Human Resources August 2014

OFC_COVER_AUG14_sub.indd 1

4/8/2014 1:00:30 PM

Together we open the hearts and minds of your employees Power2Motivate速 is the most comprehensive program for recognising and rewarding employee achievements. Our proven online solutions incorporate innovative features including; real time reporting, measurable ROI and a unique social media platform, designed to build a culture of recognition and inspiration.

Power2Motivate速 is an online, turn key solution for inspiring your employees by recognising and awarding achievements.

Contact us for a consultation. www.power2motivate.asia | +65 6622 5490

August 2014 « CONTENTS

COVER STORY 12 Q&A NXP Semiconductors’ dream HR team – Peggy Tang, Paul Sexton and Renee van der Burg – share their challenges of operating in a decentralised team, as well as what makes their relationship work so well.

Features 16 Click to hire With everything going digital, it was only a matter of time before one of the most critical aspects of HR found an online home. Sabrina Zolkifi reports on the latest digital recruitment trends.

24 Building your dream team Shifting business needs have made it necessary for team-building processes to evolve. What can HR practitioners do to navigate these changes and successfully measure their effectiveness? Akankasha Dewan finds out.

Opinion

16

34 Learning & Development Build the employee with the right capabilities, and build the business, says Orchard Scotts Dental’s Hanizan Binte Sulong.

36 People Issues Passion is the main ingredient when hiring staff to work in the sports industry, says Kunihito Morimura, president and CEO of Dentsu Sports Asia.

39 Unconventional Wisdom

ON THE COVER: Art direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman; Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee – www.elliotly.com; Makeup & Hair: Michmakeover using Make Up For Ever & hair using Sebastian Professional – www.michmakeover.com

When there’s a war happening in your office, HR may need a little help.

Jeremy Lim, from the Singapore Mediation Centre, explains why companies can benefit from mediation.

34

36

41 Upwardly Mobile So you want to be an interim manager? Bernard Cruz, group HR director at Jebsen & Jessen SEA, looks back on his experiences and lessons learned.

48 Last Word Planning a wedding can seem like a job on its own, but new bride Rebecca Lewis warns against letting it take over your job (and your life!)

Regulars

39

1_Contents_AUG14_sub.indd 1

41

3 4 6 7 8

Ed’s note In the news Suite talk Spacial awareness HR by numbers

9 Snapshot 10 White paper 46 Up the ranks 47 Shelf life

Any suggestions or tip-offs for Human Resources?

Email rebeccal@humanresourcesonline.net

MANAGEMENT SERVICES: Find your suppliers quickly and easily on page 42

5/8/2014 6:03:02 PM

Looking for Singaporean Talent?

CaliberLink, as part of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, has a pool of qualified and capable local professionals who may be able to contribute to your business.

To find out how CaliberLink’s employer services can link you to talent that benefits your business, call 6777 3337 or email us at enquiry@caliberlink.gov.sg

Find out more about our 2014 suite of offerings

Recruitment Programmes

Networking with Professionals

Industry Information Sessions

EDITOR’S NOTE

editor deputy editor journalist contributors

Rebecca Lewis Sabrina Zolkifi Akankasha Dewan Bernard Cruz Hanizan Binte Sulong Jeremy Lim Kunihito Morimura

regional art director senior designer regional marketing executive

senior event producer

Shahrom Kamarulzaman Fauzie Rasid June Tan

Ang Yoke Han

regional head of event services

Yeo Wei Qi

senior executive – event services

Renee Phua

senior account manager account managers audience managers

Karen Boh Ben DeRegt Manuel Almira Yang Kai Lin

publisher

Mike Parsons

regional finance director

Evelyn Wong

group editorial director group managing director

Tony Kelly Justin Randles

SCAN TO SUBSCRIBE!

Human Resources is published 12 times per year by Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd. Printed in Singapore on CTP process by Sun Rise Printing & Supplies Pte Ltd, 10 Admiralty Street, #06-20 North Link Building, Singapore 757695. Tel: (65) 6383 5290. MICA (P) 178/08/2010. Subscription rates are available on request, contact the Circulation Manager by telephone: (65) 6423 0329 or by email to: subscriptions@humanresourcesonline.net COPYRIGHTS AND REPRINTS. All material printed in Human Resources is protected under the copyright act. All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the prior written consent of the publisher and the copyright holder.

Permission may be requested through the Singapore office.

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

Singapore: Lighthouse Independent Media Pte Ltd 100C Pasir Panjang Road, #05-01, See Hoy Chan Hub, 118519 Tel: +65 6423 0329 Fax: +65 6423 0117 Hong Kong: Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd 1F Wui Tat Centre, 55 Connaught Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: 852-2861-1882 Fax: 852-2861-1336

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

There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’ The first team-building exercise I ever took part in was paintball. There were the usual moans and groans (“Why can’t we just go to the pub?!”) but everyone got on the bus ready to go and shoot each other, as you do. Most people enjoyed getting muddy and sweaty, and those who gave up early got to sit around drinking beers.

But at some point, things took a turn for the worst. People started to gang up. Groups of colleagues who were friends with each other started plotting to attack other groups or individuals. In essence, it doesn’t sound so bad – after all, this was the objective of the game – but then it got nasty. I distinctly remember people shooting others at close range (if you’ve ever been paintballing, you know how much this hurts) and a couple of people were ganged up on, because back in the office, no one really liked them.

I am not sure whether the managers were aware, but it was pretty obvious that a few select people were suddenly not having fun, and the rest of the afternoon felt like high school all over again, complete with cliques and old-fashioned bitching.

What happened wasn’t necessarily any one person’s fault, but the benefit of hindsight has made me realise that team-building is so much more than just organising a team activity and making it mandatory.

In fact, in this month’s team-building feature, I think Gary Lee, the head of L&D at Soo Kee Group, explains it perfectly when he says: “Fun is linked more with team bonding, whereas team-building is more intentional, more structured, and it has to be a mid to long-term process.”

I’m not sure whether the aim of the activity I just mentioned was intended to be about bonding or building, but either way, it didn’t really work.

And that company isn’t alone in that respect – I can think of numerous examples from friends about team-building exercises gone awry.

The most common thing I hear is that employees simply view the outing as a “day away from the office” where they can goof off, have some fun and release some steam. It’s true, but what’s the bigger picture? If HR doesn’t have a strong handle on the business outcomes necessary, is there any point in doing it in the first place? The feature on page 24 goes into this in more depth, and it’s well worth the read for anyone

thinking about a structure for team-building. In a similar vein, our cover story is all about teamwork.

We spoke with the three most senior HR leaders at NXP Semiconductors (page 16) to find out how they operate and work together as the key components of a decentralised team.

The collaboration and strong relationship between the three is hugely necessary in order for things to run smoothly.

As Peggy Tang, HR director for global procurement and the Singapore site, says: “As individuals, we respect each other, and we use that as a starting point. As we work together, we’ve encountered different things and come at problems from different angles, but by hearing each other out and being open to the ideas of a respected colleague we are able to strengthen the solutions.”

And that’s really the key, isn’t it? That you build or create a team around a culture of mutual respect, where everyone involved knows they are able to speak up and get involved.

Enjoy the issue.

Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee – www.elliotly.com; Hair & makeup: Vanida Yam Yen – vanidamakeover.blogspot.com

HumanResources

Rebecca Lewis editor August 2014 « Human Resources «

3_ED'sNote_AUG14_sub.indd 3

3

5/8/2014 5:56:02 PM

hrbulletin

News from humanresourcesonline.net

WAGE GUIDELINES FOR 2013/14 RELEASED The National Wages Council (NWC) released its guidelines for 2013/2014, calling for an increase in real wages by boosting productivity.

The report noted that average real wages had increased by 1.6% per year between 2002 and 2012, exceeding the growth in real total wages of 1.2% per annum. However, the NWC added that labour productivity had dropped 0.4% yearly as “economic growth was driven primarily by employment”.

“The NWC recommends that real wage increases should be in line with productivity growth over the long-term. Real wage increases need to be sustainable and not erode the long-term competitiveness of our economy,” the report said.

Acknowledging salaries will increase in a tight labour market, the NWC urged employers to utilise the Wage Credit Scheme to help manage rising labour costs while still being able to retain and develop workers.

“This frees up resources for businesses to invest in productivity. It will also mitigate inflationary pressure arising from businesses passing on higher wage costs,” the report said. “The Wage Credit Scheme also encourages companies to share productivity gains with their employees. These will enable wages to rise in a sustainable manner.”

AMERICAN APPAREL SACKS CONTROVERSIAL CEO The board of American Apparel ousted controversial CEO Dov Charney in June – a decision it said “grew out of an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct”.

Charney has since filed a formal complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating he wishes to fight for his right to stay in his role.

In a termination letter, the board stated it had dismissed Charney for three main reasons – he breached his fiduciary duty, violated company policy and misused corporate assets. This includes accusations he sexually harassed employees, refused to participate in sexual harassment training, paid employees off to keep quiet about his wrongdoings and knew of – but did nothing about – a blog which had been written by an employee under his direct supervision which created and maintained false and defamatory impersonations of former American Apparel staff.

The company also declared his actions had “injured the company’s financial condition and business reputation” stating its employment practices liability insurance retention had grown to $1 million from $350,000 as well. “These risks and costs to the company are a direct result of your actions,” it reads.

CONCERNED SINGAPOREANS PROTEST AGAINST CPF CHANGES A protest in June further highlighted Singaporeans’ growing concerns over the transparency and flexibility of the Central Provident Fund (CPF). The demonstration – which drew a crowd of more than 2,000 people at Hong Lim Park – followed the latest introduction of a new minimum sum for CPF, stating $155,000 is required to be set aside in retirement funds for Singaporeans turning 55 between 1 July this year and 30 June next year.

The move has unsettled a number of lower and middle-income Singaporeans, who are afraid they won’t be able to save enough to meet the new requirement.

While the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) stated this sum was “to better meet Singaporeans’ expectations of basic standard of living in retirement”, protest organiser and activist Han Hui Hui said, “the CPF is akin to an additional tax on our income”.

The CPF issue was discussed in parliament, and the government said it was looking at ways to improve the scheme. Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin previously said that while the scheme might not be perfect, it provided a “more sustainable system than most other retirement schemes”.

AUG WHAT’S DISTRACTING YOUR STAFF?

Mobile phones have done wonders for connectivity, but they’re also the biggest productivity killer. Bosses reported in a CareerBuilder survey that employees were most distracted by cell phones and texting (50%), followed by gossip (42%) and the internet (39%).

The survey of hiring managers, HR professionals and private sector workers, found one in four workers admitted to spending at least one hour a day on personal al calls, emails or texts. Twenty-one per cent estimate they spend one or more hours surfing the internet for nonwork-related information or photos.

Other distractions noted to be the worst productivityy stoppers included social media (38%), snack or smoke breaks (27%), noisy colleagues (24%), meetings (23%), emails (23%), co-workers dropping by colleagues’ deskss (23%), and people putting calls on speaker phone (10%)..

Ready Software Ready Claim Ready Email Ready Timesheet

4

Ready Pay

Ready Leave

Ready Staff

Ready PayAdvice

Ready Asset-Audit

Ready Form

Ready Asset Ready Notice Board

» Human Resources » August 2014

4-5_News_AUG14_sub.indd 4

5/8/2014 5:47:30 PM

THE 12 BEST JOBS FOR WOMEN The list, compiled by Careercast, has identified the best jobs for women based on factors such as whether they offer a competitive annual salary and have a positive prediction when it comes to the hiring outlook. It also takes into account other factors, including stress, physical demands and whether the profession employs a high number of women in the field.

“As more women continue to enter the workforce, more careers are emerging to provide an equal opportunity to succeed both professionally and financially,” said Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast. “The professions we have identified ppayy well,, have a large g ppercentage g of women workingg in the field and ected to offer solid opportunities for growth.” are expected 1. Actuary 2. Advertising and promotions manager 3. Computer systems analyst 4. Dental hygienist 5. Education administrator 6. Event planner 7. Human resources manager 8. Market research analyst 9. Occupational therapist 10. Physical therapist 11. Public relations manager 12. Speech pathologist

HOW TO INSPIRE YOUR STAFF In a labour market where employees have the choice to shop around for jobs, there’s more that can be done to keep your best staff fully motivated and productive. Try saying these phrases to staff: “I would really like your opinion on this.” When people are seen as important and that what they have to say matters, they feel happy and motivated because someone respects their thoughts, advice and feedback.

“I believe you can do better than this.” When you raise your expectations of people, more often than not they will rise to meet them.

“What can I do to help you get to where you want to be?” This direct approach shows you are in their corner and willing to help them overcome whatever hurdles they might be facing.

“If you were in my shoes, what would you do?” Asking an employee to think like you helps them to gain perspective and shows them you’re treating them like an equal.

83% OF SINGAPOREANS UNHAPPY WITH THEIR SALARY People living and working in Singapore believe they need eed to earn more money to cope with the country’s rising cost of living. The ideal amount? $6,000 per month.

According to a new report conducted off the back of Singapore being named the most expensive city in the world, 23% of Singaporeans earning less than $3,000 per month said they struggled to make ends meet on their current wage. Of this group, 31% believed their salary could cover their basic needs andd gh to some small luxuries, while 42% said it was only enough cover basic needs. alary. Overall, 83% of Only 4% said they were comfortable with their salary.

Singaporeans were not happy with their current income. me.

The report also looked at how money was being spentt bby th these employees and found paying for basic necessities accounted for between 30% and 40% of their income, with housing taking up the majority of that spend. To cope, 16% said they taken on second jobs to earn enough – but 50% also said they managed to save between 10% and 20% of their salary each month.

YOUNG MALAYSIANS WANT TO WORK FOR …

The dream companies of Malaysian students have been revealed in the first Malaysia Top 100 Ideal Employers survey by Universum. From surveying 11,000 university students, it found Petronas was the top company Malaysian business, engineering and natural sciences students wanted to work for, while those studying humanities chose Google as their preferred employer. The students also shared their salary expectations upon graduation, which averaged at RM3,258 per month.

Here are the top three employers for each type of student in Malaysia: ysia: Business 1. Petronas 2. Bank Negara Malaysia 3. Google Engineering gineering 1. Petronas etronas 2. Shell ell 3. Sime me Darby Humanities ities 1. Googlee 2. Astro 3. Malaysiaa Airlines Natural sciences e ences 1. Petronas 2. Sime Darby 3. Shell

August 2014 « Human Resources «

4-5_News_AUG14_sub.indd 5

5

5/8/2014 5:48:06 PM

WORK LIFE » People GET INTO THE BOSS’S HEAD

Thomas Knudsen CEO Damco You were CEO for APAC at Maersk for about four years. How would you summarise your experience?

I’ve been abroad for more than 22 years with the Maersk Group so this is one of many international assignments and it has certainly helped in reaffirming my excitement about working in an international environment. I thoroughly enjoy my engagement with people from different cultures, particularly in Asia, and this feeling that we’re going towards a better future is exciting.

Within Maersk Line, the challenge was a move from being an international company to a global company, which was exciting. We spent a lot of resources in building a local pipeline of talent in countries within the region and moving away from mainly relying on expats for the top level jobs.

Tell us about your new role at Damco?

Damco is a logistics provider with a global scope and a very strong presence in Asia. As CEO, I’m responsible for leading the organisation – both managing the short-term business as well as setting the direction for the future – growing new areas, making investments and building a strong pipeline of talented people.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m very much looking forward to taking what is already a very strong business with a solid customer portfolio and growing our involvement and scope with them – as well as building new businesses with some of the emerging Asian champions that are appearing.

I do believe we can do even more to build a strong pipeline of talent. We need more Asian leaders and we also struggle with gender diversity at the senior levels – despite having a great pipeline of middle management talent. So, there is plenty of work to be done. The first month in Damco has been exciting. It’s a steep learning curve, but the organisation is very welcoming.

What’s your secret to managing a large global workforce?

What I’ve tried to do in the past is build a strong leadership in the countries we were involved in, trying through the regional functions to support the 6

countries instead of doing the job for them. I see my role and the region’s role as really to provide resourcing and coaching and mentoring. And then when needed, to provide cover from a global organisation, but not really getting involved in the day to day business.

Give us an example of a tough decision you had to make.

The toughest decisions were the ones I didn’t make, but should have made. I often look back on my career to say I wish I had taken some of the tough decisions earlier. If I had taken some of the tough performance discussions with people six months or a year earlier, business results would have improved. Where I had low performers, I should have had the honest conversations earlier.

It only gets more and more difficult as time passes. But in terms of the decisions I have made, it is when I’ve had to make large organisational changes it has been the most difficult. I have no problems with saying goodbye to poor performers if I have done my part in terms of trying to coach and improve, but I think it is tough to say goodbye to good people as a result of major restructuring, because their individual performance may not have been lacking.

How do you help low-performing or unmotivated employees to perform better?

To understand the underlying motives of performance is to understand whether the people have the capability or not; to understand whether the external environment is difficult; or whether it is potentially myself or my team that doesn’t allow the employees to succeed. If so, what can I do to help with the internal challenges of the company?

understanding the data of the business.Perhaps in HR there is a culture which is more focused on soft values. It is more about talent, leadership and coaching, whereas the CEO role also has a lot of elements which are to do with getting things done and being accountable for numbers. As a CEO, you have to be able to do both.

What advice would you give in this area?

HR leaders are often great coaches of other functional leaders, on how leaders of other functions can become better HR managers and leaders. Perhaps HR leaders themselves could spend some time with finance and operations people, in particular, on how they use data. They can try to be coached by other business leaders and ask questions like: “If I have this data in HR, how do I apply it?”

How can HR become more strategic?

Be out meeting with people, see if you can get in front of customers, meet with suppliers. Also have conversations with people about the business, not only about HR-related subjects. You need to passionately want to know what’s going on in the business.

What’s your overall view of HR? I think it is essential, and I’ll give you one example why. Three years ago, Maersk Line was losing significant amounts of money every day. We had the same hardware as we have today, we had the same external environment. Two years later, we were making a 9% ROI on our capital, but we did things differently with our people.

For me, the employees are by far the most important lever for financial performance which you can find, and HR is an important enabler of that.

Have you faced these situations often?

Yes I have. I won’t say I have them constantly, but it is clear there are always employees that can improve their performance – sometimes because they are at a level which is not acceptable and sometimes because they are at a level which is just OK and not really good.

Your role is no doubt a stressful one. How do you unwind?

I exercise. Some people feel they don’t have the energy to, but I get energy only when I exercise.

Do HR leaders have the necessary skills and vision required to become CEO? Often not – not to the CEO level. There may be exceptions, but many HR leaders I have met are simply not good enough at understanding the key elements of the business. HR business partnering is an area where I sense we need to see stronger HR people. This is also in terms of data, be it understanding the HR data in itself or

» Human Resources » August 2014

6_Suitetalk_AUG14_sub.indd 6

5/8/2014 6:08:47 PM

»

People WORK LIFE

SpacialAwareness

TOWERING ABOVE THE COMPETITION Towers Watson believes in practising what it preaches, which is why its Singapore office lives up to the ideals of the business.

“Towers Watson research shows that when an organisation builds a workplace that actively marries high levels of employee engagement with enablement and energy, it opens the door wider to a significant performance lift,” said Sivakumar Sankar, the company’s Asia Pacific HR director and global HR director for its talent and rewards segment.

This is why the organisation decided to do away with managers’ offices allowing for better communication between them and their teams, which Sankar says helps “to develop, coach and encourage associates in ways that keep them engaged over time”.

“This increases energy levels and at the same time fosters a greater sense of open communication so that associates seek and receive all the support they need to do their work efficiently and effectively.

“This has also reduced the perceived power distance, allowing associates to put across views that benefit the organisation regardless of their career level.”

There are several different types of work spaces available in the office, ranging from traditional desks and meeting rooms to a pantry called the “Clubhouse”, which was modelled after a cafe.

Sankar advises peers who are looking to improve the company’s space to keep in mind the “physical environment has an influence on the human psychology and is a key element in a company’s culture”.

“Depending on the extent of change, therefore, you need to consider your office renovation as a people issue that affects engagement and productivity, alongside more practical logistics and financial aspects that need to be duly considered and balanced.

“It is also important to understand that once the renovation is complete, a workplace will continue evolving as your employees familiarise themselves and learn to interact in it.”

August 2014 « Human Resources «

7_SpacialAwareness_AUG14_sub.indd 7

7

4/8/2014 12:29:42 PM

WORK LIFE » HR by numbers

Beware of your ‘friends’ Singaporean employees value their workplace relationships, but the friendships they make may come with certain terms and conditions.

The Relationships@Work study

by LinkedIn found half of 1,000 Singaporean respondents would backstab a friend to move up in their jobs.

This is despite them admitting workplace relationships make them happier in the office. For 18 to 25-year-olds, workplace relationships make them feel mostly happy (57%), motivated (50%) and productive (39%).

But clearly, not everyone feels so positive about their co-workers.

60%

of employees said they have someone at work who “looks out for them”.

51%

of Singaporeans would sacrifice a friendship if it would result in a promotion.

22%

only socialise with colleagues to help them climb the career ladder.

33%

of professionals believe their colleagues understand them better than their partners.

Source: Relationships@Work, LinkedIn

8

» Human Resources » August 2014

8_HRByNumbers_AUG14_sub.indd 8

4/8/2014 12:27:59 PM

»

People WORK LIFE

snapshot

15 minutes with ...

Cheong Meng Foong

Managing director and group head of rewards for HR DBS Bank

MALAYSIA

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE HR? HR was a natural choice since I like interacting with people. My first HR role after graduating with a business administration degree from NUS was with Philips Electronics as a HR generalist. I haven't looked back since.

HOW WILL HR EVOLVE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? I think the HR function will evolve from a cost to a profit centre. In the near future, business and infrastructure units can then buy services from HR, similar to how they hire external consultants for their services.

As HR becomes more of a strategic business partner, we can look to become a profit centre that offers a full suite of services.

WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE BETTER IN HR? Everyone is talking about big data. HR needs to jump on the bandwagon and look at using more predictive data to better understand possible outcomes, to help businesses make better decisions.

WHAT PART OF HR DO YOU LIKE BEST? As the group head of rewards at DBS, I would have to say rewards! We have influence on a significant portion of the bank’s direct expense, since a big part of that is staff cost. The rewards function is an exciting and fun place to be in. At DBS, the group human resources’ strategic intent is to enable our people to develop both professionally and personally through innovative HR solutions that support a culture of meritocracy and growth.

WHAT'S THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED? Always put your best foot forward in whatever you do. Speed is often the deciding factor for what is considered excellent versus good.

YOUR PLACE TO LEARN, SHARE AND CONNECT Hosting event for 10 or international conference for 600, everything is possible at UE Convention Centre. UE Convention Centre has a unique circular layout with built-in operable walls making it a flexible venue for different functions.

• ANNUAL MEETING

• TEAMBUILDING

• DINNER & DANCE

• CONFERENCE

• PRODUCT LAUNCH

• WEDDING

DESCRIBE A REGULAR WORKDAY AT YOUR COMPANY I usually start my day at about 7.30am, which is the best time to clear emails, plan, take stock of what's outstanding. Most of my meetings commence at around 9am. I then spend a good portion of my time connecting with my team members, providing direction and strategic advice. I work closely with my HR partners to resolve issues, as well as with my colleagues in shared services. Reviewing policies, ensuring alignment of principles and finding new ways of designing and delivering product offerings are also part of my regular workday.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? I enjoy creating policies and different innovative products to meet the needs of a multi-generational workforce. I also enjoy anticipating workforce needs and planning C&B strategies, knowing the outcomes will have a big impact on the bank. That makes the role attractive.

I CAN’T WORK WITHOUT… my sense of humour. It’s the one thing that keeps me sane when the going gets tough.

Enquiries

6809 7288

ueconventioncentre-sg@uel.sg UE Serviced Offices & Convention Centre, 2 Changi Business Park Avenue 1, Singapore 486015

August 2014 « Human Resources «

9_Snapshot_AUG14_sub.indd 9

9

5/8/2014 6:07:44 PM

WHITE PAPER » Leadership

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT REMAINS TOP HR PRIORITY Singapore – Investing in talent management programmes to help develop leaders is the primary focus for human resources professionals this year.

According to the “Talent Management: Accelerating Business Performance” survey by Right Management, 47% of HR professionals in Singapore stated 2014 would be a year of growth, marked by increased spending on talent management initiatives to help develop leaders and build talent pipelines.

This focus on enhancing talent management strategies was a trend observed worldwide, with HR leaders in China/Hong Kong (88%), India (77%), Brazil (75%) and the United Kingdom (45%) also planning to increase investments in talent management programmes.

The survey included that only 13% of the 2,221 leaders and HR executives surveyed worldwide reported they were confident in the strength of their leadership pipelines to fill critical openings.

In fact, this lack of skilled talent for key positions was highlighted as the top talent management challenge globally, followed by a shortage of talent at all levels and less than optimal employee engagement.

Within Singapore, 26% of responses said there was a lack of talent across all levels, ahead of France (24%) and Japan (24%).

“Organisations that can evaluate what drives engagement – and the lack of it – are in a much

Talent management initiatives APAC organisations are most likely to take up next year Leadership development

48%

Development of skills critical to the organisation

47%

Assessment of skills throughout the organisation

38%

Assessing talent to fill open positions

35%

Team building

44%

Source: Talent Management: Accelerating Business Performance, Right Management

stronger position to reduce the risks of talent defection,” said Bridget Beattie, group executive vice-president, Asia Pacific, Middle East and global strategic partnerships at Right Management.

“Simply understanding current employee engagement levels is no longer a sufficient strategy to stem the tide of attrition.”

Nearly six out of 10 (57%) employers in Singapore also reported plans to broaden their employee engagement strategies, with 44% reporting they will be assessing current talent to fill open positions.

Singapore was also highlighted as among the top three countries where senior management was actively involved in making connections between talent investment and business impact.

Nearly one in four (24%) employers in Singapore were reported as pressing for more rigorous measurements to judge the effect of talent

management programmes on the business, beaten only by Canada (31%) and Norway (28%).

However, only 12% of Singaporean respondents said their organisation had an ample leadership pipeline which would cover most of their needs.

Therefore, the report said companies must “continually identify, develop, nurture and retain leaders as part of an ongoing talent development strategy”.

“As organisations build flexible work structures, as demographic trends continue to shrink the pool of talent and as the need for global leadership mindsets and skills increases, developing a pipeline of ‘ready now’ leaders is a pressing business challenge,” it said.

“Development will help ensure a steady flow of leaders in order to continue to grow the company over time.”

10 » Human Resources » August 2014

10-11_WhitePaper_AUG14_sub.indd 10

4/8/2014 12:59:31 PM

Leadership « WHITE PAPER

MEET THE WORLD’S MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRIES Top 10 most innovative countries 1. Switzerland 2. United Kingdom 3. Sweden 4. Finland 5. Netherlands 6. US 7. Singapore 8. Denmark 9. Luxembourg Asia – Singapore’s well-linked innovation ecosystem, strong innovation infrastructure and investments in human capital have helped the country earn a solid reputation as being an innovative economy.

According to the Global Innovation Index (GII), co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Singapore topped the regional rankings to emerge as the leading innovative economy in Asia.

The island city also achieved seventh place among the 143 economies surveyed worldwide, up one position from 2013.

According to the report, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Sweden made up the top three

10. Hong Kong (China) Source: Global Innovation Index, Cornell University, INSEAD & World Intellectual Property Organisation

innovative countries in the world, respectively. Hong Kong and Korea followed Singapore to emerge as the second and third most innovative countries in Asia, respectively.

The rankings were calculated as the average of two sub-indices – the innovation input sub-index and the innovation output sub-index – and were judged via 81 indicators in total.

The innovation input sub-index gauged elements of the national economy which embody innovative activities grouped in five

pillars: institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, and business sophistication.

The innovation output sub-index captured actual evidence of innovation results, divided in two pillars: knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs.

“Singapore shows strength across the board in the input sub-index, where it takes first place,” the report stated.

“In particular, the top 25 countries in the GII consistently score high in most indicators and have strengths in areas such as innovation infrastructure, including information and communication technologies; business sophistication such as knowledge workers, innovation linkages, and knowledge absorption; and innovation outputs such as creative goods and services and online creativity.”

However, the report highlighted Singapore performed less well in government expenditure on education (111th), communications, computer and information services exports (96th), domestic resident trademark applications (82nd), and printing and publishing output (73rd).

The country also ranked poorly in the output sub-index (25th), a result of its 13th place in knowledge and technology outputs and 33rd place in creative outputs.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE TALENT MOST ATTRACTED TO?

Global – In terms of desirability, countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Canada attract the greatest search interest from job seekers worldwide.

According to a report by Indeed Hiring Lab, these three countries received the greatest mix of job seekers from other countries.

The report also found that of the four emerging BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) only India was attracting talent from other countries globally.

Coming in at 24th place of the 55 countries polled, Singapore scored an index of 1.6 out of 100 in the report’s location desirability index, with job

seekers from India making up the largest number of candidates interested in a position in Singapore.

“Director” and “head” were also the top two search terms used by Indian residents searching for jobs in Singapore.

The countries with the highest location desirability index were the US (100), India (31.3), the UK (28.7), Canada (17.7) and Japan (16).

“People often think of only the local population as being competition for local jobs, but if a relatively large number of outsiders are also looking for jobs in that area then the labour market may be tighter than it appears,” said Tara M. Sinclair, Indeed economist and associate professor of economics and international affairs at George Washington University.

“Significantly, we find that 27.8% of job seekers in the US are willing to make an interstate move and 9.1% of global job seekers are contemplating a cross-border move.”

The US in particular received searches from all other countries studied, while the majority of searches to the UK stemmed from Asian and

The top five cross-border flows 1. US to India 2. India to US 3. US to Japan 4. US to Canada 5. US to UK Source: Where People Search for Jobs: Cross-Border Labor

European countries. External searches to Canada were led by the Middle East and Asia.

“This research is a fascinating look at the search patterns of job seekers all over the world,” Sinclair said.

“The movement of a global workforce can help economies confront fluctuations in unemployment, distributing skilled workers where they’re needed most. This research adds to our understanding of intended mobility, helping employers target the portions of the global workforce that are relevant to their jobs.”

August 2014 « Human Resources « 11

10-11_WhitePaper_AUG14_sub.indd 11

4/8/2014 12:59:33 PM

PROFILE » NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors Paul Sexton, VP of HR for global sales & marketing; Renee van der Burg, VP of HR for global operations & Peggy Tang, HR director for global procurement & Singapore site

All in this together

By SABRINA ZOLKIFI

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

Q Singapore is NXP’s official second headquarters. How does that help business operations?

Paul Sexton: Singapore is the company’s second official headquarters, and that’s why we have the worldwide head of sales, operations, procurement and many more global roles based here. We also have worldwide leaders based in the US, and in Europe, so we’re a company that doesn’t have a singular central power and decision-making base. As a result, we’re able to make decisions that are relevant to the markets and customers we serve versus being restricted to one view based on one location.

Q I don’t think a lot of other companies have managed to successfully operate with such a wellorganised, decentralised manner.

PS: We’ve been able to keep pace with the fastest markets because we have decision makers in those markets, but because we’re not just working out of one location, we also get a balanced perspective when it comes to decision-making. We get the benefit of working in mature markets where we’ve seen fast growth in the past, and we leverage that experience, plus the knowledge of the talent in all markets, to harness the different experiences to be agile and flexible.

Because we have key decision-makers living and working in many global markets, we increase our decision-making quality and execution speed.

Collaboration requires significant effort so we leverage technology to have

most conversations “face to face” and support people travelling to optimise the discussions, decisions and learnings that are critical to maintain the pace our customers require of us to enable their businesses. While the travel costs are substantial they are seen as an investment and there is an overt expectation that plans are executed and the ROI is obvious.

Renee van der Burg: It’s interesting when we look at other companies to see how diverse our teams are, specifically in nationalities. It really adds a powerful dimension to our teamwork because by definition, we’re more aware and sensitive about differences, and what works or what doesn’t. We still make mistakes, but we’re a lot more aware of these differences so we can correct quickly.

Peggy Tang: We have more than 20 nationalities in Singapore alone. When you look at the employee education profile, at least 80% are graduates and above, and because we have an R&D operation in Singapore, we have quite a number of PhDs as well. We’ve really got a good and diverse talent pool in Singapore. We feel very proud of the highly skilled and motivated NXP population we have based in Singapore.

Q Is that why the decision was made to base the second headquarters in Singapore?

RvdB: Our decision to locate the second HQ in Singapore was based on the combination of the following – wellestablished infrastructure, highly skilled labour market, and proximity to, and

VITAL STATS Peggy Tang, HR director for global procurement and Singapore site; Paul Sexton, VP of HR for global sales and marketing and Renee van der Burg, VP of HR for global operations, are core HR team members within NXP Semiconductors.

Responsible for the HR function across the three different parts of the organisation, the trio are all based in Singapore.

also the dynamics of other markets.

And we are still constantly building the functions here.

PS: We’ve got a great team dynamic, we’ve got serious roles, and about 60% of the revenue and workforce for the company stems from Asia. You hear many other companies talking about the importance of Asia for future business, but it’s already reflected on our balance sheet. We’re a company that has great technology, talented people and the knowledge and experience to help our customers. Every day, we want to bring our best, and be better than we were the day before. We believe success is a journey, not a destination.

Q Many companies struggle to make sure global strategies fit local nuances, but it seems at NXP that’s second nature.

PS: It’s because we don’t do everything top down. There is a top-down direction and Rick [Clemmer, president and CEO of NXP] and his senior management team have done an amazing job leading the transformation over the years. But they then communicate the direction and expect the leadership in each organisation to work it out, make it work and make it relevant to customers and markets that they serve and deliver the expected result.

There’s always high engagement, lots of discussion, debate and the expectation that everyone steps forward and speaks their mind. If you do that, you have the impact and influence most people are looking for in their jobs.

12 » Human Resources » August 2014

12-15_Q&A_AUG14_sub.indd 12

4/8/2014 6:17:54 PM

NXP Semiconductors « PROFILE

August 2014 « Human Resources « 13

12-15_Q&A_AUG14_sub.indd 13

5/8/2014 6:11:57 PM

PROFILE » NXP Semiconductors Q Are there still challenges in terms of global communication?

PS: There are always challenges, but there is significant effort to communicate effectively. In addition to leveraging technology and having video calls as the default, we understand the importance of face to face meetings and aim to provide people with the opportunity to travel to attend business meetings. The different cultures engage in the discussions differently. Some are more direct than others, some prefer to talk offline during breaks, but we all walk out with clear, executable decisions. Everyone’s been heard, everyone’s been respected and it’s been efficient.

RvdB: For the operations organisation, we’re in the third year of having faceto-face HR meetings. The first meeting, I had to put everything together and plan the agenda. But now, there’s team collaboration, and there’s input from the rest of the team. It’s a matter of creating this energy and finding out what excites, drives and challenges the others.

PS: We do a lot of video calls, so it’s still face-to-face even though you’re not actually there. That’s our normal. We hardly use the phone. It helps to connect with people.

Q Paul, you spoke earlier about having decision-makers in every market. How does NXP empower its people?

PS: Because we’re a growing, evolving company, we’re not fully formed.

Everyone’s empowered to recommend and drive change. If you’ve got an idea for improvement or a way to get a better result, come forward, suggest it and do it.

There isn’t a framework you’re given to work within – it’s really a case of saying, “All right, we’ve got work to do so let’s get on with it”.

RvdB: Sometimes for people, it’s not always easy to come into NXP. There isn’t a boxed-in job description. You have to be very creative and dynamic, be able to improvise, build relationships and internal networks and find the information you need by asking.

Q Peggy, what was your reaction when you joined this culture two years ago?

PT: I came from a very structured company, where things were in place.

When I came here, NXP in Singapore was going through a transition. Renee was also

“As HR, we always stand together so that when we reach out, we are one voice.” new to Singapore, and she was also trying to adjust to the way of doing things here.

It wasn’t easy, but what was good with this company is if you dare to do it, and you dare to do it right, they’ll let you.

So I think that’s how I adopted to the style of working. In Singapore there are two groups – one was senior in terms of how long they’ve been with the company, and the other team was very new to NXP. That was a challenge because I had to figure out how to put them together.

Q The physical office move to Fusionopolis would have come with its own set of challenges as well.

PT: Actually, that helped because it gave the company a new branding and identity. There were many things we did consciously to create our own branding.

After 13 months, we know who we are, but we’re not fully there yet. As far as HR is concerned, this year, we’re doing a lot of things such as a globalised system for our way of working. We’re also doing an annual engagement survey (Gallup) because we want to continuously hear what employees have to say and make sure we make progress in those areas.

Q Are there any philosophies with NXP everyone works by?

PS: There are two major phrases we use internally. They are “absolute personal responsibility” and “fierce resolve”. In other words, if you’re going to do something, you have to own it, and you don’t give up.

You keep going until it’s done, and we obviously make sure we do it the right way.

Q Renee, you are responsible for the biggest workforce out of the three. How have you managed to align that with the business culture?

RvdB: What helps is that I have history with the company. Once I came to Singapore, I could quickly start work with my colleagues in the other countries. Of course, it’s a big group and it has its own characteristics as a manufacturing operation.

Q What were some of the issues you had to overcome in that aspect?

RvdB: When we roll out targets, we realise we may not be able to do it because of the

language differences and not everyone has a computer. By taking the time to understand what each site needed to feel connected, get to know the people and work together on effective solutions, we were able to bring everything and everyone together. I then moved into organising the HR team across the countries to support the organisation. Then we started working together to figure out the top priorities in HR – when we did our first succession planning, it was clear engagement, succession planning, pipeline building and talent management were the key topics.

PT: There was a strong focus on ensuring we had the right talent. This resulted in some change, but it was focused, purposeful and we held regular meetings to stay connected and move forward together. It takes discipline, but it gave us a platform to share progress and challenges.

Q How often does this HR team meet?

RvdB: We have a weekly call with each other, and face-to-face meetings with the wider HR team twice a year. With my own management team, we have three to four annual meetings, and that’s where we discuss foundations and programmes.

Q Do you work together frequently when it comes to rolling out HR programmes?

PS: Because we’re a close and mutually respecting HR team, we always share what we’re doing, and at the point where another business unit is ready for that, or that becomes a priority for them, they can just pick it up without having to invent it themselves. The operations team did a business foundation programme, and then the global sales and marketing side wanted it. So we picked it up, tailored a bit of content, but we really didn’t have to change that much. It’s great to have something that’s already proven to work within the company.

Q How has that helped with delivering effective programmes to the employees?

PS: Because every business is so focused on what they need to do, the programmes get accelerated within the organisation.

Renee does what she needs to do, but she

14 » Human Resources » August 2014

12-15_Q&A_AUG14_sub.indd 14

4/8/2014 6:18:08 PM

NXP Semiconductors « PROFILE also makes it visible to us. I do what I need to do, and make it visible to others. We always try to find ways we can strengthen other parts of the business just by providing visibility to what we’re doing. If I want to pick up and roll out something, Renee and Peggy would happily support me doing that.

It comes down to the very positive dynamic we have in the HR team.

Q What is the secret to this strong relationship the three of you share?

PS: As individuals, we respect each other, and we use that as a starting point.

As we work together, we’ve encountered different things and come at problems from different angles, but by hearing each other out and being open to the ideas of a respected colleague we are able to strengthen the solutions.

PT: All of us have different backgrounds, but HR is the core. I’m very vocal – if I see something that isn’t right and it’s something we can improve on, I will say it, and they know it. They know how I work and I know how they work. It really is about mutual respect. As HR, we always stand together so that when we reach out, we are one voice.

Q It also seems as though the team knows how to have fun.

PS: You know everyone’s sprinting, you know everyone wants you to be successful so taking the time to make each other smile and see the lighter side of things sometimes is extremely helpful.

PS: There’s no tension between us.

We all have a genuine desire to make an impact and to make NXP successful – and that makes the job easy. And Robert [Rigby-Hall, CHRO at NXP] sets a tone with his leadership that’s so nice to work with.

PT: We were also very fortunate because he was in Singapore, so I had the chance to work closely with and get to know him.

Q I have to ask about what happens if the three of you do face a conflict. How do you resolve it?

PS: Ultimately, if it’s something that is one person’s absolute responsibility we let them have the final say. We stand united as an HR team. Our teams are so different, we don’t come at things the same way.

We’ve had many occasions where we fundamentally disagree on the approach, but because we know who needs to make

that final decision, we’re not trying to grab power or get our own way.

RvdB: The important thing is to avoid internal battles or burning internal energy because we need to fight the competition.

It’s talking about things straight forward, understanding where everyone comes from, and the one who has a personal responsibility in the situation calls the shots.

PS: If there’s an executive decision that needs to be made, we make it and the rest of the team line up behind it.

And because we do that, we align and execute quicker.

Q What about making sure there’s diversity in decision-making?

RvdB: If we have a project team, we always put people from different regions in it. The other thing that works well is to invite people here to visit the region.

Many times, I’ve invited my colleagues over for one or two weeks to visit the factories and design centres. It’s not the same as being here all the time, but at least it gives them an appreciation of what we do here and facilitates relationship-building.

August 2014 « Human Resources « 15

12-15_Q&A_AUG14_sub.indd 15

5/8/2014 6:12:26 PM

FEATURE » Digital Recruitment

With everything going digital, it was only a matter of time before one of the most critical aspects of HR found an online home.

Sabrina Zolkifi reports on the latest digital recruitment trends.

16 » Human Resources » August 2014

16-18_Feature_DigitalRecruitment_AUG14_sub.indd 16

4/8/2014 12:42:51 PM

Digital Recruitment « FEATURE he growth of digital recruitment has increased recently, thanks to advancements in technology and the influx of social media into all aspects of the workplace.

As more companies attempt to create a larger global footprint, digital recruitment efforts have helped them reach out to a larger talent pool in a shorter period of time.

“How candidates were sourced in the past will forever change – we now know too much about one another and that allows us to connect on a different level with potential candidates than ever before,” says Lori Russo, head of global talent acquisition at TripAdvisor.

“Digital tools create a great opportunity to connect and build a strong relationship; recruitment is becoming relationship-selling.”

The increase in digital recruitment uptake lends its success to that relationshipbuilding, which helps companies better identify talent who will be a cultural fit with the current team.

While it can be argued that moving part or all of the recruitment function online adds noise to the hiring process, Nathalie Szwagrzyk, talent manager for employee engagement and employer branding at MSLGROUP, disagrees.

“What you want to aim at is not more profiles, but more of the right type of profiles,” she says.

“Social media enables you to bring your employer branding story to life and engage in a two-way conversation with potential candidates.

If you do this right, you will start getting more qualitative applications and talent who really fit into the organisation.”

Sabrina Jaksa, head of HR at Hootsuite APAC, says it always asks one question as part of the application process: “What makes you unique?”

Candidates have to respond in a Twitterstyle 140 characters, which Jaksa says helps the company get to know the potential talent better.

“Hands down, it is my favourite part of the application process as people can get really creative,” she says.

Jaksa says the experience has largely been positive since launching the company’s @ HootHR Twitter profile, and while candidates may occasionally “go on a social media blitz to get our attention”, she says the company has always been able to stay on top of the communication.

“What we didn’t expect was how viral the

creative resumes have gotten,” she says.

“People have sent us custom resumes in the form of cakes, tea sets, beer, pillows, pizza, and even a Christmas tree.”

“Our walls are lined with the amazing creative resumes we’ve received over the years.”

Building relationships in recruitment Rajesh Rai, chief people officer at Eicher Motors (the manufacturers of Royal Enfield motorbikes), agrees it boils down to leveraging these online platforms to build relationships, rather than merely advertising available roles.

“We don’t sell our jobs, but we want these (future) employees to know about our cult product, our business and all the activities and developments that surround it,” he says. “We want them to know how passionate we are about biking, and how we are about the ‘pure joy of motor biking’. We certainly want them to know that we are always looking for people who love what we do and love our product.

“People have sent us custom resumes in the form of cakes, tea sets, beer, pillows, pizza, and even a Christmas tree.”

– Sabrina Jaksa, head of HR at Hootsuite APAC

“So we don’t target it towards a demography or skill set – we target it to whoever wants to join us for being Royal Enfield.”

With digital recruitment widening the talent pool, HR has to be more selective, with Rai adding this is when “intelligent sourcing comes to the fore”.

“All the profiles that are a fit now or will be a fit later are identified and worked upon either by taking the candidatures forward or by ensuring we have put them in our database.”

Russo shares one of the biggest focal points of the HR team at TripAdvisor is to communicate naturally with the brand’s followers, fans and potential candidates. However, she admits remaining fresh and “keeping the conversations going with all that want to have conversations” still remains a challenge.

“We have not perfected it yet, but we are working on it.”

And it’s not the only thing the company is working on. Late last year, TripAdvisor updated its careers page to provide potential candidates

August 2014 « Human Resources « 17

16-18_Feature_DigitalRecruitment_AUG14_sub.indd 17

4/8/2014 12:42:52 PM

FEATURE » Digital Recruitment with more information on the company, as well as making sure the site was optimised for mobile.

Creating a digital window “Candidates can see what it’s like working in our offices across the world, from our US headquarters to London, Singapore and Beijing by watching our ‘Day in the Life’ video tours,” Russo says.

“Sharing a passion for what we do and embracing our culture is very important in our interviews and selection process.”

In the spirit of having employees work as brand ambassadors online, Jaksa says Hootsuite created a “#hootsuitelife” tag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for staff to “share what life is like in the nest”.

“Potential employees most likely would be in the space already, or if they are curious about social, would look us up and may engage via social media,” she says.

Hitting the right key: Test new solutions until you get comfortable with hiring online.

Rai adds recruiters can also use social media to pick up hiring cues, such as buzzwords on a profile that may set a candidate apart.

“They are after the untapped talent, and not for talent that is available on every other job board.”

“All this contributes to the ease of the process.

However, if the space becomes way too crowded, that’s when old-school recruiting techniques start to pay off,” Rai adds.

At Eicher, Rai admits they “are yet to fully use digital tools apart from the usual online job boards and career sites”.

“However, our use of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter is widespread, but in a way that engages our prospective employees to our products and our business. Our process hinges on this strong engagement through social media to attract talent.”

This is something Szwagrzyk echoes: “With social media, it has become easier than ever to find passive candidates, approach them and nurture a long-term relationship until a right opportunity will come along.”

For Jaksa, it comes down to thinking about and planning the company’s social profiles and online representation, and adopting to changing behaviours, including younger demographics who are accessing career sites on mobile devices.

“Find HR professionals or companies who are doing digital recruitment well and follow them on social media. You can re-tweet or repost some content until you find your way.”

Russo adds digital tools will continue to change the way companies communicate and attract potential candidates.

“Keep learning and testing new solutions; what will work for one company does not mean it will work for yours. Find what works best for your company,” she says.

Szwagrzyk recommends partnering with a marketing or communications peer as they may be able to shed light and provide guidance when it comes to utilising social media.

She adds HR should also start approaching potential candidates as target audiences whose “online habits and preferences you need to research in order to successfully engage with them on the right social platforms”.

“In the end, what I keep saying to my HR colleagues is to not be afraid to experiment, try new things, assess results and go back if needed.

This is all part of our journey to becoming more innovative HR.”

18 » Human Resources » August 2014

16-18_Feature_DigitalRecruitment_AUG14_sub.indd 18

4/8/2014 12:42:52 PM

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

FIVE THINGS EMPLOYERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BACKGROUND SCREENING Damage to the company’s reputation. The cost of replacing employees who didn’t have the qualifications stated on their resumes. The risk to the safety and security of fellow employees and customers. These are just some of the many problems that can arise if a company hires the wrong candidates.

To avoid these issues, many employers have recognised the benefits of comprehensive screening programmes. Yet, as more companies look to the growing markets of the Asia Pacific (APAC) region to expand their businesses, they often find the population to be not yet fully accustomed to or accepting of the idea of screening candidates.

Many have tried to replicate their domestic screening practices and apply them to their hiring efforts in the region, but unfortunately these efforts don’t always prove to be successful, and companies that fail to get the screening process right (or lack one altogether) open themselves up to compliance risk. As a result, they may then contend with negative attention to the company, harm to the brand and excessive financial costs and penalties.

In its recent research, Employment Screening Trends Report: Asia Pacific, First Advantage provides an in-depth exploration of background screening processes in APAC and uncovers many facts employers hiring workers in the region should know to ensure a successful and fully compliant screening practice.

1. The biggest challenges One of the biggest concerns among APAC employers – and one of the reasons why some are reluctant to implement a screening programme – is the rapidly changing legislation regarding screening and data security. These laws vary widely between different markets and differ greatly between cities in the same country, causing many companies to fear the risks which could arise if their screening processes do not comply with local regulations.

Even companies with enterprise-wide screening programmes find difficulties when transferring their processes to the APAC region. For instance, candidates may feel they are being subjected to a private investigation that is beyond their control.

However, candidates should be reassured that all screenings are conducted with their full consent.

2. Growing acceptance Although background screening is not yet widely practised, there is rapidly growing acceptance. First Advantage reports there was more than a 10% increase in the number of background checks conducted in APAC between 2012 and 2013.

Performing background screening can help the company ensure it hires the right people the first time, thereby eliminating the costs and extra time involved with finding replacements. The company can also protect itself from reputational damage or potential risk to workplace safety or confidential data which can result from negative hiring.

3. Effectiveness of background screening Employers that conduct background screenings are able to screen out a large number of candidates who pose potential problems. In the first quarter of 2013 alone, one in 10 screening reports conducted in APAC resulted in discrepancies or areas of concern.

Companies that conduct six checks or more for each candidate – a practice

accounting for nearly half (40.4%) of all background screenings in the first quarter of 2013 – are nine times more likely to uncover an alert than employers that only conduct one or two checks.

4. Differences by countries and industries Despite more employers throughout APAC conducting background screening, their use varies widely across the different countries of the region. For example, instances in which companies conducted six checks or more checks per candidate are most prevalent in the more established markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

5. How to get started The findings from First Advantage’s research show employers in APAC that screen their candidates find a larger number of discrepancies, and employers that have yet to adopt the practice may end up hiring those individuals with false credentials.

In order to ensure a reliable and compliant screening programme, companies can benefit from working with a background screening partner experienced in the dynamic regulatory environment of APAC. The right provider should be up-to-date on the latest legislation governing the background screening process, helping to ensure the company continually hires the right talent while checking their credentials in a safe and legally compliant manner.

With an effective background screening programme in place, managed by a trusted screening solutions provider with proven expertise in the region, the This article is company can ensure successful hiring contributed by across APAC. Visit www.fadvasia.com.

Matthew Glasner, First Advantage Managing Director, South Asia Pacific

First Advantage provides comprehensive background screening, identity and information solutions that give employers access to actionable information that results in faster, more accurate people decisions. With an advanced global technology platform and superior customer service delivered by experts who understand local markets, First Advantage helps customers around the world build fully scalable, configurable screening programmes that meet their unique needs.

More information about First Advantage can be accessed at www.fadvasia.com

August 2014 « Human Resources « 19

19_BrandedContent_First_AUG14_sub.indd 19

4/8/2014 12:40:38 PM

FEATURE » Digital Recruitment

CASE STUDY: ERICSSON Ericsson shares its experiences as it continues on a major transformation journey, including launching a new careers site to better engage with potential candidates. By Sabrina Zolkifi.

In 2008, Ericsson embarked on a major transformation journey to expand its business into industrial verticals, TV and media, as well as expanding its software and services business lines.

Dave Ansell (pictured), the regional head of talent acquisition for Ericsson Asia South and Oceania, says restructuring the company to have a much more regional focus has allowed it to develop and implement global systems and processes to deliver all its HR services.

“Leveraging on our size in this way allows us to save money by consolidating all the channels we use to engage with candidates, but also gives us the opportunity to build on work that has been done in other countries and thereby improve the scope of that engagement over time,” he says.

“The development of a global digital recruitment strategy is a perfect example of this – it’s allowed us to build recruitment capability via social media that we wouldn’t have had the resources to do in the region.”

Matt Kaiser, global employer branding and digital recruitment specialist at Ericsson, says it is still in the n process of redesigning the careers site, which went live in November 2013. nt “We’re still evolving the site, but it’s a major component of what we’re doing,” he says. “As part of that, we’re going to be highlighting more regional content on the careers site.

We want to be able to highlight some of the great things our region has been doing, while maintaining that global presence.”

In the next phase of the careers site redesign, Kaiser says it aims to have more engagement and real-time conversations between the company and candidates.

“We’re going to have more Q&A interaction between ns candidates and recruiters so they’ll be able to ask questions or provide comments,” he says, adding it is also building its social networks to better connect with candidates on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

That’s really allowed us to focus and target our efforts, and communicate with many candidates easily, versus having to connect with one candidate at a time.”

It’s no surprise the company is focusing great effort on its digital presence as the war for talent continues to intensify on a global scale.

Ansell says a strong digital presence has been one of the best platforms for the creation of talent communities.

“Before the advent of digital recruitment technology, we wouldn’t have been able to create that kind of community at all. Now, we’re able to engage somebody who is interested in working for us without physically being in the same location,” he says.

“It gives anyone who is interested the opportunity to engage with us.”

But the process wasn’t spared from the usual teething issues brought on by a change of such magnitude.

Communicating with communities But these social networks aren’t only good for questions and comments. Kaiser says it also makes it easier for candidates to share their qualifications and build their personal brand.

“We can also connect with members in this talent community when we have open roles in a specific region..

“When we get information on their backgrounds and interests, we can connect with candidates on a global platform in specific regions for specific opportunities.

20 » Human Resources » August 2014

20-22_CS_Ericsson_AUG14_sub.indd 20

4/8/2014 12:39:20 PM

FEATURE » Digital Recruitment

“Given that we were implementing a new global process, it involved an offshore shared service centre supporting us in India, and both the regionalisation and globalisation of functions,” Ansell says.

“It didn’t immediately work 100%; it took us a little while to learn how to use it effectively, both from an interface perspective and making software revisions to ensure things were working appropriately.”

He says the revision process took about two months to work through, and adds the team was able to “iron out most of the challenges by the end of January 2014”.

“It’s given us significant improvements since, and as far as our regional-specific engagement, it’s something that’s added to our footprint in our talent community.”

Checks and boxes However, with all things digital, Kaiser and Ansell advise the right policies need to be in place, especially to better manage social media’s role in the talent function.

“We have a social media policy and are in the process of setting up training for employees to understand how to best leverage social channels to strengthen our brand and employer brand,” Kaiser says. “We’ve tried to shift our policy away from what you can’t and shouldn’t do, to what you can and should do to help us strengthen our brand.

“Engineers know engineers and project managers know project managers, so if they’re sharing our message about a job opportunity or employer brand, it’s going to help us reach the right audience.”

Therefore, rather than putting boundaries around their social media efforts, Kaiser says Ericsson established a policy which helps employees better understand the value and strength of social media, and the content they can and should share with their networks.

Ansell says this is why it’s important the company produce more regional content, as mentioned by Kaiser earlier.

“The more region-specific you get, the more interesting topics you’ll be able to put out from that region, and the more likely you’ll be able to engage with people in those channels.”

He admits this is one area Ericsson is still looking to improve, partly because it hasn’t been able to commit enough resources in the region.

“Currently, we do not have people within the region who are able to provide more comprehensive, interesting and frequent regional updates,” Ansell says. But he adds the company is committed to building the competence and finding internal resources to better engage with candidates looking to have a conversation with Ericsson.

“I hope as we mature, the business begins to engage even more with the talent community as well,” he says.

Looking back and moving forward If he could do this process again, Kaiser says he would ensure he has a good understanding of all the key stakeholders involved.

“From my standpoint, it’s important to understand the individuals who need to be aware of what we want to do, why we want to do it and where we want to go, and buy into that,” he says.

Kaiser says the biggest stakeholder in this should be the marketing and communications team because it will already have a number of corporate channels built.

“The Ericsson brand is a strong brand and we are very protective of that brand, and rightfully so. It was important that we engaged our marcomm team from the beginning so they felt comfortable in the process, knew what we wanted to accomplish and were also kept aware of our progress and understood where we were in the process from time to time.”

For those who may be struggling to create or revise their digital recruitment strategy, Ansell says: “If in doubt, get started.

“If you aren’t able to understand how cost-effective a talent acquisition tool such as social media can be, it will soon become clear once you begin to engage with candidates directly and hire people without having to spend agency fees.”

22 » Human Resources » August 2014

20-22_CS_Ericsson_AUG14_sub.indd 22

4/8/2014 12:39:22 PM

SPONSORED RECRUIT ADVICE HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP

SINGAPORE’S NEW ERA OF RECRUITMENT With a 2% unemployment rate and more than 60,000 local job vacancies (not to mention the changing landscape with the Fair Consideration Framework), we’re on the cusp of a new era in talent attraction and management. Competition for local talent has reached new peaks of intensity.

Expenditure in both money and resources is increasing to attract and headhunt quality talent; tailored retention strategies are increasing in importance, and the motivation for succession planning and internal mobility has intensified.

Because of this, companies are spending less effort on doing whatever it is that they do, resulting in less innovation and slower productivity growth.

Most of us are well aware of the levers to be pulled: • Partner with a respectable provider of recruitment services • Review your market approaches and employer brand to appeal to talent • Review remuneration and benefits, training and development, and organisational culture to create an environment where people want to stay • Put in place mechanisms to identify high potential employees • Map out their career paths and their successors...

But all of a sudden the action list becomes very long and beyond the scope of most organisations to address in a timely fashion.

There’s no one solution, and nor should there be. The needs of every organisation and every single employee are different. But there are a number of emerging opportunities for employers in Singapore to consider in their talent attraction and management plans.

1. The role of assessments – beyond new hires The use of assessments in the selection process is commonplace, and will only increase with the arrival of online assessment aggregators. That’s the right trend for this environment, as it enables employers to consider each new hire on the basis of their fit not just for the role, but for the team and the environment.

What’s less common is the use of assessments for existing employees, to identify new opportunities within the organisation, build realistic career paths for the talent you wish to retain and create high performing teams headed by the right leaders.

The real value is in gaining an overarching view of where talent exists within the organisation – and where it is missing. HR practitioners can quickly create tailored talent plans and retention strategies based on objective information and an understanding of individual motivations and drivers.

2. Taking succession planning from aspiration to reality Using the words “succession planning” often generates a cynical response. A process for identifying and developing high potential individuals to fill critical positions in the company sounds good. And a lot of organisations believe they are doing it, but employees see no evident of their execution.

Every senior executive working in Singapore needs the authority and accountability for identifying and developing talent as part of their KPIs. The reality is that not every role warrants a succession plan, nor does every employee want to (or is capable of) taking on a more senior role.

The first step is to ask high level questions: What are the key skills and knowledge needed for my business’ growth? What roles could provide the highest leverage and contribution to organisational success? What are the areas of highest risk or vulnerability?

Effective succession planning is not a narrowly prepared and enthusiastically executed initiative to replace or backfill key roles. It is identifying individuals, roles and skills critical to a company’s success… and involving them in the conversation!

You may laugh, but we have worked with organisations where key talent are ignorant of the organisation’s plans for their careers, until they hand in their resignations.

3. Hiring for Fit. I mentioned earlier the importance of considering each new hire on the basis of their fit for the role, as well as for the team and the organisational culture. This is critical to performance, engagement and retention – and not just for permanent employees.

It can be argued that this approach is even more imperative for contract employees who must quickly adapt to a new environment in a limited tenure situation with clear project deliverables. It’s not enough to simply hire for skills, even when competition for those skills is fierce.

Many of us have been in situations where highly skilled colleagues with an attitude or approach which is misaligned with the broader team, can derail a project rather than enabling it.

This common sense approach - assessing new and existing employees, taking succession planning from aspiration to reality and hiring for fit - is likely to bear dividends both financially and in other tangible business outcomes.

The article was contributed by Richard Cornish, General Manager, Chandler Macleod Group

Chandler Macleod Group is Australasia’s leading provider of integrated HR services, products and technologies, helping people and organisations to reach their full potential through enhancing their human resource strategy and practices to support achievement of their goals.

Services encompass temporary, contract and permanent recruitment, assessment, HR Consulting, outsourcing, managed workforces and payroll & HR technology.

For more information,visit us at www.chandlermacleod.com or call us at (65) 6225 5077.

EA LICENCE NO. 11C3837 / EA REG NO. R1110570

August 2014 « Human Resources « 23

23_BrandedContent_Chandler_AUG14_sub.indd 23

4/8/2014 12:38:32 PM

FEATURE » Teambuilding

Shifting business needs have made it necessary for team-building processes to evolve. What can HR practitioners do to navigate these changes and successfully measure their effectiveness?

Akankasha Dewan finds out.

ong gone are the days when team-building was deemed to be irrelevant and an unnecessary expense. These days, those misconceptions have been shrugged off by business leaders, who understand that developing cross-disciplinary and geographically diverse teams is a primary factor of building a successful and profitable team.

According to a recent Ernst & Young survey, 84% of respondents in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas acknowledged that managing teams was a key strategy for future competitiveness.

“Increasingly, a company’s ability to form, lead and nurture high-performance teams will be critical to its long-term success,” said Mike Cullen, EY’s global managing partner of talent, in the study.

“To achieve superior performance, tapping into the full range of diverse skills and expertise at their disposal is essential.”

But simply identifying the importance of building effective teams isn’t enough for organisations to be able to harness their full potential. When you do this, you run the risk of putting together team-building programmes for the sake of it, rather than actively utilising their full advantages.

24 » Human Resources » August 2014

24-29_Feature_TeamBuilding_AUG14_sub.indd 24

4/8/2014 12:37:39 PM

Teambuilding « FEATURE

August 2014 « Human Resources « 25

24-29_Feature_TeamBuilding_AUG14_sub.indd 25

4/8/2014 12:37:48 PM

FEATURE » Teambuilding “It’s very scary when you ask organisations about their objectives of team-building, and some of them – government sectors included – tell you it is ‘because we have some unused budget, and we thought, let’s do a team-building activity’,” says Gary Lee, head of learning and development at Soo Kee Group. “The reality is, if they don’t use up the budget this year, next year they might get less.”

The importance of corporate team-building Understanding why team-building is important has become an integral motivation for companies to develop their teams.

“Nowadays, the work which we do is best accomplished when you bring folks with different skill sets together to work on a solution because of the complexity of what we’re doing in the global world,” says Jaclyn Lee, senior director of human resources at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

“I think sometimes what people forget is becoming a high-performing team is not just about building a team, but having a shared vision as a team, and ensuring organisational goals are aligned with the team.”

– Sridevi Schaub, global supply chain learning and development head for East Asia, Japan and Pacific at Schneider Electric

She says it becomes important to work in and build heterogeneous teams, especially if companies wish to be innovative in their approach and solve complex problems.

However, Soo Kee’s Lee says leaders need to be wary of the way such diverse teams work, which can often lead to miscommunication among members.

“Prevalent use of emails to communicate with one another rather than face-to-face contact, and having emails as the basic premise of communication allows employees to form virtual work teams even within the same organisation,” he explains.

“Sometimes, especially in multinational corporations, virtual work teams exist, but when they finally get together to meet clients, they also meet their team for the very first time.”

Sridevi Schaub, Schneider Electric’s global supply chain learning and development head for East Asia, Japan and Pacific, agrees with these issues which crop up within virtual teams.

She warns emails lead to miscommunication and cause misalignment and lack of a shared vision because people are at different stages of understanding when they receive emails.

Precisely because team communication impacts the functionality and performance of organisations, building such a shared vision within teams becomes even more important.

“Building an effective or high-performing culture is something that has grown up or really exploded – especially in our region – a lot,” Schaub observes. “This high-performance culture is really about working together as a team. How do you perform more effectively? I think sometimes what people forget is becoming a high-performing team is not just about building a team, but having a shared vision as a team, and ensuring organisational goals are aligned with the team.”

Team bonding is NOT team-building All three leaders agree the first step to ensuring teams share a common vision is by developing strong bonds between them.

“Team bonding plays a huge role in building a team together. People really get to know one another when they are in a non-work setting and their defences are down,” Schaub says.

Encouraging teams to take part in lighthearted, sports-oriented activities such as rockclimbing and island trekking helps employees to know more about one another and break the ice that sets in a more rigid office environment.

But all three also warn of the dangers of limiting team-building to activities which aid only in bonding team members together.

Schaub defines team-building as the process of “intervention” which helps teams in “getting the shared vision, and the right alignment and the support from the business leader”. However, she believes a lot of people, “including HR practitioners, confuse team-building with team bonding”.

Acting as a vital subset of the entire teambuilding process, team-bonding is important in introducing employees to one another, and are one element of the team-building process.

“Team bonding is more abstract, more fluid and measurables don’t really matter,” Soo Kee’s Lee says. “Fun is linked more with team bonding,

26 » Human Resources » August 2014

24-29_Feature_TeamBuilding_AUG14_sub.indd 26

5/8/2014 6:15:55 PM

The Global Remuneration Professional (GRP) and Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designations provides a foundation of knowledge spanning across borders. With compensation as one of the key elements of a Total Rewards strategy, the GRP/CCP supports professionals to excel around the world.

SNEF.indd 1

7/7/2014 11:34:37 AM

FEATURE » Teambuilding

Keep the cogs turning: It’s a team effort to keep team-building on track.

whereas team-building is more intentional, more structured, and it has to be a mid to long-term process, rather than being a static event.”

All agree the generic nature of the term “team-building” may cause this difference to be slightly blurred. However, this can be overcome when HR leaders actively investigate exactly what they are trying to achieve in their attempt to instil better teamwork among their employees.

“When you dig deeper you realise there are a lot of underlying issues, like the need for conflict resolution, or the fact that people can’t mingle very well because of diversity issues, be it generational or cultural,” says Soo Kee’s Lee. “These are all underlying issues, and they are all subsets of why you need to build a team. So once we get to the underlying causes, then from there we will know what measures to take.”

Jumping the team-building hurdles Clear and succinct knowledge of the aims and objectives of building teams, be they in any function or industry, becomes the first fundamental step in planning an effective teambuilding programme.

“Alignment with your organisation becomes important,” SUTD’s Lee says. “We have such diverse populations in the organisation and we’re trying to get them together to solve problems.

The first thing you need to have is a very clear mission and vision – what are we here for?”

She highlights three specific challenges, which can be overcome if the team-building objectives are clearly established. These are navigating through diverse cultural challenges, accommodating different personality types, and getting people with different levels of expertise to work together.

“What I do in team-building activities is to

make employees profile their personalities,” she says. “I make them sit together and share with each other on their personalities, likes and dislikes. We make the process very open, so everyone understands each other’s personality types. And that helps you build a team.

“Once we’ve broken the ice this way and the differences in these personalities have been set aside, then we close the gap on where we think we should be effective as a team, and work together towards a common aim or goal.”

But identifying such reasons to initiate teambuilding endeavours is a key strategy which is often lacking in many organisations.

“Know your workforce first, know why you want the team-building,” Lee from Soo Kee says.

“A lot of people tend to forget why they want to have team-building in the first place. Ask yourself why? What gave you that indicator which made you feel [employees] needed some form of team-building?”

In-house or external team-building?

Knowing the competencies, gaps and characteristics of one’s workforce is also essential when it comes to deciding the way team-building programmes should be run. Organisations can run in-house programmes facilitated by HR and supported by business leaders, or they can rely on professional, external vendors to help them lead the programmes. Both come with a range of advantages and disadvantages, depending on what it is you are looking for.

“If there is an organisation which conducts in-house team-building year in and year out, after a while, the employees say, ‘Oh, we know what to expect’,” Soo Kee’s Lee says.

“That’s why some companies do in-housing team-building for three or four years and then once in a while they engage external vendors to do it. Just to break the habit and bring in something fresh.”

However, bringing in external vendors to provide a fresh perspective may prove risky if they are not aware of the culture of the organisation in question, SUTD’s Lee warns, adding vendors often don’t know staff well.

“Doing in-house [team-building] has its advantages; it allows you to have greater control of the effectiveness of the event,” Lee from Soo Kee admits.

“Let’s say after the team-building event you realise something didn’t go too well, you can take remedial actions. But for external vendors,

28 » Human Resources » August 2014

24-29_Feature_TeamBuilding_AUG14_sub.indd 28

5/8/2014 6:20:53 PM

Teambuilding « FEATURE if something didn’t work, then the vendors might say, ‘It’s because your workforce is like that. We can provide you with consultancy services and charge you more instead’.”

Measuring the effectiveness Considering how best to take remedial actions post team-building is an important process.

“Such things are quite intangible,” SUTD’s Lee says. “It’s very hard to put a dollar sign and tell someone that after I run this activity, certain things will happen. I do tell my boss things like, once you take part in this culture tool and get everyone aligned and do this team-building, you will probably be able to see a smaller gap between what is desired and what is present.”

Soo Kee’s Lee agrees, adding: “Team-building isn’t a static process, not like, you went through this so I should see this. It’s got to be something which is continuous.”

To overcome these challenges, the leaders suggest tools such as journaling, peer-to-peer assessments and face-to-face conversations to understand what team members have learnt.

“If I conduct a team-building activity for two days, then over the next four weeks there needs to be a lesson plan which needs to be followed,” Lee from Soo Kee says. “Like [allocating] every Tuesday for lunch time with your mates. I might be in a different function, but every Tuesday we sit down and have lunch together – that in itself becomes a good measure because I’m keeping to my commitment, and I’m spending time with somebody in my team.”

SUTD’s Lee suggests HR leaders’ role in implementing and measuring is crucial. “I would tell every HR practitioner that you have got to be a change agent,” she says. “You have got to train yourself in the latest team-building tools, and during team-building activities you have to be a good facilitator, as well. If you go out there and you don’t have any idea on how teams work or tools work, and you don’t understand the dynamics of the employees, then it’s very hard to conduct a team-building exercise.”

But questions then arise around whether it is possible for HR to always have access to such information, especially when it has to conduct team-building across departments and countries.

According to Soo Kee’s Lee, this is how HR practitioners further need to evolve themselves to act as coaches for leaders of other functions.

“This is where sustainable HR fits in,” he says.

“HR traditionally has been targeted towards organisations, everything is for the organisation.

But today’s HR is talking about doing something for the people first and then the organisation. So instead of a direct two point, it becomes a threepoint function.

“HR no longer becomes an implementer, it becomes a consultant to the line managers to perform HR processes. Because the reality is, nobody else [except the managers] knows their people the best.”

He advises managers of the specific teams in question have to be the ones to execute teambuilding programmes, with guidance from HR practitioners.

Trainings. Teambuildings. Conferences.

w w w.drumcafe.sg

“This teambuilding is the best ĞǀĞƌ ĂƩĞŶĚĞĚ ŝŶ ĐĂƌĞĞƌ ͘​͘ůŝĨĞ͘͟ ʹ EŽǀĂƌƟƐ ^ŝŶŐĂƉŽƌĞ

zŽƵƌ ƐƚĂī ĂƌĞ ůŝŬĞ ĂŶ ŽƌĐŚĞƐƚƌĂ͘ tĞ ŚĞůƉ ŐĞƚ ƚŚĞŵ ƚŽ ǁŽƌŬ ŝŶ ŚĂƌŵŽŶLJ ďĞŚŝŶĚ LJŽƵƌ ŐŽĂůƐ͘ ƌƵŵ ĂĨĞ͛Ɛ ŝŶƚĞƌĂĐƟǀĞ ĚƌƵŵŵŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ůĞĂƌŶŝŶŐ ĂƌĞ ƉƌŽǀĞŶ ŝŶ h^͕ h<͕ ĂŶĚ ^ŝŶŐĂƉŽƌĞ͘ &ƌĞƐŚ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵƐ͗ dƌĂŝŶŝŶŐƐ͕ dĞĂŵďƵŝůĚŝŶŐƐ͕ >ĞĂĚĞƌƐŚŝƉ͕ DŽƟǀĂƟŽŶ͕ Conferences, and more͘ hƐĞ ŵƵƐŝĐ ĂƐ Ă ĐĂƚĂůLJƐƚ ƚŽ ĐŚĂŶŐĞ͕ ĞĚƵĐĂƚĞ͕ ŵŽƟǀĂƚĞ͕ ƵŶŝƚĞ͘ ϭ ĚĂLJ͕ ŚĂůĨ ĚĂLJ ƚŽ ϭ Śƌ͘ ϭϬ ƚŽ ϭϬϬ ƚŽ ϭ͕ϬϬϬ ƉĞŽƉůĞ͘ ůŝĞŶƚƐ ŝŶĐů͘ ƉƉůĞ͕ WΘ'͕ ^ŝŶŐƚĞů͕ ^ŚĞůů͕ ƌĞĚŝƚ ^ƵŝƐƐĞ͕ DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ĂŶĚ ŵŽƌĞ͘ &ĞĂƚƵƌĞĚ ŝŶ EE ĂŶĚ ,Z ŵĂŐƐ͘ sŽƚĞĚ ͞dŽƉ ŐůŽďĂů ŽƌŐĂŶŝnjĂƟŽŶ ĞīĞĐƟŶŐ ŵĞĂŶŝŶŐĨƵů ŚĂŶŐĞ͘͟ ʹ ĂƐ ƉƵďůŝƐŚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h͘^͘ ,ĂŶĚŬ ŽĨ ŚĂŶŐĞ͘ Contact us: info@drumcafe.sg Singapore, KL +65 6438 8949

Hong Kong +852 5808 0488

Taiwan +886 2 2719 9958

China

info@drumcafe.sg w w w.drumcafe.sg

info@drumcafe.hk w w w.drumcafe.hk

info@drumcafe.com.t w w w w.drumcafe.com.t w

info@drumcafe.com.cn w w w.drumcafe.com.cn

August 2014 « Human Resources « 29

24-29_Feature_TeamBuilding_AUG14_sub.indd 29

5/8/2014 6:21:13 PM

FEATURE » Teambuilding

CASE STUDY: AVIVA The impact of team-building can be phenomenal for an organisation if done correctly, but measuring effectiveness is easier said than done. Akankasha Dewan talks to Anuradha Purbey, HR director at Aviva Singapore, about the impact its team initiative has had on the business.

Rapid changes in the business landscape, coupled with the need to remain competitive, have led to organisations increasingly relying on team structures to boost their growth.

However, the use of groups to support organisational goals often fail because of the lack of a structured approach to monitor their performance and measure their effectiveness.

“If you really ask me about team activities and why sometimes they don’t work, it’s because we almost always look at team-building as an output, or as an activity,” says Anuradha Purbey, human resources director at Aviva Limited, Singapore.

“A great programme is a great output, you get great feedback at the end and people get excited.

“Then you go back to your workstation and you are again structured in silos. Your workflow is in silos, and you will lose that essence which you built.”

Purbey says it’s important to look at team initiatives as outcomes that have a clear impact on business development as a whole.

The Bin Bank Build Programme Demonstrating the importance of viewing team activities as outcomes and not as outputs such as those described above, Purbey and her team are currently running the Bin Bank Build (BBB) programme for their employees.

“A recent team initiative which we’ve co-created with the global Aviva Group is the BBB exercise,” she says. “Bin implies what we can let go, bank is what we need to keep, and build is, what is it that we need to invest in.”

This programme is run mainly in the form of an ideagenerating and brainstorming activity, where employees get together on a monthly basis to suggest ideas which will strengthen Aviva’s capabilities and build a high-performing culture.

The aim of the programme has been divided into three categories. The first involves taking ownership – by suggesting ideas related to the business, the programme allows staff to make the Aviva strategy real for themselves by building a picture of what it will take to turn the strategy to life.

The second is related to action planning and execution. As Aviva’s senior management hears ideas around the concrete actions and decisions that Aviva needs to commit to, it executes them accordingly to boost Aviva’s growth as a whole.

The third category draws on the importance of generating an early momentum of growth. By getting together to suggest these ideas, employees generate real momentum and early buy-in for the roll-out of any Aviva’s strategies.

“To this end, workshops were organised for every employee to contribute ideas,” Purbey says. “In these workshops, the employees explored the Aviva strategy and culture prior to contributing ideas. This ensured relevant context for the employees before coming up with ideas.”

All employees at Aviva Singapore have sat down together in a BBB forum and contributed ideas related to business, technological processes or product or methods.

The initiative is led by HR and is in partnership with the various leaders aligned in the organisation.

“It’s the beginning of getting teams to interact together to have like-minded conversations. And then finding means and ways to sustain those interactions.”

Measuring its effectiveness “Over 500 ideas have been generated and a BBB steering committee has been formed,” Purbey says, explaining this BBB committee is the unit which decides on the validity of the ideas proposed.

“It’s the beginning of getting teams to interact together to have like-minded conversations. And then finding means and ways to sustain those interactions.”

The committee is chaired by the CEO of Aviva Limited and consists of 10 members who represent a cross section of the organisation. It meets once every two weeks and takes concrete actions to execute feasible ideas. The status of the ideas are periodically reported to all Aviva employees in Singapore.

“The ideas are being looked at and they are being filtered as we speak,” she says.

Purbey further reveals there are tangible means of measuring the return on investment in the programme.

“We have hard metrics in place. We are fully expected to

30 » Human Resources » August 2014

30-32_CS_Aviva_AUG14_sub.indd 30

4/8/2014 1:07:07 PM

FEATURE » Teambuilding

report back on how many ideas got generated, how many got implemented, what is it really leading towards. It’s being tracked to that level of detail.”

She adds, however, the best ROI of the programme has been in terms of areas where the activity has been led and managed by not just the business, but by representations of as many functions as possible. n performance It is also important to distinguish between metrics, which will measure the activity as an outcome, over that of an output. ut metric, but “So many ideas came in that were an output mented,” she the outcome is how many actually got implemented,” says. “And from ones that were implemented, we need to look at whether they have had any impact on attrition and nd so forth. retention, on process efficiencies and so on and That is the difference.”

focus on continuing to execute the ideas suggested if they wish to keep reaping the benefits of the programme.

“They [the BBB sessions] have shown some initial success, but we need to sustain the momentum and keep the conversations alive and continue to align them with the business.”

"HR needs to make sure it is a sustainable initiative, it is based on outcomes and accountability is co-owned with the business and it has leadership support."

Interestingly, ideas which the BBB committee even disapproves of are clearly highlighted to employees who proposed them, including the reasons for their rejection.

This helps build trust in employees and enables them to understand how the organisation works, Purbey explains.

How HR can play a part Purbey emphasises both HR and businesses have to play a partnership role in ensuring organisations can harness the full potential of such team programmes.

“HR needs to make sure it is a sustainable initiative, it is based on outcomes and accountability is co-owned with the business and it has leadership support,” she says.

Harnessing support from the leadership is best achieved when such programmes are aligned with organisational goals in question.

“For the business, there needs to be value. Whatever we are thinking of implementing, be it any intervention, any programme, or any business-led initiative, the first question is how does it tie up in our overall business strategy?”

While the BBB programme has been a productive initiative so far, Purbey emphasis the company needs to

32 » Human Resources » August 2014

30-32_CS_Aviva_AUG14_sub.indd 32

4/8/2014 1:07:07 PM

ww w. benef i t s asi a2014.com

15 OCTOBER SINGAPORE MARRIOTT HOTEL

www.recruitmentinteractive2014.com

w w w. h r t e c h 2 0 1 4 . c o m

HRSG_Events2014 Ad.indd 1

21/7/2014 4:52:01 PM

OPINION » Learning & development

Build the employee, build the business HANIZAN BINTE SULONG Practice manager and HR lead Orchard Scotts Dental

Following L&D programmes for the sake of it won’t motivate staff to live your company’s vision.

Instead, you need to focus on building a culture of continuous learning. where the immediate success of the business lies in the hands of their employees.

However, blindly subscribing to training and employee development programmes will not help the business run faster. Neither will it answer the core challenge of translating training into actual practice, nor motivate employees to live out the company’s vision and mission. Instead, the answer lies in evoking a genuine culture of continuous learning among the employees of the company, and using these learning and development programmes as a tool to help the organisation stay ahead of the curve.

Standing out: Create star employees with a solid learning strategy.

Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said that “change is the only constant in life”. This could not be more accurate today, where information can travel at the speed of light, and technology has made the world so much smaller than it used to be. As a result, companies need to become nimble enough to respond to the challenges that change can bring – be it evolving business needs or changing consumer expectations.

While aesthetic dentistry continues to be a highly specialised sector, it has not been spared from these winds of change.

We have been determined to ride these trends and continue to deliver for our patients by practising what we prescribe – as the Tony Bennett’s timeless rendition goes, “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you”.

Practices such as ours should invest in grooming employees and equipping them with the capability to cope with these everchanging demands. In fact, this is especially critical for SMEs,

The business need for continuous learning According to research by Deloitte, the top concern for hiring managers and employers this year lies in retaining, engaging and attracting talent. As companies look to improve structural and process efficiencies and reducing costs, employees are constantly pushed to do more and perform better.

However, employees – especially millennials – prioritise career growth and personal development instead, seeking out work that is meaningful, rewarding and enjoyable. Employees also have limitless access to opportunities right at their fingertips, thanks to technology, and significantly higher control and power in the hiring process. To tip the scale in their favour, organisations need to consider the work environment in a holistic manner, involving everything from employee benefits to the corporate vision, recognition programmes, and career development, and seek to engage employees by crafting a truly rewarding and exciting experience.

Talent development programmes should also consider employee growth in both technical and personal aspects. This is especially true in the face of increasing expectations from customers and end-users – for employees to not only have quicker response time, but also to be an expert in their subject field.

By equipping employees with the technical know-how and aptitude to manage their work effectively and efficiently, companies can bolster the level of confidence their employees have, thereby creating happy and motivated employees that will be more likely to take an active interest in the growth of the company and go above and beyond the call of duty, leading to better performance and rate of talent retention.

34 » Human Resources » August 2014

34-35_L&D_AUG14_sub.indd 34

5/8/2014 6:33:38 PM

Learning & development « OPINION Cultivating an environment for continuous learning Orchard Scotts Dental was recently appointed an Invisalign Dedicated Clinic. While we regard this status as a rare honour, we are also proud that accolades like these reflect well on how we’ve been able to deliver on our practice’s brand experience. And while we continue to receive such recognition by the broader public, we found it was paramount to cultivate an environment for our employees to live our brand through continuous learning.

1. The right culture The first step towards building an environment conducive for continuous learning is gaining the support of upper management. Business leaders need to understand and appreciate the importance of continuous learning, and should be seen investing time, effort and resources in these programmes themselves. This means incorporating continuous learning into the company’s corporate culture, and perhaps even choosing to take the whole day off to provide employees time to pick up new skills or get comfortable with new processes and procedures.

2. Understanding people One of the common challenges enterprises face is motivating employees to actively take part in training and development programmes. While one answer to this problem could be choosing to hire people who are inherently interested in seeking

“Blindly subscribing to training and employee development programmes will not help the business run faster.” new ways to learn and grow, employers also need to recognise that different people are driven by different sets of motivations.

Understanding what drives them and where their needs lie would be a huge step towards building a vibrant and harmonious workplace that constantly seeks to learn and grow.

3. The right opportunities Talent development should include programmes for both professional and personal development. These could range from technical courses that help employees become more effective at work, to personal development courses that helps them gain a better understanding of themselves.

At the end of the day, our employees are the ones who help us build the business and deliver on our brand experience.

By building an effective and robust team that walks the talk, business leaders have the reassurance that operations will run smoothly without needing a million rules and procedures in place, and instead they can focus on moving the company as a whole towards a shared goal and vision, and taking the business to greater heights.

Develop your OD skills ...from the OD experts Developing the skills and knowledge to be an effective organisational development practitioner Roffey Park Institute has been at the heart of organisational development practice since 1991 with its MSc in People and Organisational Development and more recently the OD Practitioners Programme.

Organisational Development (OD) is a significant and influential field of practice which enhances organisational transformation by putting people at the heart of the process. It can be used in many different ways including enabling complex change, determining mission and strategy as well as enhancing leadership and employee morale.

Launching in Singapore - November 2014 Our OD Practitioners Programme is a practical course that is designed to equip you with the skills to become an effective OD practitioner. With three modules (9 days) in total, the programme leads to a formal qualification validated by a leading UK university.

To register your interest in finding out more about this programme, please email singapore@roffeypark.com or telephone 65 6549 7841

August 2014 « Human Resources « 35

34-35_L&D_AUG14_sub.indd 35

4/8/2014 9:36:03 AM

OPINION » People issues

The business of sports Passion is the secret code when hiring the right staff to work in the sports industry.

KUNIHITO MORIMURA President & CEO Dentsu Sports Asia

The perfect match: It’s about finding an emotional connection between your product and your staff.

“Eating, breathing and sleeping” sports is definitely not a prerequisite when working in the sports industry, but it sure does play a part.

At Dentsu Sports Asia (DSA), we help various brands leverage the power of sport to enhance their business objectives.

On occasion, we encounter clients who are unfamiliar with this process and are looking to be steered in the right direction.

More often than not, brands are always looking for the emotional connection between their product and the sport. We find it extremely important to train and develop staff to marry their passion for sports with a business mindset. This will, in turn, lead to the ability to carefully craft out the thought process behind a brand’s decision to engage in a sporting campaign.

Whether it’s sponsoring a sporting event or having a celebrity athlete endorse a particular brand, clients feel at ease when key messages are delivered by passionate members of a team who know the ins and outs of the sports business.

Sustaining the passion It was a no-brainer for us to implement the flexi-hours programme for the World Cup campaign, especially after subscribing to the channels. Having come up with an intricate office-wide competition, which involved every staff member picking 4 teams to back for the tournament, we fuelled fierce but healthy rivalries that kept all of us tallying points religiously.

Passionate writers and graphic artistes conjure up witty

match reports on employee’s exploits after each match day, as everyone vies for the top prize of a fancy dinner at the end of the campaign.

But it does not take a global sporting spectacle that happens once every four years to stoke the flames of passion within your staff. We make it a point to organise sporting activities regularly to forge a stronger unit within the company and to break the routine of being greeted by your desk and computer every day.

Backing your team Japan is not the first name that comes to mind when you think of a football team destined for World Cup glory. But being Japanese myself, there’s no greater feeling than backing your own country in football’s biggest competition.

We held various viewing parties in the office and it’s not just me who is directly involved in this year’s edition… my Dutch, American, Spanish and South American colleagues are all soaking it all in as well.

It’s always a joy to have a diverse range of nationalities add to the local talent pool in the company. It’s also important to provide your employees with the platform to grow into his or her role, to give the person the right ingredients to hone their skills.

Ultimately it’s passionate and driven staff that have played a vital role, and continue to play a role, in DSA’s growth over the last four years as we continue to bring forth our expertise in the business of sports to the region and beyond.

36 » Human Resources » August 2014

36_PeopleIssues_AUG14_sub.indd 36

4/8/2014 1:05:55 PM

SGSALES0357_SEAA CorporateMagazineAD 210(W)x280(H)mm r1_Path.pdf

1

21/5/14

9:53 AM

8th Edition The largest

annual survey of Singapore’s most preferred

HR vendors Find out who are the most preferred vendors for: • Compensation & Benefits • Healthcare • HR Technology • Insurance • Outplacement • Recruitment Firms • Recruitment Websites • Relocation • Service Apartments • Succession Planning • Training • Training Venues Advertising Contact:

Karen Boh tel: +65 6423 0329 email: karenb@humanresourcesonline.net

Already 65% Full - Book Now!

VOTY2014_Print Ad.indd 1

5/8/2014 5:57:13 PM

»

Unconventional wisdom OPINION

Arm yourself with a mediator When there’s a war in your office, and you can’t solve the conflict yourself, it could be worth utilising the knowledge of a mediator to settle things.

JEREMY LIM Consultant Singapore Medical Centre

Make love, not war: Use a mediator to help negotiate a “peace treaty” between conflicting employees.

It’s war between PR and IT at the Singapore office of the multinational Shootfirst Corporation.

It all started with a little dispute between Steve, an entry-level PR officer, and Bill, the IT service counter manager. Bill said that Steve had lost a company laptop and wanted him to pay for it.

Steve refused, claiming that he had no idea he was responsible for the laptop. Soon, Bill’s boss stepped in to criticise PR for its lax attention to workplace security, while Steve’s colleagues unleashed a storm of emails complaining the IT department had turned a deaf ear to their tech enquiries.

The battle lines were drawn. Employees spent work hours digging up old emails to use as ammunition against the other side.

By the time top management stepped in to enforce a settlement, precious man-hours had been lost. Worse, office morale was at an all-time low. IT was forced to order a new machine, messing up its budget. PR was banned from all work-from-home arrangements.

Everyone was miserable.

Surely this could have been avoided, wondered Sheryl, the local HR manager.

Mediation, the first-stop damage-control manoeuvre What Shootfirst Corporation needed was mediation, a negotiation process where the warring parties worked out their own mutually beneficial “peace treaty” with the participation of a neutral third party to manage the negotiation process.

In this alternate scenario, HR got wind of the dispute and roped in the company’s legal adviser to mediate a closed-door session between the two parties. It soon emerged that IT was

most concerned about balancing its accounts. On the other hand, PR knew it had lost the laptop, but had a bone to pick over IT’s chronic unresponsiveness.

With everyone’s priorities on the table, the mediator helped the parties forge a win-win settlement. PR paid for the laptop, while IT acknowledged its poor response to emails and promised to communicate better in the future. In addition, PR and IT agreed to have informal tea sessions once a month to help each department better understand the other side’s work and concerns.

After the incident, HR manager Sheryl found her office environment better than ever. IT and PR, two departments that had never seen eye to eye in the past, were now getting used to building their own solutions, rather than coming to her to complain. And because they were resolving matters themselves, no one could point fingers at her for being biased.

Nip it in the bud While mediation can be a powerful tool, HR managers need to know that it is most effective as a pre-emptive strike, not a weapon of last resort.

For the best results, integrate mediation into your initial SOP for dealing with disputes. Work things out early before tempers flare and the matter escalates.

This means that at any time, you already need to know who you can call upon to act as mediator.

It pays to be prepared. In any organisation with people of diverse talents and working styles, conflict is inevitable. Arm yourself with the ultimate peacemaker: the mediator.

August 2014 « Human Resources « 39

39_Un.Wisdom_AUG14_sub.indd 39

4/8/2014 1:05:19 PM

Investment in

Our Story

people

Charterhouse is a well-recognized executive search firm with footprints in Asia, Australasia and the Middle East. Formed in 2003, Charterhouse offers professional and bespoke contingency and retained search services across a variety of industrial sectors.

We understand that great people are at the heart of every successful business. It is this belief to invest in our team at Charterhouse that we are able to provide our clients with professional, specialised and tailored executive search services.

Our Services Charterhouse is an established brand but what distinguish our brand are our people and the clients whom we have partnered with.

Our foundation is based on providing the best recruitment service to our clients and candidates through our recruitment consultants who are responsible, experienced, and are specialists in their own fields.

Our Specialisations Charterhouse offers specialist recruitment services within the following fields: Human Resource Accounting & Finance Sales and Marketing Information Technology (IT) Banking & Finance Engineering Supply Chain

• • • • • • •

FMCG

Biotechnology & Life Science

Financial Services

Chemicals Healthcare & Pharmaceutical

Power, Energy & Utilities Semiconductor Consumer Electronics

INDUSTRIAL SPECIALISATIONS

IT&T Media & Entertainment Public & Non-Profit Organisations

Transport & Logistics Professional Services

Property & Construction

Retail & Luxury Goods

To find out more about what Charterhouse can do for you, please call us at (65) 6435 5600 or email enquiry@charterhouse.com.sg

Upwardly mobile « OPINION

So you want to be an interim manager, do you?

BERNARD CRUZ, Group HR director Jebsen & Jessen SEA

Being an interim manager calls for broad experience in HR and management. What are the lessons you can learn from this experience?

After being based in Malaysia for a while, I decided to head back to Singapore for a break. But things have a way of working out differently from whatever you planned. I got a call from a consultancy about helping a company set up its HR systems.

The office was near enough, a plus point to me at the time as I wanted to also spend more time with family. This was a European company and it was ramping up its orders and I was being brought in to handle two things. First, I was tasked with managing recruitment alongside two other staff and second, I had to create a set of policies and procedures for the company, in line with its corporate culture.

I thought to myself, “I’ll do this for three months and then, I’m out of here”. In my mind, this sort of role was something I used to handle 15 years ago and it wasn’t something I wanted to spend a long-term basis on.

It seemed a good fit for where I was at that point in time and it was interesting enough. This was my first foray into interim management. So I worked on it, in the three-month period and just as I was leaving, the chief executive called me in and offered me the global HR lead role.

I was a little wary about how this was going – I had other offers at the time and it really wasn’t something I had expected to get into. I think me proving myself, familiarisation with the laws and regulations, having that generalist background and that level of familiarity with the Asia Pacific market is what led to this offer.

It looked to be a management decision and truth be said, the global role did indeed pique my interest. And so, I accepted.

An interim management role is one that calls for broad-based experience in management and human resources.

I believe the person who takes on a challenging role such as this must go through the mill and develop the experience and expertise in general management and human resources.

I believe a key strength is firstly developing business skills and really coming to grips with the business environment. You need to learn the business and the financials. Of course, there are all the other areas you need to include such as training and development , employee relations, learning and development.

Maybe that’s why this sort of role is not very common here in Asia. I believe that people here don’t have the necessary ambit as opposed to those overseas.

However, in the Asian culture, we tend to think of things like interim management towards the tail-end of our career. We look at securing our jobs, working till we’re 50 and then maybe, just maybe, we may consider interim management. At that point, you don’t need that level of job security . At that point, you also are able to bring that experience to bear. But I don’t think like that.

Bridge the gap: Interim management is a difficult but rewarding experience

Moving forward, what kind of advice can I give you? I would say, learn the business, understand the financials and be a part of the business. Don’t step outside and watch what’s happening from the perimeter. Why should you know about EBITDA and P/L statements?

You need to see what’s really happening. You need to put things in context.

I have always believed HR people should go to courses on finance , like a course on finance for non-finance personnel.

When I join an organisation, I have two fundamental “must do’s” with it always.

First, I want to spend time with the sales guys, perhaps for two months. Then I would spend a further month with the chief financial officer. This lets me get to know the business and the financials and it will really begin to make sense when you start to work with them as you’ll see the relevance, connection and context.

Fundamentally, HR has always been a reactive department and always a cost centre. You’ve heard the cry in any downturn: “Let’s cut down on training.” But if you really think about it, it’s the best time to hone in on that one area. Bring the good people in and when things get back on the up and up, you’re ready to rock. I can’t stress enough the need to bring credibility to yourself and to your game. The days of HR in the backseat are over and we are increasingly going to be seen as the CEO’s right hand.

The next generation will see this happening.

August 2014 « Human Resources « 41

41_Upward_AUG14_sub.indd 41

5/8/2014 6:32:31 PM

MANAGEMENT SERVICES To book advertising, contact Karen on +65 6423 0329 or email karenb@humanresourcesonline.net

Executive Relocation - Moving

Executive Relocation - Moving Healthcare

Executive Relocation - Serviced Apartments

Executive Relocation - Moving Psychometric Assessment

Recruitment Services

EA Licence No.: 08C2893

Founded in 2004, Capita Staffing & Search is a premium recruitment expert and staffing provider for international companies in Singapore and across Asia. Encompassing permanent placements, contract/temporary staffing and payroll services across all industry sectors, Capita’s highly personalised service ensures that clients find the right talent to meet their needs.

www.capitagrp.com

|

hrsg@capitagrp.com

|

Tel: +65-6603 8000

42 » Human Resources » August 2014

42-43_MgmtServices_AUG14.indd 42

5/8/2014 6:31:47 PM

MANAGEMENT SERVICES The CET Academy offers a wide range of indemand and industry-relevant adult training & educa on programmes. These range from Part-Time Diploma, Specialist and Advanced Diploma, to short courses and customised in-company training to cater to specific needs of corpora ons. As a WDA Approved Training Organisa on, we also conduct Workforce Skills Qualifica ons (WSQ) programmes.

Fields of study: Business, Finance & Accoun ng, Engineering, Health & Life Sciences, Humani es & Early Childhood Educa on, Infocomm Technology, Language, Life Skills, Media & Arts.

Hotline: (65) 6460 6353 Email: enquiryCET@np.edu.sg Website: www.np.edu.sg/cet

Training Services

Training programs that works

Our training programs designed for executives and senior managers; Team building Belbin Team roles DISC profiling for Teams Strategy planning and visioning Contact us at: Tel: 6315 2587 Mail: office@teamworkbound.com

www.teamworkbound.com Overcome your presentation jitters with interactive theatre-based training workshop The Speaking Factory Pte Ltd is dedicated to helping organisations and individuals to develop public speaking skills and other soft-skills – using acting, drama and improvisation techniques.

Training Pogrammes T

Services

Ig Ignite the Stage! Public Speaking Ideas Ignite! Creativity Id Teambuilding/ Team-bonding T Customised programmes C

Master of Ceremonies (Emcee) Ice-breakers & Energisers Speechwriting services

Contact C t t us for more information: info@thespeakingfactory.com • www.thespeakingfactory.com (65) 9363 2917

Want to be heard & seen amongst Senior HR readers of Human Resources?

For as low as 500/month you can do so in our Management Services directory listing.

For more information, please contact us at 6423-0329.

August 2014 « Human Resources « 43

42-43_MgmtServices_AUG14.indd 43

4/8/2014 6:29:07 PM

Professional . Personalised . Passionate THE HALLMARK OF OUR TALENT SOLUTIONS

TECHNOLOGY

SPECIALISED DIVISION

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATION DIVISION In the fast-moving and increasingly connected world, Information Technology has become a key component to a company's success. At Capita, we understand the importance of seeking the right technical specialist in the global marketplace. Capita Technology manages a pool of talented candidates and our dedicated consultants are well-equipped with industry knowledge and expertise to advise you on your technology recruitment needs.

For a customised recruitment strategy, speak to our consultants today at 6318 9600 or email us at hrsg@capitagrp.com IT MANPOWER OUTSOURCING COMMERCE / END-USER IT VENDOR / CONSULTING

SPECIALISED TEAMS: • TELECOMMUNICATIONS • FINANCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTION

HR VENDOR 2010 to 2013

BUSINESS SUPPORT | OUTSOURCING | TECHNOLOGY | ENGINEERING | BANKING

With daily job updates!

Human Resources Bulletin bringing you the freshest news!

To subscribe to Human Resources Bulletin for FREE email subscribe@news.humanresourcesonline.net today!

44-45_SnrAppts_JUL14.indd 45

7/7/2014 9:40:48 AM

CAREERS » Personal development

uptheranks

personalgrowth

Tracking HR’s industry moves Who: Sylvia Koh From: Jardine Lloyd Thompson To: CrimsonLogic CrimsonLogic, provider of eGovernment solutions and services, headquartered in Singapore, appointed Sylvia Koh as the group’s chief people officer (CPO).

She will oversee the full spectrum in planning and implementing people strategies for the CrimsonLogic Group globally. She will lead the group HR to develop workforce strategies, drive organisational and talent development, and succession planning across the various offices and business groups. As CPO, she will also be a part of the group’s senior management committee to actively contribute to the overall strategy management and operation of the group’s business.

Before joining CrimsonLogic, she worked with Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited in Hong Kong as the regional director of HR for Asia for nearly three years. Before this, she was the business services director for Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance in China overseeing HR, IT, business operations and the global business network across Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing.

Who: Robert Doswell From: Craft To: McCann Singapore Robert Doswell, Asia Pacific’s regional managing director of Craft, has been named the new CEO for McCann Singapore, effective 1 August. This role is in addition to his current responsibilities with Craft. He takes over from Benjamin Lightfoot, who was CEO for three years.

Doswell joined McCann Worldgroup in April 2012 to launch, integrate and lead Craft across the Asia Pacific region. Today Craft operates across eight markets with a team of almost 200 people in Asia Pacific.

“It’s an exciting time to run an agency. The industry is learning how to adapt to changing consumer behaviour, client demands and a diverging media landscape,” he said in a press release. “There is a need to evolve fast.”

McCann Worldgroup’s APAC president Charles Cadell said Doswell was a “true entrepreneurial spirit” and was well-equipped to “manage the changing dynamics of the industry and the world we live in”.

Before joining McCann, Doswell was VP of Ogilvy RedWorks.

Who: Nora Wu From: PwC To: PwC PwC announced Nora Wu as the vice chairwoman and global human capital leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited.

She was previously the office senior partner at PwC Shanghai, the markets leader for Central China, the human capital leader for PwC’s Asia Pacific region and a member of the executive leadership team.

“Nora Wu brings to her new role a depth and breadth of experience that are critical to the continued success and growth of PwC,” Dennis M. Nally, global chairman of PwC International, said in a press release. “Her background in managing the need for talent in a rapidly expanding economy will be invaluable in sustaining our global people strategy.”

She has advised MNCs on tax, business and human capital issues, and is also a regular speaker at business seminars on leadership. She succeeds Dennis Finn, who is retiring from PwC to take up the role of CEO of the advisory business at WorleyParsons.

POWER UP YOUR PRODUCTIVITY We all have days where we’d rather be by the pool than behind a desk.

Sabrina Zolkifi shares her productivity tips.

Over the years, I’ve learnt what works best for me to put the pedal on my productivity, and how I can better make use of my hours. Here are my favourite four.

Don’t structure to-do lists based on how long a task takes Sometimes, the most urgent thing to do on your list isn’t the item that will yield the most value. For example, you may be on deadline to complete a 2,000 word report, but you also need to find time to speak to your boss on the phone for five minutes for approval on something else. While it’s unavoidable to have to do certain timely tasks, where possible, try to complete the most important and value-adding work first.

Keep powering through Sometimes, that 2,000 word report can seem like the most gruelling task and the temptation of taking breaks to work on something else can be irresistible.

However, chances are you’ll end up spending more time on it. Try to see your task through, regardless of how menial or difficult it can be, and get it out of the way. Identify which time of day you’re most productive and tackle the problem then.

Learn when to tune out emails A lot of people believe one of the biggest productivity killers is email. Many even suggest not checking your emails until the afternoon. For me, that’s not really an option because a lot of my leads come through emails and I need those to start writing first thing in the morning. So, rather than just ignoring emails completely, I often only read the ones which can help me with my morning, and save the rest for post-lunch. Skimming over your emails early also allows you to flag the ones which will require your attention, and reply with thought-out responses later in the day.

Scarcity is key When you’re constantly available, people are more likely to come up to you and ask for help, interrupting your day. It’s OK to want to be friendly, but when you do have something you need to focus on, don’t be afraid to lock the office door or work from somewhere quieter. The reality is it’s highly unlikely the office will crumble if you need some quiet time for a few hours. Just make sure someone is able to get in touch with you in the case of a real emergency.

46 » Human Resources » August 2014

46_Uptheranks_PG_AUG14_sub.indd 46

4/8/2014 1:02:07 PM

Good reads to improve your business life

View from the top p

Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith and Karen Cariss PageUp People $39.95 It’s not every day you come across a management book which solely reflects the opportunities and challenges of leaders in Southeast Asia. In fact, PageUp People’s Talented Southeast Asia is the only talent management-focused publication for regional best practices.

Written after conducting more than 100 interviews with 50 organisations in the region, the book addresses the key challenges for employers and HR leaders and delves into what it really takes to engage a Southeast Asian workforce.

A culture of purpose Christoph Lueneburger Jossey-Bass $38.47 At its core, culture is a set of beliefs and values which characterise a group of people. In recent years, workplace culture has proven to be a hugely motivating factor for talent, and for driving business growth.

In this book, Christoph Lueneburger delves into the ‘culture of purpose’ for sustainable businesses, proving the commercial pursuit of sustainability is a solution to forging cultures.

The book features a three-phase process to help leaders assess the talent needed to develop companies, characterised by energy, openness and resilience. It also offers insights

With such unique business ch characteristics, the SEA region’s distinct mar a markets operate in different ways, and the multinaat multinational companies spoken with – BHP Billiton, Bo Bosch, Deloitte, GE and more – speak ope openly about how they engage, motivate a manage their talent. and What becomes clear throughout t book is that a number of regional the t themes are present, such as the need to re respect the cultures and values – but the understand understanding that SEA digital natives are already shifting away from “traditional” ways of working.

It’s interesting to read about each company’s unique talent management strategy, especially as you are working to develop your own.

Bookmark this!

The Western world has had a steady inflow of highly educated talent joining its workforce for many decades. A typical corporate career might begin with graduates joining an organisation in their early twenties, acquiring knowledge and experience and moving through junior and middle-management ranks in their thirties, and to senior management and executive positions in their forties and fifties. One contributor to our study noted: “In Southeast Asia, we don’t have the 20 or 30 years it took to develop the current batch of CEOs.” They are needed now and in the next five to 10 years – page 200.

into how you can tap into your corporate strengths, hire the right team and craft your culture. The book is filled with stories about this journey, and offers an actionable roadmap for building a culture of purpose.

Bookmark this!

Energy describes the degree to which a culture self-starts and maintains longterm momentum at a high level. It’s the mojo of your tribe. It implies a special kind of motivation – an ambition to be successful as a fully engaged team. High-energy cultures reinforce themselves by continuously gauging team motivation and pressure points. They provide feedback to support feelings of engagement with the group and the task at hand. Energy is the leading cultural trait and primary ingredient as companies begin to build a culture of purpose – page 169.

D. Michael Lindsay, Ph.D, with M. G. Hager 47 Wiley $38.47 How do the most powerful w people view the world? If you could ask ent the president ed of the United States for his rship best leadership tips, what would he say? ook This book he opinions compiles the opinions, observations, insights and advice from some of the world’s elite leaders, outlining exactly what it is that sets them apart, and has thrust them into the limelight as leaders worth following. Through in-depth interviews with 550 top CEOs and senior officials – including two former US presidents and a decent group of Fortune 100 leaders – author Michael Lindsay uncovers the seven principles of leadership.

View from the Top takes a real look inside the lives of the elite and the social worlds they inhabit. This information gathered through these interviews – called the Platinum Study – reveals a number of interesting truths, such as that being born into wealth isn’t a good indication of leadership; it doesn’t actually matter what college you attended; and that executives who are time-crunched are actually better equipped to deal with family life.

The candid revelations make for a fascinating read with some great guidance from the world’s most ambitious leaders.

Bookmark this!

Leadership means representing your institution to employees, board members, customers, and the media – but also to your waitress, your housekeeper and your mailman. A leader must consider how everything he does reflects on his organisation. In fact, great leaders manage their personal actions with the same care as they manage their work. Most people have no idea of the toll this takes on leaders and individuals, on the people around them, and on their families – page 100.

Photography: Fauzie Rasid

Pick of the month

Talented Southeast Asia

shelflife

August 2014 « Human Resources « 47

47_Shelflife_AUG14_sub.indd 47

4/8/2014 1:03:27 PM

LAST WORD

Don’t let your wedding cost you your job

Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee – www.elliotly.com; Hair & makeup: Vanida Yam Yen – vanidamakeover.blogspot.com

Planning a wedding can seem like a job on its own, but newlywed Rebecca Lewis warns against letting it take over your life.

This is a column for all the brides-to-be out there. I know your pain, I feel your struggle, and I really don’t want you to lose your job over it.

Movies, TV shows and bridal magazines tell us that weddings are a BIG deal. People keep getting married, weddings are getting bigger, and planning it all takes on a life of its own – and takes over yours.

By the time you read this I will have just gotten married, so I get it. It’s stressful. After you get engaged, you’re basking in the glow of the proposal (or the bling of your new ring). Then the questions come. When are you getting married? Where are you doing it? How many people are you inviting?

Crap, you think. People really want answers.

So you begin the researching, reading, calling, questioning, saving, booking, securing, and confirming. (Then you take a break to drink an entire bottle of wine by yourself.) Then come more questions. “How’s the wedding planning going?” and “You don’t have your wedding shoes sorted yet?

Better hurry up!” (Haha, thanks for the super helpful advice, jackass.)

And you will answer these questions with a smile plastered on your face and say, “I’m pretty on top of everything!” But in reality, your inner bridal beast is screaming, and all you want to do is punch everyone in the face, grab your fiancé and elope.

This is where weddings can get a little bit dangerous, because if you’re not careful, the stress of planning could cost you your real job.

Some recent research found 90% of employees who are getting married plan their wedding during office hours. While only a third say they think their work was negatively affected, I’ll bet most bosses wouldn’t be too happy about someone spending up to two hours per day calling caterers and florists.

Thankfully, I have a wedding planner who helps with all of this, meaning I am not the one who needs to make the arrangements. (Pro tip: Get a wedding planner. Seriously. Do it now. Even if you’re not getting married yet, just book one in advance.)

But with the average woman-to-be-wed spending 10 hours a week wedding planning, it’s easy to see how it could turn into a part-time job.

And it won’t take long for colleagues – and then the boss – to notice. I asked a few friends about their own experiences.

One friend, a manager, said: “If it was just for a week, it’s no problem, let them have their moment. However, if it was clear that it was going to be an ongoing thing I would take them aside. I’d keep it positive, remind them I am open to flexible hours, and let them know I’m happy for them. I don’t have a problem with them making some calls in the office, however, they would need to be discrete, as I don’t want them disrupting everyone else, and one way or another they would need to make up the hours.”

Another friend, who wed a few years ago, said: “I would say at least a few hours a week were dedicated to the wedding – maybe even one hour a day during the invitation-making bonanza! My boss didn’t officially know as I tried to hide it, but he definitely suspected! I also had my dress in my office for a few weeks as I didn’t want [my husband] to take a peek. I may have tried it on for a few staff members. I also sent a lot of emails about the cars, cake, venue and, of course, the honeymoon! I was pretty bad now I think about it. For one to three months I probably spent 30-60 minutes each day on the wedding.”

The key here is clearly time management. As an employee planning a wedding, you’ve got no choice but to be able to plan your day and work smart, making sure you can complete all necessary tasks on time. If you can manage this, then when you get called up for doing planning at work, you can tell your boss you’re on top of everything.

Similarly, as an employer, try to keep an open mind. A few calls here and there isn’t going to massively impact productivity, but keep an eye on their output. If it drops, is it because they’re distracted by wedding stress, or could it be something else?

Help them manage their work schedule better so that what you need them to get done, gets done.

Remember, after the wedding and the honeymoon you’ve got to go back to work. If you’ve turned everyone against you, then expect a few bumps in the road. And if you’ve really slacked off, then you might not have a job to return to. rebeccal@humanresourcesonline.net

48 » Human Resources » August 2014

48_DailyGrime _AUG14_sub.indd 48

4/8/2014 1:01:21 PM

FA-ESS-HRMagAd-220x290mm.pdf

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

1

11/11/13

4:03 PM

On the ground, in the know With more than 200 locations, Crown has the local presence and experience to support your teams, where and when you need it.

Crown service offerings include: • On Assignment Support • International & Domestic Shipments • Post-Arrival Orientations • Home Search • Partner Support • Intercultural Support

Tel: +65 6861 6818 singapore@crownrelo.com

Go knowing

www.crownrelo.com/singapore CR ad HRM magazine.indd 1

4/10/2014 5:00:41 PM