HRSG JULY 2015

July 2015

The smart HR professional’s blueprint for workforce strategy

humanresourcesonline.net

S$7.90 INC GST

WHY YOU SHOULD BE IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVE STAFF MOBILITY PROGRAMMES

OFC_COVER_JUL15_sub.indd 1

15/7/2015 10:14:16 AM

A Place-and-Train Programme for Professionals, Managers, and Executives (PMEs) PROGRAMME CONCEPT

UPCOMING EVENTS

Picture caption

Administered

by

the

Singapore

Hiring SMEs

Job-seeking PMEs

National Employers Federation (SNEF) and supported by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA),

SMEs and newly-hired PMEs SME Briefing on SNEF P-Max Placeand-Train Programme

P-Max is a three-year place-and-train programme which will assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to recruit,

Complete respective workshops for

train, manage and retain their newlyhired PMEs, encourage the adoption of progressive HR practices within

SMEs (1-Day)

PMEs (2-Days)

Upcoming dates: Tue, 28 July 2015 (3pm) Tue, 25 August 2015 (3pm)

SMEs, and to help place job-seeking PMEs into suitable SMEs job roles.

SMEs to retain PME(s) and complete six months follow up with SNEF

Scan the QR Code to find out more about the programme, resources available and other upcoming events!

Receive a one-off Assistance Grant of $5,000 upon completion of programme

http://www.p-max.sg

6827-6977

p-max@snef.org.sg

Responsible Employers, Sustainable Business

July 2015 « CONTENTS

COVER STORY 14 Q&A John Nolan, the outgoing senior VP of HR Global Markets at Unilever, talks to Akankasha Dewan about the significance of empowering employees to believe they can make a difference through their work.

Features 20 Are you moving with the times?

Jerene Ang explores the top reasons for relocation and repatriation as well as the factors considered when selecting candidates for assignments.

32 Who is the real YOU? With great importance placed on employer branding today, Akankasha Dewan explores how firms can portray an attractive and accurate picture of their employer brand.

Opinion 38 Learning & Development

20

Vodafone’s JPS Choudhary, talks about how embracing diversity is essential for any global business to compete in today’s market.

40 People Issues HR can now spend the time analysing data to make strategic decisions instead of collating it, says Michelle Koh, HR business partner at BlackBerry Singapore.

42 Unconventional Wisdom Laurence Smith, from DBS Bank, writes about how its new integrated programme has had a dramatic impact on the digital mindset of its leaders.

32

38

44 Upwardly Mobile Social media ammunition tactics that HR practitioners within the public sector can equip themselves with, from Sabrina Jaksa of Hootsuite.

48 Last Word Akankasha Dewan suggests ways on how to handle the weirdest things staff do while on business trips.

Regulars

42

44

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

9 HR by numbers 10 Snapshot 18 Event Report 47 Shelf life

Any suggestions or tip-offs for Human Resources?

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

1_Contents_JUL15_sub.indd 1

1

20/7/2015 2:40:21 PM

EDITOR’S NOTE

regional editor senior journalist journalist sub editor contributors

regional art director senior designer circulation executive regional directors

Aditi Sharma Kalra Akankasha Dewan Jerene Ang James Foster JPS Choudhary Laurence Smith Michelle Koh Sabrina Jaksa Shahrom Kamarulzaman Fauzie Rasid Deborah Quek Karen Boh Yogesh Chandiranani Jaclyn Chua Naomi Cranswick

regional producers

Darren Beck Sharissa Chan Nikita Erpini Kenneth Neo Jenilyn Rabino Evon Yew

regional head of event services regional finance director group editorial director group managing director

Yeo Wei Qi Evelyn Wong 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

Tomorrow’s trends arrive today In recent years, more people than ever have started living and working outside their home country – almost 3% of the world’s population.

The United Nations estimates migrants will total about 300 million people in the next 15 years, and is now debating whether the theme of migration should be included as one of its Millennium Development Goals to improve the quality of the overall migration process.

At the ground level, all you need to do is take a look around you. Chances are you meet an expatriate daily, be it at work, the nearest coffee shop or on the commute home. Join the pieces, and we find that efficient and cost-effective mobility and migration policies for employees have become a priority for HR leaders globally.

Having recently hosted our first-ever Workforce Mobility Interactive conference in Singapore, it was interesting to note the delegates were a mix of senior mobility managers as well as HR directors, proof that making the workforce mobile is a cross-functional imperative.

In our cover feature this month, we delve deeper into some of these insights on the back of the conference.

Speaking to experts from Mondelez, Accenture, and others, we found organisations are being creative in their approach to relocation opportunities for staff.

“Today, it is more of an à la carte menu of creating what meets their need, rather than fitting them in a box. Outside of immigration and tax, everything is flexible and tailored,” pointed out Jacob George, president of Asia and the Middle East at SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving.

This pace of evolution makes the mobility manager’s job dramatically complex, even as companies are placing a premium on the way they now scout for mobile employees.

A constant, collaborative process will be crucial for a successful relocation programme, in alignment with the bigger question of the organisation’s long-term career policies and leadership development needs.

Another interesting conversation over the past month was with Unilever’s departing SVP of HR global markets, John Nolan. Having spent 28 years with the company, his insights on the

HR operations behind one of the world’s most respected employer brands were fascinating.

The company, founded on the principle of sustainability, is looking to halve its environmental impact by 2020 – a philosophy that drives each of its HR processes, the foremost being recruitment.

“They (candidates) should be excited by the dual challenge of winning in the marketplace, but also doing the right thing for the communities we serve,” he shared.

Having been part of the organisation for nearly three decades, his advice for others looking to strengthen their EVP was straightforward: “You have to distinguish yourself from the crowded marketplace and what it is you do that allows people to feel like they’re contributing to a higher purpose and to society.”

In many ways, I have to agree, and the ownership for that falls on HR’s shoulders.

There are plenty of great examples out there of companies “living” their EVPs, rightly communicated by HR. As we look ahead to the second half of the year, the interview will likely give you plenty of food for thought. Enjoy the issue.

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

HumanResources

Aditi Sharma Kalra Regional editor July 2015 « Human Resources «

3_Ed'sNote_JUL15_sub.indd 3

3

20/7/2015 2:43:12 PM

hrbulletin

News from humanresourcesonline.net

WHY UNILEVER’S CEO IS ‘ASHAMED’ OF HIS PAY

WOULD YOU ASK THESE QUESTIONS IN A JOB INTERVIEW?

CEOs should be motivated by serving others, and not by how much they earn, according to Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, in an interview with The Washington Post.

“The moment you discover in life that it’s not about yourself, that it is about investing in others, I think you’re entering a steadier state to be a great leader,” he said.

“Because above all, I think the main quality of a leader is to be a human being. There’s no reason you are special because you happen to have this job or this office or these responsibilities.” ponsibilities.” hen he started at Unilever during the recession, Having frozen his pay when Polman added the job was ultimately timately not about getting high pay packages. ges.

“If you would pay me double, uble, I’m not going to work twice as much because I’m already probably maximising my time available.

“So, yes, I am fortunate, and I am sometimes ashamed about out the amount of money I earn. ut it to It’s important that you then put good use. That’s the minimum m you can do.”

Job candidates must be prepared for anything during an interview, but would they have rehearsed an answer to who their favourite Disney princess was?

In its annual list of the top 10 oddball interview questions, Glassdoor found that’s exactly what candidates applying at Cold Stone Creamery can expect.

Read on for the full list: • Asked at Airbnb: “What would you do if you were the one survivor in a plane crash?”

• Asked at Squarespace: “What’s your favorite 1990s jam?”

• Asked at Dropbox: “If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them how would you choose which ones to answer?”

• Asked at Stanford University: “Who would win if there was a fight between Spider-Man and Batman?”

• Asked at Banana Republic: “What did you have for breakfast?”

• Asked at Spirit Airlines: “Describe the colour yellow to somebody who’s blind.”

• Asked at Bose:“If you were asked to unload a 747 full of jelly beans, what would you do?”

STEPS TO BUILD A CULTURE OF EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION ECOGNITION ves hoarse saying regular doses Employees have cried themselves vate them more of appreciation can often motivate te, in a new than a pay rise. Power2Motivate, mponents of whitepaper, listed the major components a recognition culture.

The first tip was to make recognition tangible, by doing it in front of peers or with a certificate. ny Goodyear For example, tyre company expanded its length of service recognition programme to a virtual “store” where points nds of different could be redeemed for thousands ponse of products to an enthusiastic response its employees. ted Second, the study suggested ting making recognition timely. Waiting to recognise behaviour once a ny month or year may lead to many missed chances.

When energy retailer Lumoo Energy launched its recognitionn programme, it wanted to have awards and nominations available 24/7.

COST OF LOCAL EXPATRIATE TE PACKAGES RISES Singapore has the seventh highest expatriate pay packages in Asia Pacific, thanks to expensive elements such as housing costs andd education grants.

According to a survey by ECA International, the typical total expatriate package for middle managers in Singapore is US$259,000 – higher than last year.

The survey, which analysed 320 companies, looked at pay levels for expatriates worldwide, including benefits, allowances, salary calculation methods and tax treatment.

The housing and education in Singapore were so expensive, e, that if removed, Singapore would fall from seventh to 14th in the regional gional ore ranking, thanks to low tax rates. Expatriate packages in Singapore were, however, still lower than in Hong Kong, which was ranked fifth.

Japan was identified as home to Asia’s highest expatriate packages. On average, a package for an expatriate middle manager ager there was worth US$375,000.

Countries such as Australia, China and India followed respectively. Malaysia had the second lowest expatriate packages on the list – one spot below Thailand.

Ready Software Ready Claim Ready Email Ready Timesheet

Ready Pay

Ready Leave

Ready Staff

Ready PayAdvice

Ready Asset-Audit

Ready Form

Ready Asset Ready Notice Board

Ready Software Pte Ltd, Tel: 68723287 Fax: 68725243 Email: sales@ready-software.com Website: www.ready-software.com

4

» Human Resources » July 2015

4-5_News_JUL15_sub.indd 4

15/7/2015 1:30:24 PM

S SINGAPOREANS PPREFER A BETTER BOSS OVER B HIGHER PAY H Ne underestimate your power as a good leader Never N in retaining your staff in Singapore.

Relationships with bosses are so important for tthem that six in 10 would forego a higher salary to the work with a better boss. w wo That was the key finding in a recent survey by JJobStreet polling 989 Singaporeans.

Jo While 64% of respondents said that a better bboss o would make them happier at work, just over a tthird (36%) said they would derive the same hhappiness from a pay rise. ha Seven in 10 also revealed they were prepared to leave their jobs if they cannot get along with responde d nts even e expressing a preference to work with male their bosses, with respondents bosses if given a choice.

“Less emotional”, “less micromanaging” and “less calculative” were among the main reasons given for the leaning towards male bosses.

“The relationship between employer and employee is vital for the success of any organisation and we have often heard that people quit bosses, not companies,” the survey stated.

TOP HR PRIORITIES IN SINGAPORE THIS YEAR HR professionals in Singapore are focused on making the function more strategic and less administrative this year, as highlighted in a new study commissioned by The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower, International Enterprise Singapore and SPRING Singapore.

Polling a total of 831 companies in eight countries, it stressed on the professionalisation of the HR in industry, coupled with a need for more internship opportunities. Organisations in countries, including Japan and Hong Kong, indicated they want to focus on collaborations with senior indicate management on people strategy, succession planning mana for kkey positions, and managing employer relations and engagement.

One of the recommendations to develop the HR ecosystem in Singapore was to champion interest in eco the profession. WDA also recommended strengthening the ed education and training infrastructure to build a sustainable skills pipeline throughout the life cycle of the sustain HR profes professional.

The last recommendation was to enhance shared Th infrastructure to facilitate access to HR expertise. infr

FEMALE BOSSES DRIVE HIGHE HIGHER LEVELS OF EMPL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Here’s a possib possible reason why organisations with more women directors tend to perform better. A report by Gallup found employees w who work for a female manager are more engaged, on average, th than those who work for a male manager (33% to 27% respectively).

Polling 27 million eemployees across four decades, the study highlighted female em employees who worked for a female manager were the most engage engaged at 35%.

On the other ha hand, it was found male employees who reported to a male m manager were the least engaged at 25% – a difference of 10 poin points.

Overall, female managers themselves were found to be more engaged than male managers (41% versus 35%) – this was true across every working-age workin generation, regardless of whether they had children in the their household.

One reason tthat female managers garnered more engagement was that their teams were 1.26 times more likely to strongly agree that “there is someone at work who encourages my ddevelopment”, than employees who worked for a male manager.

SIGNS YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE UNHAPPY IN THEIR JOB Do your team members prefer to eat alone rather than with each other? Do they work the hing out at 6pm? bare minimum number of hours before rushing These are the signs of a disengaged employee, and if you don’t take corrective action, they may put inn their papers to work for themselves. nting Technicians found Research by the Association of Accounting that more than one in four British workers want to leave their job (27%) and are, in fact, considering setting up their own business to become entrepreneurs.

The survey uncovered a surprising list of signs that showed employees disliked their job. If you find your ve potential employees doing these things, you may have attrition on your hands. ht.

• Get anxious about work on a Sunday night.

• Are constantly looking at the clock.

• Often moan about their job to friends andd family.

• Take extended toilet breaks.

• Dread going into work in the morning.

• Find any excuse to get out of the office.

• Have perfected the “looking busy” look.

July 2015 « Human Resources «

4-5_News_JUL15_sub.indd 5

5

20/7/2015 2:50:01 PM

WORK LIFE » People GET INTO THE BOSS’S HEAD

Jacob George President of Asia and the Middle East SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving

Having been in the relocation industry for 19 years, what attracted you to it?

To be honest, I didn’t know what relocation was about when I joined the industry but I soon realised that it is one of the most global industry there is.

We work with multinationals across industries, companies that are headquartered all over the world, covering a remit that most industries cannot provide.

The assignees we help are from all walks of life; true global citizens who are making life-altering decisions. I find it incredibly rewarding to play a role in making sure they are successful.

With the firm expanding significantly under your leadership, how do you motivate employees?

A lot of people can write a mission and vision statement, but you need to be able to translate that into what it means on the ground every day. With our employees spread across regions and markets, that means making sure each one gets the same message and is working toward the same goal.

Five years ago, I instituted skip-level meetings, where I speak to employees without the presence of their supervisors or managers.

Initially, many were nervous about what the staff was going to say. Eventually, they got comfortable because of two rules.

First, anything that was said stayed within the room. Second, if you ask for feedback, it is your responsibility to do something about.

If you ignore your employees, they may stop giving feedback. Conversely, employees may go around you if they feel adamant about something that hasn’t been addressed.

I also introduced the new hire call programme – every new hire will get a call from me within the first quarter of their service with SIRVA. It gives me an opportunity to not only introduce the company, but also validate if the onboarding has been a brilliant experience for them.

It takes a lot of time, effort and commitment, but for me, this is time extremely well spent. As a result, today we have an employee base that is 6

“If you are too skewed to the people side and unwilling to make tough decisions, then you will have a very loyal employee workforce, but not the desired business results.” extremely engaged and is collectively moving in the same direction.

The third aspect is ongoing training and development. It’s great to have talent because it is needed to achieve business objectives, however if you don’t equip them with the right levels of support and tools it’s a wasted skill set.

The final element is a double-edged sword – talent attrition. It doesn’t mean you retain 100% of your employees, but rather focus on retaining 100% of your top performers.

Could many HR leaders make it to a CEO level?

Absolutely they can but with one caveat – striking the right balance between the voice of the people and the business goals.

If you are too skewed to the people side and unwilling to make tough decisions, then you will have a very loyal employee workforce, but not the desired business results. As long as there is a balanced view, we can all be leaders.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

That I’m empowered to make decisions and take ke responsibility for change. Some people don’t like the accountability that comes with decision making; I do. nd Being in the position to influence change and ss have a true impact on all aspects of the business ed. and seeing it progressing is what gets me excited.

When you’re struggling with stress, how doo you unwind?

I either go for a run or play tennis – something to er clear my mind and think through the facts, rather than let the emotion get the better of you.

As a leader, you don’t have the luxury of ann alk emotional outburst, so the best thing to do is walk away for 15 minutes and you realise things are not as bad as they seem.

What is your view of HR as a business function?

To be brutally honest, in the absence of HR, wee wouldn’t make the progress we have made.

The HR team acts as a voice of reason, because sometimes, as a business leader, we come through at a hundred miles an hour to nds achieve what we need. HR reins us in and reminds us of the people implications, and makes sure the voice of the employees is genuinely heard.

What are some of the ways that HR can contribute better to organisational goals?

We have a fairly robust talent management lent system, which starts with identifying our top talent and making sure we are giving them the right opportunity to grow with us.

The second piece is aligning the business objectives to people targets. Setting lofty goals nect from an HR perspective will disable you to connect the dots between the two.

» Human Resources » July 2015

6_Suitetalk_JUL15_sub.indd 6

15/7/2015 1:32:30 PM

YOU COULD WATCH

120 YOUTUBE VIDEOS

ON EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION

OR YOU COULD

TALK TO US We don’t just talk business, we mean business.

Power2Motivate is used by many of the world’s most recognised brands like Colgate-Palmolive, ANZ and LG. These companies trust Power2Motivate to provide world-class employee recognition programs that drive behavioural change and improve performance right across their business.

Talk to us today on 1300 366 768

www.power2motivate.com.au

»

People WORK LIFE

SpacialAwareness TWITTER’S NEW APAC HEADQUARTERS FEELS JUST LIKE HOME

When designing its new APAC headquarters in Singapore, Twitter wanted an office that was a home away from home, given it is where people spend most of their waking hours through the week.

Hence, the emphasis was not only on making a workplace that was productive, but also comfortable and one that felt like home.

“The design of our Twitter office is an ode to many local Singaporean customs and culture, and we are happy to share that it has been well received by both our employees and our guests,” said Bala Subramaniam, regional HR business partner.

At the same time, the company made sure to include collaborative spaces in the office to encourage employees to get together and discuss projects.

8

“A hallmark feature of many of the world’s most innovative companies is collaboration, and the design and layout of an office is critical to encouraging interaction and fostering collaboration in the organisation,” he said.

Not forgetting the importance of quiet spaces to facilitate closed-door brainstorming and global collaboration via video conference calls, the office has 20 meeting spaces aptly named after species of birds in this region.

For larger office-wide events, it has a commons space – able to accommodate everyone and is equipped to flexibly transform into a dining area to serve town halls and team gatherings.

Despite having assigned desks, the employees have the freedom to move across the various work spaces throughout the day. The office also has many areas for rest and relaxation to keep employees feeling constantly energised and refreshed.

He cites a survey that found the most engaged employees are those who have control over their choice of work environment.

“An engaging office space makes for happier and more productive employees, and having a spacious layout is a crucial factor.”

Wanting to keep employees’ creative juices flowing, it made use of colourful local motifs to stimulate the senses, helping employees stay mentally alert.

“Design plays a critical role in encouraging creativity – the colours and textures in our office such as the floral motif cement tiles, reminiscent of traditional Peranakan tiles, and incorporating flora and fauna into the wall designs, stimulate the senses and keeps occupants mentally alert and energised.

“Every business is unique, and as such, it’s important to consider the role and function of the company’s employees before embarking on significant changes to an office environment.”

Another office design tip is to involve employees in the decoration process.

“This gives everyone a sense of ownership and a stake in influencing the new office layout. The names of the many meeting rooms in the Twitter office, for example, were selected by our employees.”

» Human Resources » July 2015

8_SpacialAwareness_JUL15_sub.indd 8

15/7/2015 1:33:48 PM

HR by numbers « WORK LIFE

Longer hours, more stress Earlier this year, dipping productivity levels prompted Singapore’s then Minister of Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin to caution businesses about becoming “manpower-lean”. Looks like employers are yet to pay heed to his words, as employees say excessive paperwork (56%), unproductive meetings (49%), and unclear goals (39%) are holding them back from being more productive, according to a Roffey Park report.

64%

of Singapore employees stay back in the office for at least an hour more than their contract stipulates, at least three times a week.

Management style is blamed as the number one cause of stress, followed by ineffective workplace relationships (read: organisational politics) and workload.

47%

admit having to work while on vacation, and 43% say they work from home while on medical leave.

Source: Roffey Park’s Singapore Management Agenda

UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL www.dalecarnegie.com.sg infosg@dalecarnegie.com Tel: +65 6220 3836

WIN PEOPLE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING. SHOW RESPECT FOR THE OTHER PERSON'S OPINIONS. NEVER SAY, "YOU'RE WRONG."

July 2015 « Human Resources «

9_HRByNumbers_JUL15_sub.indd 9

9

20/7/2015 2:55:28 PM

»

People WORK LIFE

snapshot

15 minutes with ...

Adele Png Head of talent acquisition for ASEAN Pacific Philips WHAT ENCOURAGED YOU TO TAKE UP A CAREER IN HR? My first HR job was as an intern in talent management, but it wasn’t an ordinary admin-heavy internship.

My manager was very progressive, in that he thought interns were capable of doing much more challenging work, and he gave me the job of designing and delivering an English language course for employees with non-native English capability.

This was a big challenge for me. Firstly, I hadn’t covered my training modules yet as I had just completed my first year, and secondly, I was there to learn about the workplace, not teach at the workplace!

I enjoyed the experience and successfully delivered the training – eventually winning an award at school. It was at that point I realised I had a flair for HR, and felt it was a career in which I could help people succeed.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE HR FUNCTION WILL EVOLVE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? Projecting what I observe now, I think business pressures will force organisations to run more efficiently across all functions, including HR. There will be a growing trend to move day-to-day HR functions into a shared services model, or to lower-cost countries. They will also invest in scalable systems that provide managers with more self-service type HR functionality.

Expectations will be higher for HR to deliver more value and return on investment, and enable the business to be more successful, for example, workforce planning will be critical.

HR will need to have a deep understanding of business strategy and apply this across organisational design, rewards, talent acquisition and talent management. There will be more emphasis on making decisions based on HR analytics, so real-time data and analysis will need to be available, which will also be used to measure HR’s ROI. I think more organisations will also see a benefit to the merging of talent acquisition and talent management functions. HR will also be expected to think more out of the box, learn new technologies and develop new practices.

BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE IN HR TO DATE, WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE BETTER WITHIN HR? HR should think of themselves as a business within a business – and run it that way. I have met HR practitioners at Philips that came from leadership roles in the business, and they have a different way of applying HR concepts to enable the business, and deliver ROI. Another way is to have an integrated approach to talent – to align rewards, talent management and acquisition. For example, considering “build versus buy”, and ensuring we consider affordability and competitiveness before we make decisions on which approach to take.

WHICH HR FUNCTION DO YOU LIKE BEST AND WHY? I enjoy both talent acquisition (TA) and talent management (TM).

In TA, I get to work with the business, understand its strategies and devise TA strategies. I derive satisfaction when I see my team and myself successfully placing someone in a role he/she thrives in.

I also enjoy TM because I see how important its aspects such as performance management, succession planning and organisational design are to the optimal running of an organisation.

WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED? One, always bring others with you on the journey, success isn’t success if you accomplish it alone.

Two, try to look beyond your role, never immerse only in the day-today, which is important for now, but think about how we could do better, be more innovative and relevant.

Third, try to adopt a “helicopter view” and to always strive to add value in whatever you do.

"There will be a growing trend to move day-to-day HR functions into a shared services model, or to lowercost countries. They will also invest in scalable systems that provide managers with more self-service type HR functionality."

CAN YOU DESCRIBE A REGULAR WORKDAY AT YOUR COMPANY? I don’t have a regular workday, it usually has elements of brainstorming and troubleshooting with my team, challenging my manager (which he welcomes!), attending meetings with hiring managers, and my peers here and from other regions, and interviewing candidates.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU FEEL HR CAN DO BETTER TO PLAY A BIGGER ROLE IN ORGANISATIONS? I would reference the differing school of thought in product development, that is, a product-based approach versus needs-focused product creation, i.e. creating products that meet an unmet need.

Assuming HR has delivered well on foundation services such as payroll and leave administration, HR practitioners could do more to build credibility by better understanding the business, creating synergies between functions, providing consultation, challenging the status quo and creating HR solutions that meet a relevant business need, that even the business might not be aware of.

For example, at Philips, we collaborated with local universities to tap into the natural, unbridled creativity of the students, and generate new business ideas.

This initiative was well-received by the business, and it was a win-win for the students too, as they garnered good business experience through close interaction with senior Philips managers.

10 » Human Resources » July 2015

10_Snapshot_JUL15_sub.indd 10

15/7/2015 1:36:45 PM

THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ANNA TAN, WENTWORTH PEOPLE, ASIA

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH How resilient are you? When the going gets tough, do you crumple and stress-out, take medical leave and resign yourself to bed? Or do you face your fears and meet the challenge with gusto?

Changes in our lives can throw us off-balance – job changes or retrenchment, divorce, death of a loved one, move of home, serious personal injury – these are facts of life that at some point or another, affect us all.

Rather than asking why this happens to you, you need to ask yourself how you can develop resilience within yourself and in those you love – family, children, friends and colleagues – to overcome personal challenges and thrive in a world that is constantly changing.

Seeing change as a threat leads to panic. Some people fall into depression due to inaction. On the flip side, successful people embrace change as an opportunity, and as a result witness some of the biggest leaps in growth in their businesses and personal life.

“Get it right and the challenge can be a blessing in disguise, it can propel you to new career paths, new opportunities and new life adventures.”

Here are my top tips to building resilience – P.R.E.P.A.R.E. PREPARATION Be aware of what is going on around you. For example, If you are not performing to your work targets, you will either need to do something to improve or change roles before you are asked to leave. Ignorance is not an option. Pre-empt and take action, have a plan B and C rather than be taken by surprise.

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”

Alexander Graham Bell REALISATION Realise and accept the situation when it happens. Don’t ignore and deny it as it’s not going to change for the better on its own. Instead, develop a strategy to move forward. Even better, action plan B or C which you have already prepared in Step 1.

The sooner you can move through the grief and anger stages, the quicker you can recover and take action. Flexibility is the key to success. The more options you have, the greater chance you have of achieving one of them. Don’t limit your choices.

“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”

Nathaniel Branden EMOTIONS The US Army teaches the Navy SEALS (Special Forces) meditation and mindfulness exercises to help them create and maintain calmness instead of panic during combat.

Remember, emotions are infectious to those closest to you. Do you want to affect others with your fears and make them panicky, or do you want to support them to stay calm and make rational decisions?

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”

James Allen POSITIVE MINDSET It is essential that you are super-confident in your ability to survive and overcome the challenge! Remind yourself of how you previously overcame other tough situations.

See yourself a superhero and really believe you can do it.

Use positive music, inspiring quotes and read self-development books to shift your beliefs so that your beliefs are empowering rather than limiting. You become what you think you are.

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” Willie Nelson ACTION Take action and stay busy with things you care about. Don’t allow yourself to dwell and mope. Move towards your goal of something better. Take baby steps and congratulate yourself for each one you accomplish.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu RALLY Get helpful and positive support from your family and friends. They will boost your confidence and ability to stay the course. Avoid those who are pessimistic and try to drag you down with them.

“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” Henry Ford ENJOY Hindsight would have shown you how the previous challenges you went through brought wisdom, transformation and meaning. Likewise, focus on the teaching the change brings. Inject humour or fun and see the situation as a game - and play to win.

“No matter when or where, always bring your ‘A’ game, because you never know when it will open doors for you.” Simon Sinek You don’t have to go through tough times alone. Consider working with a life or executive coach to get enlightening perspectives as well as boost your resilience capabilities.

You can also give your staff workshops on how to build their resilience. This will not only benefit your company but also their lives outside of work.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Confucius Contact Anna for more information on resilience workshops or executive coaching.

This article was contributed by Anna Tan, managing director, Wentworth People Asia

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

July 2015 « Human Resources « 11

11_BrandedContent_Wentworth_JUL15.indd 11

15/7/2015 3:13:43 PM

WHITE PAPER » Leadership

GUESS WHO IS BEING PAID $156.1 MILLION A YEAR?

Global – Discovery Communications’ CEO David Zaslav was the highest paid CEO among public companies in the US last year, taking home $156.1 million – 368% more than in 2013.

Partnering with The New York Times, Equilar’s study found Michael Fries, of Liberty Global, and Mario Gabelli, of GAMCO Investors, taking the silver and bronze spots with $111.9 million and $88.5 million, respectively.

In fourth place was Microsoft’s Satya Nadella with his $84.3 million annual paycheck, followed

by Nick Woodman, who founded sports-camera company GoPro. No female CEO featured in the top 10, with the highest paid woman CEO coming in only at 14th position – Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, who made $42.1 million.

The technology sector dominated, featuring four out the top ten CEOs. A bulk of the overall compensation across the board came in the form of stock, some of which

vests over several years, noted the publication.

On average, the 200 best paid chief executives received $22.6 million, trumping last year’s average of $20.7 million, while the median

in 2014 was $17.6 million. For the first time since Equilar started keeping tracking in 2006, all 10 of the top-paid CEOs received at least $50 million last year.

The top 10 list of the highest paid CEOs in 2014 1.

Discovery Communications, David M. Zaslav – $156.1 million

2.

Liberty Global, Michael T. Fries – $111.9 million

3.

GAMCO Investors, Mario J. Gabelli – $88.5 million

4.

Microsoft, Satya Nadella – $84.3 million

5.

GoPro, Nick Woodman – $77.4 million

6.

Liberty Media & Liberty Interactive, Gregory B. Maffei – $73.8 million

7.

Oracle, Lawrence J. Ellison – $67.3 million

8.

Qualcomm, Steven M. Mollenkopf – $60.7 million

9.

NorthStar Realty Finance, David T. Hamamoto II – $60.3 million

10.

CBS, Leslie Moonves – $54.4 million

Source: Equilar 200 Highest-Paid CEO Rankings

12 » Human Resources » July 2015

12-13_Whitepaper_JUL15_sub.indd 12

15/7/2015 1:35:49 PM

Leadership « WHITE PAPER

HOW MANY BENEFITS DOES IT TAKE FOR STAFF TO BE SATISFIED? United States – Staff benefits have always been known to function as great retention tools, but did you know there is also a co-relation between the exact number of benefits offered and the likelihood of staff recommending your company as a great place to work?

According to MetLife’s 13th annual “US Employee Benefit Trends Study”, the magic number of benefits to offer your employees in order for them to recommend your company more than half the time is 11.

The study stated that when employees are not offered any benefits, only 46% of employees are likely to recommend a company as a great place to work.

When the number of benefits offered was increased to five in the study, the number of employees likely to recommend the company as a great place to work increased to 53%.

Interestingly, the number of employees likely to recommend the company as a great place to work shot up to 66% when 11 benefits were offered.

“Throughout the study, the positive impact

of the number of benefits an employer offered was clear, likely because the greater number of options provides employees with the opportunity to tailor benefits to their specific needs,” said Todd Katz, executive vice president of group, voluntary and worksite benefits, at MetLife.

“Offering a comprehensive suite of benefits that goes beyond standard benefits, such as medical, dental and vision, to include voluntary benefits such as critical illness, accident, auto and home, and legal services can drive both loyalty and engagement without adding cost for the employer.”

However, merely offering the employees

benefits is not enough, as companies also need to communicate with them about the significance of these benefits on their overall wellbeing, the survey stated.

When employees get the benefits they want, everyone wins • Employees who are very satisfied with their benefits are almost four times more likely to be very satisfied with their jobs.

• Employers who offer 11-15 benefits find their employees are 66% more inclined to recommend their place of employment.

• When offered fewer than five benefits, the percentage of employees who said they did not intend to stay with their employer (32%) outweighed those who did intend to stay (18%).

Source: MetLife’s US Employee Benefit Trends Study

MORE CANDIDATES IN ASIA PACIFIC ARE FAKING THEIR RESUMES APAC – It appears it is paying off for bosses in Asia Pacific to conduct background screening checks before hiring candidates. According to a report by First Advantage, the region saw an overall candidate background discrepancy of 18% in 2014 – a 6.5% increase from 2013.

The report based its conclusions on data drawn from employment background verifications and reference checks conducted in countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Discrepancies were defined as an inconsistency in the information a candidate has supplied or the presence of criminal activity found in the background screening process.

Out of all discrepancies found in Asia Pacific in 2014, 54% came from employment

history. Within this, discrepancies related to the designation/job title were at the top of the graph at 10.81%, followed by tenure at an organisation at 8.59% (with variance not exceeding six

Regional data from the report • Australia and New Zealand (26.94%) have a higher discrepancy rate across APAC followed by Singapore (18.88%) and Hong Kong (16.38%).

• Discrepancy rates in China continue to be the lowest at 9.17% compared with other APAC countries.

• Case level discrepancies across the energy sector was the highest at 26.67% in 2014 followed by financial institutions at 19.88% and consumer products at 12.80%.

months) and 7.43% (with variance exceeding six months).

Discrepancies related to reasons for leaving came in at 3.76%, followed by last drawn salary at 3.55% and eligibility for rehire at 2.70%.

Education-related discrepancies stood at 20% last year, according to the report.

The three most common discrepancies in this area were graduation dates with a variance of more than six months, graduation dates with a variance of less than six months as well as unconfirmed or unverifiable degrees.

Source: First Advantage 2014 Background Screening Trends Report for Asia Pacific July 2015 « Human Resources « 13

12-13_Whitepaper_JUL15_sub.indd 13

15/7/2015 1:36:08 PM

PROFILE » John Nolan

John Nolan

Outgoing SVP of HR Global Markets Unilever Winning by doing the right thing

By AKANKASHA DEWAN

Q How do you think HR has evolved in the past decade?

The function has become much more strategic, and evolved in a number of ways. One is the way in which we are increasingly using data and analytics to interpret what’s going on in the business and organisation, and using it to advise the business to make better decisions and long-term strategic choices.

I also think HR business partners are more involved these days in helping businesses think through how to realise their strategic ambition, and analysing if the organisation is equipped to deliver it.

Q Are HR practices in Asia different from those in the West?

Not necessarily, no. There are many similarities – especially in a global organisation, which are increasingly looking to maximise economies of scale, harmonise processes and procedures.

A lot of our countries operate with outsourced partners, and to do that effectively, you need commonality of policy.

That’s not to say a unilateral, dogmatic one-size-fits-all policy, but I do think that in big organisations, policies are becoming more streamlined. However, there must always be leeway for local organisations to respond to the nuances of the market they operate in.

Q You mentioned an evolution in how HR leaders use data, but do they have the skills to use it effectively?

If I was advising HR business partners (HRBPs) today on the one skill they should

equip themselves with to be successful in the next 10 years, that would be to become more fluid with data and analytics. Because I think there’s a wealth of data available about the people in our organisation, and if we use that correctly, we can really improve the productivity of HR operations. Secondly, we can also get insights into what’s happening in our businesses which will allow us to guide our business leaders and allow us, as HRBPs, to make better strategic choices.

(USLP). It is at the heart of what we do, it is the bedrock of the business and it is the business model in which we operate.

We’re looking for candidates who are excited about the business, where whatever they do, however small or large, is a meaningful contribution towards achieving that ambition. They should be excited by the dual challenge of winning in the marketplace, but also doing the right thing for the communities we serve.

Q Coming to Unilever, what are the biggest HR challenges?

We are continuing to develop our business in the emerging markets which continue to grow faster than the developed markets.

The challenge is about finding talent that keeps pace with the rate of growth of our businesses. Certainly in Asia, although there are signs of slowdown, the rate of growth of many of our businesses is faster than the rate of growth of our people.

So what we have to do is to be much more strategic, long-term, anticipate what’s going to happen and plan for it, and invest heavily in the talent and leadership needed to help the business achieve its future ambition. But we must invest ahead of the growth curve otherwise there will be a deficit of the right people when needed.

Q Unilever wants to double its business by 2020 while halving its environmental impact. What kind of candidates are you looking for?

We’re looking for people who are excited

by Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan

VITAL STATS John Nolan has been responsible for HR in all the country organisations in Unilever. He was also senior vice president, human resources for Unilever’s home and personal care business in Europe. His 28year career has seen him working in a variety of roles including assignments in the UK, USA, Belgium and Singapore.

Q What then is Unilever’s recruitment philosophy based on?

It depends on the job level, and can vary all over the world, depending on legal requirements. We also want to make sure that in our selection processes, we’re giving people the opportunity to express what they can do, and also that we can see their individual qualities. One of the most important parts of the process in our graduate scheme, for example, is our assessment centre. It is when we bring applicants into the office and give them a chance to experience what life is like in this company and our offices, and we get to see what they can do in a variety of situations and simulations. Most importantly, we see if there’s a good fit between them and the organisation.

Q Would you choose cultural fit or personality over degrees?

I don’t think it’s a black and white choice.

You always need to look at minimum academic qualifications, for example, in our graduate schemes. But that’s not the only thing that matters. We’re not

14 » Human Resources » July 2015

14-17_Q&A_JUL15_sub.indd 14

15/7/2015 12:23:49 PM

14-17_Q&A_JUL15_sub.indd 15

15/7/2015 12:24:04 PM

PROFILE » John Nolan recruiting one type of candidate, we need different people who have different backgrounds and qualifications.

Some of our most successful candidates may come from traditional universities with traditional academic qualifications. But there may be others from design schools or institutes of the arts. Because they may be more suited to certain parts of the business or they may bring qualities we need in the company, for example, creativity.

The point is we need a diverse selection of individuals in our business that matches the diverse sections of the society we serve, and represents the diverse nature of our business.

People don’t need to come to the office every day, they can work from home or from anywhere because everyone is digitally enabled, which allows them to work in a style that suits them best. The most important thing is the value in the output people create, not the input.

A lot of our offices have wonderful facilities, such as a gym, swimming pool and even a Ben & Jerry’s store.

All of these things come together to make an attractive employee value proposition, underpinned by the notion of a chance to create a brighter future for the world, which can be made by our employees in whatever role they have. This sits at the heart of what we offer to them.

Q Do you provide any training to your hiring managers?

We do train people on how to assess candidates, with their interview skills or assessment centre skills. It is important they are given this training before being given the responsibility of recruiting.

Q What tips would you give a company who is trying to build its EVP? You’ve got to find what it is about your business that is differentiating. You have to distinguish yourself from the crowded marketplace and what it is you do that allows people to feel like they’re contributing to a higher purpose and to society. This shouldn’t be limited to businesses. It also applies to schools, NGOs, government and public service.

Q Labour laws have been changing in Singapore. Do you think local leaders have the skills to lead large global organisations such as Unilever?

Yes I think they do. Singapore has many talented individuals, and blessed with great schools, education standards and universities. We find the people we recruit from local universities to be first-class in the group of students we can rotate around the world. They have a wonderful work ethic and an ability to not only excel in what they do, but also an ability to work cross-functionally and in teams.

The only issue is that Singapore being a relatively small place, there’s a relatively small number of people to choose from, but there’s no reason why they cannot successfully lead large corporations.

Q In Unilever, are some jobs more difficult to fill than others?

Yes, from time to time. These things tend to be cyclical. For the moment, people with digital marketing skills are in hot demand, as well as those who understand e-commerce business models.

That is part and parcel of the business though, and you have to make sure you react and respond. You have to change

your approach and get out there and find the people you need and attract them with an attractive employee value proposition.

The other side of this is that you need to be able to hold onto the people you’ve got. If you have got people with the skills you need, it’s important for you to know who they are. It’s important to take time to invest in those people and make sure they’re happy and engaged. The best way to fill a vacancy is not to have one at all.

Q Could you give us an example of how you develop such talent internally?

We have a range of initiatives to help our employees develop in three areas.

The first is functional skills, where from day one, there is a suite of programmes available for them to improve their functional or professional skills. We have a second range of programmes around general skills, that are needed by everybody to do their job every day.

Lastly we have the flagship leadership programmes of the company, which help develop future leaders, an area we are very committed to. An example was the recent opening of a new leadership development centre in Singapore, Four Acres, where we will bring leaders from all over the world to help them develop the skills they need to lead the company in the future.

Q We keep seeing reports of a gender gap in boards. What’s your take?

There are currently two women on the board of the Unilever executive committee.

And 43% of our employees are women.

We’ve got women in extremely important roles at the highest levels of

Q How would you summarise Unilever’s employer brand?

On the one hand, we want people who are excited about the ability to do business. We also want to offer people an opportunity to work with some of the world’s best and most-loved brands. So we want people who are passionate about business, brands and our sustainability mission. Lastly, we want to offer people a great place to work.

All our offices are extremely modern, open plan and dynamic. We have an agile work policy where people are able to work how they like, where and when they like.

16 » Human Resources » July 2015

14-17_Q&A_JUL15_sub.indd 16

15/7/2015 12:24:23 PM

John Nolan « PROFILE the organisation. We’ve got a female CEO presently running our Thailand business, our Sri Lanka operations, as well as the UK business.

We’ve got a strong pipeline with female leaders currently running countries, product categories and brands at very senior levels.

We pride ourselves on the fact that we’re a very diverse company. We’ve got 25 nationalities in the top 100, and 45 nationalities in the top 400. There is, of course, scope for improvement, and we will work towards that.

Q What are the biggest weaknesses the HR function is facing today?

I think there are not a lot of HR people who are financially astute enough to be able to partner in the true sense of the word, in making a strategic contribution to the business agenda. In some places, the HR function is too apologetic, and is still trying to fully establish itself and gain its rightful seat at the business table.

I think that discussion about being at the table was over 25 years ago. There’s nothing more important to a business than the people it recruits, the skills it

has, the capabilities it builds, the amount that it pays to those people. I can’t think of anything more important to any organisation than this. So the role HR plays is not just strategic but critical.

In different organisations, HR is at a different stage of evolution, but all are on the journey to become a true strategic partner. My wish would be that HR people be more confident, that they can see themselves playing that strategic role, and don’t get called upon to comment only when someone mentions the word “people” in a meeting. They should be contributing to the business strategy and demonstrating to the CEOs what that strategy should be based on the capabilities the organisation currently has or that it can realistically develop.

I think we have made enormous strides in the past 10 years, and I just hope that continues.

Q Do you think this lack of confidence is due to how the CEO perceives HR? I think it’s a chicken and egg situation.

The CEO’s impression of the value HR can add is a function of the quality of the contributions that HR can make, and

0ɤɰɤɑȨɄɤɕ

vice versa. You have to first establish the credibility of what you can do in the first place. In part, you can’t blame the CEOs. In so many studies, CEOs all over the world say the talent agenda is one of the most important things they worry about. If that’s true, the door is already wide open for us to prove what value we can add.

Q What does the future of HR hold?

It will evolve to be more strategic, towards a world where we’re more digitally enabled, and where we use data to enable more sophisticated decision making.

Secondly, my own view is that we’ve operated in a world with stark demarcations of what people do inside the HR function. In the future, we may see a slight blurring of the lines as people will be required to be a little more ambidextrous in doing more than one type of HR specialism. It is possible that as organisations try to be more productive, there will be cost pressures and not a lot of them will be able to afford the subfunctions that exist within HR. The work done by talent management, and business partners, for instance, may overlap, and we might see them coming closer together.

ǸɨȐȽ ɬȨɜȣ ɜȣȐ ɄȹȘɄɑɜ ɄȘ

ɄȹȐ

35% off

Enjoy Best Flexible Rate when you stay five nights and more.

Attractive monthly rates are also available.

An exclusive and private haven with all the luxuries and modern conveniences of a hotel. Each of our 24 exquisite La Residenza serviced suites is designed with the style and comfort of a home.

Includes: • One daily buffet breakfast at Café Brio’s • Complimentary upgrade to One-Bedroom Suite • Dining Credit of $50 nett • High speed wireless internet connection • One-way Airport Transfer • Complimentary local call • 20% off total bill at Food and Beverage outlets and In Room Dining • Complimentary welcome pack (refreshments and snacks) • Daily housekeeping services • Over 30 TV channels • Complimentary use of tennis courts and gym • Complimentary use of bicycle during the stay (subject to availability) Terms and conditions apply.

For reservations, please call 6233 1122 or email rsvns.gcw@millenniumhotels.com.

GRAND COPTHORNE WATERFRONT HOTEL SINGAPORE 392 Havelock Road, Singapore 169663 T +65 6733 0880 F +65 6737 8880 www.grandcopthorne.com.sg

14-17_Q&A_JUL15_sub.indd 17

20/7/2015 2:57:33 PM

HumanResourcesEvents

GROUPM AND ELLIOTT SCOTT BAG TOP HONOURS AT ASIA RECRUITMENT AWARDS The inaugural edition of the Asia Recruitment Awards in Singapore, organised by Human Resources, was a celebration of the best recruitment practices in the region, reports Darren Beck.

GroupM Asia Pacific and Elliott Scott HR bagged gold as the Grand Winners of the first-ever Asia Recruitment Awards 2015, held in Singapore this past month.

After a succession of trophies in various categories, the two companies took home the top honours as the best in-house recruitment team and recruitment agency, respectively in the region.

Imre Vadasz, regional HR director at Sony, was among the esteemed jury. He commented: “Getting the right people on board is fundamental

to any successful operation. I am very happy that I could be a small part of this great initiative to recognise the efforts, innovations and successes of this crucial business activity: recruitment.”

In front of a record-breaking audience of 345 top talent acquisition specialists at the Hotel InterContinental, GroupM APAC secured gold for Best Recruitment Technology, Best Career Website and Best Recruitment Advertising Strategy. It also won two silver for Best Recruitment Evaluation Technique and Best Staff Referral Programme.

Not to be outdone by its in-house counterparts, Elliott Scott HR emerged victorious among the recruitment agencies, bagging silver for Best New Recruitment Agency, gold for Best Client Service, bronze for Best Regional Recruitment Programme, alongside its coveted Grand Winner trophy.

Li-Ki Khaw, head of HR at ANZ Banking Group, and one of the jury members, said: “I am encouraged to see the engagement levels of both corporates and agencies in the sharing of best practices, and being proud in their profession.”

18 » Human Resources » July 2015

18-19_HRE_ARASG_JUL15_sub.indd 18

15/7/2015 3:59:00 PM

HumanResourcesEvents

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) followed suit with a total of five trophies, winning gold for Best Employer Brand Development and Employee Brand Development.

It topped its tally off with bronze for Best Staff Referral Programme, Best Staff Recruitment Evaluation Technique and Best Use of Digital Media.

The Recruitment Agency of the Year category proved competitive, with ScienTec Consulting grabbing gold, edging out peers Michael Page and Robert Walters. In the category for Best New Recruitment Agency, new kids on the block, 33 Talent, wrestled the gold in what proved to be an extremely tight race to the finish line.

The judges were impressed with the range of innovative practices undertaken at both mature and young organisations.

Anuradha Purbey, HR director at Aviva Singapore, explained: “As a judge, it was a great learning experience for me as it gave me some meaningful insights on some of the leading practices in the recruitment area.

“Something that stood out for me was the focus on customer centricity by individuals and companies to better understand and deliver what was expected and the ever increasing use of technology to create a great employee experience in the talent acquisition process.”

Among the Best Graduate Recruitment Programmes, Maybank came first, in a testament to the bank’s extensive efforts in the war for the new generation’s brightest talent.

The bank also took home the silver trophy for Best Recruitment Evaluation Technique (in-house) and bronze for Best Candidate Experience (in-house).

In light of its initiatives to bolster its forces with digital recruitment, Certis CISCO Security earned the gold for Best Use of Digital Media, along with a silver in Best Recruitment Advertising Strategy.

Competition was fierce as ever for the Best In-House Recruitment Team of the year with contenders ANZ Bank, VMWare, IDA, Dell, Novartis Consumer Health and Changi Airport Group battling it out – with VMWare making the cut to pole position.

In the individual categories, the contender from Real Staffing Group, Manjit Kaur, won gold as Recruitment Consultant of the Year, with Walter Tan, from Charterhouse Partnership, following closely with a silver in hand.

Among in-house recruiting professionals, Eileen Oh, from Changi Airport Group, scored the gold trophy for Recruitment Professional of the Year, followed closely by Shmeer Bharoocha from the ANZ Bank with the silver.

Other notable mentions for the night included Kadence International, which won gold for Best Candidate Experience (In House).

The Best Recruitment Innovation category saw gold winners for JobStreet. com among the agencies and Citi Singapore for in-house teams.

Jury member Evangeline Chua, the head of human resources at Citi Singapore, spoke of the experience of being part of the judging team.

“As an HR practitioner, it is a privilege to be able to contribute towards shaping recruitment standards and helping the HR community to acknowledge the good work done by other HR practitioners across the region.

“I look forward to the 2016 Asia Recruitment Awards.”

July 2015 « Human Resources « 19

18-19_HRE_ARASG_JUL15_sub.indd 19

20/7/2015 2:59:07 PM

FEATURE » Relocation & mobility

With more people willing to relocate in search of their dream job, how do organisations go about selecting employees for overseas assignments? Jerene Ang explores the top reasons for relocation as well as repatriation, and the factors mobility managers consider while selecting the perfect candidate for an overseas assignment.

20 » Human Resources » July 2015

20-30_Feature_Relocation_JUL15_sub.indd 20

20/7/2015 3:04:10 PM

FEATURE » Relocation & mobility It is essential for every organisation to have a mobility programme to be successful in today’s world. However, merely relocating employees to fi ll a business need is not enough.

In order to thrive, organisations must not only relocate staff to fi ll business needs, but also to aid in the career development of their future leaders.

Mobility managers are gradually moving away from traditional mobility policies which moved employees solely based on the roles and budgets.

Jeslyn Ngan, manager of global mobility for Asia Pacific at Mondelez Asia Pacific, says: “In recent years, companies are more focused on business delivery as well as results, hence, attention is being paid to acquiring the right candidate instead of the monetary value of the relocation eventually.”

Emerging mobility trends True enough, according to the “2015 Global Mobility Trends Survey” by Brookfield Global Relocation Services. In recent years, there has been a stronger alignment between mobility and talent management.

The survey, which polled global mobility professionals representing 143 companies across industries, showed there has been a gradual increase in organisations using international assignments to build international management experience for their leaders (from 17% in 2009 to 23% in 2015).

“In the past five years, we have seen mobility evolve to be more of a tool for talent and leadership development rather than just a way to fill a business need.”

– Anika Grant, managing director of HR for ASEAN and Asia Pacific, Accenture

Anika Grant, managing director of human resources for ASEAN and Asia Pacific at Accenture, agrees with this observation and says: “In the past five years, we have seen mobility evolve to be more of a tool for talent and leadership development rather than just a way to fi ll a business need.”

She states the ideal situation is when both the concepts of talent and leadership development, and the business, come together and the organisation is able to “infuse the right

talent to fi ll a gap, while providing a potential leader with a growth opportunity”.

“We have had to look at being more creative in our mobility policies to support strategic talent moves into and across each of our growth markets.”

Additionally, Jacob George, president of Asia and the Middle East at SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving, observes that the notion of capturing mobility in terms of policies based on the duration of the assignment is quickly going away and mobility today revolves more around the assignee.

“Today, it is more of an à la carte menu of creating what meets their need, rather than fitting them in a box. Outside of immigration and tax, everything is flexible and tailored,” he says.

Also, with various generations in the workforce, he recommends putting together a policy that supports relocation across generations, by fi rst understanding their dynamics, then tailoring a programme to support their needs.

What’s happening now?

Analysing these emerging trends can be interesting, but what are companies actually focusing on?

The Cartus “2014 Trends in Global Relocation: Global Mobility Policy and Practices” survey shows that companies are evenly divided in their options.

While 41% of them admit to offering ad hoc solutions, another 39% offer tiered programmes, while 38% of companies provide lump sum options to employees.

In addition to these alternatives, Grant shares that Accenture’s current approach is on tailoring the mobility policies by taking “approaches different from the more ‘traditional’ relocation programmes in order to fi nd the right answer”.

With a lot of emphasis on tailored policies, who in the organisation is responsible for creating them?

Ngan reveals that Mondelez’s mobility policy is jointly owned by the global mobility team and the global rewards team.

Accenture takes a slightly different situation with its mobility programme being managed by the procurement team.

Grant notes that mobility is a “shared service” entity as it contains “significant inputs

22 » Human Resources » July 2015

20-30_Feature_Relocation_JUL15_sub.indd 22

15/7/2015 2:22:34 PM

Celebrating 60 Years of TRUSTED GUIDANCE CARTUS

YEARS Helping transferring employees and their families find their way to new homes, new communities, and new experiences.

ÂŽ

Š 2015 Cartus Corporation. All rights reserved.

Cartus and the Cartus logo are registered trademarks of Cartus Corporation.

www.cartus.com

FEATURE » Relocation & mobility from human resources, fi nance and employee tax and immigration”.

“It is therefore owned by several stakeholder functions providing an end-to-end service for our employees who have chosen to relocate either on short-term or long-term assignments around the world each year.”

Now that we know the policies and who owns them, why do organisations today relocate their employees?

A survey by Mercer in 2013 showed the biggest reasons companies offer international programmes are to provide technical skills not available locally (47%), provide career management and leadership development (43%), to ensure knowledge transfer (41%) and to fulfi l specific project needs (39%).

Additionally, the 2013 annual KPMG “Global Assignment Policies and Practices” report states that 72% of more than 600 organisations surveyed worldwide make use of mobility programmes to support business objectives and remain adaptable to changing requirements.

Richard Tan, vice president of Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL Serviced Suites, agrees and observes that one of the main reasons why companies relocate employees is the shortage of skills as well as “a need to provide cross nationality exposure and job rotation within the company”.

Mondelez’s Ngan, on the other hand, notes that one of the main reasons it relocates employees is because of business needs, “where a vacancy is created or in most cases to backfi ll”.

Nevertheless, “there are also instances where assignees are relocated specifically for career development purposes”.

Similarly, Grant notes that at Accenture, not every location in which it operates has the necessary skills to deliver its full services. As such, there is a need for its global relocation programme to “assist in fi lling the gaps in the short to medium-term, and also to build a capability for the longer term”.

“We also relocate those employees that will be able to assist in developing strategic initiatives and building new and emerging markets for Accenture.”

She adds these employees “often bring with them their specific and specialised skills to enable growth”.

“Finally, we balance the business need with the talent need, and use mobility as a way of building the next generation of leaders at Accenture.”

Reading into repatriation Repatriation is one of the ways companies can build future leaders by bringing back employees who have gained sufficient experience and exposure abroad.

Building a global mindset is one of the key capabilities in repatriation, and Grant states that opportunities for overseas assignments is the best way to build that mindset. As a result, Accenture has been able to use mobility as a way to develop and groom future leaders.

Th is is done by typically giving people an experience overseas before bringing them home to step into a larger leadership role.

Tan also observes its talent is usually posted

24 » Hum Human a Resources » July 2015

20-30_Feature_Relocation_JUL15_sub.indd 24

15/7/2015 2:22:43 PM

Everyone gets 50 years’ experience However long the assignment, your people always benefit from a lifetime of relocations expertise

In fifty years we’ve learned a lot about what makes relocations more successful for everyone.

With experienced and knowledgeable people on the ground in more than 60 countries we support your program and take good care of your people: • Complete service to integrate with your HR strategy • Relocation policy support and benchmarking • Active relocation management • Personal support for assignees throughout the process • A personal service at origin and complete support to aid settling in at destination

Tel: +65 6861 6818 singapore@crownrelo.com

Go knowing

www.crownrelo.com/singapore HR Magazine Ads.indd 2

26/5/2015 3:23:03 PM

FEATURE » Relocation & mobility overseas for a short rotation or simply to gain exposure and thus, reverse relocation happens often. He adds that an attractive relocation package is crucial in attracting them to return to their origin country.

On the other hand, Ngan is of the opinion that “it is only right for them to repatriate home upon completion of assignment”, unless there is a strong business need to remain in the host location, in which case, she recommends offering a local instead of an expatriate package.

She also notes that assignees now are rather particular about the positions they are offered upon repatriation, hence, the challenge is more about how their career is planned in the early stages rather than using monetary offers to attract them to return home.

However, according to the “2013 Talent Management and the Changing Assignee Profi le Report” by Cartus, 58% of companies did not offer formal repatriation integration programmes. Of those offering them, only 33% typically offered such programmes for longterm assignments.

In addition, the “2015 Global Mobility Trends Survey” by Brookfield Global Relocation Services found that most of the repatriation discussions only happen less than six months before a candidate returns (52%).

Also, more than a third (36%) of companies still do not have a formal written repatriation policy for staff.

From the discussion above, with regards to repatriation, it seems there is a gap in the intentions of organisations and what they actually do in terms of what the research shows.

Factors considered in relocation The “2015 Global Mobility Trends Survey” also found that when selecting candidates for international assignments, mobility managers consider if they are a high-potential employee (85%) and their willingness to go on an assignment (77%).

They also identify if the candidate has specific or rare skills (65%), their inclination towards cultural adaptability (31%), and if they have previous assignment experiences (31%).

Tan notes that factors considered when relocating employees are “largely skill-based – that is, aiming to fit the role that is experiencing a shortage”.

Ngan agrees and adds it also expects them to be mature and able to deliver business results,

“Today, it is more of an à la carte menu of creating what meets their need, rather than fitting them in a box. Outside of immigration and tax, everything is flexible and tailored.”

– Jacob George, president of Asia and the Middle East at SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving

while Grant says the company looks for high performers or employees with high potential.

Apart from that, they also look for the traits of adaptability, perseverance and an open mind, which “ensures that they are best suited to handle the inherent differences in both cultural and business environments in their new host country”.

Some of these skills sound like they can be learnt, but what about others?

Grant reasons that at Accenture, the primary objective of globally relocating an employee is to fi ll a need in terms of a job requirement or skill that may not be present in a particular host country’s workplace.

“It’s not often that we relocate employees without the necessary skills to perform the task at hand, due to the nature of our business, which comprises substantial project work on tight delivery timelines.”

However, she states it encourages the sharing of skills during assignments as it will help the company “remain innovative and competitive on both the local and global scale”.

“We encourage and support our relocated employees to share their skills while on an assignment with their local counterparts, since this initiative really helps to facilitate a unique transfer of information from one part of the world to another.”

Other than skills, Ngan reveals that a candidate’s “family situation” is also considered when short-listing candidates for relocation.

Watch out for the challenges Speaking of family, 61% of the respondents from the Cartus “2014 Trends in Global Relocation:

26 » Human Resources » July 2015

20-30_Feature_Relocation_JUL15_sub.indd 26

15/7/2015 2:22:56 PM

THINKING RELOCATION? THINK SANTA FE. We make it easy

Award Winning Services

2014 Destination Services Provider of the Year 2014 Best Vendor Partnership of the Year Relocation | Moving | Immigration | Records Management

Santa Fe Singapore T: +65 6398 8588 E: sg.sales@santaferelo.com www.santaferelo.com

FEATURE » Relocation & mobility Global Mobility Policy and Practices” survey listed the inability of the candidate’s family to adjust as the second top reason contributing to assignment failure.

Additionally, 76% cited family or personal circumstances as the top reason why employees turn down assignments. Acknowledging the family factor as a challenge, Grant says it is crucial to ensure the candidate’s family is happy and settled.

“If someone is moving with their partner or family, we also recognise that ensuring the family is happy and settled will be critical.

Often, an overseas assignment fails not because the individual on assignment is not successful, but their family is not able to successfully integrate into the new environment.

“If the assignment is a temporary move, ensuring smooth integration back into the home country is something that requires a proactive and thoughtful approach.”

Cartus’ “Trends in Global Relocation: 2014 Biggest Challenges” survey listed the top three challenges for mobility managers as controlling relocation/assignment costs (77%), housing (47%) and fi nally, complying with laws and regulations (45%).

Ngan agrees, observing that “people moving into countries that have a high cost of living tend to set a higher standard for their next move and more often than not, they try to avoid moving backwards”.

Th is, in turn, affects the cost of relocation packages organisations offer to candidates.

“People moving into countries with a high cost of living tend to set a higher standard for their next move and more often than not, try to avoid moving backwards.”

4 FACTORS mobility managers consider when relocating employees

SKILLS

PERFORMANCE

ATTITUDE & CULTURAL ADAPTABILITY

– Jeslyn Ngan, manager of global mobility for Asia Pacific, Mondelez Asia Pacific

Th is view resonates with Grant, who adds, “Particularly in the Middle East and parts of Asia, it has proved challenging to balance the cost of the mobility assignment against ensuring a suitable cost of living, while having a compelling proposition to our people”.

In the same backdrop, Ngan feels that “relocating to emerging markets, especially

FAMILY

28 » Human Resources » July 2015

20-30_Feature_Relocation_JUL15_sub.indd 28

15/7/2015 2:23:44 PM

Now Defining Global Living in Singapore Our Serviced Residences in Singapore Ascott Raffles Place • Citadines Mount Sophia Somerset Bencoolen • Somerset Liang Court • Somerset Orchard

Ascott Raffles Place Singapore

Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore

From the spacious exclusivity of Ascott, to the vibrancy of independent city living at Citadines, or the pampering touches for the family at Somerset, there is a serviced residence designed to make you feel at home. Because life is about living.

Somerset Liang Court Singapore

Enjoy Ascott’s Best Rate Guarantee | www.the-ascott.com | +65 6272 7272

With three award-winning serviced residence brands, we welcome you to enjoy our renowned hospitality in more than 200 properties in over 90 cities spanning more than 20 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region.

FEATURE » Relocation & mobility 5 FACTORS organisations want to improve in mobility assignments

to Southeast Asia countries”, is a challenge because of their immigration policies.

Here, Tan observes that with the increasing difficulty to attain Employment Passes (EPs) in Singapore, mobility managers face a challenge with “visa requirements as the policies typically help to protect locals”.

Other challenges which result in potential candidates turning down assignments, he points out, could be “unattractive packages” and “lack of career development plans for these mobility candidates”.

Adds Ngan: “Businesses demand people of a certain skill set and are willing to pay everything and anything to have that candidate on board.

“However, they eventually do not have a plan for them after two or three years.”

What comes next?

Repatriation, identification of mobility skills, and linking the strategy to career development are all current areas of focus, and the interviewees go on to provide their views of further evolution in the function.

Ngan feels the mobility function will not deviate too much from its current stance, because “we are already a part of the new world where organisations go through a thorough thought process before deciding to relocate their people due to business requirements”.

Tan also feels there are some aspects of mobility that will not change.

“Mobility has and always will be highly dependent on the specialised skills needed for the particular role. Cross country exposure will continue to remain necessary to provide overseas experience of its employees as part of their job development.”

That said, he also notes mobility will not remain completely stagnant in the future.

“We will see an increase in job rotation assignments to gain overseas experience more than permanent relocation.”

Grant identifies two key mobility trends for the future.

“Firstly, there is a need to be more proactive and to use mobility as a way to build the next generation of leaders – leaders who can navigate ambiguity, are comfortable with change and inclusive in all senses of the word.

“Secondly, we are seeing more ‘global citizens’ – people, like myself, who have lived and worked in multiple countries and are prepared to move on their own initiative, actually preferring that to a formal assignment in order to have more control over timing and ensure a truly ‘local’ experience for them and their family.”

She notes in both cases, a global experience will be very compelling “career capital” for the future.

30 » Human Resources » July 2015

20-30_Feature_Relocation_JUL15_sub.indd 30

15/7/2015 2:23:33 PM

FEATURE » Talent management strategy

Firms today have realised the importance of having a good employer branding strategy, but often fall into the trap of over-promising or exaggerating the type of environments and benefits they offer to staff.

How can HR leaders portray an authentic and accurate picture of their employer brand?

Akankasha Dewan explores.

32 » Human Resources » July 2015

32-35_Feature_TalentManagementStrategy_JUL15_sub.indd 32

15/7/2015 11:07:04 AM

Talent management strategy « FEATURE here perhaps exists a solid philosophy behind why companies today want to become employers of choice – and not of chance.

As various studies have shown, employees whose talent and behaviours align with business objectives help significantly in boosting organisational growth.

That is something which Tricia Duran, HR director for Unilever Asia, stresses upon.

“In order to double your business, you need to have the best people. But in order to have and to attract the best people, you need to have a great employer brand.”

While having a great employer brand helps companies to attract the best employees, it remains important to remember it also helps employees to fi nd the best employer.

Why employer branding is important According to LinkedIn’s “Winning Talent” research, 53% of people surveyed said they would entirely rule out accepting a job offer from a company with a reputation for having poor job security, dysfunctional teams or poor leadership at its helm.

In fact, negative opinions from current or previous employees of the company in question and a poor reputation among industry peers rounded out the top five factors that put people off an employer.

“In Singapore, one of the biggest HR challenges is the war for talent.

“It’s genuinely here in this country because you have about 7,500 multinationals based out of here. Seventy per cent of them have regional offices here and we’re all looking for the best talent,” Duran says.

“Companies are quite discerning about who they want to bring in, but so are the employees.”

Matt Kaiser, global employer branding and digital recruiting at Ericsson, adds, however, it is essential for companies to have a clear employer branding strategy today because candidates today have access to a clutter of information regarding what an organisation stands for and the type of working culture it provides.

“In today’s world, candidates are inundated with marketing and recruitment messages from various online and offl ine channels.”

“Employer branding helps to ensure that your message reaches and engages the right audience,” he says.

Ng Ying Yuan, director of human resources

and organisation development at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), takes pride in revealing the company has always been “very clear” about its employee value proposition for the talent market.

She adds that any prospective talent who joins EDB will “be developed as a leader of the future”, “receive global exposure”, and “have the opportunity to lead and drive change for Singapore’s economy”.

“In today’s world, candidates are inundated with marketing and recruitment messages from various online and offline channels.”

– Matt Kaiser, global employer branding and digital recruiting at Ericsson

“EDB has established a very strong track record in building leaders for the public as well as private sector.

“The nature of our work requires our officers to work closely with multinational companies from around the world, and also be very plugged into global industry trends,” she says.

“In addition, as the chief architect for Singapore’s economy and as Singapore’s lead industry developer, all EDB officers build tremendous experiences in doing work that has impact at the national and global level.”

But developing such a “clear” employer branding strategy is, as observed, easier said than done.

The role of HR in crafting employer brand strategies With little consensus about who owns the process, and who is accountable for results, employer branding is suffering from an “identity crisis”, says a new study from Universum.

Polling more than 2000 senior executives worldwide, it found that CEOs are at odds with members of the talent management team over the role of employer branding.

While more than half (58%) of HR executives said HR owned employer branding, only about a third of CEOs agreed.

Overall, just 34% of respondents listed HR as being primarily accountable for employer branding, making it a function that plays a “relatively passive role” in the process.

The marketing and corporate

July 2015 « Human Resources « 33

32-35_Feature_TalentManagementStrategy_JUL15_sub.indd 33

15/7/2015 11:07:40 AM

FEATURE » Talent management strategy communications functions each tied at 30% to emerge as those believed to be primarily responsible for the task.

While all three HR leaders interviewed stated a collaboration between HR and other functions is required to develop a solid employer branding strategy, all believed the HR function should be primarily accountable for leading the process.

“HR should certainly take the lead to manage the process, but I would stress that determining the employer brand should be a collaborative effort between all segments of the organisation,” Ng says.

“The organisation’s employer brand should be driven by the aspirations of all of its staff members, and also guided by the vision and wisdom of its leaders.

“HR should certainly take the lead, but determining the employer brand should be a collaborative effort between all segments of the organisation.”

– Ng Ying Yuan, director of HR and OD at the Singapore Economic Development Board

It should not be the responsibility of any sole division,” Ng adds.

Duran agrees with the approach, and adds HR can benefit greatly from the expertise of various other functions while crafting an employer brand.

“HR, of course, has to be a consistent presence throughout the process,” she says.

“You could have a debate about who owns the employer branding process in different companies, but in Unilever we don’t really.

“We have decided that HR is in charge of employer branding.

“What we do in HR is that we create a strategic intent linked with the business purpose and vision.”

She explains her team leverages on the company’s marketers for their creative vision and their understanding of digital and consumers and partners with them.

“For example, I would have a partner in marketing who would help me, and a partner in market research,” she says.

“Employer branding, at the end of the day, is about a combination of magic and logic.

“It is about policies and principles around

the brand, but it is also about inspiration and creating a culture to share with the external world,” she adds.

Measuring the effectiveness of employer branding strategies But measuring the effectiveness of such “magical” employer branding strategies has often been identified as a challenge for HR leaders today.

According to the report by Universum, most KPIs used by companies today were identified as inward facing: average retention rate (used by 46%), new hire quality (45%) and employee engagement levels (45%).

External indicators such as rankings and brand perception were only used by one-fi fth of survey respondents.

“What is perhaps most startling is that many important KPIs – such as average retention rate – are being measured today by less than half of respondents,” the report stated.

Kaiser observes, however, that both types of indicators are key when it comes to effectively measuring an employer branding strategy.

“The internal factors indicate the ‘health’ of your employer brand.

“These are metrics that only you and your internal stakeholders see (i.e. employee engagement rates, attrition, employee referrals, sourcing channels, career site traffic, LinkedIn’s Talent Brand Index),” he says.

“The external factors indicate the visibility of your employer brand.

“These are metrics that are visible to candidates you want to recruit (that is, employer awards, company awards, social media engagement and sentiment, employer reviews).

“At Ericsson, we focus on both internal and external metrics to ensure our employer brand is healthy and visible.”

Ng adds companies can conduct specific research on their own to see how employees view the nature of the organisation they’re working in.

These include perception-based studies.

“Another more indirect, but extremely relevant method would be to track the quality of the hires when they start work and how well they fit within the organisation.

“Th is provides the organisation with very good insights on whether the employer branding was done right to attract the right talent,” she says.

34 » Human Resources » July 2015

32-35_Feature_TalentManagementStrategy_JUL15_sub.indd 34

15/7/2015 11:08:03 AM

Talent management strategy « FEATURE The biggest mistakes involved in crafting an employer brand Keeping track of how well a company’s employer brand strategy is performing is essential, Ng adds, especially because it is easy to overpromise or exaggerate the nature of employer brands.

“It is critical to be mindful of not branding the organisation in a way that it is not.

“While it is valuable marketing advice to think of brand stretch, employer branding must be an authentic exercise so as to help the organisation identify and attract the right candidates, and also deliver on specific employer value propositions that the organisation is capable of,” she says.

She reveals that when EDB was developing its employer brand, the company conducted extensive interviews with staff, clients and stakeholders so as to determine what the fi rm’s key employer brand pillars were.

“Th is has helped us to reach out to the right target audience to recruit from, and also made us very sharp in determining what we should be to our talent.”

Being inauthentic about what the company can offer to its employees is, in fact, one of the gravest blunders fi rms can make when developing their employer brands, per Duran.

“The biggest mistake is pretending to be who you are not – putting out there an image that doesn’t resonate when you actually come in and join the company,” she says.

“An employer brand always needs to be founded on authenticity, about who you are as an organisation, and what your people are, and what the values you stand for are.”

Unfortunately, she adds, that from what she has encountered, companies try to put an image based on what students want to see or want to hear.

“Th is is probably an overpromise in terms of advertising, and in terms of what the actual real experience is. That is a true problem SIM-GE-265-T14 HRMag@ft.ai 1 she 9/1/15 encountered in what we have seen,” says. 3:23

“The biggest mistake is pretending to be who you are not – putting out there an image that doesn’t resonate when you actually come in and join the company.”

– Tricia Duran, HR director for Unilever Asia

“That’s the thing about employer branding.

If your brand is authentic and true to what it really is, then your job, as employer branding strategists, is made easier.

“Because then what you just need to do is to invite people in and make them aware that you exist. Make them join you for a little bit, as an intern, or for one of your events, and then the culture just shines through.”

Expounding on the issue, Kaiser adds the two biggest challenges he has observed which companies face in crafting an employer brand strategy are getting buy-in from key stakeholders and measuring the effectiveness.

“You need to conduct research to support your ideas and strategy (the why behind the what). You also need to determine what success means to you and your organisation and demonstrate how your strategy is making an pm impact,” he says.

July 2015 « Human Resources « 35

32-35_Feature_TalentManagementStrategy_JUL15_sub.indd 35

15/7/2015 11:08:27 AM

FEATURE » Talent Management

CASE STUDY: UNILEVER ASIA Developing a solid employer branding strategy is no easy task, but companies also have to keep in mind needs of candidates across the region. Akankasha Dewan speaks with Tricia Duran, HR director for Unilever Asia, on how the company creates an overarching employer branding policy which still remains geographically relevant.

Creating a strong and effective message about your organisation, its culture, its people and its opportunities is of paramount importance. But to do so, companies need to include elements in their employee value proposition which candidates from each country can relate to.

Developing a ‘glocal’ employer branding strategy “Unilever is a global organisation and at the end of the day, we work towards a global standard,” says Tricia Duran, HR director for Unilever Asia.

“Saying that, however, the implementation and activation of our policies are based on what works locally in terms of culture. We mainly look at what is the right thing for the right kind of organisation, and then tailor it according to the country involved.

“So we’re global and local at the same time. Almost ‘glocal’ in a way.”

Duran explains that Unilever, as a brand, stands for the company’s vision and mission – which is to double its business while halving its environmental impact.

“For an employer branding strategy, we simply need to take what Unilever stands for and then translate it according to the consumers we’re speaking to. Th is is because the people we intend to recruit and bring into the organisation are consumers themselves,” she says.

“Eventually, it’s really just about bringing to life what Unilever stands for, in a very Singaporean way, and tailoring it to the consumers we’re speaking to, or the talent we wish to attract.”

But that is just one one part of the process.

After analysing what the prospective talent wants, her team sees if the company can provide those offerings.

“What we do in Singapore is that we take the desired attributes of the employee and ask ourselves if we can resonate with those characteristics,” she says.

The FMCG company then creates programmes which informs candidates about the offerings it provides.

“For example, we segment the population we are targeting according to things like awareness about our industry and company.

“And then you have a series of activities which is just about awareness – ranging from what’s going on in the FMCG industry, to what are Unilever’s brands.

“These include informative forums to drive simple awareness, or more hands-on activities such as internship schemes or competitions.”

Unilever’s internships Currently, Unilever has about 60 students who work with the fi rm as interns on a project for three months during the summer.

“After these students come and join us as interns, for example, they see for themselves what Unilever is about as an organisation. They tend to see Unilever in its most authentic form.

“That’s how we turn them into advocates. They go back to school and share what they have observed.

“They also go back and write on their Facebook pages, and tweet to their friends about what they have experienced while working with us.”

But the question arises whether such exposure gets risky at times, as students get to know both the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation.

Duran explains, however, the process is about dealing with high risks and high rewards.

“On the one hand, you bring students in and they see what they see, but on the other hand we’re very confident because what we put out at schools and what we advertise is genuinely who we are.

“What they learn from the internship is fi rstly, about our profession and about the work we do.

“But at the same time, they learn about our culture.

They can determine for themselves if we are fun and friendly, if we have a sense of purpose, if we have inspiring leadership or if they think we are stable – whatever is important to them.”

36 » Human Resources » July 2015

36_CS_Unilever_JUL15_sub.indd 36

15/7/2015 3:44:25 PM

OPINION » Learning & development

Why Vodafone is making mums the centre of attention JPS CHOUDHARY Regional HR head Vodafone Asia, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific

The biggest challenges in building a diverse and inclusive work environment, and the solution in a new global diversity policy.

Why gender gaps still exist: Companies don’t make it easy for women to balance their family and career goals.

If you only hire or support one particular type of individual, you severely limit the performance and innovation potential of your business.

Embracing diversity is the only way to bring in the breadth of perspectives, experience and skills that any global business needs to compete in today’s market.

Organisations also need to respect and align with the diversity of their customers if they are to meet their needs most appropriately. In other words, diversity is a business imperative, not just a “feel-good” initiative.

Ignoring the different needs of these diverse individuals can also be extremely costly, especially in the case of women in the workforce.

The ever-present gender gaps I believe the main reason why gender gaps still exist in firms today is that companies don’t make it as easy for women to balance their family and career goals as much as they could.

In Asia, we tend to see more women leaving the workforce when they have a child because traditional working patterns – fixed hours, a tendency towards overtime – are perhaps more ingrained in corporate culture than in other places.

In Italy, for example, reduced working weeks are relatively common and socially acceptable for new mothers. I suspect the persistence of gender inequality, particularly at the higher levels of business, has to do with the fact that most working policies were designed many years ago with men, and not women, in mind.

At Vodafone, our approach to this is to make these policies more flexible and personal.

Apart from our mandatory maternity leave allowance and reduced post-maternity working weeks, we also empower our managers to define individualised flexible working arrangements for their employees based on their circumstances.

When you create workplace policies that explicitly support uniquely personal circumstances, you have a far greater

38 » Human Resources » July 2015

38-39_L&D_JUL15_sub.indd 38

15/7/2015 12:21:05 PM

Learning & development « OPINION

chance of retaining more women than simply enforcing quotas or other “topdown” systems.

Such a diverse working environment will come naturally if you can respect and support the different needs of a diverse range of individuals, without condescending to what you assume those needs might be.

As business leaders, we also need to be role models for this and show greater openness about how we work according to our own personal situations – and extend that same flexibility to those whom we lead.

Many women do not return after maternity leave or, if they do, they find it difficult to return to the workplace after the changes that come with being a new mother. Businesses should not simply stop at maternity leave allowances: they need to provide greater flexibility in that critical post-leave period to support women’s transition back into the workforce.

When they return to work, most women want to contribute to the business as much as they did before having a child.

So work-family policies should seek to make this possible, rather than questioning new mothers’ motives for flexible or reduced office hours.

These policies should also support men who wish to take up a larger role in care giving.

Vodafone’s global maternity policy Vodafone recently became one of the first organisations worldwide to implement a mandatory minimum global maternity policy.

By the end of 2015, women working across all levels at Vodafone will be offered at least 16 weeks of fully paid maternity leave, in addition to full pay for a 30-hour week for the first six months after their return to work.

The impetus for the policy came from research we commissioned with KPMG, which found that applying these policies globally could firstly, save US$19 billion in recruiting and training costs.

Secondly, it could also eliminate US$14 billion in child care expenses.

Finally, it give back 608 million days to mothers to spend with their newborns.

Our new policy will be introduced across 30 countries in the Middle East, the Asia Pacific region, Africa, the US and Europe, benefiting more than 1,000 women a year. In many of these countries, there is little or no legislative requirement to provide maternity support.

We designed this policy by assessing retention rates of women returning from maternity leave in offices from each of the 30 countries where we operate.

The design process was informed by several “outliers” with high retention rates, such as Italy where these women were working shorter days, but for full pay immediately after returning from maternity leave.

Our employees around the world have been extremely excited and supportive of this policy.

However, we cannot afford to take this for granted – there is still a lot that global business leaders need to do, particularly in areas such as wage equality where female salaries still tend to lag behind those of men.

We also need to be mindful of cultural differences across different countries as we roll out policies designed to provide women with an optimal working experience.

These differences shouldn’t stop our efforts, but instead drive them towards greater effectiveness.

A “one-size-fits-all” approach will meet far more friction than basic principles within which countries and managers have significant autonomy.

“The most practical, detailed, and truly useful [leadership book] I’ve seen in a long, long time.

And no, it’s not just for first-timers.”

Eric Schurenberg, Media President and Editor-in-Chief, Inc. Magazine

www.YourFirstLeadershipJob.com #YourFirstLeadershipJob

July 2015 « Human Resources « 39

38-39_L&D_JUL15_sub.indd 39

15/7/2015 12:21:22 PM

OPINION » People issues

Challenges in migrating to an integrated HRIS system From a manual employee-data process, read how the company got analytics on its fingertips.

MICHELLE KOH HR business partner BlackBerry Singapore

Before our migration to an integrated HRIS system in October 2014, BlackBerry was using an external provider to store employee information. The updating of this information was a manual process done by a small team in HQ. As a result, information would sometimes be entered inaccurately or inconsistently.

Managers would always have difficulty getting information about their people since it was not readily available. The vendor made it cumbersome to track the mobility of our employees, and it was unable to track third party contractors.

HR would spend hours collating data from various sources to come up with headcount or talent reports for the managers.

Our other HR systems were not integrated as well. Data transfer between platforms would result in long freeze periods and it was costly to maintain and update.

The solution In 2013, the vendor announced it was no longer maintaining the HRIS system that we were on.

At the same time, we were transforming our HR organisation into one that provided high-touch support, and also allowed the business to get information quickly and easily on its own.

This coupled with our need to be a more cost-efficient and nimble organisation drove us to explore an integrated HRIS solution to allow better workforce planning and provide accurate employee data.

Process of migration As the APAC lead for the HRIS migration, I was tasked with providing the global project team advice on the regional nuances for each country, manage the data migration and lead the change management process in the region.

The different country legislations in APAC meant we had to take into account differences such as leave, overtime entitlements and employee information.

Once we carved out the design framework for each country, it was all hands on deck to test out each function and scenario to ensure the system worked the way we wanted it to.

We had set ourselves an ambitious target of fully migrating to the new HRIS system in 10 months, and we needed to ensure the processes worked just the way we wanted them to.

Change management The last part of the migration was ensuring the organisation as a whole was ready to make the change.

To do that, we rolled out weekly articles on our BlackBerry home page offering sneak peaks of our new HR portal and

The touch factor: Time spent in collating data is now spent on analysing it.

showing the potential of what it could do for our employees.

APAC training sessions were held to demonstrate how to use the system.

An HRIS support team was set up so employees could always go to it if they needed help and FAQs and training resources were available online so that information was easily available.

In APAC, HR was well trained on using the system so employees could also approach us with their questions.

The aftermath It has been more than eight months since BlackBerry migrated to its HRIS system. While there have been teething issues, there have also been many improvements in the way we now use the HR data we have.

Where we once would have spent time collating data, HR and managers can now spend the time analysing the data to make strategic decisions.

Where it used to be a full-day effort to identify all our employees and contractors globally, we now have accurate information for our workforce planning.

In February and April, we successfully ran our performance management and annual compensation review using the integrated tool for the first time with all the information readily available in the same place so that managers could do their performance evaluations and compensation proposals with ease.

The future Of course, this picture is far from complete. As our HRIS system matures, we are continuing to integrate more and more of our HR systems.

By June, we will have integrated our recruitment system allowing us to manage our people from a potential employee until they leave the organisation.

The possibilities of what we can do now that we have all this information at our fingertips are endless.

40 » Human Resources » July 2015

40_PeopleIssues_JUL15_sub.indd 40

15/7/2015 1:08:47 PM

SPONSORED RECRUIT ADVICE HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ITX EXPATRIATE MANAGEMENT

EXPATRIATE MANAGEMENT FROM SINGAPORE The APAC region continues to develop, and despite the recent global downturn, it has maintained its steady growth, thus attracting companies, new industries, investors and “inevitably”, expatriates.

Singapore seems to operate as a magnet for multinational companies from around and outside the region. The vitality of the port’s activities, the strong presence of the banking industry, combined with multinationals’ HQs, should at first sight be a favourable ground to set Global Mobility activities.

Singapore is one of the major landing points for expatriates within the APAC region. In addition it can also be the right place from where multinational companies can centralise their expatriates’ management for assignments within or outside the APAC region.

It is therefore not surprising that many companies have found in Singapore the right place to establish their holistic structure for expatriate management by using Global Employment Companies or other types of centres of expertise such as Hubs or Clusters.

The size and motivation behind such types of projects vary from one industry to another, in their geographical presence, business needs and the number of expatriates. Some companies may use this solution for all their worldwide expatriates, while others will limit it to regional assignments within APAC. One of the most obvious benefits delivered by a centralised structure is the “visibility” of the expatriate population, which helps to anticipate and organise smooth transitions, plan resource management and career development.

Centralised management strongly facilitates the collection and recording of data from which the treatment and analysis will provide accurate reports to HR and business partners.

One of the predominant advantages of Singapore lies in “social coverage”.

Many leading insurance companies have a direct presence or are partnering with renowned companies in their network and can offer a wide range of social coverage options for expatriates.

The main concerns for expatriates usually focus on three topics: • Health and medical • Retirement • Disability and death For all three, you will find in Singapore flexible products that can be customised and offered to your entire population regardless of their home or host country.

With no social security obligations in Singapore for your foreign personnel working worldwide, it allows companies to create and tailor their benefits plan in accordance to their employees’ needs and expectations.

Another favourable aspect is the access to international products in terms of expatriate-related services.

Let’s take the example of salary transfers. The vast majority of the world’s largest banks are represented in Singapore. Even though not all will offer broad retail services, you will be able to fairly easily set up bank accounts in foreign currencies and organise efficient and timely international bank wires for hundreds or thousands of expatriates worldwide in a seamless manner.

An additional and not-negligible aspect is the access to a job market where people have been dealing with expatriates for decades. You will find plenty of profiles with 10-plus years of experience in international mobility.

This really can make a difference when launching a project from scratch. You will be able to recruit and rely on experienced staff used to working for multinational

companies (either as in-house employees or external service providers), who are able to apply various standards and work with other business culture environments.

Even if less tangible than the above, Singapore appears within the expatriate community as a country providing a good level of contractual guarantees. Expatriates will therefore be keener on being employed by a Singapore-based entity than they will be with another more “unusual” location within or outside APAC. The choice of a location of where to implement centralised expatriate management is, of course, primarily driven by the goals the organisation is willing to achieve.

This can be for HR management purposes, cost control, to provide consistency within the expatriate community, increase control and compliance with group policies, promote international mobility, and dozens of other reasons.

Singapore has many things to offer in terms of expatriate management. There are not many countries where you can find a combination of clear and simple legislation, an international mindset, an efficient and stable business environment, a high level of infrastructure and technology, access to worldwide products and extensive experience in dealing with expatriates.

Singapore has it all and it should definitely be on top of the list when defining where to implement a centralised management structure.

The choice of Singapore has already been made by many companies coming from Asia, of course, but also from Europe and North America, and this will surely continue to increase.

This article is contributed by Gordon Zovko, chief development officer

ITX is specialised in global mobility and more specifically in offering multinational and larger international companies a service for managing all types of expatriate personnel with a Global Employment Company (GEC™). ITX operates from Singapore, Geneva and London.

Additional information about this article and ITX can be obtained at: info@itx-sg.com or by phone at + 65 6709 4567

July 2015 « Human Resources « 41

41_BrandedContent_ITX_JUL15_sub.indd 41

20/7/2015 6:19:16 PM

OPINION » Unconventional wisdom

How DBS develops futureready digital leaders LAURENCE SMITH Managing director of HR & group head of learning & talent development DBS Bank

The digital way of life cannot be taught in a classroom, so how do you get long-time bankers to come on board for it? Think like a startup.

Senior business leaders have been fully involved as challenge sponsors and speakers, with group CEO Gupta, group head of HR Lee Yan Hong, and head of innovation Neal Cross, the judges in the finals where nearly 100 senior leaders, partnering with 20 start-ups from across Asia, competed for the grand prize.

Digital deep dive: The programme got leaders to develop app prototypes.

“In the next five years, our industry is going to go through cataclysmic disruption. Within the next decade, there will be banks that will make the transition and banks that will die.”

– DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, keynoting at the SMU Digital Banking conference.

DBS must transform itself to be as agile, innovative and fast-tomarket as the famed “GAFA” companies of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple (and in Asia you can add Alibaba).

While simultaneously living with the reality of being a tightly regulated industry, DBS must also compete with hundreds of innovative fintech start-ups that pick off some of the most profitable areas of banking.

Future leaders must be deeply immersed in the digital world so they really understand both the opportunities and threats, and move faster than the competition. But how do you “get digital?”

Digital cannot be “taught in a classroom” and long-time bankers, especially who have grown up in an industry defined by branch banking, may even see digital as a threat, while others believe that regulators will always protect the industry.

Doing digital right The DBS learning and talent development team (LTD), in partnership with DiG (DBS Innovation Group), has created an innovative programme that has had a dramatic impact on the digital mindset and capabilities of leaders across DBS. The famed #DBSHackathon series has changed the mindset of hundreds of leaders across the bank and is the first phase of an integrated programme designed to develop a digital mindset in every DBS employee before the end of 2016.

Over the past six months DBS has run four five-day programmes, each beginning with a digital master class, and then leveraging human-centred design and “lean start-up” thinking in a hackathon with real start-ups, to develop app prototypes that solve real business challenges.

When bankers think like a start-up This formula has proven extremely successful and far exceeded our expectations. While the original objective had been to help employees develop a digital mindset, we found it to be both an extremely powerful form of “action learning” and a way in which employees have to live our values to succeed in the extremely competitive hackathons.

In addition, by giving them real business problems to solve – and having them work with a start-up for a 72-hour hackathon – we have produced 50 app prototypes, several of which are now being built as actual new products for clients.

So what started as a way of “training” to be more digital has ended up as a very powerful product ideation process and, in fact, two of the prototypes have already been built into full apps and are about to be launched, with another eight under review.

Talent from one of the winning teams described the experience as “mind-changing”. One said he never realised he had been seeing the world in analogue until he “saw it in digital”.

Like black and white TV, once you’ve seen colour TV, you can never go back. So this formula of making senior bankers act like a start-up for 72 hours has had a real long-term impact and helped them pass the tipping point of “getting digital”.

Moving forward, other developmental activities will include rolling out a three-day “digital mindset boot camp” across the region, as well as leveraging one of the apps that enables employees to create digital challenges for each other and compete on a gamified leader board to get points on the bank’s innovation index.

Young talent who have been through the boot camps and hackathons will be empowered to reverse-mentor senior leaders and even help them get more points on the digi-challenge app than their peers, adding an element of fun and competition to the learning.

“Getting digital” is one of the bank’s top three strategic priorities and the #DBSHackathon series is just a part of the solution, but one that has already had a big impact on the way people think.

That effort was recently recognised by the CEO – jointly awarding the HR and innovation teams with the CEO’s innovation award.

42 » Human Resources » July 2015

42_UnWisdom_JUL15_sub.indd 42

15/7/2015 12:37:29 PM

17 September 2015 Aloft KL

8 October 2015 Shangri-La Hotel

15 October 2015 Hotel Icon Hong Kong

Asia’s Most Respected Awards Recognising & Celebrating Excellence in Outstanding Human Capital Strategy & Execution

CALL FOR ENTRIES Judged solely by over 75 of the most respected HR directors in Asia, HR Excellence Awards is the annual awards programme heads of HR participate to recognise and reward their HR teams, and to position their companies as leaders in HR strategy and execution.

For more details on entry submission, award categories and judging panel, visit

www. h rex c ellen c ea wa rd s . asia Sponsors & Partners

Brought to you by:

HREA2015_Print Ad.indd 1

15/7/2015 2:46:20 PM

OPINION Âť Upwardly mobile

Three reasons why HR loves social media Social media ammunition tactics that HR practitioners within the public sector can equip themselves with.

SABRINA JAKSA Head of HR for APAC Hootsuite

amplifying job opportunities on their social channels as it gives organisations an opportunity to establish contact with job seekers immediately.

Employers can also deliver personalised messages that are likely to be unnoticed by job seekers under normal circumstances.

As such, it is important for company websites to be mobileoptimised. Remember, the easier it is for candidates to search and apply, the more applicants your company will be able to screen.

Search and apply: Social media is the digital word-of-mouth for candidates.

If there is one thing organisations need to know it is that social media has transcended beyond the confines of being a marketing tool.

Indeed, we are seeing a shift in talent leaders and practitioners leveraging on social media to improve communication and employee satisfaction, increase efficiency, and most importantly, create strong employer branding for talent acquisition.

In Asia, the search for talent is competitive as HR practitioners across both private and public sectors often wade in the same talent pool.

With a high level of active social media penetration, leveraging social media for talent acquisition is low cost, efficient and enables recruiters to cast a wider net.

While organisations from the private sector are relatively quicker to the game at embracing social for talent recruitment, public sector organisations should look at how they can also reap the benefits of social hiring, and be on top of the recruitment game.

Here are some social media ammunition tactics that HR practitioners and recruiters within the public sector can easily equip themselves with to fight the war on talent.

Go where your talent is With Singapore having the highest smartphone penetration rate in the world (85%), recruiters need to know that potential job seekers can be easily reached out to via smartphones and other mobile devices.

Social media is the digital word-of-mouth, and recruiters need to jump-start their mobile recruitment strategy by

Know what your talent wants Another perk of leveraging social media for recruitment is that recruiters can use social monitoring tools to listen to ongoing social conversations. This helps recruiters to understand what these individuals are interested in.

By keeping a look out on trending subject matters and discovering what these individuals are interested in, recruiters are able to yield a much larger and targeted pool of potential job candidates.

They can even proactively reach out to those who are not actively looking for jobs.

For example, the Australian Government has encouraged the appropriate use of social media by Australian Public Service (APS) agencies for recruitment.

Social media guidelines are also developed for APS agencies to better control the content and engage with the talents.

By doing so, employers can reach out to potential candidates and move the conversation forward without substantial costs.

Show your talent who you are In order to recruit top talent, there is also a need to establish a strong corporate brand identity and culture, particularly organisations within the public sector, as they tend to often be perceived as distant and strict.

Social media engagement is a good way to bring down these barriers as it enables organisations to portray their brand persona and culture, and attract and engage prospective employees.

A good example is the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) which has been praised for its social media practices with its consistent, authentic and even light-hearted engagement on Facebook and Twitter.

Its viral humorous exchange with popular troll site SGAG last year resulted in the SCDF shedding its corporate image.

This helps to bridge the common gap between the public sector and the public, and is a good first step to draw talent to the organisation.

44 Âť Human Resources Âť July 2015

44_Upward_JUL15_sub.indd 44

15/7/2015 1:08:34 PM

SINGAPORE: 1 OCTOBER 2015 HONG KONG: 15 OCTOBER 2015 KUALA LUMPUR: 29 OCTOBER 2015

A Complimentary Invitation-Only Forum for Discussion of HR Technology Strategy

Limited only to director and VP-level HR professionals from large companies which invest heavily in technology, HR Tech Interactive provides Asia’s HR elite with a unique opportunity to discuss high level HR technology strategy with like-minded professionals.

For sponsorship opportunities & invitation request, visit www.hrtechinteractive.asia

Sponsors & Partners

Brought to you by:

HRTI2015_Print Ad.indd 1

15/7/2015 2:43:17 PM

CAREERS » Personal development

uptheranks Tracking HR’s industry moves Who: Narelle Burke From: Nielsen To: TNS TNS has appointed Narelle Burke the HR director for the Asia Pacific region with effect from June 2015. She joins TNS from Nielsen, where she was the HR director for the regional offices for Singapore and Malaysia. She will be based in the TNS APAC headquarters in Singapore and will lead the HR function across the company’s 16 local markets.

Speaking to Human Resources, she said: “We work in an incredibly complex and diverse region, which means that I’m always thinking about the next opportunity or challenge that may emerge, especially in unpredictable developing markets.

“I want to make sure all local HR teams are equipped to anticipate the changes as they take hold, and become more agile at supporting our leaders to attract and engage the right people to fuel growth.”

Hannah Nicholl, regional marketing manager, added: “Narelle is an expert in identifying synergies across markets and driving integration forward. With this in mind, her focus will be on defining the short and long-term strategies that will align market business plans and help drive commercial success across the region.”

personalgrowth

DON’T BE THE REASON YOUR EMPLOYEES QUIT With 70% of employees ready to quit if they can’t get along with their manager, here is Aditi Sharma Kalra’s take on how to be a better boss.

Exit interviews often fail to highlight the one true reason why people leave jobs – no, it is not for a “better job offer” or “an office closer to home” as many outgoing employees say, but the real reason goes deeper than that.

Each of the reasons thrown up in exit interviews can be linked, directly or indirectly, to the employee’s boss. Having a good boss solves more than half of an employee’s dilemma, be it through access to more learning opportunities, working on a flexible schedule, or an expansion in job responsibilities.

No wonder 70% of Singaporean employees polled in a recent study

by JobStreet said they were prepared to quit their jobs if they could not get along with their manager. “Emotional”, “micromanaging” and “calculative”

Who: Simone Berger From: Goodbaby International To: Goodbaby International To strengthen the management team as it expands in existing and new markets, Goodbaby International promoted Simone Berger to senior vice-president of group human resources. She was working for the company’s premium juvenile brand Cybex before her promotion, first as director of HR, and more recently as vice-president of the function.

Commenting on her promotion, she said: “I am very honoured to be able to support this great mission and take part in the growth of the area of human resources to a new level of excellence. Being part of such a motivated and driven management team is inspiring to me.”

Martin Pos, deputy CEO of Goodbaby International, added that having worked with Berger in the past few years, he was confident of her ability to become a significant asset to the company.

Goodbaby International said the promotion was in line with the organisation’s continued focus to recruit and retain the best global talent.

“Goodbaby International enables every single employee to thrive in an environment of entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, passion, respect and trust,” the company stated.

were some of the choice words respondents used to describe bad bosses, with about two-thirds of them admitting that a better boss would make them happier at work.

So, how do you be a better version of yourself? You may already be doing a number of things right, but I am sharing with you the ones I believe are most important.

First, and most critical, is to recognise not just your team’s good work, but their every effort at improvement. Engaged employees try to better their performance every day, and their efforts at self-learning can motivate them to no end when they know they are being noticed.

This also ensures that you as their manager continue to provide them meaningful work, that not only helps them get better at what they are good at, but also stretches them a little bit closer to the next job level.

The second item on my list is to spend one-on-one time with employees regularly, perhaps through a monthly informal catch up. Given the nature of today’s always-on communication, messages can be short, brief and sometimes misinterpreted. Alone time with each of your team members breaks that daily clutter to inspire an honest conversation about how both of you are doing.

It helps reinforce the expectations you have from each other, and is so much “nicer” than a yearly performance review. Moreover, this catch up can have a big role to play in making your employees feel cared for while at work.

Finally, remember to provide your team actionable feedback, that is, inputs they can run with and implement in their daily working styles to get better at what they do.

Your suggestions may not always work for them, but they’ll never know unless you share practical examples with them. Remember, feedback is the most powerful force driving performance.

46 » Human Resources » July 2015

46_Uptheranks_PG_JUL15_sub.indd 46

15/7/2015 2:21:54 PM

Good reads to improve your business life

shelflife

Building a Better Business Using the LEGO®® SERIOUS PLAY Method

Your First Leadership Job: How Catalyst Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others Tacy M. Byham, Richard S. Wellins Wiley $33.75 If you have just been promoted into a leadership role or have been a leader for a long period of time and just want to fine-tune your leadership skills, this book is for you.

Your First Leadership Job: How Catalyst Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others is a practical and detailed step-by -step guide to becoming an effective leader. Particularly useful for those who have just started their first leadership role, the book provides practical advice based on the authors’ and DDI’s extensive experience and research.

Filled with dozens of tools to ensure your success, the book is neatly divided into two sections. The first section introduces the concept of a catalyst leader – who is described as an energetic, supportive, forward-thinking mentor who sparks action in others.

Transitioning into a catalyst leader is a major step in any leadership journey and the

first half of the book provides useful tips to set readers on the catalyst path.

The book focuses heavily on interaction skills which will set the foundation for the various conversations that occur in the workplace each day.

The second section constitutes 13 chapters devoted to a host of essential core leadership skills, including hiring, coaching and mentoring, handling difficult situations, giving constructive feedback and driving employee engagement.

Not forgetting today’s diverse workplace, the book also dedicates a chapter for firsttime female leaders.

Bookmark this!

Part of your new role as leader is to help your people identify their source of job and career satisfaction. Through an ongoing series of engagement conversations, you can help your people make the connection between what fulfils them and the work they do. Then it’s up to you to create an environment where they can thrive and grow by overcoming any obstacles they might be experiencing. Each person on your team might need something different from you in order to be successful. Understanding these engagement drivers will help you do that – page 138.

LEGO usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think of strengthening businesses. However, using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method (LSP) has its benefits.

This new book provides an innovative approach to increasing creativity and improving business performance by focusing on unleashing play. Written by the original master trainers for LSP, Per Kristiansen and Robert Rasmussen, it shows how teams, people and relationships can be developed, with the end result of improving business.

Peppered with examples, this book shows how the “hands-on, minds-on approach” of building with LEGO bricks unlocks potential usually unused by the logical mind. The first

part of the book defines serious play, while the second section talks about the science behind understanding the builder’s mind. The last part shows how LSP can be incorporated into a work situation.

Bookmark this!

Always ask questions to get a more and clearer meaning – for the builder as well as the listener. But always ask about the model and the relationship between the model and the story, not the person and his or her intentions and reasons. Questioning the person’s motives can destroy the confidence and fragment the group. By making the questions about the model, we can take the conflict out and the dialogue is moved from a personal relationship level to the object – page 73.

Photography: Fauzie Rasid

Pick of the month

Per Kristiansen, Robert Rasmussen Wiley $36.40

July 2015 « Human Resources « 47

47_Shelflife_JUL15_sub.indd 47

15/7/2015 3:40:47 PM

How to handle staff on work trips Exactly what do you do when a colleague burps and vomits gloriously after drinking heavily on the plane, asks Akankasha Dewan.

I always hesitate whenever someone asks me if I’m travelling for business or for pleasure these days.

You see, it’s difficult to separate the two when you have observed the crazy antics of your fellow colleagues who are travelling with you on a business trip overseas.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my colleagues, and this column is in no way a rant to criticise their habits while on the road.

Rather, I’m pretty sure anyone who has been on a work trip will come back feeling a closer sense of bonding and understanding of the way their colleagues think and work.

Maybe it’s the effect of being a gazillion miles away from home, or having to spend countless hours together, but at some point or another, your colleagues will reveal a certain side of themselves which will take you by surprise.

At that point, what do you do to ensure your professional relationship with your colleague, be it a subordinate, boss or peer, doesn’t get impacted negatively for times to come?

For instance, a survey pointed out that binge drinking is a favourite of more than a quarter of those in the US travelling for work, with men being more likely to indulge in the bottle (33%) than women travellers (24%).

An awkward situation I have previously encountered was when a colleague I was on a work trip with indulged in heavy drinking on the plane journey, which resulted in him burping and being uncharacteristically vocal before passing out for the remainder of the flight.

Another delicate situation in another company involved turning a blind eye when a married male colleague went on an overnight date with a female client during a work trip.

One thing which I’ve always remembered in such situations is to keep my judgment to myself and not let it affect my professional opinion of the colleague in question.

We all come from different backgrounds and are dealing with different personal situations – but still may be contributing equally to the growth of the company we’re working for and to the teams which we are in.

As such, it is important to maintain respect for team members, despite what you may think of their personal habits.

Of course, the weirdest aspects of colleagues one gets to observe on work trips aren’t always that serious or bad.

Another colleague I recently travelled with on an overnight work trip carried an uncountable number of medications with her.

These included antidotes for not only diarrhoea, constipation, plane sickness and allergies, but she also had nasal and eye drops and a box full of bandages, masks and gloves, among a host of others.

While this did result in a bit of light-hearted jesting about her germaphobia, it made me realise that such insights on colleagues’ traits might actually be useful if we apply them positively to situations at work.

For example, while this colleague of mine can be labelled as “paranoid”, her habit of sourcing for and bringing so many antidotes can also be viewed as her being resourceful and being prepared for any future setbacks.

I suppose the important thing to remember during a work trip is that maintaining a positive attitude helps at all times.

As humans, we are likely to sometimes mix our personal opinions with professional ones.

But we can help avert poor levels of teamwork and embarrassing moments after encountering such situations by focusing on the professional contributions of the person in question.

Do you have any awkward or weird work trip stories to share? akankashad@humanresourcesonline.net

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

LAST WORD

48 » Human Resources » July 2015

48_DailyGrime_JUL15_sub.indd 48

15/7/2015 2:41:15 PM

MPS_HumanResourcesAd2_FA.indd 1

4/8/15 5:46 PM

19 - 20 AUGUST SHANGRI-LA SINGAPORE

ASIA’S MOST ESTABLISHED & COMPREHENSIVE COMP & BEN STRATEGY CONFERENCE

REGISTER TODAY

at www.employeebenefits.asia

SPONSORS

Featuring heads of HR and Comp & Ben leaders from Asia’s largest employers, Employee Benefits Asia 2015 is where you will find out the latest compensation and benefit trends, and benchmark your salaries & benefits packages against the competition.

HEAR FROM HR LEADERS

Dushyant Ajwani Head of Comp & Ben SEA American Express

Patricia Goh Regional Head of Compensation & Benefits Mastercard

Bitasta Mehta Director HR Comp & Ben APMEA Nielsen

Joanne S.Y. Chan Comp & Ben Director East APAC Alstom

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: