content

development and licences, and workshops and training programmes”, while only 10% is spent on tuition reimbursement.

One of the reasons employees shy away from signing up for learning opportunities is a lack of time. However, Sen points out this is a problem easily overcome.

“In our kind of big global organisation, everyone is stretched. So, no one has time for doing formal studies or taking lessons on top of one’s full day job.”

As a result, he suggests that the bulk of learning takes place on the job, so employees do not have to take time out for it.

“We, therefore, use the concept of 70-20-10 where 70 stands for learning in-role, 20 stands for learning via coaching and mentoring, and 10 stands for coaching via courses.

“We help people recognise that most learning happens on the job and that one does not need to take time out to do this. So, the notion that learning requires a lot of extra time is something we want to correct.”

Additionally, he believes that for on-thejob learning to be effective, “a clear learning objective before engaging on a piece of work, and a structured reflection time after the piece of work has been completed”, are both important.

Siemens follows a learning philosophy similar to the 70-20-10 model by incorporating the principles of “adult learning”.

Michael Haberzettl, the ASEAN head of HR at Siemens, says: “We adopt sound adult learning principles, which blend learning from formal classroom activities, learning from peers and colleagues, and application to the real-world situation of the workplace.”

One of the ways the company achieves this is by enabling employees to use daily tasks to learn and reflect on how they work with their manager and a mentor or coach within the workplace.

“Coaching and mentoring is very important for us in Siemens. This can be as simple as having someone available within the organisation to talk to about how to approach a certain task or project, or how to prepare for the next professional challenge.

“This active reflection of daily work is very important,” he points out, echoing Sen’s views.

On the flip side, LinkedIn is a believer in encouraging employees to enrol for a university education, and has recently introduced education reimbursement as a benefit, in addition to all of its other learning initiatives.

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FEATURE » Further Education YeeFong Ng, the company’s head of learning and development for APAC, says this allows employees the opportunity to go out and explore different views to bring back to the company.

“Learning is a good thing and as employees continue to learn, they develop new perspectives and bring their ideas to work,” she says.

“With LinkedIn being in the internet industry, we survive on disruptive innovation. We cannot have employees with a ‘frog-in-the-well’ syndrome of myopic views.”

In such an industry, mentoring alone cannot work, she highlights.

“Some companies depend on internal mentoring, but this starts to create inwardlooking perspectives in our view. Because after a while, they will feel like they are moving in the same circle of views.

“That’s why for us, external education is great.

It’s a good time for employees to reflect on things they have done, the experiences they have got, and think about what to do next, so as not to give in to the day-to-day running like a hamster on a wheel.”

Be it external or internal forms of learning, Tan believes both leadership emphasis and organisational investments are crucial to making such programmes successful.

“Top leadership emphasis and organisational investments in such learning and development programmes, whether through structured courses, scholarships and sponsorships or in-house training and coaching, are critical to

Ladder to success: Further education allows employees to bring back different views to the company.

strengthen the capacity and capabilities of the organisation and to be more future-ready.”

Identifying employee requirements In making the decision of sourcing learning opportunities for their employees, another aspect that bosses keep in mind is the process of identifying employee requirements, and the kind of skill gaps that throws up.

Siemens, for example, has a leadership development faculty, whereby HR is an integral part of the nomination and development process, which takes into consideration employees’ potential, experience, mobility, and so on.

Nomination is, in fact, integrated with the performance management process (PMP).

Haberzettl says: “Our PMP helps managers to facilitate the strategic development direction they want their employees to take.”

PMP starts with target setting at the beginning of the year, and through the year, managers stay close to the development of their teams through regular review sessions with their employees, hereby monitoring their target achievements.

At the end of the year, the company reviews the total employee group through round tables for managers across departments, who come together to objectively assess employees’ performance and potential – what has been achieved and how.

“We emphasise the ‘how’, which is the behavioural aspect of each manager’s performance, especially as they progress in the leadership hierarchy.

“We want to avoid managers who stubbornly implement targets on a short-term basis, ending up frustrating the employees in the long run.

We’d rather aim to engage and motivate.”

An essential part of this process is a discussion around the next steps for employees, which can include aspects such as what their next role is, when they aim to achieve it, and who or what can help them realise that.

In LinkedIn’s education reimbursement programme, employees are given free reign with regards to their choice of institutions and courses with only two conditions – course relevance and credibility of the institution.

“It starts with having a talk with one’s manager, about whether the course the employee has in mind will apply to their job. It either has to be relevant to their current job or what they think their ‘next play’ in the organisation is going to be,” Ng says.

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FEATURE » Further Education “Employees can go outside to study at the university of their choice, but our requirement is that it must be accredited.”

Age is no barrier Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

JobsCentral’s Learning Survey Report 2014 found a 2.5 fold increase in interest towards pursuing a diploma in 2014 among Singaporeans aged 60 and above – that is a 247% increase over 2013.

The most common reasons cited for pursuing further education were career-related, with the top one being career advancement (21%), followed by employability improvement (17%) and the prospect of switching industries (8%).

“Continuous learning is the only path to continuous improvement.

And continuous improvement is the only predictable path to staying relevant and successful.”

– Manojit Sen, Shell’s Asia Pacific head of HR (lubes)

Agreeing with the findings, Tan says: “There is an increase in interest and participation level by our more mature employees in such learning and development programmes within organisations.”

However, he is of the view that learning opportunities should be provided equitably, rather than on the basis of employee age.

“Such programmes should be extended equally and on a transparent basis to identified employees, notwithstanding whether they are more mature or younger.”

Sen agrees and says that at Shell, “reflection and learning is part of the way we work”.

“Our senior leaders have gone on record to say that they do not mind people making mistakes, but they do mind people not learning from these mistakes and repeating them.”

Similarly, Haberzettl from Siemens, says: “We view all employees as having potential for development and further progression through the experiences of learning in the workplace.”

The future of further education The interviewees agree that continuous learning is the path for organisations to sustain as well as grow in the times to come.

“Continuous learning is the only path to

continuous improvement. And continuous improvement is the only predictable path to staying relevant and successful,” Sen says.

“To remain one of the world’s largest and most successful companies for the next 200 years, we have to re-invent ourselves constantly.”

This, he says, can be done by quickly harnessing the power of disruptive technology to reconstruct its business models.

In addition, for Shell, this will call for an understanding of the evolving energy needs of society, and the roles and expectations of different stakeholders.

This will allow it to work on collaborative ways of contributing value such that the varied and often conflicting needs of different parties are best managed.

LinkedIn’s Ng, however, does not believe that learning can happen if it’s made mandatory.

“To use an analogy, we cannot force the horse to drink the water, but we can make the horse thirsty. So our role is to make the employees thirsty for learning,” she says.

Additionally, she credits learning platforms such as Coursera and Khan Academy, where people are able to choose the modules they want to study. In light of this option, education in the future will look very different from today.

“I’m hoping there will come a time where education will not be expensive and that everyone will have access to it,” she says.

“We’re moving towards the idea that further education doesn’t have to be a chore. Many people feel like they have to drop their lives, if they haven’t already done so when they were younger, to go to school and finish their degree or get another degree.”

She is also of the view that the future holds short modules where people can pick and choose what they want, rather than a typical university curriculum where one has to compulsorily study all modules in the area they opt for.

“It’s not that you have to stop learning, but learning looks different – it does not have to be by the book. Once that becomes mainstream, it will become accepted by most industries. The future of education will be almost buffet style.”

Finally, she observes that as the field of cognitive psychology progresses, there will be opportunities to use that knowledge in developing and delivering training programmes.

“Using more cognitive psychology will mean we will be able to see which part of the brain gets stimulated and because of that, which type of learning can be done in certain ways.”

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FEATURE » Further Education

CASE STUDY: LINKEDIN YeeFong Ng, LinkedIn’s APAC head of learning and development, brings out the company’s focus on disruptive innovation, and how enabling employees to pursue further education is one way to make that happen, in this conversation with Jerene Ang. Being part of the internet industry, a big part of LinkedIn’s workforce comes from a generation that tends to know exactly what it wants from its career.

“They are big on self-actualisation compared to the generations before them, which were more traditional in taking the career path their manager asked them to take,” says YeeFong Ng, the company’s head of learning and development for Asia Pacific.

LinkedIn, therefore, has a concept of the “next play” – which means if an employee is in sales today, and wants to get into a marketing role tomorrow, the company will help them make that jump.

One part of that learning process is further education.

Last year, the company introduced the education reimbursement programme as a benefit, giving employees the freedom of choice to pursue what they want.

“Available to all full-time employees who have been here for a minimum of six months, it will reimburse part of their costs in various courses, including those leading to a diploma, bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD,” Ng says.

The only conditions are the employee has to remain in full-time employment and they must choose an accredited institution.

Career growth on the monkey bars To apply, the fi rst step is for employees to discuss with their manager the course they have in mind, and how it will be relevant to their career path, be it within or outside of their current field of work.

“LinkedIn employees have the right to look at their career like monkey bars – progression is not just upwards, but sideways.”

Managerial intervention is key in this progression.

“Relevant projects have to be in place, for which accountability is placed on the manager to follow their employee’s career journey.”

Juggling full-time work and education is no easy feat, thus managers are coached on helping employees manage time between educational commitments and workload.

Employees are also easily able to seek advice from their peers who have been through similar experiences, through initiatives such as the all-hands event every Monday, which is a space for everyone to eat together and share their success stories.

had to make sure employees’ voices were heard.

“We had a roadshow and various open houses with the employees. They asked questions and gave us feedback on what they liked and didn’t like about it, a basis on which we were able to tweak it.”

“LinkedIn is a company where you don’t ever stop beta. We’re always collecting feedback to see if it's relevant to them because we live in an ever-changing world.”

While it’s still early days for the programme, Ng says it was quite anticipated.

“It wasn’t a hard-sell, it was more like letting employees know the company is listening,” she says.

Learning is a good thing The programme comes back to benefit the company in many ways.

For an industry that survives on “disruptive innovation”, allowing employees to go out and learn allows them to pick up different perspectives from classmates coming from different industries.

“It is an investment, but anecdotally we’ve found it very helpful for maintaining motivation, collective intelligence and mindshare of the company.”

“However, our measure of success is not a numbers game. We don’t need to have half the employees signing up for this benefit.

“It’s more about how this benefit is going to help people on on staying in the company because they make a decision feel it is going to invest in them.”

Furthering the cause For the programme to be really seen as a benefit, LinkedIn

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SPONSORED RECRUIT CONTENT HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ALEX SWARBRICK, ROFFEY PARK

WHEN IT’S VUCA, WHO DO YOU CALL? VUCA – volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity – is everywhere at the moment. Both the acronym and the phenomena seem inescapable.

Maybe that’s because it’s a fairly new concept. Or maybe the world’s always been that way, but we’ve stopped pretending otherwise.

Issues which once called for analysis, speed of response, operational problem solving and elimination of uncertainty have been superseded by dilemmas which require sense-making, patience, collaboration and engagement with uncertainty.

The traditional view suggests that managers objectively and rationally consider a challenge and select the most appropriate approach.

What actually happens isn’t so objective, rational, scientific or absolute. The Grint (illustration) argues that how managers construe an issue, and how they choose to represent it to others, legitimises the use of the type of power they have available and choose to apply to the problem.

And if you think of strategic HR as pursuing long-term organisational advantage through its people in the context of the organisation’s wider environment, it starts to sound a lot like OD. Where OD and HR can converge is in the mindset required to address “wicked” problems. It’s a mindset which is systemic, which pays attention to the wider environment within which a specific project or task is located, which attends to the interconnections across the organisation, and to the dynamics of how things work as well as the tasks to be accomplished.

Many organisations and their HR/OD functions are choosing leadership development as a strategy to cope with VUCA, and when they do, our advice is: 1. Have the whole organisation in mind. This means asking a series of strategic and systemic questions at the very outset, such as: • What’s the rationale for developing leadership within the business strategy?

• What kind of culture are we seeking to model in how this is delivered?

• What motivates leaders and their followers in the organisation?

• Does the organisational structure help or hinder the leadership behaviours we are seeking to develop?

2. Make it participative. This is about asking what is possible to enable leaders to shape and create the programme for themselves.

3. Be curious and inquiring. This is an orientation towards gathering information and making sense of what is going on, rather than an orientation towards controlling and fixing problems.

4. Take account of the power dynamics of the organisation. This is about noticing dynamics such as who in the system is being heard loud and clear, who is not. Who makes decisions?

In the same way, an HR professional facing a clear breach of employment law is likely to see it as critical, and respond accordingly. There is no uncertainty of the solution, and HR has been used to seeing the world in that way.

“Tame” problems, those which we see as necessitating the application of a procedure, policy or precedent, is operational HR territory. We’ve seen the problem before and will have experience and precedent to draw on.

Grint’s typology would categorise VUCA as a “wicked” problem. The solution is uncertain.

Addressing the issue requires collaboration and multiple perspectives; there is ambiguity surrounding the risks and benefits of alternative approaches, all of which may have a connection to the business’s vision and strategy, culture, style of leadership, values, structure and management practices.

So who do you call? HR or OD? Or both?

The worlds of OD and HR If you describe OD as looking at an organisation in its entirety, at the interdependence between its external environment and its internal complex human systems, and seeking to develop organisational effectiveness, then it starts to sound bit like strategic HR.

So when it’s VUCA, who do you call?

In a VUCA world, increasingly dominated by “wicked” problems, our experience is that organisations are more and more seeking to cultivate a mindset which combines the human focus, big picture philosophy of OD with the strategic grasp of the people implications of strategic HR. And if still in doubt, call both and see who answers.

Roffey Park is a leading international leadership institute and centre of excellence in OD based in the UK and Singapore.

For more information about Roffey Park Institute, please go to www.roffeypark.com

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OPINION » Learning & development

How to avoid disappointing new employees FRANZISKA HUGGENBERGER Head of regional recruitment for Asia Pacific BASF

New employees are naturally sceptical when starting a job, so how can you create an authentic employer brand that ensures they know they’ve joined the right company?

Turn that frown upside-down: How can you turn your naturally sceptical candidates into employees who feel they have joined the right place?

A while ago, I read 76% of people believe companies lie in their advertising. Looking at the massive popularity of online product review platforms and blogs, it is evident the only opinions people really trust are those of other consumers.

When we buy a mobile phone or book a hotel for two nights, the downside of making the wrong choice is relatively minor, but when we apply for a job, we run the very real risk of ending up with a position we do not enjoy, or which does not provide proper career development.

As the consequences of a wrong career decision can have a big impact, job seekers spend a lot of time checking with friends and

doing their due diligence on portals such as Glassdoor before taking the leap of signing a contract or even applying. Marketeers would call that a “high involvement” purchasing decision.

So, how can you bridge the gap to your naturally sceptical candidates and turn them into employees who feel they have joined the right place?

It can be challenging, but it can also provide an excellent opportunity for raising candidate engagement. Over the past two years, I have been working on a global project redefining the employer brand of BASF. Here are a few ideas for sharpening your company’s image towards job seekers.

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Learning & development « OPINION

Let real people tell their stories Storytelling may be the marketing buzzword of the decade, but it does make sense in employer branding. Instead of displaying smiling models on our recruitment materials, we choose to tell stories of real innovations in the company, portraying the colleagues behind these projects and their achievements.

In a fully integrated approach, the colleagues you promote could be visible on social media, websites and career events, providing job seekers with real persons with whom to identify. BASF has recently started showcasing employee ambassadors on its new career website.

Candidates can send messages, ask them for career advice and even have a live chat with them. We are starting to see many interested job seekers and very good questions coming in through this channel.

Walk in your candidate’s shoes So now you have got the applicant interested. However, one bad experience during the hiring process can destroy the entire reputation you have built with a candidate in an instant.

This is why you will want to look not only at your obvious brand interfaces such as a website or your job postings, but also at the experiences they have with recruiters, with hiring managers, or while visiting your office.

For example, if your company prides itself in excellence and efficiency, speeding up your screening process will prove just that. If personal interactions and a caring attitude is at the core of the corporate culture you want to convey, doing good follow-ups, and giving proper feedback can shape the candidate experience in a way that shows what your company really stands for.

Furthermore, to help you understand the mindset of

“If your company prides itself in excellence and efficiency, speeding up your screening process will prove just that. your target groups, survey your applicants or follow the social network buzz and reviews on Glassdoor, Kanzhun or Naukri.

Doing this, and in parallel, keeping tabs on the development of your business and its current and future talent needs, will help you build a business case for investing.

Consider your current employees Your employer brand can lose all its credibility if a new colleague walks through the door and finds they have joined a completely different company than they had expected.

It will take much longer than an external brand revamp to make sure that what you stand for is also expressed in the way your company treats employees. Consider aligning your brand promise with your corporate culture, performance management and development approaches.

Nevertheless, in our project we learned that working on your employee experience is a way to make your employees your most engaged spokespersons.

The value of engaging employees in recruitment became evident to our team when we managed to hire up to one third of our new joiners through an employee referral programme.

Building trust with candidates and delivering on your promises is more important than ever with today’s well-informed job seekers. It can make the difference for your talent pipeline and, ultimately, your company’s bottom line.

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OPINION » People issues

Are you appreciating the success in failure?

SUSAN P. CHEN Director of HR for APAC Visa Worldwide and author of The Success of Failure

Authentic leadership implies leading others with a full understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and values, and it is growing in importance. self-concepts, who promote openness, and improve individual and team performance in good times and in bad.

The power of storytelling Recently, there has been attention on the power of storytelling in translating authentic leadership into leadership practices.

We hear the story of Steve Jobs and his no-apology, straight-talking leadership style, and the return of Martha Stewart, continuing to build her empire after a very public failure.

The ability to share your own failure’s narrative means you are at peace with your imperfections. Such awareness allows you to embrace others’ shortcomings with compassion, and treat yourself and others with more kindness.

More importantly, storytelling allows the next generation of leaders to see and learn from their role models’ failures.

Success in failure: Authentic people are willing to say, “I am wrong” first.

The concept of “authenticity” has its origins in Greek philosophy, where it emphasises being in control of one’s life and the ubiquitous admonition: “Know thyself.”

Authentic leadership, here, implies leading others with full understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and values.

But how does this relate to failure? Authentic leadership embraces weakness, which in turn, encourages vulnerability.

In a TED Talk, Brené Brown shared the key findings of her research: what separates people who hold a strong sense of “worthiness” from those who do not?

It turns out that what separates them is a clear sense of courage and the ability to fully embrace vulnerability.

Having such courage means having the compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others, as we can’t practice compassion with others if we can’t treat ourselves kindly.

How can you be an authentic leader?

In an organisational context, this means to lead without trying too hard to be a leader.

Authentic people are willing to say, “I am wrong” or “I am sorry” first. They are willing to do something where there are no absolute returns; or say “no” when a “yes” is demanded.

Not only are they willing to invest in a relationship that may not work out, but also lead when success isn’t guaranteed.

Authentic leaders build trust and legitimacy through honest relationships with team members, for an ethical foundation.

Generally, authentic leaders are positive people with truthful

How to lead in times of failure The first time this reflection hit me was when I was called out by a direct report as being impatient and too direct in my feedback to the point of limiting others to be the best they can.

I think about that moment every time I reflect on my leadership style going forward. Leaders don’t get to lead only in good times, but also in times of failure – be it a personal failure or team defeats.

I continue to embrace a style as to who I am, but nowadays I openly ask others to speak up instantly if my style is counterproductive to the situation.

Instead of blindly changing who I am as a leader, I ask for help from those I am leading, as vulnerable as admitting weakness may be.

Embracing the success of failure in leadership may seem counter-intuitive in the business world, as leaders are expected to be strong and lead, and to a certain extent, predict success and lead the team to the path of glory.

It is scary, but starts simply from self-reflection.

With that in mind, I end with an encouragement to you to reflect on your authentic leadership with a few questions: • How are you allowing your team room to celebrate failure?

• How are you constantly demanding for perfection?

• How are you mentoring and coaching your team through imperfections?

• What story of failure are you willing to share?

Authentic leadership requires you to look deep within yourself to connect with not only your strengths, but also your limitations. It is a journey – connecting your head with your heart.

38 » Human Resources » April 2015

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SPONSORED RECRUIT ADVICE HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY FIRST ADVANTAGE

LATEST STUDY FROM FIRST ADVANTAGE REVEALS EMPLOYMENT SCREENING TRENDS IN ASIA PACIFIC Globalisation and technological advancements have transformed the world into a small place. Multinational companies have leveraged this to optimally expand their footprints across the globe. The sheer speed of globalisation and technological advancements have metamorphosed the world into a small place.

Most multinational companies are looking at developing across countries because of the available pool of young, educated candidates. Job seekers are also moving across borders in search of more sophisticated roles and greater opportunities. While the benefits to employers are clear, this trend is not without its shortcomings.

Companies have to become more cautious due to the recent surge in crime and fraud. First Advantage has found that to avoid any unwarranted and compromising situations, more companies in Asia Pacific are now screening their employees. Even though the concept of background screening is relatively new in the region, it is picking up at a rapid pace. Accepting it as a best practice, more employers are making background screening an integral part of their recruitment process.

Unlike reference checks, background screening is a complex process that involves multiple stakeholders, including education institutes and former employers.

Other challenges include local, national and international legislation around anti-corruption, data privacy and consumer protection. These can quickly muddle the screening process, making it a challenge to efficiently perform a background check, especially if the candidate has lived or worked in several countries.

In Asia Pacific, most employers conducted an average of five checks as part of every background screening request to First Advantage. In 2014, more than 67% of all candidates were subjected to five checks, as compared to 42% in 2013. This trend is particularly prevalent in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand where more than 50% of all candidates were subjected to six or more checks.

Compare this to just 30% of candidates in China and Malaysia.

With the rise in crime, screening for criminal data has become a priority for many employers, although employment and education checks continue to top the list. Financial-related checks are also gaining popularity.

Launch of the Employee Discrepancy Trends Report With the objective of helping employers better manage recruitment risk, First Advantage, a leader in background reporting in Asia Pacific, has developed the Employee Discrepancy Trends Report to share employment screening trends in the region.

First Advantage offers comprehensive screening programmes to more than 2,000 companies throughout Asia Pacific. We have deployed state-of-the-art technology to ensure accuracy and reduce the time needed for these background checks. Our customer base includes the world’s largest financial services organisations, retailers, IT companies, BPO, manufacturing, pharmaceutical companies, and many others.

To help companies better understand what is happening at the macro and micro level within this prolific region, this report compiles our deep understanding of localised cultures and compliance requirements with detailed screening statistics gathered from our vast Asian customer base. It highlights fresh trends that employers

can use to fine-tune their existing screening practices and benchmark their current programme results against others in the region. The report covers Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

We continue to encourage our users to review this report as a background screening health check and a useful guide to making better hiring decisions. The report will be officially launched in May 2015.

If you are interested to receive a copy, please feel free to write to Chin Wei Chong at weichong.chin@fadv.com.

This article cle is contributed ed by Matthew Glasner, antage First Advantage managing director, South Asia ficc Pacifi

Matthew Glasner is the managing director of South Asia Pacific for First Advantage, the largest provider of employment background screening services in the Asia Pacific region.

First Advantage conducts more than 23 million background checks annually, offering comprehensive screening solutions and industry best practices for coverage, legal regulations and processes.

For more information, visit www.fadvasia.com *The report will be officially launched in May 2015. If you are interested to receive a copy, please feel free to write to Chin Wei Chong at weichong.chin@fadv.com.

April 2015 « Human Resources « 39

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OPINION » Unconventional wisdom

Using technology to enhance talent management G. Thiyagarajan, regional HR director for Danfoss APA, writes how the company used technology to improve the effectiveness of its talent management processes.

Click to connect: The power of social media helped the company reduce the average cycle time for recruitment to about 50 days.

Continuous innovation in information communication technologies (ICT) has brought complex challenges and opportunities for HR practitioners.

Realising the opportunities brought by the developments in ICT, Danfoss APA’s regional HR team has embraced changes with a positive mindset to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its services. The results have been fascinating.

Talent acquisition In 2012, Danfoss APA spent almost one million Danish Kroner (DKK) on executive searches, and the average cycle time to close a position was very long. In 2013, the cost was halved DKK 444,000 and we also saw an improvement in cycle time.

In 2014, the cost was reduced to DKK 270,000; meaning the cost had been reduced by 70% in just two years and the average cycle time for 2014 was 50 days. It is important to note we did greater recruitment in numbers and seniority in 2014 compared with the previous years.

These results were because of our approach of posting all our open positions on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others. We encourage our employees to do the same in their social media accounts. We used the power of networking to reach our targeted talent.

Speak your mind through technology Attracting good talent is only the first battle in winning the war for talent.

It is common knowledge that employees can have differences in opinion and conflict. Not all differences in opinion or conflict are bad. Conflict may help the team to see obstacles in different angles and contribute to innovation.

Danfoss is aware it is important to provide an avenue for employees to share their views without fear or favour.

We have created a website called WOYM – “What’s On Your Mind”, a platform for employees to express their views or post any questions for management without revealing their identity. The management guarantees a reply within 48 hours. It is good for management to know the barometer of the organisation and take any necessary actions.

The organisation also makes use of technology to carry out two other surveys: 1. Survey on performance management.

2. Employee perceptions survey (EPS).

The first survey is carried out twice a year and depicts the employees’ perception of their immediate manager in the areas of leadership: clarity of direction, clear targets and accountability, regular review process, performance feedback and rewards.

The second survey is carried out once every other year. It measures employees’ engagement levels.

Both surveys have been outsourced to external vendors who ensure anonymity. The vendor only reveals the results if the team consists of a minimum of four employees.

As a result of such initiatives, the rate of voluntary resignation in the APA region has dropped from 19% in 2010 to below 10% in 2014. Additionally, the participation rate of the EPS survey has increased from 76% in 2011 to 78% in 2013.

The next survey will be carried out this year.

Talent development Danfoss’ competency assessment tool is a web-based tool that comes in handy for people managers to map the competencies needed for each position in their team.

It has a user-friendly drop-down menu that is very descriptive and provides the employee’s current mastery levels on the scale of 1-6.

This information can be used by people managers to plan the development actions for their subordinates.

Technology has helped Danfoss offer more than 1,100 training programmes as part of online learning. Additionally, we use technology to manage the process – from registering for training (internal and external) to conducting training as well as maintaining records.

At least 20% of our talent needs have been fulfilled via internal promotions.

This journey has been very exciting and fulfilling. We are committed to using technology more actively to support our employees and business to achieve greater heights.

40 » Human Resources » April 2015

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ASIA’S PREMIER EVENT FOR HR LEADERS

HR Leaders’ Summit is a 2.5 day closed door event to be held in a very relaxed and captive Angsana Laguna resort in Phuket, Thailand. This exclusive gathering is restricted to 50 VP and director-level HR professionals with regional roles in large organisations. They will discuss critical new challenges and trends currently affecting the day to day operations of their business as they strive to increase productivity while maintaining an invigorated workforce.

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17/4/2015 4:23:11 PM

OPINION » Upwardly mobile

How start-ups can set up HR operations from scratch INGE GIESBERGEN HR manager Flipit.com

Managing human capital is integral for any business, but doing so requires ample budgets and resources.

In such a situation, how can newly set-up companies ensure their HR functions are running at optimal levels?

It quickly became clear to us that with so many expats in our team, the option to return home at times of emergency was extremely high on the priority list for most employees.

Furthermore, choosing to operate as an online business with such a global vision meant it was imperative we embraced innovative methods of sourcing staff online.

This involved performing multiple Skype interviews with candidates from all over the world. Hiring purely on the basis of a Skype interview was not ideal, but this was something we felt we had to embrace given the nature of our business plan.

I would say this was a positive experience as it pushed us into adapting to something which I’m sure will be the norm in the near future.

Facets of a foundation: Managing HR during the early phase is never easy.

The key to launching an internationally focused startup effectively relies heavily on managing your human resources efficiently from the very beginning.

Managing HR during the early phase of a start-up is never an easy task, as budgets are limited and smaller companies simply cannot afford to waste time hiring erroneously.

As far as Flipit.com was concerned, choosing to launch as an international SME rather than begin locally and build slowly into something global, was admittedly a bold move on our part.

However, the Flipit vision was always a global one, which meant that we simply had to establish new methods and strategies to accommodate the needs of an international enterprise, while keeping within an SME budget.

Operating as an online business As an online couponing service, our status as a digital startup worked to our advantage in that we were able to offer internationals flexibility in terms of being able to work remotely when required.

Obstacles encountered When first entering our hiring stage, we were a small team of Dutch natives with a proficiency in English, a combined basic knowledge of German, and the ability to just about order a sandwich in French!

This proved to be a challenge when we were hiring international employees to be responsible of an entire branch of our company site in a language which our management could not understand.

The easiest way to overcome this was to invest in multilingual employees (we now have one staff member who is fluent in five languages), but sourcing for such people was not easy.

We dealt with this challenge during our launch phase by temporarily outsourcing native editors or translators online to help us assess international candidates.

At this stage of the game, I think it’s important that smaller enterprises are not afraid to outsource for smaller tasks, and instead embrace this as an inevitable part of the start-up process.

There are some extremely affordable options available online, and it’s important to feel comfortable in utilising these.

We managed international HR quality control by having candidates write test articles for our online savings magazine, Flipit Plus, as part of the interview process.

We then outsourced to a global copy editing service such as TransPerfect, who found an appropriate native editor to review them for us, and inform us of the quality level of the articles.

By taking a few factors such as these into close consideration, it is possible to manage your company’s HR effectively without having to invest a huge amount of your startup budget on building your team.

42 » Human Resources » April 2015

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CAREERS » Personal development

uptheranks Tracking HR’s industry moves Who: Srikanth Chandrashekhar From: Bombardier Transportation, APAC To: Pall Corporation, APAC Srikanth Chandrashekhar has moved to Pall Corporation to head up talent management across Asia Pacific.

Previously heading HR for Bombardier Transportation in APAC, he has also held regional HR roles at EMC and Honeywell.

In the new role, he is responsible for organisational development, performance management, and learning and development, including leadership hiring and development.

“One of the constant challenges for me from day one at Pall has been how we can enable our talent mobility across our markets, as well as moving from a specialist role in one market to becoming a portfolio sales leader,” he told Human Resources on his appointment.

For 2015, he is working on organisational talent reviews for the region, as part of OD planning for the financial year of 2016.

Who: Lee Tzu Yang From: Casino Regulatory Authority To: Casino Regulatory Authority The Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) has appointed Lee Tzu Yang as its new chairman.

Currently on the board as deputy chairman, Lee will take over the role of chairman from Richard Magnus with effect from 2 April 2015, who is retiring after seven years of service.

“I would like to thank Mr Richard Magnus for his steady leadership of CRA during its formative years,” said Singapore’s deputy prime minister and minister for home affairs, Teo Chee Hean.

“He has laid the foundations for a casino regulatory framework that is firm and fair. Beyond Singapore, he has helped CRA build a network of partners and establish itself as a well-respected regulator among its international peers.”

Who: Simon Trilsbach From: Social Bakers To: Hootsuite Hootsuite has appointed Simon Trilsbach as vice president for Asia Pacific (APAC), responsible for growing the company’s regional presence.

He comes with more than 10 years of experience in this area, most recently as VP of APAC at Social Bakers. He has also held the position of general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Experian Marketing Services, managing sales and client services functions.

On his appointment, he said: “Hootsuite is committed to helping organisations in Asia Pacific to seamlessly undergo social business transformation, and I look forward to a successful future as part of a talented and dynamic team.”

ONWARDS TO DIVERSITY

backgrounds and personalities can make them vastly different, enabling them to view issues from different lenses.

Such differences exist in every employee, regardless of similarity in race, gender or sexual orientation. Inculcating a culture which encourages the expression of each one’s views and differences can help in achieving diversity of thought in your team.

This should not, however, be used as an excuse for not hiring different types of people.

Instead, it’s a reminder that hiring to merely fulfil diversity quotas is a waste of time and money. Isn’t it pointless to have employees of different races, if their individuality is not allowed to thrive in the company?

Akankasha Dewan ponders how HR can help small (and thrifty) companies achieve diversity in thought.

Ask a stock question, get a stock answer

personalgrowth Not all companies have the financial resources to redesign hiring strategies towards a focus on diversity. What then can such companies do to still reap the benefits of diversity of thought without embarking on luxurious projects?

Taking an example from Human Resources, we are a small and closely knit team. However, there is no dearth of diverse perspectives – because it is diversity in thought, rather than in race or gender that we strive to establish.

Looking out for (and glorifying) the differences between us has helped us attain the real benefits of being diverse individuals.

Diversity comes in various forms

Even when two team members hail from the same country, their

To bring out the unique side of your employees, you have to ask them unique questions.

Instead of asking stock questions such as, “what do you think?” at the end of a presentation, ask them questions such as, “what part of the project did you like the least?”

This will prevent them from giving their bosses standard answers which they think are right, and instead force them to give their own view.

Soon, expressing honest opinions and different angles will become second nature to staff. Sure, it may not always be what you want to hear, but it will provide them an opportunity to understand alternative perspectives, and help them grow as professionals.

While diversity campaigns are useful metrics for any company, they are but a means to establish diversity in thought – something which even small and financially limited companies can achieve.

44 » Human Resources » April 2015

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Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr Wiley S$28.18 What does it mean to be a values-based leader? What are the practices such leaders actively adopt?

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Genuine humility diminishes the “I” and elevates the “we,” and not in a false way, like the boss who notices the team members once or twice a year, with a blanket “thanks for all you do” – not that he or she has any idea who is doing what two levels below. Genuine humility reminds us that we’re all in this together – page 45.

highlights strategies for creative problemsolving – even when the parties involved don’t see the issue at hand as negotiable.

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Sometimes asking for and getting advice can help make it a shared problem. Seeking guidance can actually help you prompt your counterpart to engage in perspective taking – meaning she might be able to understand your interests and help find a creative solution. – page 160.

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Becoming the Best: Build a WorldClass Organisation Through ValuesBased Leadership

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46 » Human Resources » April 2015

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With daily job updates!

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LAST WORD

If you could go back in time, would you do everything the same, asks Aditi Sharma Kalra

1. Stand up for yourself and your views A yes-man syndrome pervades many workplaces today, and that’s the best way to curb any new ideas and enthusiasm at work.

If you disagree with someone’s views in a meeting, don’t hesitate to share your point of view and the reasons for it. If you feel like you are being bullied, report it to your manager and whoever else possible immediately.

Many years ago, I was talking to business communication expert Shari Harley, who told me: “Everyone around you treats you the way that you train them to treat you.”

Being candid is the base for any great relationship. It may not always be smooth sailing, as at times you may have to time your candidness.

But it’s so important because it helps you build your image and your opinions, it gives you a voice at the workplace, but it is also what people associate you most with.

2. Work hard to fill in your boss’s shoes A good manager will always groom you to be just as good as him or her. And, that can happen only if you’re ready to learn as much as possible. New skills and experiences are your best friends.

Being good at your job is usually not the hard part, if you’ve got an environment that allows you to be productive. But it is your personal skillbuilding efforts that help you grow as a person,

and ultimately you realise how much more value you are able to add at work because of that.

3. Don’t hesitate to build relationships Reality TV is replete with contestants affirming: “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win.”

Throughout my career, I’ve managed to make some wonderful friends at work, without sacrificing on my ability to win.

Having a support system at work is good for you in so many ways – a tea break with them keeps you going on the long, rainy afternoons, and catching up with them is the reason you end up coming to work before time.

Besides, taking the time to know your colleagues helps you work with them more effectively on projects, after you’ve been able to understand what kind of competencies each of you brings to the table.

4. Grab your mentors (and never let them go) Off and at work, I have been fortunate to have a mentor by my side constantly. Having their support has encouraged me to make the hardest decisions, and follow through in times when I have held back.

The interesting thing about having someone like that is that you don’t want to disappoint them, and often, that thought enables you to achieve things which may have looked hard at first.

The bottom line is that mentors are valuable in many ways, and if you’re fortunate to have someone like that guiding you, hold onto them.

5. Define what work-life balance is for you Getting enough sleep, working on your hobby, and spending time with loved ones is a constant struggle. But if you prioritise, you may be able to define what mix of work-life works for you.

When I was speaking to Aileen Tan of SingTel, she preferred to use work-life integration, which is about focusing on the quality, not the quantity, of the time spent at work and at home. Being clear about what’s most important to you, at each point in time, will help make that decision about where to spend time just a little bit easier. aditis@humanresourcesonline.net

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

Words of advice for my younger self

The best part about growing and making progress is that, no matter how far you have come in your journey, you will always have an experience to share with others on the same path.

I dove into the corporate environment at the age of 20, when I first started writing, and have been at it ever since.

Along the way, I have been shaped by my managers, colleagues, company cultures, and working environments (probably in that order).

If I could go back in time and do things again, I’d probably do everything pretty much the same, but some nudges in the “right” direction would sure have done me good.

Thinking back on these years, this is probably what I would have advised my younger self.

48 » Human Resources » April 2015

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28 May 2015 | InterContinental Hotel, Singapore

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