Human Resources Singapore, September 2015

September 2015

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September 2015 « CONTENTS

COVER STORY 16 Q&A The logistics industry may not be the first choice for today’s talent, but Agility is looking to change that perception through an intense focus on providing accelerated leadership development opportunities, says Ramesh Ganeshan, vice-president of HR for Asia Pacific.

Features 20 Turning up the heat on training Akankasha Dewan analyses the best practices of high-impact learning organisations, and the ways they bring clarity to training processes.

30 Clearing the clouds on HRMS How can firms make a solid case for HR management systems, and ensure enough people use them for the right reasons, once they are implemented? Jerene Ang and Aditi Sharma Kalra explore.

Opinion 38 Learning & Development Recounting how hiring has evolved in the current talent climate, Vandna Ramchandani, regional head of recruitment of Bloomberg, talks about the company’s recruitment philosophy.

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40 People Issues Profiling your mature workers and customising job roles to their strengths will work in your favour as Gemma Gil, managing director and head of HR for ColorWash, discovered.

42 Unconventional Wisdom Tan Ong Jin, regional HR business partner at AXA Insurance, explains why not all organisations need to have a dedicated HR leader at the table.

ON THE COVER: Art Direction: Shahrom Kamarulzaman & Fauzie Rasid; Photography: Stefanus Elliot Lee using Nikon D810 – www.elliotly.com

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44 Upwardly Mobile Ben Whitter (organisation and people development manager at University of Nottingham Ningbo China and Foo Chek Wee, (ZALORA Group’s HR director) carve out alternatives you can implement to rejuvenate the performance management process.

48 Last Word Enough about how difficult your staff are. Akankasha Dewan says it’s time to find out if the devil of the firm is sitting in the corner office.

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

10 HR by numbers 12 Snapshot 46 Personal growth 47 Shelf life

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Email aditis@humanresourcesonline.net

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Regional priorities in focus It’s not often you hear about the logistics industry being the employer of choice for graduates or experienced employees. But in the past month, we had the opportunity to speak to an organisation that is looking to change that perception.

Agility, with its regional headquarters in Singapore, is looking to chart career development across its workforce, while boosting awareness about the potential that lies in the industry.

Ramesh Ganeshan, vice-president of HR for APAC, is a passionate advocate for raising the quality of Asian leadership. He has pioneered leadership development programmes that have been adapted by the rest of the company’s operations, after showing success in this region.

One of these is the CEO Talent Circle, a yearlong developmental initiative for high-potential leaders, where they are assigned to work on projects apart from their existing domains of work.

Each participant is mentored by a member of the APAC management board, and their projects have a direct link to the company’s P&L statement.

The first batch from last year saw 70% of participants taking up higher responsibilities within 12 months of graduation.

“We Asians must be comfortable in dealing with complexity, openness, adaptability, learning agility and cultural awareness,” said Ganeshan, about the need for such focused development.

“Therefore, awareness of intercultural nuances should be an integral part of the learning and development of a global workforce to help an aspiring leader identify blind spots.”

In the past month, we also hosted our annual compensation and benefits conference, Employee Benefits Asia, in Singapore for the third year running, and in Malaysia and Hong Kong for the first time.

What we discovered as a regional trend was companies are not talking about cash being king anymore, in fact, the rising costs and ROI of medical insurance, and other benefits, are taking

precedence in moulding their programmes.

“We are starting to see that a one-sizefits-all does not work anymore,” said Liana Attard, principal and Asia consulting leader for employee health and benefits – Asia at Mercer Marsh Benefits, during a panel discussion at the conference.

“There are two ways to measure ROI on benefits. In HR, we measure it based on employee engagement scores, productivity and absenteeism, which is not wrong.

“But this approach generally does not resonate with key internal decision-makers such as finance and procurement, who are looking for monetary impact.”

The ROI dilemma is being faced by many, who admit they are struggling to look beyond “utilisation rates” of benefits such as on-site gyms.

However, two full days of sharing and peer interaction provided a great platform for these HR leaders to discuss and debate potential solutions.

We’re now looking forward to our next big event, the HR Excellence Awards, that will uncover best practices of the region’s most progressive employers, judged by an extensive panel of HR directors from Asia’s leading companies. We look forward to unveiling all the winners for this year.

In the meantime, do enjoy this edition.

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

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Aditi Sharma Kalra Regional editor September 2015 « Human Resources «

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News from humanresourcesonline.net

FOR FOREIGN WORKERS IN SINGAPORE S MUST N NOW EARN MORE TTO BRING THEIR FA FAMILY OVER From 1 September 2015 onward, foreign workers wor working in Singapore will face a higher salary cap if they wish to bring their family members ov over under the Dependant’s or Long Term Visit Pass Pass.

According to a ne new advisory by the Ministry of Manpower, foreign wo workers holding a work pass would now need a m minimum fixed monthly salary of $5,000 to bring the their spouse or children into the country on a Dependant’s Pass, up from the previous amount of $4,000.

MOM added that w work pass holders would also need to earn a minimum fifixed xed monthly salary of $10,000 to bring their parents over on the Lon Term Visit Pass, an increase of $2,000.

Long The statement explained, however, that applications for both passes received before September 1, 2015 would be assessed on the previous criteria of $4,000 and $8,000 respectively.

DO STAFF REALLY WANT MORE VACATION DAYS? With more staff being vacation-deprived, offering them the perk of unlimited vacation days should be a brilliant idea.

Apparently it isn’t, according to a recent study by The Creative Group which found that 72% of executives and 56% of workers would still take the same amount of vacation days even with the option of unlimited vacation days.

This is despite 39% of executives and 39% of workers saying that productivity would increase if such a policy were implemented.

So, why are staff unwilling to take advantage of this perk?

While it helps staff feel more in control of their schedules, many have trouble breaking away from the office due to impending deadlines.

For this perk to be taken advantage of, managers should lead by example and encourage their staff to do the same.

Another option is to hire freelancers to ensure that projects stay on track when employees are away.

THE KIND OF BOSS TODAY’S STAFF WANT Having the traits of a bad manager can severely damage an employee’s morale and motivation to come to work.

But have you ever wondered what kind of boss your own staff want you to be?

The latest Glassdoor UK Employment Confidence Survey found the preferred leadership traits of bosses differs among staff by gender.

When it came to what employees value in a manager, 63% of women appreciated a line manager who is “supportive” compared to just 52% of men.

A little more than half (53%) of women wanted a boss who makes them feel valued. This was again higher than the percentage of men who stated the same (45%).

In fact, men are more concerned with having a boss that motivates them (46%) and listens to their ideas (30%).

“When it comes to women’s status as managers in the workplace, only 14% of employees would prefer to have a female boss, compared to 25% who would prefer a male,” the report stated.

“61% of employees have no preference either way.”

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ACCENTURE TO GET RID OF ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme has announced plans to eliminate rankings and annual performance reviews, in an interview with The Washington Post.

Effective September this year, the firm will implement a more fluid system, in which employees receive timely feedback from their managers on an ongoing basis following assignments.

“We’re done with the famous annual performance review, where once a year I’m going to share with you what I think about you. That doesn’tt make any sense, sense,” Nanterme said. at doesn He explained the basis behind banning such annual reviews lay mainly in the fact the money and effort spent nt in the process didn’t ultimately accomplish its main goal – to drive better performance among employees.

“We’re going to evaluate you in your role, not vis-à-vis someone else who might work in Washington, who might work in Bangalore,” he said.

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DO PRETTIER PEOPLE GET PAID MORE? It has been well-established that physically attractive people have better chances of securing interviews, but did you know they also get paid more?

That is, according to a new study from Germany, which found a “beauty premium” is particularly apparent in jobs where a productivity gain is associated with good looks.

These include jobs which require very extensive interactions with customers (such as sales assistants), where the effect of the physical appearance can be quite significant.

The highest beauty premiums were present in Germany and China, where respondents earned as much as 20% more, with the returns being particularly large for men overall.

The report added that in the UK, however, individuals did not receive a wage premium for good looks, while in Australia, good-looking women also did not receive a positive wage effect for physical appearance.

“The number of employment-related discrimination claims based on employees’ physical appearance is increasing,” the report stated.

CEOS ARE FALLING IN LOVE WITH HR Senior executives are relying more on recruitment and HR leaders for innovative business strategies grounded in data, though room for improvement exists. This is according to a new study by CareerBuilder, which polled 88 leaders in America at companies with revenues of at least $50 million.

A majority of CEOs (65%) agreed that post-recession, HR opinions carry greater weight with senior management. In addition, nearly three quarters (73%) said their HR leader had provided data they had incorporated into their business strategy.

Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, pointed out that the need for HR teams to come forward with data-driven, competitive approaches and efficient technologies was more critical than ever. In fact, an overwhelming majority of CEOs (90%) said it was important that HR leaders be proficient in workforce analytics.

Providing actionable talent data to help meet larger business goals (57%) was also cited as the top way for HR to gain more influence within the business.

IS THE FOREIGN TALENT SQUEEZE IN SINGAPORE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE? Singapore’s Minister of Manpower has stated the government will maintain the foreign share of its workforce at about one-third.

“Our aim is to moderate the inflow of foreign manpower, at a pace that we can accommodate,” Minister Lim Swee Say said.

He explained this would be done to ensure the pace of foreign workforce grows “broadly in tandem with the growth of our local workforce as we move forward”.

The overall annual foreign workforce (FW) growth has moderated from 144,500 in 2007 to 34,000 in 2014.

Lim added this growth rate had slowed from 19% year-on-year to 3% over the eight years.

“This significant slowdown in FW growth occurred in all sectors over the past eight years – from 54,500 (28% y-o-y) to 21,500 (5% y-o-y) in the services sector.”

MOM ARRESTS 41 AFTER BUSTING ILLEGAL FOREIGN WORKER SYNDICATE Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has smashed a syndicate involved in the illegal importation of labour in the country.

According to a press release, MOM mounted an island-wide enforcement operation from 1 to 2 July 2015 against this syndicate, which was also suspected to involve bringing in foreign workers for illegal employment.

The operation saw the arrest of 41 people, which included the alleged mastermind and members of the syndicates. y “The syndicate would set up shell companies to bring in the foreign workers,” the press release stated.

“Enormous profits would be derived from collecting large amounts of kickbacks. As there is no actual employment, ployment, the upkeep and maintenance are left to these workers who have ave unwittingly become victims of the scam.”

The report addedd that for being the mastermind of a syndicate that imports foreign workers for illegal employment,t, the offender may be finedd up to $6,000 and/or facee an imprisonment of six months to two years per worker. er.

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WORK LIFE » People GET INTO THE BOSS’S HEAD

Kensaku Konishi President and CEO Canon Singapore

What helped you attain this leadership position with Canon?

I have been lucky enough to be given overseas assignments since I joined Canon.

During my career, I have always tried to do whatever I have been assigned with great interest. I viewed my assignments as challenges to overcome and succeed.

I think this was important because a positive attitude helps us to accomplish many things.

In addition, I also networked internally and externally as much as possible. I discovered early on that meeting many people helps in an exchange of ideas that stimulates different ways of thinking, leading to better decisions.

What’s your signature leadership style? yle?

As CEO, I make the final decisions for major ajor ast Asia. business directions in South and Southeast But before that, I listen to feedback from my staff because I have empowered them with thee authority to make business decisions.

Also, I don’t hesitate to change my decision, ts and even after implementation, based on facts input from our customers as well as staff.f.

What have you enjoyed most about your time with the company so far?

Last year, Canon Singapore celebrated its ts 35th ore. We anniversary at Universal Studios Singapore. ht for our booked the venue exclusively for the night staff, business partners and customers.

We even invited our retired staff to celebrate the occasion with us. It was a night mselves to remember and everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously.

“As CEO, I empower my staff to make the necessary business decisions. If they face any difficulties, my door is always open and I will try to give the necessary encouragement, guidance and support.” gets me physically fit, refreshes me mentally and gets me ready for the day ahead.

manpower and help them develop their potential so as to achieve business objectives.

And if that stress spills over to your staff, how do you motivate them?

As CEO, I empower my staff to make the necessary business decisions. If they face any difficulties, my door is always open and I will try to give the necessary encouragement, guidance and support.

I also help to view the issues at a different angle and give them suggestions and ideas to help them along.

How can HR better itself in this endeavour?

HR professionals need to have good fundamentals, systems and platforms in place so that staff can have a good working environment.

They are a bridge between staff and management, especially when the organisation is huge or when it operates across various countries.

In this situation, HR can act as a middleman or spokesperson between the CEO and employees to convey the CEO’s messages when it comes to company policies, plans and reasons behind new initiatives.

What role does your human resources team play?

A business organisation is made up of people.

Therefore, HR is the biggest asset a company has, and the function plays a big part.

It is the responsibility of HR to optimise

In that light, do you believe HR can make it to the CEO level?

The role of the C CEO is unique in the sense that a CEO can come fr from any background, including HR. For an HR leader le to become a CEO, he/she needs to be broad-minded broa and go beyond an HR mindset to be mu multi-disciplined.

It’s importan important to note that great organisations are made up of ggreat people. He/she must know how to build a wi winning team that can help achieve the company’s bu business goals.

Having been in this industry for a long time, what do you ad admire most about it?

I love it because it is a competitive industry that is constantly changing cha and innovating not only in technology, bu but also in marketing, channel strategies and customer cu service.

If you’re struggling with work or stress, ess, what helps you snap out of it?

To unwind at the end of a stressful day, I will s. This is first try to forget the source of the stress. where a positive mindset is important. I then try to ged and concentrate on things that can be managed prepare for tomorrow.

To re-energise, it is important to be physically rning. It healthy. That’s why I jog early in the morning.

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

IS THAT DEGREE BOGUS? Online education has emerged as a rapidly growing industry and a viable alternative to traditional “brick and mortar” institutions. Bringing education within reach for many, the benefits are lower costs, greater convenience and flexible scheduling for today’s busy lifestyles.

The internet has also spawned a worldwide problem – the so-called “diploma mills” issuing fake or worthless degrees. The Today Show reported in June about candidates buying fake diplomas and even transcripts on the internet from “prestigious institutions” to pad their resumes. Those scams can usually be detected through academic credential screening.

A more insidious problem is the fictitious institution that is no more than a slick website. Many of these online “colleges and universities” originate in the Asia/ Pacific (APAC) region. The New York Times did an in-depth report about a Pakistani company that made tens of millions of dollars annually selling fake degrees from at least 370 websites. Pakistani officials subsequently arrested the head of this elaborate scam that offered “everything from high school diplomas to doctoral degrees”.

The problem has become widespread in APAC. For example, China has more than 100 “phony” universities issuing fake degrees or diplomas. Many of them have websites with names similar to those of real colleges. In Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower charged 25 foreign employees with submitting forged academic credentials to obtain work passes. Similar problems have been reported in Indonesia.

The company that I work for, First Advantage, recently developed a trends report for 2015, which revealed that one in 22 job applicants in APAC have unconfirmed degrees, indicating they did not complete their degree or had discrepant information regarding their claimed degree qualifications. The report also revealed that one in 51 applicants claimed to have degrees from specific universities. When screened, there were no records of these candidates found.

Background screening companies such as First Advantage can only confirm the candidate attended the institution during the specific time period and received the degree as claimed. If an institution does not respond to our request for verification of a candidate’s degree and dates, we notify the client as it may raise a red flag.

The screening company does not act as an investigator to determine the legitimacy of the institution. With little in the way of oversight or standards, there is no government body in the US or other countries that can provide a definitive answer as to whether an institution is legitimate. In some cases, we partner with clients to develop comprehensive lists of educational institutions that do not meet their hiring criteria. If we see a match during screening, we immediately notify the client.

What about accreditation? While it may be a good starting place, it is important to note that many legitimate US educational institutions may not be accredited or have made a conscious decision not to seek accreditation.

The US Department of Education provides information on accreditation and diploma mills with links to federal, state and international resources. Furthermore, accreditation is not done universally, making it more difficult to evaluate global institutions. Labelling a legitimate institution a “diploma mill” can result in a law suit filed against the screening company.

Our advice to clients: do your homework. If you don’t recognise the name of an institution or suspect that it might be bogus, investigate further. In the US, employers can contact the Better Business Bureau or the State Attorney General’s office to make sure the school is operating legally and to see if there are any complaints filed. According to the US Department of Education, several state agencies now have the legal power to publish “negative lists of unapproved, unaccredited or illegal providers”.

Some countries publish official warnings or lists of unrecognised or bogus providers operating in their territory. These include the Australian Government Fake

Degrees and Unaccredited Providers List, Indian University Grants Commission Fake University Alerts, the Netherlands Center for Information on Diploma Mills, and the UK Avoiding Bogus Degrees Alert.

The power of the internet has created an important avenue for higher education.

It has also opened the door to potential fraud and scams. The first step is to screen the candidate to verify his/her academic credentials.

If questions or concerns exist, dig deeper, ask questions and do some research.

Protect your organisation from the potential exposure that may occur from hiring employees who lack the required educational, licensing and professional credentials for the job.

This article is contributed by Matthew Glasner, First Advantage managing director, South Asia Pacific

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

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

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

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People WORK LIFE »

SpacialAwareness HOW HOOTSUITE’S NEW REGIONAL OFFICE FOSTERS CREATIVITY

An integral part of Hootsuite’s culture that can be observed around its new office is collaboration, with its open-concept working spaces. Similar to Hootsuite offices worldwide, its APAC office in Singapore is designed to foster teamwork.

“By removing barriers, our office space encourages movements between teams so there is greater interaction and engagement among employees, allowing them to bounce ideas back and forth with one another,” said Sabrina Jaksa, head of HR for Asia Pacific at Hootsuite.

“The more we collaborate with one another, the more we grow within our own careers and as an organisation.”

By breaking down barriers, the open-concept working spaces in its new office allow people across teams and roles to interact among one another regardless of the time of day.

“In order to keep team morale and passion at its optimum, it is important to keep the flow of communication moving throughout the entire organisation.”

At the same time, the office provides employees with the flexibility to choose their meeting space, with its various options, which promote staff interaction as well as enable them to work individually or collaboratively.

“We are encouraging them to socialise, brainstorm and collaborate, and in turn, improve on the overall productivity.”

Some of the interesting facilities include the shower rooms as well as a shared space for employee activities called The Working Capitol (TWC).

“Many of our staff participate in #hootfit, an employee-driven lunchtime workout session in the park. It started off with one person who exercises regularly at the park, and it has inspired a small group of people to join too.”

Jaksa notes that having shower facilities in the office for employees to clean up after their workout session helps motivate them to work out more often. Other than maintaining their fitness levels, it brings great energy into the office as well as cultivates better eating habits for employees throughout the week.

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The TWC serves as an area for weekly activities to keep employees occupied, ranging from meditation and yoga to testing artesian moisturisers.

“Having a shared space, like we have at TWC, is inspiring to be in – everything from the original wooden floors to the beer taps mixed with very like-minded people who share in Hootsuite’s value system.

“It’s been a really good exercise in blending a company like ours with solo budding entrepreneurs, or a six-people regional office; at the end of the day, it’s about working in a really great space and continuing to be inspired in the work that we all do.

“At Hootsuite, we love the open concept, with breakout spaces where there are couches and beanbag chairs that soften the working environment and makes it cosy for employees.”

A piece of advice she has when it comes to redecorating a company office is to not overlook the small details.

“We look at details such as how much desk workspace do our employees need. It’s something we take for granted every day, but it matters a lot.”

She advises organisations to “look internally and get feedback from employees on how they would better decorate the office”.

“Get them involved and you’ll be surprised with what they can come up with,” she adds.

Taking Hootsuite’s office as an example, she said: “Most of our office decorations are crowdsourced, with murals and other types of art hand-drawn by our very own employees.”

“We’ve just moved into this amazing space, and we are excited to get cracking on the huge white wall that’s in our new office; this is also a way to encourage our employees to be creative and think out of the box, so that they’ll feel more belonging to the working space. Our goal is to have an environment that fosters ideas, creativity and collaboration.”

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SPONSORED RECRUIT ADVICE HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SINGAPORE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

ATTRACTING TALENT INTO HR The world of work has evolved significantly over the past few years, but one thing has remained consistent – the value employees bring to businesses. Despite its significance in developing the workforce, however, HR struggles to be seen as a rewarding career option.

Why is this so and how can HR be positioned as a career of choice for young people? These were the questions which the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) set out to address in its HR breakfast series – “Attracting talent into HR”.

Attended by HR professionals across industries and HR students from local educational institutions, the complimentary workshop was held on 21 August 2015 at the Lifelong Learning Institute. It stressed on the importance of professionalising the HR industry and the need for more HR internship opportunities, so as to strengthen the capabilities and supply of HR talent in Singapore.

This was especially because students who had prior HR internships/work experiences were found to be more interested in HR courses, and were more likely to consider HR as their preferred profession to work in.

Having a passion for the industry helps in grasping the true essence of working in HR This was according to the HR Manpower Study, commissioned by the WDA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), International Enterprise Singapore and SPRING Singapore.

In line with the aim to encourage local HR talent, MOM also launched the National HR Scholarship in 2011 to elevate the HR profession in Singapore.

Over time, the scholarship seeks to build a pipeline of talent with a strong passion for HR. It is the only HR scholarship available to undergraduates pursuing HR at local universities. It combines the prestige of a government scholarship with career opportunities at private-sector companies with progressive HR practices.

Up to nine scholarships will be awarded each year to local undergraduates specialising in HR. It provides students with support for the remainder of their undergraduate studies (that is, two or three years), which includes tuition and other university fees, monthly allowances, and sponsorship for approved training and development programmes as well as overseas exchange programmes and work attachments of up to $25,000.

“Business leaders across the globe are coming to rely more and more upon an effective management policy that applies specifically to the area of human resources,” said Joan Heng, who was the main presenter at the seminar.

“In the HR business partner model, the human resource department participates in strategic planning to help the business meet present and future goals.”

Heng is an executive director with The Nielsen Company, leading the regional leadership and organisational development centre of excellence across Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific comprising 11 countries.

She began the seminar by giving the audience an overview of the HR industry, and the value it holds, followed by Nielsen’s HR philosophies, and lastly, how the firm makes HR an attractive career choice for students and young professionals.

“Human resources management is now expected to add value to the business in measurable ways such as partnering the business to achieve strategic goals and better utilisation of human resources,” she said.

The seminar also featured a group discussion on HR internships and HR as a choice of career among industry professionals and HR students present.

The discussion explored questions such as the elements students are looking

Joan Heng, executive director from The Nielsen Company, sharing her rich experience in talent attraction and retention in HR.

During group sharing, it was highlighted that students have to take ownership and do their own research to better understand HR in companies and industries.

for in an HR internship, and what is expected of an HR intern. The structure of HR internships was also analysed, with a particular focus on how SMEs can structure their internship programme to attract HR interns. Participants repeatedly voiced the importance of students taking ownership to actively find internship opportunities and how having a passion for the industry helps in grasping the true essence of working in HR. HR professionals and students also unanimously agreed on the need for HR leaders to coach and mentor HR interns, and suggested it might help to offer interns a solid career path in their careers so they could have clearer ideas about their professional development.

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WORK LIFE » HR by numbers

Singapore’s most active hirers Polling 400 senior hiring decisionmakers in Singapore, a new survey

by Robert Half found most firms are planning to expand their headcount in the second half (H2) of this year.

In each sector, it was found that medium-sized firms are planning to hire the most aggressively. These firms were classified as having more than 500, but fewer than 1000 employees.

Two-thirds of medium-sized firms in the banking and financial services sector indicated plans to expand headcount, compared to 56% and 54% of small-sized and large-sized firms respectively.

59%

of banking and financial services firms are planning to expand their headcount in the second half of 2015.

53%

of those in the finance and accounting sector said they would be hiring in H2 2015.

46%

of those in the technology and IT industry are also intending to recruit in the next six months.

Source: Singapore Employment Report by Robert Half

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Be a BIG FISH in our small pond Flexibility, Inclusiveness, Safety and Health – these are the key drivers for an effective workplace. To help companies adopt this holistic strategy, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) set up the Centre for Effective Workplaces. The Centre offers a wide range of assistance from age management to helping companies secure government funding for workplace health, flexible work arrangements, job redesign and workplace integration initiatives.

Tap the experience of mature and older workers with WorkPro Our older generation has a wealth of experience and years of expertise to offer the market place. The good news is that you can now tap on a grant of up to $580,000 per company through the WorkPro Scheme. Grants and incentives cover the following areas: • Age Management Grant up to $20,000 – to acquire capabilities to adopt good age management practices • Job Redesign Grant up to $300,000 – to support the redesigning of work processes to support mature workers and back-to-work locals • Work-Life Grant up to $160,000 – to support the implementation of work-life strategies and enhance work-life harmony including flexible work arrangements • On-the-Job Training and New Hire Retention Incentives up to $100,000 – to support the recruitment and retention of mature workers and back-to-work locals The WorkPro Scheme is developed by the Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and administered by the National Trades Union Congress and SNEF. If you are a Singapore-registered or incorporated company, society or non-profit organisation, you are eligible for WorkPro. Find out more at www.wda.gov.sg/workpro or www.mom.gov.sg/ workpro call/email us at 6290 7694/wdm@snef.org.sg to get your company WorkPro ready today.

Create an inclusive workplace with Community Integration Fund (CIF) Harness the strengths of Singapore’s diverse workforce by putting in place diversity management policies and practices that encourage workplace integration. Improving employee engagement can help foster a more harmonious and productive workforce and positively contribute to business performance. CIF funds up to 80% of the qualifying costs up to a maximum of $200,000 to implement projects in your workplace that aim to achieve at least one of the following objectives: • Provide information and resources to new immigrants and foreigners on integration at the workplace • Encourage greater interaction among new immigrants, foreigners and Singaporeans • Reinforce positive mindsets and attitudes among new immigrants and Singaporeans CIF is an initiative by the National Integration Council to drive integration efforts between Singaporeans and foreign newcomers.

If you are a Singapore-registered or incorporated company, society or non-profit organisation, you are eligible for CIF. Find out more at win@snef.org.sg and reap the benefits of a diverse and cohesive workforce.

Building a strong Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Culture The workplace landscape is rapidly transforming through changes in technology, lifestyle and demographics. These changes bring about potential health problems that may impact safety and an employee’s ability to work.

We believe that all WSH incidents are preventable and everyone has a part to play in making the workplace a safe and healthy environment. CEW provides consultation and organises workshop to help employers build the necessary WSH capabilities to meet the legislative requirements so as to achieve a safe and healthy workplace.

• Free Total WSH talk • Free advice on the benefits of risk assessment • Free workplace health and safety talk

Find out more by calling us at 6290 7606

60 Paya Lebar Road #13-45 Paya Lebar Square Singapore 409051

snef - ad ver 3.indd 1

Provide relevant information to enhance workforce health with WIDE Empower your employees to stay vigilant against infectious diseases such as Influenza, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS with the Workplace Infectious Diseases Education (WIDE) Programme.

Register for WIDE to benefit from: • FREE WIDE orientation kit • FREE one-hour educational talk on the prevention and management of Influenza, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS • FREE Interactive Exhibits housed on your premises for five days* • FREE educational resources • OPTIONAL flu jab administered at your premises at $18 per vaccination.*

*Only applicable for workforce size of more than 200 pax Keep your workforce healthy.

To register for WIDE, call us at 6290 7606 or email us at WHP@snef.org.sg

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www.snef.org.sg

26/08/2015 03:38:45 PM

People WORK LIFE »

snapshot

15 minutes with ...

Michael Yeong Senior vice president of human resources Cerebos Pacific WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST HR JOB, AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE HR AS A PROFESSION? As an engineer by training, my first job was as a technician working in a Japanese manufacturing company, and subsequently, I joined an American MNC as a quality control (QC) technician.

I slowly discovered my passion is interacting with people, and training the QC staff on how to conduct various QC tests to ensure the incoming materials were within our specifications.

My passion for constant interaction with people and guiding people through the steps on doing things made me decide to make the career switch and choose HR as a profession.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? One of the most enjoyable things about my work is the ability to align, design, customise and build an integrated HR system to support the business directions of the organisation.

It is important to customise the system to the current business requirement and this is dependent on the readiness of the culture and the business leader.

Thus the enjoyable part of this whole system design is being able to pace it according to the business growth.

As an HR practitioner I spent time educating business leaders on human capital management and development.

Once the leader understands the importance of how their human capital can impact their business directions and strategies, they will commit themselves to be the main drivers behind the human capital strategy.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE A REGULAR WORKDAY AT YOUR COMPANY? I start my day with about an hour of “Bagua Walk” at about 4.30am and then send my daughter to school. I usually reach the office at about 7.30am and have my well-deserved teh tarik and catch up on the news.

A regular workday for me involves discussions with the executive team comprising my group CEO and CCO on human capital issues and challenges, develop strategies to drive an effective and efficient culture, and ensure key performance indexes are aligned with the corporate and business levels.

My day also involves monitoring our “grow from within” initiatives to ensure they are on track.

I will also conduct talent review discussions with the various local business and functional leaders to identify high potential talents and their individual development plan.

Following that, I meet with functional managers and/or heads of departments to discuss organisation development matters or operational issues.

A regular workday will also see me having a quick operation discussion with my HRM and HRD team managers to address any outstanding issues.

Periodically, I also conduct follow up meetings with local business HR managers to address their challenges.

I will end my day with silent meditation for at least an hour with my spouse which is part of Cerebos’ quality work-life activities.

Cerebos donates $5 to The Straits Times’ School Pocket Money Fund for each staff who keeps themselves healthy.

WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED? Instead of mentioning the best career advice I have ever received, I would instead like to provide some thoughts to those who are trying to grow their career.

As an individual, we must be very proactive in creating opportunities for learning and development both for ourselves and our staff.

Continuous learning will increase our knowledge and the application of this knowledge will allow us to gain skills and experience.

Thus, we must transfer what we have learned into actionable initiatives. I believe in making it happen, making it work.

That is how I have built my career over the years to reach my current role.

While some may ask if I have reached the peak of my career, I think there are more peaks to be scaled. Through meditation, I have been able to think clearer, connect the dots and continue building my future.

A person who has a story to tell will be able to create opportunities to enhance the current system that he is in and inspire his team to build on these opportunities and implement systems to create the future.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE HR FUNCTION WILL EVOLVE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? Top management understands the importance of human capital and it will take a bigger involvement in the management of talent, especially talent management within the organisation.

The HR function has to evolve fast to be an engaging function – from top management to employee level. HR has to move from traditional practices to an integrated talent management system.

HR needs to know where its performing talent is – what their strengths, weaknesses and potential are.

We need to have a strong understanding of how to assess and identify this talent pool.

This is, in fact, the most critical skill that HR practitioners need to build now.

HR will work hand in hand with top management and the board of directors to allow them to get to know the top talent within the company who will have the capabilities/abilities/potential to be future management.

In this way, top management and the board of directors will have firsthand knowledge and interaction with potential staff who will form the next generation of leadership, thus allowing for effective succession planning.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU FEEL HR CAN DO BETTER TO PLAY A BIGGER ROLE IN ORGANISATIONS? HR will need to work closely with top management and the board of directors to guide them in talent management.

This will allow the role of HR to evolve and play a role of a meaningful business partner.

An effective succession planning process will contribute in building a sustainable business model.

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SPONSORED RECRUIT ADVICE HOW TO THIS ARTICLE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MERCER MARSH BENEFITS TM

A QUICK FIX TO EMPLOYEE BENEFIT COSTS IN SINGAPORE Across Asia, employers are experiencing cost increases as high as 45% annually in their health and benefits programmes. This is mainly due to the effects of high inflation, even higher medical cost inflation and a corresponding impact on health and benefits premium increases.

With health and benefits becoming a bigger constituent of payroll costs across the region, it’s an expense that employers can no longer afford to ignore.

Many employers are also balancing differing employee demands that come with having a multigenerational workforce, and are managing other challenges such as an increasing incidence in chronic disease and changing local healthcare regulations.

Despite a backdrop of increasing costs, a high percentage of employers across Asia are not investing enough in health management programmes. They are failing to understand the root health causes, and not yet drawing a meaningful parallel between employee health and overall operating costs.

Given such a complex operating environment and multi-pronged cost pressures, are there any “quick fixes” that employers can institute to manage healthcare programme costs in the short-term, and what actions can employers undertake to ensure the long-term sustainability of their programmes?

In addition, how does Singapore fare and what are the unique local cost drivers and opportunities for employers to tackle these challenges?

issues. Non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes accounted for 79% of all deaths in Singapore in 2010, and this number is expected to increase.

The rise in claims resulting from these illnesses (from employees and their families) will push up premium costs for employers. On top of this, the increase in sick leave days and absenteeism will adversely affect productivity.

Opportunities for employers Despite multiple cost pressures confronting employers in Singapore and across Asia, there are still many opportunities for employers to achieve savings.

A more sustainable benefits programme can be achieved with strategies that concentrate on maintaining good health and managing existing conditions while understanding the initiatives that are driving real return on investment through a data-driven approach to benefits design and management.

For greater insights into immediate (quick) and sustainable (longer-term) opportunities for employers to address rising benefit programme costs in Singapore and other countries in the region log on to http://bit.ly/MMBQuickFix. 1

United Nations. Population Aging and Development, 2012.

World Health Organization, World Health Statistics, 2011.

Ibid.

4 World Health Organization. NCD Country Profiles, 2011.

2 3

SINGAPORE In Singapore, a number of factors have combined to greatly increase medical claims costs for employers, including an ageing workforce that is highly discerning of various treatment options, a rising prevalence of chronic diseases, and a greater scrutiny of benefits.

Medical care inflation is significantly outpacing general inflation, and companies that are not currently reviewing their benefits plans risk their costs spiralling out of control.

A closer look at the key cost drivers related to the Singaporean workforce reveal that advancing medical technologies, an ageing population and lifestyles leading to chronic diseases have the biggest impact on benefit programme costs. Let’s take a look as to why: KEY COST DRIVERS Advancing medical technologies Rapid advances in medical technology have enabled faster and more accurate diagnoses and treatments. New and emerging technologies quickly become the standard in Singapore, but although these technologies increase life expectancy and improve health, they are also a major cause of rising healthcare costs.

Ageing population By 2050, Singapore’s elderly population (those aged 60 and above) is expected to constitute 38% of the population, meaning an ageing workforce. This segment utilises healthcare services three to five times more than those below 60 do. In addition, 75% of this age group have at least one chronic condition, while 50% have two or more.

This article is contributed by Sam Berry, Mercer Marsh Benefits Business Leader – Singapore

Sam Berry is the Mercer Marsh Benefits Business Leader – Singapore.

He can be reached at +65 6398 2470, or at sam.berry@mercer.com

Lifestyles leading to chronic disease Advanced medical technologies allow people to live longer, but with more health September 2015 « Human Resources « 13

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WHITE PAPER » Leadership

SINGAPOREAN COMPANIES READY TO HIT THE MOTHER LODE

Singapore – Bosses in Singapore are recognising the benefits of hiring female professionals who wish to work after giving birth.

According to a new survey by Regus, these mothers play a significant role in boosting revenue and productivity of a company. Of the 586 senior

local business people polled in the survey, 40% of them reported they would be looking to hire more returning mothers in 2015. Some of the reasons they cited for targeting this demographic included the valuable experience and skills (65%) these mothers hold.

Why firms are looking to hire returning mothers They hold valuable experience and skills

65%

They are seen as more reliable

34%

These mothers make more caring workers

25%

Returning mothers are more organised

24%

They are more hardworking

19%

Source: Global study by Regus

More than three out of 10 (34%) of the Singaporean respondents also thought of these returning mothers as more reliable, while 24% thought they were more organised compared with regular staff.

“There is a vast amount of untapped potential among skilled and experienced mothers who are unable to work due to family commitments. Flexible working enables companies to tap into this workforce and offer returning mothers a way back into the workforce,” commented Paul MacAndrew from Regus Singapore.

“The benefits to businesses are clear: less staff turnover, lower hiring and training costs, and access to talented staff.

“But businesses warn that in order to retain these valuable employees it is critical that firms offer some level of flexible working, such as the possibility to work closer to home.”

Indeed, 19% of respondents also stated they were very hardworking, with 25% pointing out they were more caring workers, while 28% also found value in the working mother’s drive to prove their worth.

Such preferences for hiring working mothers was also echoed globally, with 26% of businesses worldwide stating they were planning to hire more returning mothers in 2015 than in 2014.

Additionally, 57% of global respondents are of the opinion that retaining working mothers can help improve productivity because of training costs being lower than hiring new employees.

The survey also shed light into the ways these firms were planning to attract and retain such employees, with 91% of respondents believing the key to attracting and retaining female workers is flexible working.

“With reports suggesting that if the number of women in the workforce reached the same as that of men national GDP growth could be up to 10% higher, the case for increasing flexible working is very strong,” MacAndrew said.

“Add to that the value placed on returning mothers by businesses and it is evident that businesses need to reassess their use of flexible working to attract top female talent.”

YES, we recruit there.

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

www.npaworldwideworks.com 14 » Human Resources » September 2015

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11/9/2015 4:03:28 AM

Leadership « WHITE PAPER Expected pay increases (by country)

EXPECT SALARIES IN SINGAPORE TO INCREASE BY 4.1% THIS YEAR Singapore – Singapore may be the 7th costliest city worldwide, but here’s some good news to make expenses sting a little less.

According to a survey by Mercer, local staff can expect a pay increase of 4.1% this year.

Overall, the average pay increase in APAC had been forecasted to be 7.3% – higher than that of Western Europe and the US. The highest salary increases were predicted to occur in India (10.8%), followed by Vietnam (10.3%) and Indonesia (9.4%).

On the flip side, Japan, Australia and Taiwan were reported to expect the lowest salary increase of 2.2%, 3.5% and 3.9% respectively.

Industry wise, Singapore’s life sciences sector is likely to see the largest increase in wages of 4.6%, the study reported.

This was followed by the consumer goods

sector and chemical sector, both with a 4.4% increase, while the high-tech sector is expected to increase 4.2%.

The technology industry was, revealed to have the lowest salary increase forecast for 2015 in eight out of 14 countries in the region Along with predictions in salary changes, the research also shed light on expected retention and attraction rate changes in companies.

It revealed that double-digit turnover rates is a possible encounter for most bosses in APAC. “After a gap of three years, we are seeing changes in hiring intentions in Asia Pacific,” said Puneet Swani, partner, information solutions and rewards practice leader for Asia, Middle East and Africa at Mercer.

“Although four or five companies out of ten are still looking to increase headcount, especially in

Countries

Salary increase (2015 forecast)

India

10.8%

Vietnam

10.3%

Indonesia

9.4%

China

7.9%

Philippines

6.5%

Malaysia

5.7%

Korea

4.9%

Hong Kong

4.6%

Singapore

4.1%

Taiwan

3.9%

Australia

3.5%

Japan

2.2%

Source: Mercer’s annual Total Remuneration Survey

emerging economies, this number has decreased from six to seven in the past few years.”

He added that sales and marketing, technical/engineering and, finance and accounting functions continued to be the sectors which were hiring the most.

September 2015 « Human Resources « 15

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11/9/2015 4:04:07 AM

PROFILE » Ramesh Ganeshan

Ramesh Ganeshan Vice president of HR for Asia Pacific Agility Where leaders create leaders

By ADITI SHARMA KALRA

Q Tell us about your decade-long journey with Agility.

It has been fascinating and rewarding. For the first four years, I was managing HR in India, where we have about 21 cities to cover. Then I got an opportunity to be part of our global transformation project which gave me international exposure and an opportunity to interact with and manage people from different cultures.

More importantly, I got an opportunity to look at complex business processes we wanted to transform. Thereafter, I got the opportunity for this role in Asia Pacific, which is the largest region in the Agility network, with 7,500 employees in 23 countries. Today, Agility has become a core part of my professional life. I feel extremely valued, recognised and well-informed. Very few organisations can offer this kind of experience and exposure.

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

Q Does that come from HR being an important part of the business here?

I am proud to say that Agility continues to expand; we are making tangible gains in our business performance with clear strategy. Our HR philosophy is the set of values, behaviours and practices wherein our global and regional leadership has a significant influence. Our focus is on developing organisational capabilities to support growth and execution of strategy.

The key initiatives are talent management and leadership development that will create measurable and tangible business impact. The key drivers behind the work I do are very clear - the business is always first. I involve business leaders in the

planning process, which helps to ensure business alignment, and as a result of that, buy-in and support. HR in Agility has evolved from operation-based to development-based processes. However, our strategies incorporate both operational measures to manage the function, and strategic people measures to support business decisions.

Q Is the HR function now grounded in

VITAL STATS Based in Singapore, Ramesh Ganeshan leads HR for more than 7,500 employees in 23 countries for Agility.

He has more than 20 years of functional experience across industries, including experience in managing start-ups and transformation.

He is currently focused on developing Agility’s APAC talent to build a sustainable leadership pipeline.

data and analytics?

Yes, we have stabilised this to a great extent, and taken it forward to the developmental stream. Today, we proactively present data and analytics to front line leaders to influence business decisions. We are focusing on building core competence in execution and that’s how the Agility Way X-Factor programme was born, to improve business performance through structured and innovative processes for excellence in leadership, branch management, sales, etc.

Q Moving from India to a global project, and then a regional role, what people challenges did you observe?

There were similarities and differences.

Moving from India to Singapore meant taking up higher responsibilities. But across geographies, there are certain commonalities within Agility’s culture which brings us together. In that way, my transition hasn’t been a challenge, having seen the same energy, passion and strong sense of personal service. Personal service is, in fact, one of our core values. Since this industry is a good combination of

strategy and legwork, we percolate the spirit of entrepreneurship down to each branch. This also comes from an amount of flexibility – we are very adaptive, we twist and tweak and customise our solutions. Our business leaders also have a huge appetite for risk in the emerging markets, which most of our competitors do not.

There is a difference between both regions from the standpoint of general culture and size, but the business culture is quite similar. The labour laws are different, however, and managing the function for 23 countries has taught me the importance of a local HR team.

Q One belief about this industry is that it is perhaps not as attractive to talent as high-tech or engineering. Do you find that a challenge?

You are right, the perception about the logistics industry is that it is less flamboyant compared to retail, FMCG, banking and others. There are several approaches to correct the perception.

For instance, by providing awareness of the profession, career opportunities and competitive compensation, and to articulate that the industry is as successful as other industries offering international exposure, and that it is the backbone of every business as it impacts the P&L. We can also clear the notion that the profession is only technical, and show talent that the industry leverages heavily on technology and innovation. It also invests time and effort to develop future leaders. We do encounter challenges at

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PROFILE » Ramesh Ganeshan We chose Singapore as our regional HQ in 2011 because of its strategic position and its accessibility to customers and field offices. Moreover, it offers excellent connectivity and an open business environment. Apart from that, there are more tertiary institutions now offering courses related to supply chain management, logistics, distributions, etc. The Singapore government, under the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), helps companies to develop their employees’ job skills and we truly appreciate being here.

Hong Kong is also a transhipment hub so again not much challenges from a logistics view. When we do face challenges, we move people internally, by leveraging our L&D domain.

Malaysia, on the other hand, is one of our growing countries. There, we do face some challenges, in terms of finding senior-level strategic resources.

Q What kind of training programmes

times in finding the right talent for certain levels and domains. However, we mitigate that by leveraging training.

Q What kind of roles do you traditionally recruit for?

Recruitment happens in different spheres depending on our business solutions.

Freight forwarding is one of our core business portfolios that includes moving cargo internationally through different modes of transport. It is very strategic as one needs to be aware of international trade and geographic dynamics to enable custom solutions to the customer for safe and on-time delivery. Third party logistics deal with state-of-the-art storage and distribution solutions, so we need people with a sense of swiftness and discipline.

So we do need people across fields – sales, technology, operations, ground staff, finance and strategic roles.

Q Do you find the right kind of talent for both roles in Asia Pacific?

Asia Pacific has a large talent pool of professionals and fresh graduates and we have never faced any challenges.

do you have for all roles?

Our training and development is not runof-the-mill, as we invest heavily on areas that have a direct impact on our business.

For example, the three types of X factors programmes – leadership development, sales and branch manager excellence.

That’s a pragmatic approach of learning and development towards business.

Q How do you track how well these programmes are doing?

We launched them a year ago and are evaluating the tangible impact they are bringing to the table. Although they were pilot programmes, there are good indications. However, we look at them as long-term investments in order to really have an impact on the business.

Q Can you give an example of the indicators to use to measure value?

For the leadership development programme, the leadership pipeline is our primary indicator – how healthy it is in terms of people ready to take on the next-level role, how many have taken over higher responsibilities already, and the retention of high-potential leaders.

For the branch manager programme, there are four pillars that make up the P&L – commercial, operations, financial, and people. Each one has its areas of impact, for example, how many high-potential talent are retained, how healthy our

account receivables are, and how swift and error-free our operations are proceeding.

Q You instituted the CEO talent circle (CTC) recently – tell us more about it.

Compared to most other regions, APAC is where all the action is and it will remain a growth engine of global GDP for the coming few years. Having said that, the leadership gap in the region is a reality and it may impact business growth if measures are not taken on time.

The CEO talent circle is a regional leadership development programme for high-potential leaders wherein the three objectives are to build a healthy leadership pipeline by supporting succession planning process; retain our up and coming management talent by giving them wider and deeper exposure; and demonstrate the value of cultivating in-house talent.

The model is based on the wellknown 70/20/10 process, but the beauty lies in how we execute it. The old school of thought is to put participants through a workshop, but today the dynamics have changed. Live stretch assignments, learning through experience and mentoring are pivotal to our model. Apart from their day job, participants work on an assignment in a business segment they have never handled, and in a different geography. These stretch assignments are real business assignments which have a direct impact on our P&L. We are in the second batch after the first batch graduated earlier this year post a one-year programme. The success ratio has been impressive, as 70% of our 2014 batch has taken higher responsibilities within 12 months of graduation.

This programme clearly demonstrates that leaders create more leaders. It was conceptualised in-house, under the executive sponsorship of the Asia Pacific CEO who interacts with each participant.

Each participant is mentored by an APAC board member, reflecting that leadership development is everybody’s business.

At Agility, we consider leadership development one of our key sustainable competitive advantages and the CTC is now being replicated in other regions.

Q How do you identify the batch of high-potentials in the first place?

The identification process is simple yet effective. It starts with the country HR and CEO nominating employees based on pre defined criteria. All the nominations

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Ramesh Ganeshan ÂŤ PROFILE are then analysed by an exclusive and deep discussion in the APAC board meeting. Sufficient time is dedicated to understanding each high potential leader and considering them against the list of criteria that include, living the Agility values, promotability, aspirations and mobility, to select the final participants for the programme.

Q What was the initial reaction from the management team about this?

With any new HR process, my strategy is to engage the business leaders through how it will impact the business in the future. Even in this case, my strategy was to engage the business leaders, and give them a pragmatic overview of how it will impact the business in the present and future state.

I was fortunate to be well supported by my regional CEO and the APAC management board. I feel very proud this programme is now benchmarked in other regions of Agility.

Q Now that it is well underway, what kind of support does HR provide?

In light of today’s economic volatility and

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uncertainty every aspect of our business is being re-examined for its value in creating and sustaining profitable growth.

In order to add significant value to the business, HR is supporting and enabling the execution of business strategy through building organisational capability. We’re also using technology to relieve our staff from doing more routine HR work so they can focus on building capabilities.

Q You are clearly passionate about the quality of leadership in Asia. But do you see enough of us taking up regional or global roles at organisations?

There is no dearth of talent in Asia, but there are some obstacles that prevent them from taking over a global or regional leader position, in my view.

Most multinational companies select Asian talent who closely match their criteria, perspective and leadership behaviours per Western views. Also, cultural impact cannot be underestimated as a barrier to developing global leaders, especially in the Asian context. We Asians must be comfortable dealing with complexity, openness, adaptability, learning agility and cultural awareness. Therefore,

awareness of intercultural nuances should be an integral part of learning and development of a global workforce to help an aspiring leader identify blind spots and weaknesses.

Confidence is another dimension.

Potential Asian leaders must be provided with wide and strategic exposure to understand the complexity of business, people and geographies to deal with it great confidence.

I am very glad that our CTC programme addresses all these issues to develop future business leaders.

Q Much of the plans we have talked about are for the white-collar workforce. How do you keep your bluecollar workforce equally engaged?

Agility has a global policy of fair labour practices applicable to all employees regardless of their employment nature contractual, temporary or permanent. The core focus is to ensure all workers are treated fairly and with respect in every country of operations. Our policy addresses forced labour, discrimination, harassment, child labour, working hours and wages, ethical recruitment, and more.

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Education « FEATURE

As corporate training processes get increasingly complicated, keeping them relevant and delivering them effectively becomes a massive challenge for L&D heads.

Akankasha Dewan explores the best practices of high-impact learning organisations, and the ways they bring clarity to the training processes.

September 2015 « Human Resources « 21

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FEATURE » Education ver the past few years the learning and development (L&D) industry has absorbed tremendous amounts of new information with regards to training needs and modes (e-learning, experiential learning, social media, gamification, etc) which has resulted in training departments now awash in content.

The key to training success today not only involves developing great content, but being able to defi ne and deliver it in a way which leads to continuous capability development.

“The continuous war for talent, the advent of digital and social media, and a range of advancements in technology have changed the face of corporate training in the past few years,” says JPS Choudhary, head of HR for Asia, Africa and Middle East at Vodafone Enterprise.

Some of the major shifts include “moving from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ mass approach to customisation of training to suit individual needs” and a “more structured, long-term strategic approach to employee learning rather than just-in-time training”.

But this shift defi nitely hasn’t been easy – mainly because of the rapid speed at which it has happened.

Today’s shorter product cycles, combined with rapid advances in technology, mean that skill requirements are changing quickly, and companies are having a hard time structuring their training programmes.

“Our biggest challenge is that the industry is changing rapidly every day – no one day is the same,” says Charissa Chan, area director of HR and training for Hotel Jen. Because of this, she adds, L&D leaders may be aware of the direction their company is headed towards, but to connect that with day to day training structures and operations could be difficult.

And even if companies are good about training their employees, the return is shorter lived because needs are changing so much more quickly today – resulting in training that often lags in efficiency.

The 2015 Emerging Workforce Study commissioned by Spherion Staffi ng found that among 225 employers, 77% have put more training and career development opportunities in place this year, compared with last year.

In addition, only 24% found the cost of training staff for the future extremely/very challenging.

Employees, however, clearly don’t feel the same.

Th irty-one per cent of staff in the study felt they had not been adequately trained by their employer and only 33% felt the development opportunities they were provided with were excellent/good.

As such, 35% of them stated they worried about falling behind when acquiring new skills for the future and 29% felt their current skill sets were outdated, leaving them at risk when it comes to career development.

“Workers and employers must take joint responsibility for closing the skills gap,” said Spherion division president, Sandy Mazur.

“Workers should understand where businesses are headed and what skills they’ll need to help close the gap, while employers should examine their workers’ skill levels to focus on training that will be helpful and useful for them.”

In such a situation, what more can be done to ensure training remains essentially relevant and hits the nail on the head with what is really required?

Clarity in relevant learning outcomes Laurence Smith, the managing director of HR at DBS Bank and group head of learning and talent development, believes a key tenet of making sure training leaders get optimal returns on investment on their L&D programmes is having clarity on what they really want to do.

According to Smith, L&D heads need to ask questions such as “what exactly they are trying to achieve?”, “where they are today” and “how they will know when they get there?”

“I fi nd that L&D often rushes to solutions and does not spend enough time with the customers and stakeholders to deeply understand the real problem we are trying to solve,” he says.

“L&D should use a human-centred design approach of looking, understanding, and making before rushing to the solution. In other words, fall in love with the problem – not the solution.”

But failing to take time to understand the real objectives behind training sessions is precisely what L&D leaders are often guilty of doing.

A 2011 study of companies by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the United Kingdom and by SHRM in the United

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FEATURE » Education

A ticking time bomb: Measurement of training impact needs to move beyond the traditional smiley sheets.

States and India found that training and development specialists were more likely to spend their time delivering courses at training facilities than building relationships with senior and line managers.

Terming it as an “order-taking mentality”, Smith adds a lack of clarity on real objectives and measures of training success exists because of “some L&D teams where they simply deliver what the business wants without engaging in real dialogue and also a lack of commercial acumen or business savvy to engage those leaders”.

At Vodafone, however, Choudhary reveals how setting clear learning outcomes for each seniority level in the organisation helps in achieving training goals.

“At Vodafone we follow a leadership capability building path that is followed from front line managers (fi rst-time managers) all the way to business and functional leads, including the senior leadership team,” he explains.

“Every leadership journey has a welldefi ned and structured learning path which has a blend of self-faced learning – face-to-face sessions and workplace projects. Such holistic training focuses on certain aspects of people development, coaching and raising overall team performance.”

To make it easier for training leaders to set these learning outcomes, Chan adds it is imperative they are aware of the needs of their employees by analysing training gaps on a dayto-day operational level.

“Anyone working in the corporate environment should take time to visit the field and see what’s actually going on over there,” she says.

Th is will also aid in making sure the training provided is aligned not only with the needs of the business, but also with the needs of employees themselves – an alignment which is easier said than done.

A Cegos Asia Pacific survey on major learning trends across the region recently found “a lack of dialogue in some organisations between professionals and the learning community” and concluded that some training provided may be “considered irrelevant, out-ofdate, or simply not required”.

“Th is is particularly true in our survey of participants from India and, surprisingly, Singapore,” the report stated.

“L&D leaders can also do a pre-training assessment – send across a few questions to the participants, and ask them to list their learning expectations. And based on that, you can modify what you already have and modify it to tailor to the actual needs of the participants who are attending the workshop,” Chan explained.

Clarity in measuring effectiveness of training programmes But to really ensure if the type of training provided is in fact relevant and useful, it remains imperative for L&D leaders to spend time in measuring its effectiveness, according to all interviewees.

“In order to work on return on investment and help employees shape and defi ne their careers, it is imperative for L&D to measure the impact of its learning solutions,” Choudhary says.

“The measurement needs to move much beyond the traditional smiley sheets which are mere reflections of the ‘recency’ effect where

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Education « FEATURE people tend to best recall items at the end of their learning.

“With today’s challenging economy, L&D budgets are receiving more scrutiny than ever. Participant feedback forms administered immediately after a learning programme are no longer enough, and L&D professionals need to look for more solid evidence to justify the investment in their programmes.”

Th is is precisely because measuring the returns on investment on these programmes is, however, easier said than done.

According to Choudhary, L&D programmes often provide more long-term value rather than short-term effects, making their ROI difficult to defi ne.

In addition, evaluating effectiveness is also particularly challenging when the targeted outcomes involve softer skills such as collaboration, decision-making, innovativeness and the ability to think strategically – all of which are common learning objectives in many organisations.

“It can be difficult to assign a monetary value to such skills, or to show a correlation between the learning initiative and the acquisition of the targeted skills,” Choudhary says.

Th is has disastrous consequences as L&D budgets, when they lack clear and measured deliverables, can be soft targets for cost-cutting.

“Given the challenges of shrinking OPEX (operational expenditure), L&D professionals are relentlessly working to put a dollar value to evaluate learning and effectiveness.

“Every leadership journey has a welldefined and structured learning path which has a blend of self-faced learning – face-to-face sessions and workplace projects. Such holistic training focuses on certain aspects of people development, coaching and raising overall team performance.”

– JPS Choudhary, head of HR for Asia, Africa and Middle East, Vodafone Enterprise

“However, this has so far been done with varying degrees of success: it is ultimately the learning journey that will need tools and technological support to build on.”

Smith agrees, and adds that concentrating equally on both the pre and postimplementation of training programmes is key to measuring their impact.

“It is usually the time spent in these two before and after phases that actually indicates how much impact will be derived. L&D typically spends the vast majority of design time and effort on the course itself rather than really understanding the objectives and ensuring real outcomes,” he says.

But time, Choudhary identifies, is also a fundamental problem when it comes to evaluating training outcomes.

“Investing time is the most common barrier

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FEATURE » Education to evaluating and measuring the impact of L&D programmes, due to other business priorities which take precedence,” he says.

He adds that as learning is a long-term process, it also takes time for an incumbent to transition from learning knowledge to practising skills and then attaining new capabilities, ensuring a “long wait” to calculate the learning impact.

A third factor impeding the evaluation of learning outcomes is “the lack of technological capability and qualitative and analytical data that can correlate L&D’s impact to business imperatives”.

Clarity in using the right data and mode of learning Shelley Perkins, vice-president of human resources for Asia Pacific at FRHI Hotels & Resorts, identifies, however, that data such as profitability, retention and engagement can, in fact, be used to measure learning effectiveness.

“I’m a big believer in evaluating performance post-learning, and what we do is that we follow up with the supervisor and leader of the employee and ask if there’s any change in performance or understanding as a result of the training,” she says.

She also adds that she ties in metrics such as guest satisfaction rates to measure if training of staff has really been effective.

When it comes to service training, for example, she adds the company is particularly vigilant about guest data.

“We measure everything related to the guest experience.

“For instance, we recently had problem resolution training cascaded through the organisation and we’ve been monitoring our guest satisfaction scores on problem resolution.

Thankfully, we’ve seen an uplift in scores following the introduction of the training.

“Essentially, we will tie data to the training programme and, if there’s no change in guest experience, then we will have to re-look into the effectiveness of training,” she concludes.

Guest satisfaction was also, Perkins explains, the main driver in formulating how training within the company evolved over time.

“Training in hotels has been evolving to on-the-job training, in-the-moment training, sound bites through the day, and opportunities to demonstrate learning. It’s a little bit more out of the classroom and onto the floor.”

Indeed, all interviewees unanimously agree that today’s corporate learners have little appetite for classroom learning, where employees spend days outside of offices attending long workshops.

Structuring the training in the right way is important, Perkins adds, because it forms a significant part of companies’ employee value proposition today.

“Today’s generation will ask you about learning opportunities as part of the interview and what they will learn.”

Clarity in communicating training needs and content Because employees themselves are so willing and eager to learn, they themselves should be accountable for what and how they are learning – something which is often forgotten in the design of the training programme.

Employees are, Smith explains, “the most interested in their own career, but are often ignored in this process other than the annual performance review and a one-off development plan creation”.

Choudhary agrees, adding the accountability for employee learning needs to be shared between line managers, the employees themselves, and the learning specialist – with each playing a very important role in the process.

“The line managers need to provide the adequate level of learning guidance to the employees, providing the basis for exhibiting various competencies while at work, and advising on the desired behavioural aspects and career aspirations. It is imperative that line managers provide the right inputs to the employees on their work strengths and areas to develop,” he says.

He expands that learning and development teams ultimately play a critical role in understanding the capabilities and skills needed for various career levels in the organisation, each of which is required to tackle current and future business challenges.

“They need to act as catalysts in helping employees shape and defi ne their careers with the timely provision of impactful learning solutions.”

Chan agrees, saying it is imperative for all parties to play an equally important role in the process – along with the right attitude.

“I think everybody plays an equal role in

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Education « FEATURE the training process, including the learners themselves. Without the right attitude, desire and willingness to learn, the effectiveness of our training sessions won’t be there – no matter what we prepare for them or to what lengths we go to.”

But Smith warns even if all such parties are part of the implementation and execution of the training process, the effectiveness of L&D policies get compromised if leaders are not able to clearly voice their priorities.

“I usually fi nd that L&D people are incredibly weak at communicating their own successes,” Smith observes.

“Work with the business sponsor to measure the impact in as many meaningful ways as possible and then make sure it gets written up and communicated, preferably by them.

Building a portfolio of success stories makes it easier for other stakeholders to reach out and engage you.”

Perkins adds another way of effectively communicating training priorities is to customise messages to suit the demographic traits of the audience.

She says “large multinational corporations

“I think everybody plays an equal role in the training process, including the learners themselves. Without the right attitude, desire and willingness to learn, the effectiveness of our training sessions won’t be there.”

– Charissa Chan, area director of HR and training, Hotel Jen

do have to have the understanding that the training and delivery does need to be tailored to different markets – the way they deliver training in China is very different to the way they deliver it in San Francisco, for instance”.

Seniority levels of trainees in question should also be taken into account when designing training programmes.

“We absolutely tailor our training programme and we defi ne our audience at the beginning of the process. You’re not going to get a manager to sit in a three-day service delivery session, for instance,” she says.

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FEATURE » Education

CASE STUDY: DBS BANK Laurence Smith, DBS Bank’s managing director of HR and group head of learning and talent development reveals how the firm derives measurable results from its corporate learning initiatives, in this conversation with Akankasha Dewan.

The hyper-connectedness and changing needs of business have placed the training function at a pivotal point. The best learning and development (L&D) departments are both leveraging and cautiously balancing the availability of technology and data to promote collaborative, global learning while being aligned with overall business goals.

“L&D has become a much more effective business partner,” observes Laurence Smith, DBS Bank's MD of HR and group head of learning and talent development.

“At DBS we have learning councils in every business unit and support unit that meet quarterly, chaired jointly by myself and the head of the unit.”

Th is ensures, Smith explains, that all teams are aligned on priorities to achieve key objectives for the year.

Deriving measurable results “L&D has also become more focused on measurable results and better at leveraging emerging technologies to develop skills that are more timely and workplace relevant,” Smith says.

A possible reason for greater focus on measuring the impact of learning may lie in just how challenging that has become today. In a 2014 survey by McKinsey, almost onefi fth of executives said their organisations did not attempt to measure the impact of training programmes at all. In addition, only 13% said their companies tried to quantify the fi nancial return on their learning investments.

A key reason why measuring the effectiveness of training programmes often fails is because L&D leaders fail to understand what needs or skill gaps the training is trying to fulfi l in the fi rst place, according to Smith. y, “At DBS we don’t audit our L&D programmes regularly, but we do work very hard at getting the objectives and measures very clear in advance, as well as using the learning council to drive governance and a resultsfocused approach,” he adds.

“Having said that we do occasionally do a deep dive Kirkpatrick Level Four assessment on selected programmes and have been incredibly pleased with the business results we have identified.”

both the business and L&D teams to come up with relevant and effective training programmes.

“Line managers obviously have the best insight to the business strategy and future needs of the unit, while business HR leaders are often the conduit between line managers and L&D teams,” he says.

“L&D leaders should have the solution development expertise, so when they all work in alignment the results can be powerful, but it does require that alignment and effective working relationship.”

The process is ultimately all about, he summarises, “getting clarity, setting expectations and developing processes to enable”.

For this, Smith advises L&D leaders to understand the business strategy and recognise what it will take from a human capital perspective for the fi rm to succeed.

“For example, at DBS, growth in emerging markets is critical to us, but as a foreign bank we can neither acquire a local bank nor afford the time and expense to build tens of thousands of branches to compete,” he says.

“Thus our growth strategy is heavily dependent on being agile, innovative and developing a digital mindset in our leaders and staff.

“A year ago, when we looked at the single highest impact thing L&D could do for DBS, it was absolutely clear that nothing was more important than building this innovative culture with a start-up mentality.”

Leveraging on the expertise of business and L&D leaders “But in each case the business had been a very close partner in the design and execution of the programmes – they had not been ‘outsourced’ to L&D, so any success or failure really was a shared result,” Smith says.

Smith’s strategy suggests the importance of invoking

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HRMS & HR Cloud « FEATURE

Rolling out HR management systems is often an organisation-wide initiative requiring early adopters and top management to champion the cause.

Jerene Ang and Aditi Sharma Kalra find out just how to make a case for the technology, and ensuring enough people use it for the right reasons, once it is implemented.

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FEATURE » HRMS & HR Cloud hilanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates made this case for automation in business processes years ago: “The fi rst rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

His view reflected a challenge that many HR professionals face today, with a lack of technology forcing them to spend time doing things that can easily be automated.

On the other hand, many of them have implemented technology that promises to provide HR and employee information at line managers’ fi ngertips, only to fi nd there aren’t enough takers because it requires an additional learning effort from line managers before it starts to reap them benefits in time savings.

In the past month, we have spoken to HR leaders who are in the various stages of implementing some sort of Human Resource Management System (HRMS) at their organisations. Their views helped us identify some of the key challenges they face, not only in considering an external vendor, but in the implementation and utilisation as well.

Norbert Modla, global head of HR at beverage logistics fi rm JF Hillebrand Group, is on the cusp of rolling out a system, with the objective to “make better decisions about talent based on data”.

Working in more than 35 countries globally, he notes that capturing prompt and reliable HR data can be a very cumbersome exercise if a system isn’t automatically doing it for you.

Given that both managing talent and growing the future talent pool internally are priorities for the fi rm, it became clear that accurate information, beyond the existing talent reviews and succession plans, would enable managers organisation-wide to make much better talent decisions.

That was the one big objective driving this exercise, and he affi rms it is important to know this even before a fi rm ventures out to contact a vendor for support. For example, in JF Hillebrand’s case, automation of processes was important, but it was not the top priority.

“It was most important for my board to make

better talent-related decisions based on the data we capture and analyse – so that is what we focused on,” he says.

At Singapore-headquartered medical devices company Biosensors International, the primary consideration for opting into SuccessFactors as an HR cloud solution was to cascade organisational objectives more clearly across all levels, hence, aligning the organisation in one direction, explains David Chin, chief human resources officer.

He says: “We wanted to use the system to translate the key company priorities into specific objectives for each member of the management team, to subsequently cascade it to their staff and teams. So everyone can understand how their goals are lined up with achieving what the company needs to do on a global basis.”

Over the past 12 months, the company has rolled out an external system that is being implemented in phases, the fi rst of which involved setting up organisational goals on the balanced scorecard, and then using the system for objective setting, performance and compensation management.

Freddie Chow, chief talent officer for pharmaceutical major Sanofi in Asia Pacific, is also in the midst of a new HRMS launch of Workday, rolled out two years, and being implemented in phases on the basis of regions.

“The more mature countries such as North America, France and Europe are in the earlier waves. Asia, being an emerging market, is in the last wave, meaning that full implementation is expected to be complete by 2016,” he says.

Even so, some modules have already been implemented such as performance management, talent management, and the employee database, which allows the fi rm to capture annual merit increases and appraisal data.

The big goal here is to have a common integrated system for the company with employee strength of more than 120,000, especially given the number of recent acquisitions.

“At Sanofi, we try to move our talent across businesses, countries and regions. If we don’t have a common system, we won’t even know who our talent is,” he says.

“In other words, employees will remain in the same business they fi rst joined, if it wasn’t for internal mobility.”

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HRMS & HR Cloud « FEATURE But … will they use it?

Utilisation and adoption rates of the technology, apart from the HR team, emerged as the biggest challenges in the implementation of any cloud technology, more so when it involves sensitive employee data. Ironically, these also play a big part in helping to determine return on investment.

Our interviewees have taken varied approaches to this.

Biosensors’ Chin says: “A big factor that determines the success of a technology implementation is to do with how it is implemented, what is communicated, and how people use it as opposed to just the technology itself.”

In doing so, organisations have to keep usability and customer interface in mind when considering vendor options, as much of it is expected to be very intuitive – so as not to require hours of training.

As Chin points out: “Technology won’t always do what you want it to. There’s always a challenge in how much and how fast you push it through to the organisation because it is a change for people. These are challenges you need to work through, and account for in your implementation process.

“My concern is more about whether or not people maximise what they can get out of the platform, and if they are using it as well as they could be.”

Modla echoes and adds to this from the HR team’s point of view.

“During implementation, the biggest challenge is managing the proportion of workload on the local HR teams. It is important that they immediately realise some benefits from the system,” he says.

“It can very easily turn into a situation where they now have a bunch of new administration things to do, so there’s no benefit for them in using the system.”

Additionally, getting people to use the system outside of the HR team, he says, goes back to the initial point on being crystal clear about why you are implementing this system from day one.

“You have to be able to communicate what you want to change in the organisation through using such a system. A system is just a system – what matters more is what you use the system for and how you are using it,” he says.

Essentially, much of the adoption comes

“During implementation, the biggest challenge is managing the proportion of workload on the local HR teams. It is important that they immediately realise some benefits from the system.”

– Norbert Modla, global head of HR, JF Hillebrand Group

September 2015 « Human Resources « 33

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FEATURE » HRMS & HR Cloud down to how well the benefits of the system are communicated – and the business case built around it.

Chin agrees, and adds that managers not only need to be brought up to speed around the technology, but the actual thought process behind it.

“In being provided the technology and platforms to set objectives for their teams, you also have to educate managers on how to set effective objectives, otherwise it can defeat the purpose,” he says.

All of this, he adds, is supported by communication briefs and training that are aimed at helping managers set objectives in line with organisational goals.

Along this thought, Modla comes in with another suggestion on imparting time-relevant training to the line managers.

“Link learning to immediate use, rather than asking managers to learn the system at one go. I would rather go for on-demand training in bits and pieces,” he says.

So if their immediate need is recruitment, that’s when they should be trained on how to use the system for that process.

He adds: “I suggest short snappy e-learnings on specifics, instead of spending two days in a classroom about everything the system does.

Otherwise, they will forget what they have learnt when they are actually trying to use the system weeks later.”

Besides this school of thought, another way to boost adoption rates is to weave the technology platform into the company’s daily processes, something the team at Sanofi has tried and seen success with.

Being a global project, Sanofi followed a topdown approach in implementing the system, endorsed by the group CEO and the executive committee.

“They are the ones who lead by example, and inaugurate the implementation in conjunction with HR so that this is seen as a company project,” Chow says.

He takes the example of the employee database functionality in the software solution that conveniently allows all details from an employee’s social media profi le to be captured and stored in the system – forming the basis of all people processes thereon, including then a high focus on internal mobility pointed out by Chow earlier.

“The question is how to motivate people to

update their profi le in this self-service system,” he says.

The solution, in this case, is not about choice, but about what is “mandatory”.

“All employees’ merit increases have to now be updated on the system. So if managers don’t do it, it means that the employee will not have a salary increase because we have not received any information,” he says.

Of course, initially both managers and employees may feel like it is an additional workload for them, as in the past, the HR team would update everything for them post an hourlong meeting.

Chow shares more about this dilemma.

“There is a bit of resistance in this aspect of the behaviour change, as the responsibility moves from HR to the managers and employees. We see this as empowerment – that they are empowered to go into self-service mode and HR can enact the role of the facilitator.”

Apart from the training and communication listed earlier as a possible solution to resistance, Sanofi has also instituted the concept of gettogethers to spread the message, for example, a recent launch party where the HR team set up a booth with laptops that enabled employees to update their profi les on the spot, after seeing a demo.

“They then realise that the system is wonderful and so easy to use,” he says.

“Once you role model it, employees will start to use it and then buy into the idea.”

Measuring up the system As part of the implementation, there are two resource issues to consider – one is the partnership with the IT team, and two is the requirement of support staff who can enable the smooth day-to-day running.

Modla goes into the details.

“The IT team has a stake in dealing with issues like security, how the system integrates with the company’s other systems, how data gets transferred, etc.

“The good thing is with today’s systems is since everything is hosted on the cloud, nothing gets saved on local servers. So you don’t need a whole department looking after it like we had a few years ago.”

Chin agrees the IT team is a valued partner in the process when it comes to evaluation between vendors – however, since the HRMS

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HRMS & HR Cloud « FEATURE

“When you do things on paper, you never know the extent that it really gets done and by when it will be completed.”

– David Chin, chief human resources officer, Biosensors International

does not particularly impact the hardware or infrastructure, it may not be so extensively involved.

Having gone through one phase of implementation, he has seen the system’s impact on transparency and visibility across processes.

“When you do things on paper, you never know the extent that it really gets done and by when it will be completed.”

Another result has been the consistency in the employee experiences.

“All employees have performance appraisal, objective setting and salary reviews – but using technology for them provides a common experience for both the employees and managers, and it also allows us as an organisation to communicate how we expect things to be done,” he says.

The tangible return on investment, however, can be hard to quantify, as we have observed in various conversations with HR professionals.

Sanofi’s Chow says that having a common system is a mandatory matter of supporting business goals, instead of treating it like a niceto-have.

“As this is a high-cost investment, a strong business case was put up for the executive committee to approve it,” he adds.

Alongside, the HR team also conducts surveys to fi nd out how the employees feel about the new system, and uses this to address system issues.

“That is one way to measure employee satisfaction, but it is not as tangible as dollars and cents.

“Employees have moved from the resistance phase, to the acceptance phase, to the point today where it is accepted by everyone today, and they are using it in their daily conversations.”

To achieve such penetration, he says the initiative must be driven by top management, as a key organisation project, not just an HR project.

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FEATURE » HRMS & HR Cloud

CASE STUDY: NATSTEEL HOLDINGS Lucy Tan, chief human resource officer at NatSteel Holdings, talks to Jerene Ang and Akankasha Dewan about the nuances of implementing and measuring the effectiveness of an in-house HRMS. Today, HR has to transform from an administrative function to being a strategic, value-enhancing business partner to fi rms.

With this dramatic change comes some significant differences in the way HR plans and executes its initiatives, with a special emphasis on leveraging technology.

Utilising an HRMS can positively affect an organisation’s internal work environment by creating time for HR staff to allocate towards more impactful employee programmes or issues.

“As companies grow and expand, you need to have a tool to help you manage the transactions and automate your processes,” says Lucy Tan, chief human resource officer at NatSteel Holdings.

“Not only will this reduce a lot of manual processes and increase efficiency, it will also enable us to empower managers to make better decisions with the data generated.”

NatSteel’s HRMS Tan explains her team has implemented an HRMS “from scratch” with its client partner.

“Also, with a controlled system in place, we will be able to do planning ahead of time. For example, we have so many workers working on shifts and also overtime. With the HRMS integrated with the clocking system, we can not only track their hours and plan ahead, but it helps to put governance and compliance in place.”

She reveals the company has already rolled out the fi rst phase of the system, which is performance

management. Other than setting and reviewing KPIs online, goals get cascaded to every employee, so there is visibility of how individuals can contribute to achieving the company objectives.

“We also have a tool to do talent reviews where charts are generated to show the high and poor performers at the organisational level.”

Measuring the returns of the system These features may be great, but how profitable were the returns of investment of the system?

According to Tan, the biggest returns were in terms of how much time her company saved on generating HR data especially using data analytics for business decisions.

“Our online performance management system significantly reduces the appraisal cycle time as managers can access employee data before each talent review discussion with an employee.”

She explains that now it takes half the time to generate such reports compared to before the system was implemented.

Managing expectations from the system However, Tan adds these returns were gained after several challenges.

These included demands from the employees to enhance the features of the system.

Such problems point to the fact that bringing in a new system can be a challenge for both managers and employees, as they have to get used to the new changes in HR processes.

Tan explains, however, that proper communication before and during the implementation of such a system can help.

“We did roadshows, training and a lot of communication before we implemented the system. Some required more hand holding, so when they need help, the team will guide them personally,” she says.

Recounting the biggest obstacles her team encountered during the process, Tan warns a key element of implementing processes successfully is, in fact, change management.

“I think sometimes, we are too aggressive with the implementation timeline and eager to implement quickly.

However, it also requires time for employees and managers to change their mindset and adapt to a self-service model using technology to replace manual work.”

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OPINION » Learning & development

Why this firm hires for hunger and aptitude VANDNA RAMCHANDANI Regional head of recruitment Bloomberg

Innovation and collaboration are traits which stem not only from the most educated candidates, but also from those with the right drive and passion for their roles.

Speeding ahead of the rat race: If you have driven people, if you have diverse people, then you ultimately are more revenue-driven.

As an organisation, Bloomberg believes in providing opportunities, challenging individuals and being innovative in small, simple ways. It also promotes a lot of collaboration and people interaction.

The kind of people we hire are all usually driven and all trying to do the right thing. There’s a great commitment to the communities that we exist in.

Bloomberg’s recruitment process Within Bloomberg, there has been an evolution of the recruitment process – particularly in the last three to five years. We have grown our team dramatically, both in Asia and globally. We are also very business-aligned, so instead of being a recruitment team, it is more of a business partnership. There’s a clear alignment with the business areas and a clear focus on campus recruitment.

Everybody has their own niche areas and the processes or the way we evaluate ourselves is really like a business.

Essentially, you want to see a return on investment.

In Asia, there’s a critical need for good talent, as the region is suffering from a talent crunch. To acquire this talent, HR leaders need to engage potential employees, mainly

because a lot of them are passive job-seekers. Nevertheless, they are really high performers whom companies do actually want to hire.

In today’s world of social media and transparency, people are also more discerning – they do a lot of homework before choosing and joining an organisation.

Attracting diverse candidates As such, companies need to have the right presence on all the relevant social media platforms, and they need to put their best foot forward.

All of this is dependent on the way they brand themselves, and the way they engage with passive and active candidates.

In the past, we used to say that first impressions go a long way and candidates only have one chance to impress employers.

But today, I think it also applies to employers. In a transparent world where candidates have a lot of choices of where to apply, it is, in fact, employers who only have one chance in this world to impress candidates.

During the recruitment process, we as an organisation, don’t place an emphasis on the education background or degree alone.

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Learning & development « OPINION

We obviously have our targeted list of universities, but we don’t really limit ourselves to economic majors or accounting majors or finance majors because we want to get a diverse pool of candidates.

We truly believe that if you have the aptitude, the hunger, the willingness, and that if you’re a driver, and you’re innovative and collaborative, you will get stuff done, you will figure it out.

So it doesn’t matter whether candidates have a finance degree – they should be able to speak to the financial markets, or show us they have an interest in finance.

Sending out the right message At Bloomberg, we believe it’s very important to be authentic.

There’s a lot that goes into hiring an individual, there’s a lot of effort and energy and expense, so you really want to create a good fit and that means that you want to allow people to decide for themselves if they would enjoy working for your company.

You want to give that respect on both sides. So that in terms of employer value proposition, the candidate is also able to understand if his or her personal goals or beliefs align with the company.

It could be anything, it could be the way they look at career paths, it could be the basics such as compensation and growth or how they engage with the community or what their diversity policies are.

Our employer value proposition is, in fact, an ever evolving one. We are a high-tech, high-finance, news and multimedia organisation.

We like to convey in our employer brand that we are a diverse organisation and that we hire from diverse backgrounds and diversity is important to us. But also, because we are hightech, high-finance, we have absolutely a culture of innovation and creativity.

We are also very big on collaboration and believe in giving back to the community.

That is why the candidate experience and the perception of what the candidate thinks of the company is such a critical part of the whole recruitment process – even if you don’t end up hiring the candidates. This is now embedded into our recruitment philosophy.

Using data effectively Saying that, however, I think recruitment is still a challenge, not only for us, but for most organisations – especially when it comes to putting together all the data and culling it to make better strategic decisions on how to target better or invest better or see what’s working.

I think that’s the work in progress because we haven’t really had the technology, not only at Bloomberg, but overall, to really build people analytics. That’s the area we really need to continue to push forward.

This is because you get a lot of data about employees from the sources that you hire from, but there’s still a lot more data

to attain. For instance, what are the skill sets they came in with, what did you do to develop them, and where did their career paths take them?

From the Bloomberg perspective, we tend to have a good amalgamation of skills needed to use and interpret this data to make meaningful business decisions. A lot of our leaders in HR are from the business side, and we have sent HR leaders from our department into the business so it’s very much a two-way process.

I also think the alignment really helps because if we have both partners at the table they are able to have a more robust discussion about how they are going to interpret the data.

I hope the influence of HR will only continue to increase.

More and more in this global world, we are realising how critical talent is. It’s not about the lack of people, it’s about the lack of the right people or the right fit.

Ultimately, we have a business to run and that is the end goal for everyone – everything else is a means to make it better and more wholesome.

I think that if you keep that view in mind, the influence of HR or people operations in Bloomberg is only going to increase because otherwise we are not going to be able to drive business results.

Bottom line is: if you have driven people, if you have diverse people, then you ultimately are more revenue-driven.

Implementing a cutting-edge, culturally relevant working culture We are very much a global organisation, and we like to think all our policies, and not just recruitment, are cutting-edge.

For example, we have just launched our parental leave policy, which entails 18 weeks of paid leave for the primary caregiver and four weeks of paid leave for the secondary caregiver. From my understanding, this is the best in Asia.

But while we function in a framework globally like this one, we will always defer to the local laws and fine-tune them based on the local culture. We very much make sure that we acknowledge local practices as well as celebrate the local culture and festivals.

I think when you go into any Bloomberg office, you tend to get a very constant feel in terms of the open spaces and the pantry, but the way it will be designed, it will be taking some tenets of the local culture into it so there’s a clear partnership and reflection of where we are.

In our Singapore office, we have actually featured a lot of our local employees. Their names and faces are plastered all over the wall and that’s part of our Singapore 25th anniversary celebration that’s taking place this year.

We’ve also featured employees who belonged to our pioneer group of staff, and who were with us in 1991 and willingly talk about why they have stayed for so long.

I think that really speaks to how pervasive and how attractive the Bloomberg culture is.

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OPINION » People issues

The dark horses of the workforce GEMMA GIL Managing director and head of HR ColorWash

Profiling your mature workers and customising job roles to their strengths can work in engaging them to stay on in your organisation.

With ColorWash having expanded

quickly over the past 12 years, both in Singapore and across the region, the hiring and retention of staff has remained a key focus for us.

In Singapore, the hiring and retention of retail staff is most challenging. Most shun the service line and we run the risk of the good ones being quickly poached, sometimes within three months of starting work.

This puts a heavy burden on HR to constantly recruit, train and review staff rewards programmes.

Over time, I discovered that while we did not engineer it as such, staff who had served over two years and received the most customer compliments tended to be older, typically aged 50 and above.

We put in place some HR initiatives to see if we could further nurture these staff.

Profiling the mature worker During recruitment, ColorWash’s referral programme encourages older workers to recommend their friends so they can enjoy working among friends.

A clear training framework for each staff member ensures that all of them, regardless of age and experience, can acquire key skills for their roles smoothly.

We reduced the complexity of the job scope, by asking staff to focus on developing specialised skills over general skills so they can work on doing one or two key areas very well (e.g. cleaning of wallets), which builds their confidence and makes their work more enjoyable.

Training materials are customised to ensure simple language, using more graphics and videos, as well as real-life retail examples to improve ease of understanding.

Another thing we observed is that elderly staff may feel uncomfortable in giving direct feedback to management.

As such, they are assigned a mentor in ColorWash’s buddy system to ensure they have someone to ease them into the culture, as well as take in feedback throughout their time in the firm.

We listen to their needs and remain flexible to work arrangements. For example, some older staffers do not wish to work full-time, wanting to spend more time with grandchildren or on their hobbies.

To accommodate this, ColorWash adjusts weekly rosters and also offers flexible part-time employment terms.

I also soon discovered that older staff can prove more meticulous when performing near-work such as the cleaning

Shielding maturity: Getting older staff to focus on developing specialised skills over general skills can help in enhancing their productivity greatlly.

of bags and shoes. They also tend to be patient and genuinely friendly towards customers.

The proof of the pudding About a year after we started these initiatives, the staff turnover of ColorWash reduced by 50%, while the number of customer compliments increased by 30%.

We believe older staff members add value to our business, and as we continue to expand, ColorWash will continue to explore innovative HR programmes and training methods for them to ensure customers enjoy consistently high levels of service and quality of work.

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OPINION » Unconventional wisdom

HR doesn’t (always) need to be at the table TAN ONG JIN Regional HR business partner AXA Insurance

In smaller organisations, members of the board sometimes easily become de facto HR leaders themselves – and rightly so.

Leaning in: Just because HR isn’t at the leadership table doesn’t mean it isn’t important to the business.

I was at a conference recently when the age-old question came up: “Does HR deserve a seat at the table?”

I almost fell off my chair! How dare this question be asked!

Of course HR deserves to be represented at the highest levels of management.

People are any company’s greatest asset and they will continue to be until robots become truly “enlightened” to take over the workplace.

That is why hearing the above question in a room filled with HR professionals left me dumbfounded. Who would dare ask such a question?

And then the little hamster wheel in my brain started to turn.

Is it possible that HR is still not at all the leadership tables?

After getting over the shock of the question (and breathing again), the reality hit me. Run little hamster run … unshackled by my HR arrogance.

A dedicated HR leader is not in place in all organisations, and does not need to be. It’s pretty simple actually. Of course HR does not always have a seat at the table. It’s obvious.

In fact, if we think of the evolution of business, start-ups and SMEs rarely have a clearly defined HR leadership position – and fair enough.

Let’s be honest with ourselves – a company of 20 people needs to get its employees paid.

While having a five-year strategic workforce plan is beneficial, it is more likely the company’s management is worried about being around in 12 months, let alone how to improve the diversity within the organisation.

This is not to say that people don’t matter in such businesses. Far from it.

Smaller organisations come with smaller teams, smaller offices, less of pretty much everything. This is where interpersonal matters may be even more important to deal with quickly, as there is less space for the issues and people to hide.

If anything, the people in a smaller organisation may matter even more, as there is less space for hiring managers to make the wrong choices.

As such, ownership/management do it themselves.

Consciously or not, they become the de facto HR leader, and while they may not always come up with the “win-win” solution (and may likely put forward the “my way or the highway” one), the job will get done.

So maybe a better question then is: when do we get our seat? When is there space?

I would offer that as a business grows and matures, the operational needs of the business transition into the need for HR management and subsequently HR leadership.

As businesses become more complex, whether it be the diversity of the business or the scale, so do the people complexities, and the need for a dedicated department to help work through the issues and opportunities.

Obviously, at the core of having an HR leader in place at any level of any organisation is still the value the person can bring to the organisation.

This doesn’t guarantee that a business will have a chief human resources officer in place at a certain size, but the likelihood of doing so certainly increases; as do the tangible benefits of putting the right person into such a job.

Well done little hamster. Get a good rest, as I am sure I will need you again soon!

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OPINION » Upwardly mobile

Redemption of the performance appraisal BEN WHITTER Organisation and people development manager University of Nottingham Ningbo China

FOO CHEK WEE HR director ZALORA Group

Not every company can just go ahead and dump the annual performance review process. Here's what you can try instead.

In a stunning development, Accenture has dumped the performance review. CEO Pierre Nanterme described the move simply as, “we’re done with that”.

These four words may prove to have a major impact across business and HR teams in the months ahead.

If you can’t feel it yet, get ready. A movement is underway.

In research by CEB, 6% of the world’s top companies are making similar changes to the ways they manage performance.

Microsoft, Adobe, Gap and a host of others have already ditched their review processes, including General Electric, which has been a huge advocate of it for years.

If you don’t think 6% is a lot, then examine the populations involved, and the fact that they are iconic businesses, meaning others are about to follow the same path quickly.

Most HR people will not be surprised by this. Ninety-five per cent of managers, according to CEB, are dissatisfied with performance reviews, and nearly 90% of HR people are seriously questioning the accuracy of the performance information that comes out of the process.

At a time when companies such as Zappos are abolishing management altogether (and managers for that matter) in favour of self-organisation via holacracy, a simple change to eliminate performance reviews within a company is not very groundbreaking, surely?

It is and I’m pretty sure you know why. The annual performance appraisal has for the longest period been a source of much conversation for all of us, as managers and employees.

Currently, organisations are doing everything, nothing and something about it – a huge mix of practices to say the least.

Google, which is constantly referenced for its people approach, has eliminated a quarterly 41-point scale in 2013 (yes, 41 points) to rate their people; instead opting for a simpler five-point scale.

While its process is still a work in progress, recent industry views show it is still committed to the review. Microsoft, not so much. Reviews went out of the window two years ago, which led others to follow suit.

In one session several years ago with a private-sector client, co-author Whitter recalls a conversation about the success of a values-based system across 10,000 employees.

This HR-owned process was an interesting sell to the business. One attendee said candidly that he didn’t even have the discussion about the company’s values with his large team and nor did any of his direct reports – though that conversation was meant to be the core part of the process.

“Why should I when my manager doesn’t even take

Do you measure up? Build the new approach to performance management with your people, not for them.

our values seriously?” he asked. Meaning is garnered from everything and across everywhere within a business.

What happens in HR, stays in HR So if reviews are out, what’s in? A focus on the individual.

Accenture explains this involves more regular support for staff, timely feedback on progress all-year round and a commitment to select the best people in the first place.

Once selected, trust them and give them freedom to operate to their full potential. With two-thirds of Accenture’s workforce comprising Millennials, traditional approaches just don’t cut it anymore in this context.

Why? Because the meaningfulness score of performance management is very high. That implies, it has to mean something to your people, be a solid part of the employee experience, and ultimately help deliver superior performance.

The great news is we already know the best thing to do, and Accenture’s Nanterme perhaps favours this approach after taking advice from Ellyn Shook, his CHRO, and that is very simply this: Build the new approach to performance management with your people, not for them.

But until you’re in a position to rethink your entire performance review process, what can you, as a people manager, do to achieve meaningful performance sessions?

The seeds of an idea Performance is often a one-sided boss-administered/employeereceived performance review. We know this leads to employee disengagement.

In response, Samuel A. Culbert, in his book Get Rid of the Performance Review!, proposed replacing the traditional

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Upwardly mobile « OPINION performance review with performance preview, a two-sided, reciprocally accountable dialogue aimed at eliciting what both boss and employee will do to achieve agreed goals together.

This approach essentially entails three steps. First, to agree on unit or team performance goals used as a yardstick in measuring not the employee, but the unit or team (i.e. manager and employee).

Second, involve the skip-level manager (i.e. boss of the manager) to monitor the progress of the manager/employee team, ensuring the unit is achieving the goals it has set.

Third, conduct regular performance previews by having the manager ask three questions: What are you getting from me (manager) that you find helpful and would like me to continue doing? What are you getting from me (manager) that impedes your effectiveness and would like me to stop doing? And, what are you not getting from me (manager) that you think will enhance your effectiveness, and tell me what you would like me to start doing?

So what now? The above progressive notion of a performance preview is of high leverage and impact for an organisation. It requires a mindset and organisational change on how the traditional performance review is to be done.

However, not all organisations are ready for such a progressive approach.

As people managers, we do not have to wait for a sea change to start having constructive feedback sessions with our own people.

We can execute the continue-stop-start feedback technique immediately and we’ll be amazed how such a simple approach

can bring positive change as a part of your performance session. Here are some pointers you may want to consider as you execute this feedback technique: • Give a heads up. Prior to the review session, pre-empt your direct reports on how the session will be done and ask them to think through the areas he/she would like to highlight during the review session.

• Preparation. Prepare for it by drawing a three by three grid on a piece of paper, with continue, stop, and start as row headers and the employee and your names as column headers. It will be helpful for you to pen your initial thoughts on the grids with specific examples or incidents.

• Be candid, constructive and complete. The purpose of this 45-minute session is to allow your direct reports to learn your expectations from them. Equally important, do allow time for your direct reports to give you their candid feedback on what they want you to continue, stop, and start to support them better. To encourage your direct report to come forth with candid feedback, lead by example by analysing your own behaviours and staying constructive throughout.

• Follow through. At the end of the session, both parties would have touched on several key issues. Agree on action steps, commit to resolving issues resolved, and book a time for you and your direct report to review the committed actions.

Inevitably, more organisations will follow Accenture, but until that day comes, people managers can achieve similar results within their current system by simply focusing on delivering a more meaningful feedback experience for their team.

Let’s not wait. Let’s engage our people now.

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CAREERS » Personal development

uptheranks Tracking HR’s industry moves Who: Silva Robertson From: Nakama Singapore To: SapientNitro SapientNitro, part of Publicis, has strengthened its hiring team by bringing on board Silva Robertson as the hiring lead for Asia Pacific.

The appointment is part of the agency’s commitment to investing in the growth of its talent, and this year will also see the launch of a structured internship programme for young executives.

Dr Christian Oversohl, Asia Pacific CEO, said: “Talent acquisition is a key success factor for our growth and her incredible experience, commitment and leadership have already made a significant impact on our talent engine across the region.”

Robertson will report to the global director of hiring Kristina Shedd, and will be responsible for building a hiring team, attracting talent across the agency’s regional offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Robertson brings with her a decade of recruiting experience in the creative, media and advertising technology industries, coming over from Nakama Singapore, where she was the MD. “I’m excited to be joining the APAC people team to help facilitate and drive this unique and diverse culture,” Robertson said.

personalgrowth HOW TO ‘LOSE’ ENGAGED EMPLOYEES Getting your employees engaged is half the battle won. Here’s what not to do if you want to keep them that way, says Aditi Sharma Kalra.

Who: Pamela Teo From: ZenithOptimedia Group To: Hill+Knowlton Strategies Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) has appointed Pamela Teo as its regional HR director for Asia Pacific.

She has more than 20 years of industry experience, having previously held positions at the ZenithOptimedia Group, Ogilvy & Mather, Publicis, D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, and McCann Erickson.

She will be based in Singapore and report to Vivian Lines, global vicechairman and chairman of Asia Pacific.

As well as overseeing the talent management function throughout Asia Pacific, Teo will support the activation of H+K’s global and regional HR initiatives across all markets in the region.

“I am looking forward to working with H+K’s teams across the APAC region to broaden capabilities across the full creative spectrum to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” she said.

Some habits stood out more than others, and we put those on a list to highlight what not to do if you are serious about retaining your most engaged employees.

1. Misuse the matrix: Hardly any organisation today isn’t working in a matrix environment, which typically leads to multiple lines of reporting.

A mismanaged matrix can wreak havoc on motivated employees, if they hear conflicting goals from their managers. As a boss, you can resolve this by clarifying the one priority that should define everyone’s actions.

Not only does this maintain employees’ self-drive in good times, but when they are pressed for time or resources, they know where to direct their efforts.

2. Ignore discretionary efforts: What makes a motivated employee so valuable is exactly what we tend to take for granted – their discretionary effort, or their drive to go the additional mile to achieve not just their own KPIs, but the company goals.

If you’ve got someone on your team putting in extra hours to help meet a team member’s target, that needs instant appreciation. A spotbonus programme, or a monthly extra-mile award, is a great tool to remind motivated employees that you appreciate their discretionary work.

In a recent training session, we were asked to list the worst and best managers we’ve worked under, with the objective to reinforce behaviours that define bad bosses – and to remind ourselves to steer clear of them.

With the typical workday demanding more from us each day, it is easy to submit ourselves to bad-boss behaviour once in a while, but we cannot afford to let these behaviours become habits.

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3. Disregard their life beyond work: Employees who love their work are like independent centres of excellence – they work hard, learn quickly and adapt when needed. But they do have a life beyond work.

In my view it is important you get to know them as individuals rather than just knowing their strengths and weaknesses as staff members.

Don’t make every conversation about work. If you care about them, show it. If they’re on sick leave, for instance, find out how they are really doing, instead of pressing for how soon they’ll be back in the office.

Knowing your employees as people rather than “assets” not only strengthens team spirit, but it also serves you as the boss in identifying the signs of disengagement, and differentiating those from just another bad day.

Good reads to improve your business life

shelflife

Real Women, Real Leaders: Surviving and Succeeding in the Business World

Message Not Received: Why Business Communication Is Broken and How to Fix It Phil Simon Wiley $49.35

As far as we can remember, effective communication has always been a challenge.

Today, however, the tsunami of technology that permeates our lives, along with countless meaningless buzzwords, jargon and professional-sounding invented words, makes it even more difficult for bosses to communicate with employees efficiently.

The question then arises: How do we integrate the different communication mediums to get our message across effectively while not losing its meaning among the endless jargon?

Message Not Received: Why Business Communication Is Broken and How to Fix It provides a path for readers, cutting through the noise and helping them put their message across effectively and efficiently.

Filled with visuals, including diagrams, slides, graphs, charts and infographics, this

book serves as an actionable guide towards effectively conveying the message by providing easily accessible information to its readers. This book consists of eight chapters split into four different parts – “worlds are colliding”, “didn’t you get that memo?: Why we don’t communicate good at work”, “message received” and “what now?”

“Worlds are colliding” takes us through how the influx of technology brings about a revolution in communication, while “didn’t you get that memo?: Why we don’t communicate good at work” points out the common pitfalls to effective communication in the business world.

The third section, “message received” reveals the different steps of crafting an effective message – from communication medium to communication context.

Finally, “what now?” gives readers three choices to take things forward, from doing nothing to persuading and leading the change in communication.

As George Bernard Shaw once famously said: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

Bookmark this!

To communicate better at work, start by recognising that, while writing is subjective, your choice of words matters.

Arguments are often better and more clearly expressed as several sentences, not as a single mega-sentence – page 156.

Kathleen Hurley, Priscilla Shumway Wiley $49.35 While business is still considered a man’s world, studies beg to differ, showing that companies consisting of three or more female board members dramatically outperform the competition in almost every way.

Yet, why do women only occupy a tiny percentage of boardroom seats and top leadership positions?

Real Women, Real Leaders: Surviving and Succeeding in the Business World reveals the personal experiences of 24 female leaders on their journey to the top, giving readers deeper insights on “making it” as a woman in the male-dominated business world.

Readers are able to examine the skills and relationships which proved to be the most helpful to these women and how they overcame the various obstacles on the way up.

Neatly divided into eight chapters, this book also includes a helpful self-assessment segment, helping aspiring leaders discover their leadership attributes.

Bookmark this!

I have become the Jedi Master of my craft.

I’ve learnt that the size of the cheque book is not as important as the quality of the work and the integrity of the people. I’ve also learned that, although I have reached the C-level in business, the BS factor is always alive and well, and that it’s up to every individual to stand up for her ideals and rights – page 48.

Book photography: Fauzie Rasid

Pick of the month

September 2015 « Human Resources « 47

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LAST WORD

It’s really easy to turn into the boss from hell, but try not to, suggests Akankasha Dewan

Three out of four employees say their boss is the worst part of their job.

But the problem isn’t that bosses don’t know what bad bosses are like. Most of them would have had, at one point, miserable, soul-sucking bosses who made them want to tear their hair apart.

Rather, the problem is that it is so easy to be a bad boss.

Being in charge isn’t easy. Running a business unit takes expert industry and market knowledge in a constantly changing environment, and leadership qualities to forge many different personalities Marry that with sometimes having to manage irksome, demanding and unprofessional employees and you’ve got the perfect recipe for disaster (and high blood-pressure).

In such a situation, it can get tempting for bosses to fall into the trap of selfish oblivion – where they work in a way that benefits them the most, without any care of the impact of their behaviours on subordinates.

Here are three such supervisory traits which I’ve observed (and sometimes been guilty of practising) which can make even the most engaged employee want to yell in frustration.

1. The micro-manager In a sense, micro-managers are perfectionists.

They might have had success in their careers by being detail-oriented and going deep into problems - sometimes solo, and sometimes with tiny teams.

That’s precisely why they are so tempted to micro-manage – because taking things into one’s own hands works.

But it is undeniable that such a technique often stinks of insecurity – a tell-tale sign of a boss having trouble trusting his or her staff to carry out the task alone.

Whenever tempted to micro-manage, I always remind myself to trust my own judgment. These professionals have been hired by me, and by giving them an opportunity to prove themselves, I’d only be proving myself right.

2. The indifferent boss At the other end of the spectrum, being indifferent, and only engaging with subordinates on a

professional level can also help significantly in boosting your turnover rates.

Imagine having a boss who spends barely 15 minutes with you weekly, or one who doesn’t have anything else to talk to you about other than the company’s profit margins.

It sounds like an exaggeration, but the probability of such a situation is high – with bosses having to do more in a lesser amount of time and not having the bandwidth to really engage with their juniors.

In such situations, not only do such bosses fail to inspire staff, but they also impede them from stretching their capabilities.

Managers need to interact with their team as human beings – their weaknesses, strengths and what makes them unique.

Saying “I don’t care what you feel – just get the job done” is a sure way to manage an employee out the door, and lose the respect of your entire team.

3. The bully Perhaps the worst are bosses who like to bully, attack, insult, and sometimes steal ideas. The temptation to behave this way remains the same for any efficient senior – it gets the job done.

Through their high energy, assertiveness, and determination to achieve goals, bullies are productive, but at the expense of others.

The consequences of such behaviour can only be twofold: staff can engage in formal action by sticking up for themselves or they can simply leave to find a job where their boss isn’t reminiscent of a college bully.

To avoid this, it might help to remember that respect isn’t always commanded – but earned.

Taking less advantage of your seniority, and instead working with subordinates as peers might help you to achieve targets easily, and definitely without having to constantly yell or appear domineering all the time.

Have you ever dealt with a bad boss? Do share your stories with us. 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

The three types of bosses no staff wants

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