Human Resources Director Singapore 4.02 by Key Media

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

HRDMAG.COM.SG ISSUE 4.02

Technology Guide From social aggregators to intelligence augmentation Time for a skills tune-up? Executive education in the age of disruption Getting back to basics Singapore's engagement dilemma

BREAKING NEW GROUND Asia's Top HR Teams

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ISSUE 4.02

CONNECT WITH US

CONTENTS

Got a story, suggestion or just want to find out some more information? @HRD_Asia facebook.com/HumanResourcesDirectorAsia

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

HR TECHNOLOGY

18 COVER STORY

From the latest recognition technology platforms to the most effective social recruitment strategies, HRD’s Technology Guide covers the latest innovations

PEOPLE

06 News analysis

While all employers should be aware of their legal obligations when sexual harassment occurs, it is #MentorHer that’s currently attracting headlines

08 Talent management update What are gig workers entitled to?

10 Technology update

Three reasons to use freelancers

SINGAPORE’S ENGAGEMENT DILEMMA

Chatelle Lynch not only heads global HR operations at cybersecurity firm McAfee but was under 40 when she was appointed to the board of the company, and remains an advocate for women in tech

Parental leave across the globe

12 Opinion

MEET A TECH PIONEER

04 Statistics

What does tech disruption mean for HR? LinkedIn’s HR chief weighs in

HRD’s annual list of the Top HR Teams in Asia reveals the hard-working teams that are driving innovation throughout their organisations

TOP HR TEAMS

Is it time to get off the dance floor and onto the balcony?

FEATURES

There is no instant fix for a disengaged workforce, but there are foundational steps employers can take to improve the situation

13 Head to head

Is long-term HR strategy a dead concept?

PEOPLE 62 Career path

Nada George’s career has encompassed stints at multinational companies, including Honeywell and Amex

64 Other life

Sara Saliba dances up a storm when she’s not consulting for the Disability Trust

SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS HRD has selected the best of the best from 10 categories of HR service providers. Find out who is leading the pack

HRDMAG.COM.SG CHECK IT OUT ONLINE www.hrdmag.com.sg

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

All about perspective

f all the wonderful case studies and insightful talks given by HR leaders at the National HR Summit held in Sydney in March, one anecdote in particular sticks in my mind. It’s not necessarily a new concept, but it’s certainly unique. It involves both a dance floor and a balcony… Picture yourself on a dance floor with a balcony perched above it. Your focus is on having fun with your friends, ensuring you don’t bump into anyone else and soaking up the music and atmosphere. You work up a sweat as you swirl around the floor. Now imagine that instead of dancing on the dance floor you were watching other people dancing from the balcony. A new location means a different perspective: you’d spot patterns of behaviour you had previously missed; perhaps you’d notice some people not dancing at all, others who

Imagine that instead of dancing on the dance floor you were watching other people dancing from the balcony stepped off the dance floor when the music tempo increased, still others who seemed quite out of sync with everyone else, seemingly following the beat of their own drum. Applied to the business world, of course, the message is that sometimes it’s beneficial to step back from the action and take a wider view. It’s critical to get the balance right between being in the thick of it on the dance floor, and taking a strategic view from the balcony. One view should enhance the other. If we rely too heavily on one over the other, it tends to cloud our judgment and decision-making ability. The temptation for overstretched HR leaders is to remain on the dance floor – to get swamped with everyday tasks which, while still critical, could perhaps be done by someone else, or could be delayed. It’s crucial to pencil in some quiet time each day to remove yourself from the daily grind and review what you are doing against where you would like to be going. Create an opportunity in between your daily tasks to take stock. Take a few moments to determine how your time is split between the ‘dance floor’ and the ‘balcony’. If there’s too much time being spent in either location it’s time for a rethink. And finally, don’t be afraid to ask others on the balcony how you are behaving on the dance floor. Iain Hopkins, editor

www.hrdmag.com.sg ISSUE 4.02 EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Editor Iain Hopkins

Marketing & Communications Manager Michelle Lam

Journalists Hannah Go Nurhuda Syed Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

ART & PRODUCTION Designer Loiza Caguiat Marla Morelos Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

Marketing Executive Alethea Dean Commercial Manager - Asia Gareth Scott Business Development Manager Sarah Haviland

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES iain.hopkins@keymedia.com

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES tel: +61 2 8011 4992 • fax: +61 2 8437 4753 subscriptions@keymedia.com.au

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES gareth.scott@keymedia.com tel: +65 6727 7979

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HR Lead

2018

HR Leaders Summit S

2 October • Hilton Singapore

THE PREMIER EVENT FOR SENIOR HR PROFESSIONALS IN ASIA FEATURED TOPICS: • How Asia’s best employers engage their employees • How to create the right mindset for organisational change • Leadership insights from Singapore’s top HR leaders Diamond sponsor

Gold sponsors

Workshop sponsors

Exhibitors TM

Official publication

Organised by

Find out more at ww.hrleadersasia.com

UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Taking your leave Employee expectations of parental leave are changing, and company policies are evolving with them IN THE name of attracting talent, many parental leave policies have expanded well beyond the traditional model of maternity leave; more than one third of organisations worldwide have one overarching policy covering the various forms of leave available, which now include paternity, adoption and parental leave. The evolution of leave programs can be seen as a reaction to social changes and, subsequently, to the needs of a changing workforce. For

64%

of companies worldwide provide maternity leave only for a birth mother1

24%

of companies provide leave to the primary caregiver, regardless of gender2

example, adoption leave is becoming more of a factor, particularly in light of the definition of families expanding to include same-sex parents. Almost one in three (29% of) companies globally offer the provision of adoption leave beyond what the law demands. In the case of adoption leave for same-sex couples, almost nine out of every 10 companies (87%) handle the provision of that leave in the same manner as for opposite-sex couples.

89%

of fathers consider it important that a company should offer paternity leave3

44%

of companies indicate that eligible employees use their statutory paternity leave4

LEAVE WORLDWIDE The contrast is sharp between family-friendly nations such as Sweden, which offers parents up to 480 days per child, and those such as the US, where paid maternal leave is optional and only 14% of employers extend the benefit.

Source: 1, 2, 4Global Parental Leave Report, Global Edition, Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016; 3The New Dad Report, Boston College Center for Work & Family, 2014

MULTIPLE KINDS OF LEAVE

MOVING TOWARDS INCLUSIVITY

Approximately one in three of the companies surveyed reported having a global parental leave policy covering multiple types of leave. For those that do not, 19% have a global policy covering all four types of leave: maternal, paternal, adoption, and parental.

A breakdown of the leave types included in global policies reflects the redefinition of parental leave policies to ensure inclusivity as benefits play a more significant role in choice of employer.

36%

94%

Maternity leave

76%

Paternity leave

YES

No, but considering implementing one 12%

Adoption leave

52% Parental leave

Source: Global Parental Leave Report: A by-country study on maternity, paternity, adoption, and other family leave, Global Edition; Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016

73%

67%

Source: Global Parental Leave Report: A by-country study on maternity, paternity, adoption, and other family leave, Global Edition; Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016

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No paid leave Less than 14 weeks 14–25.9 weeks 26–51.9 weeks 52 weeks or more Source: Is paid leave available for mothers of infants?, World Policy Analysis Center, 2018 (www.worldpolicycenter.org)

A WORLD OF ENTITLEMENTS

PATERNITY LEAVE

A measure of total paid leave entitlements available to mothers, which includes paid maternity leave and paid parental leave available to mothers, shows Canada’s entitlements to be slightly below the OECD average, while Australia’s come in well under the average. In Singapore, the provision is 12-16 weeks for workers under the Employment Act.

Paternity leave is not required by statute in many countries. The US has the highest percentage of companies allowing paternity leave above what is required, despite organisations having no legal obligation to do so.

Length of parental leave entitlements (weeks) Average payment rate of national average earnings (%) Full-rate equivalent (weeks)

70 60 50

52 52.6

47.9 42

10 0

16 7.6

27.3

63.4

Americas

38.1

26.8

Europe, Middle East and Africa

41%

Asia-Pacific

41%

12.2

7.7

Global

0 0 0

ia nd tral eala Z Aus New

33%

54.1 42.6

31.3 18

30 20

53.6

73.4

y k ada mar man Can Ger Den

e den rag Swe CD ave OE

Source: Key characteristics of parental leave systems, OECD, 2016, reported in Workplace Gender Equality Agency insight paper, Towards gender balanced parental leave: Australian and international trends, 2016

38% 10

Source: Global Parental Leave Report: A by-country study on maternity, paternity, adoption, and other family leave, Global Edition; Mercer Select Intelligence, 2016

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

The rise of #MentorHer While all employers should be aware of their legal obligations when a sexual harassment claim is made, it’s another initiative that is capturing attention AS NEWS spread globally in midOctober 2017 about Hollywood producer Harvey Goldstein’s sexual harassment and intimidation of numerous high-profile female actors, it was social media that acted as the amplifier of the message. On Twitter, #MeToo was used more than 500,000 times by 16 October 2017. On Facebook, it was used in 12 million posts during the first 24 hours. Since then, numerous industries, in particular in the creative fields of journalism and the theatre, and other high-profile areas like politics, have come under fire for allowing inappropriate behaviour of men towards women to continue unchecked and without repercussions. There is a perception that many organisations in the region still lack a formal workplace

changing; awareness is now far higher,” McConnell says. When it comes to reports of sexual harassment in the workplace, he believes that any inaction by the organisation may be due to several reasons, including lack of awareness, or the fear of negative publicity for the firm. McConnell says HR can play a significant lead role and change the perception by doing the following: “HR may raise awareness and define harassment by firstly designing and implementing a formal workplace sexual harassment policy; secondly, by organising internal seminars and training for employees; and thirdly, by ensuring there is an appropriate complaints mechanism in place, as well as informing employees of the mechanism to encourage them to speak up if they become a

“It’s clear that this problem has existed for some time now, and that this survey is simply highlighting the proliferation of this indelible sentiment” Lance Hodgson, Mentorloop sexual harassment policy. However, change may soon be on the horizon, says Simon McConnell, partner at international law firm Clyde & Co. “Consistent with the US, and global trends and developments, this is certainly

victim of workplace sexual harassment.” However, the latest groundswell movement in response to #MeToo is #MentorHer, which shifts the dialogue beyond legal obligations. The campaign has been launched by LeanIn.org, which found via a survey

that nearly half of all male managers were “uncomfortable participating in common work activities with women, including working alone and mentoring”. LeanIn.org – which was co-founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg to promote gender equality in the workplace – sponsors an online community, promotes educational materials, and runs peer groups called Lean In Circles. The latest initiative aims to connect women with “the high-quality mentorship that advances careers”. Lance Hodgson, marketing manager at Mentorloop, says #MentorHer is long overdue. “It’s clear that this problem has existed for some time now, and that this survey is simply highlighting the proliferation of this indelible sentiment,” he says. “It’s easy for one element of an overwhelmingly large problem like gender equality to get buried in the noise. But it’s critical that every element of the problem – in this case mentoring – is acknowledged independently, as each element is a key part of the larger issue and a single lever we can pull to make progress.” #MentorHer also provides an insight on male-female relationships in the workplace

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MALE-FEMALE RELATIONS IN 2018 LeanIn.org’s online survey of 2,950 employed adults, conducted in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, revealed: Almost half of male managers are uncomfortable participating in a common work activity with a woman, such as mentoring, working alone, or socialising together. Almost 30% of male managers are uncomfortable working alone with a woman – more than twice as many as before. The number of male managers who are uncomfortable mentoring women has more than tripled from 5% to 16%. This means that one in six male managers may now hesitate to mentor a woman.

– and the story is not great; in fact, things are worse than previously thought. It tells us that much of the objective progress we have made on open, public discrimination has at least in part been transposed into hidden bias – which is equally damaging and often much harder to address due to its subtlety. There are five ways HR executives can apply #MentorHer in their workplaces. Firstly, HR execs and departments can seek to uncover the hidden problems and biases

Secondly, they can create larger and more formal programs. Informalities create subjectivity, which creates anxiety around not knowing whether you are doing the right thing. HR departments should also put more resources and effort into ensuring that people are comfortable with their programs and understand what their individual roles are. Hodgson says that while men should feel comfortable mentoring women or taking them out for a business lunch, we shouldn’t

“Consistent with the US, and global trends and developments ... awareness [of sexual harassment] is now far higher” Simon McConnell, Clyde & Co. that are circulating and propagating around their organisations. “The onus of uncovering systematic organisational problems needn’t lie with research organisations or special interest groups; it can lie with HR and people departments,” says Hodgson.

demean them for not being so comfortable – because that doesn’t help either party achieve its goals. HR execs can also focus more closely on the why of their programs and efforts. Lean In and #MentorHer didn’t create a global movement

Women and men feel similarly about the media reports of sexual harassment: 47% are not surprised, and 25% think this is the tip of the iceberg. About half of women and men say their companies have responded to the #MeToo movement by taking action against harassers, updating their policies, or offering employee guidance or training. based on the fact that men should mentor more women; they created a movement based on the need for men to mentor women because of ‘X’ fact and ‘Y’ fact. Additionally, HR executives can ask more of their people – from an ethical and financial standpoint. They can ask more men to mentor women, and point to the reasons and benefits for doing so – both from an individual perspective (ethical/moral) and from a financial perspective (inclusive organisations perform better). McConnell makes one final salient point: if an employee accuses another employee of sexual harassment, HR should handle the situation “seriously, sensitively and without delay”.

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UPFRONT

TALENT MANAGEMENT UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Employee experience takes centre stage in Asia

As the battle for talent heats up across Asia, HR managers are focusing on improving the employee experience at their workplaces, according to research from HireRight. Almost half (49%) of APAC employers surveyed indicated a desire to create a positive corporate culture. Forty-six per cent are focused on improving employee training programs and 48% on developing leaders within their organisations. There is also a renewed focus on the candidate experience, with a third of organisations indicating that they were planning to improve the candidate journey from application to onboarding.

Singapore employees least engaged in Asia

Singapore’s level of employee engagement has remained unchanged since last year. This is despite reported increases in engagement at companies in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, an Aon study has found. Aon’s annual survey found that only 59% of employees in Singapore are engaged. Employee engagement is highest in Indonesia at 76%, followed by India and the Philippines (71% each), China (69%), Thailand (64%) and Malaysia (63%). Of all the employee groups in Singapore, millennial workers are becoming increasingly disengaged as this group showed a 2% drop from 2017 figures.

Recruiters reject ‘perfect’ candidate due to bias

Research by LinkedIn has found that nine out of 10 employers think a candidate’s tattoos could limit their

career progression. A further 75% of those asked thought a candidate’s overall image played a large part in getting hired, while 88% believed a tattoo could limit their chances. Four out of 10 recruitment professionals admitted to rejecting a good candidate because of a noticeable tattoo. When quizzed on their bias, 47% said it was an industry-wide intolerance, while 46% said it showed a lack of professionalism.

More Singapore companies hiring gig workers

According to a study by recruitment specialist Hays, contract and temporary staff have been on the rise in Singapore, with two thirds of employers turning to flexible staffing options in 2017. Almost three quarters of those employers plan to maintain their current number of contract hires in 2018, while 18% intend to increase the number of temp workers. Only 8% of employers plan to decrease the numbers. Besides contract and temporary staffing solutions, the survey found that 24% of organisations had ‘casual staff’ and 12% facilitated ‘job sharing’.

Singapore most talentcompetitive in Asia

For the fifth consecutive year, Singapore retains its top position in Asia-Pacific in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2018. Globally, European countries continue to dominate the GTCI rankings, with eight in the top 10. Switzerland maintains its number one position, followed by Singapore and the US. Top-ranking countries share several characteristics, including having educational systems focused on employability; flexible regulatory and business landscapes; as well as employment policies that combine flexibility and social protection.

What are gig workers entitled to? As the gig economy expands, are companies prepared to meet the needs of the changing workforce? What exactly is a gig worker? And what are their entitlements in the eyes of the law? Singapore’s Manpower Minister, Lim Swee Say, last year shared this definition: “OECD and several international studies commonly refer to workers in the gig economy as workers on the platform economy.” He added: “Gig workers can be employees or freelancers.” If the worker is employed on a short-term contract, they are still an employee protected by labour law. However, gig freelancers are considered self-employed in Singapore. The degree of separation is thus very slight, and as the gig economy continues to grow globally, questions about workers’ legal entitlements will become commonplace. In the US, for instance, lawsuits regarding workers’ rights have been filed against gig economy companies. Uber, for one, has been hit with dozens of lawsuits in recent years from drivers who have claimed rights as employees. The drivers said they were entitled to the minimum wage, overtime compensation, and other legal privileges afforded to employees but not to contractors. However, a US judge in Philadelphia ruled in favour of Uber, saying that UberBLACK’s limousine drivers were independent contractors and not the company’s employees under federal law. The ruling was the first of its kind for the ride-hailing company, according to Reuters. “Uber does not exert enough control over drivers for its limo service, UberBLACK, to

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be considered their employer under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act,” the district judge said. “The drivers work when they want to and are free to nap, run personal errands, or smoke cigarettes in between rides.” Another company, Grubhub Inc, had faced similar cases two months earlier. The federal judge who presided over the case had also ruled that food delivery workers were not the company’s employees. Grubhub’s case was the first gig economy case to go to trial in the US. As gig workers become a mainstay in Singapore, are employers prepared to meet the growing needs of the changing workforce? Acknowledging the growing impact of the gig economy, the Singapore government has set up a tripartite workgroup to help address challenges. Under the workgroup’s recommendations, employers are encouraged

In the US, lawsuits regarding workers’ rights have been filed against gig economy companies to adopt fair practices when hiring gig workers; for example, to use written contracts to minimise disputes between the two parties. Employers are also encouraged to work with dedicated associations to help freelancers address any skill gaps. But such practices are considered voluntary and not binding under the Ministry of Manpower’s Employment Act.

Q&A

Talent mapping in 2018 Siddharth Mehta Career business leader – Singapore and Indonesia MERCER

Fast fact Mercer’s Global Talent Trends Study indicates that 82% of organisations plan to develop and promote from within; however, a report from Degreed showed that only 23% of employees had completed a course at their company in the previous two years

The demise of the concept of ‘lifetime employment’ has been fast approaching in recent years, especially as millennial workers take over the workplace. What strategy can HR use for effective talent mapping? Lifetime employment as a concept is in decline, not only because of the younger workforce but because of advances in technology that require a completely new set of skills and new ways of getting work done. According to the recently released Global Talent Trends Study 2018, three key trends stand out in the context of talent mapping for this new generation. Working with purpose: Three quarters (75%) of thriving employees – those who feel fulfilled personally and professionally – say their company has a strong sense of purpose. To find purpose, employees crave movement, learning and experimentation. If not received, they will look for it elsewhere – 39% of employees satisfied in their current job still plan to leave due to a perceived lack of career opportunity. Permanent flexibility: Individuals are vocal in their expectations of work arrangements that put them in control. Employees want more flexible work options, and organisations are listening – 80% of executives view flexible working as a core part of their value proposition (up from 49% last year). Platform for talent: Two in five companies plan to ‘borrow’ more talent in 2018, and 78% of employees would consider working on a freelance basis. Companies also need to deploy talent faster and with precision to unlock the potential of their workforce. What traits should HR look out for in high-potential employees who may be groomed for future leadership roles? Today the most critical skill is a ‘learning mindset’. To be competitive in the uncertain future of work, high-potential employees will need to be curious. Another coveted trait will be seeking out new information and experiences, parsing through streams of data for relevant insights that require human judgment. Other in-demand skills will be a growth mindset and critical thinking. Nowadays, talent means having the potential to develop continually rather than possessing innate ability from the onset. What opportunities can employers offer to workers who have no desire to be in management roles? How can these workers be offered suitable progression? We recommend that employers develop robust career paths or frameworks. Career frameworks are an aspect of crafting a futurefocused people strategy where employees understand that they have an impact on their career path, whether they are technical experts or people managers. It used to be that competencies enabled a robust career framework and that they were specifically defined to technical job requirements. Now the focus is on competencies as building blocks for emerging jobs of the future. Given this, leaders must focus on how they can help employees build agile competencies to climb the corporate ladder.

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UPFRONT

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

LinkedIn HR chief weighs in on disruption What does disruption mean for HR and how will it affect the future of work?

will not be enough for companies to succeed. It’s about being able to tell a story from the data, for instance, and apply it to your organisation – that will be the differentiating factor. “It’s about going beyond data for insights,” Singapuri said. How then can HR effectively apply tech? Singapuri said data could be used to improve everything from talent strategies to engagement – and even to track the success of employer branding. “Think about HR models – what are the kinds of talent you’re looking for in the organisations and businesses you’re supporting?

“Think about how [technology] is transforming traditional business models ... are you ready to keep up?” A keynote speaker at the inaugural HR Tech Summit in March, Nutan Singapuri, LinkedIn’s senior director HR for Asia Pacific, kicked off a day of thought leadership sessions by addressing questions that resonated with over 300 HR leaders in attendance. “Change models have been out there for 30 or 40 years. It is actually the pace of change and the speed at which it is accelerating that feels a little different,” Singapuri said. “Think about how artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing is transforming traditional business models. This pace of change is what we’re dealing with here – are

NEWS BRIEFS

you ready to keep up?” Singapuri quoted a finding by the World Economic Forum that AI technology and automation could potentially impact five million jobs. “This feels like bad news; however, with change comes opportunity. There are new jobs that are being created almost every day. Think about AI – we will need trainers of AI to teach them humanistic qualities and conduct assessments,” she said.

From theory to action Understanding the significance of tech, however,

Singapore leaders unprepared for digital age

Business leaders in Singapore risk derailing digital sustainability initiatives by perpetuating legacy ways of working. In the Asia-Pacific region, only leaders in Australia and India compare well against the profile of a great digital leader. However, most are struggling with the scale of change required, a study by Korn Ferry found. “With disruption now the norm, future success depends on the ability to continuously adapt and change – not just with the business model but a culture change,” said Michael Distefano, COO at Korn Ferry Asia Pacific.

How are you radically pushing and driving disruption in your conversations with business leaders about who you hire and your engagement strategy with the talent that you have?” In sourcing talent for example, Singapuri says HR practitioners need to really understand what talent is looking for in employers, and when is the most effective time to engage with them on different platforms. This includes understanding the strength of your employer branding and using data from talent engagement on your social media channels to push conversations with “cynical” business leaders, Singapuri says.

Is tech making you slack off? A recent report by OfficeTeam found that the average employee spends about 56 minutes every day slacking off on their phones – a statistic that Jack Skeen, Fortune 500 leadership coach, finds deeply troubling. “Technology has introduced some seriously bad management manners. Researchers Meredith David and James Roberts coined the expression ‘boss phubbing’ – phone snubbing,” Sheen told HRD. “It really does create problems for workers. The research found that employees trust their bosses less when they ‘phub’ them, and they become less engaged.”

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Q&A

Mahendra Kumar Bodduluri

Streamlining recruitment processes

Managing director iqDynamics

Fast fact Mahendra Kumar Bodduluri has held the position of director of software and services at iqDynamics for over 18 years, and was appointed managing director two years ago.

Many have touted HR technology as a solution to time-consuming HR processes, including recruitment. How will tech transform recruitment? HR tech can facilitate the automation of various recruitment processes, from automating the requisition and approval process all the way to onboarding. Tools such as HRiQ allow HR to maintain job description banks so hiring managers can easily use these and raise requisitions without having to find them every time. Tech can also reduce time-intensive processes like capturing applicants’ data manually. Additionally, it allows candidates to apply online and save their CVs for future applications. Tech can also enable online psychometric assessments that facilitate an easy shortlisting process. HR tech provides end-to-end functionalities to capture various stages of the application process, such as shortlisting, interviewing and onboarding, without neglecting the need for communication. As the battle for top talent rages on in Asia, employers are focusing their efforts on providing the best candidate experience to attract jobseekers. How will a tech-based recruitment strategy impact candidate experience? Candidates are kept informed at various stages of their application, giving them confidence in working for the company they are applying to.

Digital revolution polarising leaders

Dell Technologies and the Institute for the Future have found that global business leaders have divergent views of what transformation means for the future. Half of executives are uncertain what the next 10 to 15 years will be like for the workforce, and recommend establishing clear protocols. The other half agree that automation affords workers more free time for higher-order pursuits, including education. Executives believe in the need to transform, but not everybody can keep up: only 27% have digitised their business, while 57% are struggling to keep up.

Also, sometimes applying online can be a chore for jobseekers, especially if they have to fill in a lot of details. A good career portal enables candidates to fill in an application form with minimal data. Only if they are recruited will they be prompted to fill in the remaining details required for employment – this greatly improves their experience. What tech-driven changes can HR professionals in Asia look forward to in the recruitment sphere? We are seeing some standalone emerging technologies that will soon be part of the total recruitment system and process: video assessment, artificial intelligence in shortlisting, candidate preinterview assessment, as well as using AI to assess candidates during the interview. These will not only increase productivity for HR professionals but also enhance the accuracy of candidate selection and increase the speed of recruitment. Candidates will also have a much better experience during the job application process. HR professionals in Asia can look forward to tools that provide end-to-end recruitment systems. Such systems will help address various stakeholders in the recruitment sphere – from hiring managers, candidates and HR to management. In summary, the emerging HR tech will be a competitive tool for businesses in the fight for talent in the future.

Humans and robots could work together

Business leaders worldwide believe collaboration between humans and machines could change work for the better. In a global survey by software company Pegasystems, seven in 10 senior executives predicted the workforce would evolve to include both human and artificial intelligence and give rise to a ‘hybrid workplace’. The respondents believed AI would enhance workers’ efficiency (73%) and customer service (62%). Increasing autonomy and improving processes would also lead to employees taking on more varied roles.

App overload killing productivity

The arrival of too many apps is creating a paradox in the workplace: hours are lost as employees find themselves jumping from platform to platform. More than two thirds say they waste up to an hour just navigating between tools, while 17% take even longer to get through their tasks, a study by CITE Research and RingCentral has revealed. Nearly 70% toggle between a variety of apps up to 10 times per hour. This amounts to 32 days, and billions of dollars, lost each year to poor workflow management.

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UPFRONT

OPINION

Why use freelancers? Freelance marketplaces will define the agile, efficient workforce of the future, writes Alec Bashinsky THE WORKFORCE is shifting. Freelance marketplaces, or open talent networks [OTNs], present an excellent opportunity for workers to have more enjoyment and autonomy in their careers, while also empowering businesses to increase efficiency. At a recent breakfast event hosted by Nvoi, an online marketplace for the contingent workforce, I met with representatives from companies including EY, Coca-Cola and Audi. We discussed the impact of current market trends – including shrinking talent pools, changing employee behaviour and a shift towards variable-cost models – on the workforce and workplace, as well as traditional organisational and management structures. Our assessment was that using OTNs had the potential to not only future-proof businesses against the disruption of these trends but also allow them to become agile enough to adapt to new technologies, societal changes and functional demands as needed. Following are three key examples of how companies can benefit from OTNs.

Adapt to the changing nature of work

Advancements in technology and artificial intelligence are rewriting how and where people work, as well as the type of work they do. Automation, for example, might establish a need for higher critical thinking and soft skills as technology takes over more routine tasks like customer service. Consistent with the group’s thinking, Josh Bersin, a consultant at Deloitte and a world

leader in HR tech circles, explained in an interview with Undercover Recruiter that his company had recently conducted a survey that sampled more than 10,000 businesses globally, 45% of which said they expected to be “fully automated” within the next three to five years. At the same time, workplaces are becoming far more agile, globalised and fluid. This means businesses need to account for the decline in fixed geographical offices, more flexible work hours, and increasing employee demand for a

having the time to enjoy their earnings and aren’t satisfied with the prospect of doing the same job for a number of years, especially if the role isn’t flexible. We agreed that a job for life hadn’t been the norm since the 1990s. For businesses with purely long-term employment models, this means an increased risk that they will not be able to retain or attract quality staff. OTNs offer workers a breadth of experiences with a range of commitment periods, while ensuring businesses connect with people who are genuinely interested in the project at hand and have the best skills for the job.

Bypass the financial pressures of traditional recruitment models

By relying on the contingent workforce, companies can embrace and let go of specific skills as needed. This on-demand approach means they only pay for what they need and avoid the excessive fees of a recruitment firm. Further, many specialised roles are not efficient as full-time placements. For example, a start-up with less than 10 people doesn’t need a full-time IT professional, as it only requires IT

Using open talent networks has the potential to future-proof businesses against the disruption of coming trends simulative environment. We concluded that in the near future businesses would require more diverse and specific high-quality skills, such as AI development, than ever before. Freelance marketplaces enable companies to tap into diverse skills as needed, allowing them to fill higher-order skills gaps as they arise, while retaining the power to streamline processes and cut costs. OTNs are also digital, so a business can hire a contingent worker in a different geographical location if need be.

Fulfil employee demand for higher autonomy and job satisfaction

During the discussion, we noted that a growing number of workers, particularly millennials, were seeking diversity of experience rather than focusing on climbing to the top. They prioritise

skills in specific circumstances; the work is more suited to a contractor. OTNs like Nvoi are low-cost, cut out the middleman, and fulfil skills gaps in as little as 24 hours, saving businesses significant time, money, as well as the long-term financial commitment to a full-time worker. By directly connecting prospective workers and employers in a digital environment, open talent marketplaces bypass the costs associated with traditional hiring processes, heighten a business’s agility so that it can manoeuvre around technological disruption, and help fulfil changing employee expectations. Alec Bashinsky is a non-executive director at Nvoi and Deloitte’s regional talent leader for Asia Pacific.

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PEOPLE

HEAD TO HEAD

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email hrd_editor@keymedia.com.au

Is HR strategy a dead concept? In a fast-changing world, is the idea of a three-, five- or 10-year plan a thing of the past?

Ilja Rijnen

Sonam Jain

Regional HRD Emerging Asia Beam Suntory

VP HR Asia Pacific DHL eCommerce

Head of people and culture Moodle

HR needs to take a step back and focus on doing the following things so it can support instead of block business performance: 1 Simplify its model to only reflect

HR strategy is more alive today than ever. It is the overall business strategy that dictates the strategy of every function; it is the ‘employees’ that help realise the business strategy. If your business wants to improve sales (in the short or long term), and you have no HR strategy to either further develop sales capabilities or create an environment that encourages high sales output behaviour, then all you have is someone ‘hoping’ that it turns out right! Don’t confuse HR strategy with HR function. HR strategy can be business- or HR-led, but unless it’s well planned you are leaving business success to chance!

Our world of work moves quickly; organisations need to be agile. Gone are the days of executing a rigid three-year HR strategy that aligns with the implementation of a business plan. Instead HR must support the business in shifting its focus to team and culture. Putting energy into building a great team rather than a structured plan makes adapting at a moment’s notice easier. While focusing on hiring and developing talent for culture and capability across multiple skill sets, HR strategic planning needs to evolve to create the agility that business requires to adapt to changing market conditions. Fast trumps long-term.

non-core and value-adding activities; automate or outsource anything else. 2 Focus on the future. Anticipate future changes and be able to translate these to current actions that the business needs to take. 3 Move to full automation and technology as a driver of HR forecasting. This way HR can start working on longer-term strategies as a value-adding partner of the business, instead of staying on their own as a servant to the business.

Holly Barnes

RACING TO STAY RELEVANT Darren Linton, CEO of digital agency Yellow, says the pace of change has of necessity shortened the time window available for planning so much that strategy may no longer fit into the thinking of an HR department the way it once did. “I used to talk about strategy rather than execution, but I think it’s harder these days to have a three-year plan and a set strategy – it’s more about how your organisation can execute in the next quarter, the next six months, maybe the next 12 months. … Now – and we know this in both our professional and personal lives – so much is changing around us that you need people who can help you execute in order to stay relevant.”

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

Meet a tech pioneer Chatelle Lynch not only heads global HR operations at cybersecurity firm McAfee but was under 40 when she was appointed to the board of the company and is a passionate advocate of attracting more women into technology fields. She chats to Iain Hopkins about her career USING THE maxim that HR professionals in 2018 must be business leaders first and HR professionals second, McAfee’s senior vice president and CHRO, Chatelle Lynch, has built her career around not just knowing her organisation inside out but also “knowing the numbers”. Lynch started her career as a compensation specialist and has found that data provides a different level of credibility when she’s dealing with other data-driven individuals. Numbers cut through and ‘talk’ to other professionals, she says. “Using that data to help explain why HR decisions are made has been invaluable,” Lynch tells HRD. “That’s the language these other professionals speak, so my belief is HR should also speak that language. For example, when you’re trying to hire quickly in a very dynamic and competitive market where there is already a shortage of talent and where people are already under pressure to meet numbers and get roles filled quickly, you want to help people understand that this is not just an HR process designed to slow down what they need to do. Showing them the bigger picture with data is critical. It provides great insights into so many areas.” Melbourne-born but now Texas-based, Lynch has been a long-standing employee of cybersecurity firm McAfee. She joined the company in 2005 and worked her way up to global head of HR in 2015. Today she

leads the HR function at McAfee for 7,500 employees in 50 countries. During her career at McAfee, Lynch has been involved in various M&As and also a major divestiture – all the while being a working mother of five children. She is a strong advocate for supporting the growth, empowerment and success of women in what remains a male-dominated industry. She reveals her story to HRD.

decided to put me in the HR department. At that time I’d just finished my degrees, and I admit I didn’t really know what HR was. The company thought I showed potential, and they put me in an amazing high-potential program. I was able to get rotations through every function in HR over a six-month period. It was great exposure. I fell in love with HR and the ability to influence business decisions through people.

“There are not enough females in the pipeline for the tech industry, and if we don’t change that we’re not going to see numbers in tech improve” HRD: What sparked your interest in the HR profession? Chatelle Lynch: I’d always had a fascination with the US, so when I was at Deakin University in Melbourne I applied for a US student exchange program and was accepted. It was just a six-month opportunity, so when I got back to Australia I said, “I want to go back; I’m not done with America yet”. I wrote to as many companies as I could think of, and the company that accepted me [engineering/construction firm Fluor Corporation] profiled where I’d sit best. They

I ended up at McAfee, starting as a compensation analyst. I had a great mentor who recommended I get really good at one or two areas of HR so when you walk into a room no one knows more about that topic than you do. For me those two areas were compensation and M&As. I tried to learn those two areas inside out.

HRD: What is McAfee doing to attract more females into the industry and by extension the company? CL: There are simply not enough females in

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PROFILE Name: Chatelle Lynch Company: McAfee Role: CHRO HR experience: 17 years Qualifications: »»Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, Journalism, Deakin University »»Bachelor of Applied Science, Deakin University »»Exchange student, Colorado State University Previous roles: »»Head of HR, Intel Security »»Vice president, HR, McAfee »»Vice president, global rewards and HR operations, McAfee »»Senior director, corporate compensation, systems and services, McAfee »»Director, global compensation and HR services, McAfee »»Manager, global compensation, McAfee »»SR compensation analyst, McAfee »»Compensation analyst, McAfee »»First HR role: HR generalist/manager, Fluor Corporation

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER the tech industry. There are also not enough females in the pipeline for the tech industry, and if we don’t change that we’re not going to see numbers in tech improve. We’ve taken a two-pronged approach. Firstly, we are concentrating on the pipelining of diverse talent from early ages. We’ve looked at our processes and the approach we take to the talent market to ensure we’re doing as much as we can on the recruiting side to bring female candidates in front of our managers when we’re recruiting. For example, depending on the areas of expertise and functions, the recruiting and analytics team have gone out on location and asked the question: with the available

By 2020 there will be a shortage of two million professionals in cybersecurity. Given the rate at which threats are moving, we’re urging governments, universities and colleges to get more involved, whether that be through more funding or changes to curriculums to groom future cybersecurity talent.

HRD: Can you outline what the WISE Affinity Group is about? CL: WISE stands for Women in Security, and it’s one of our employee-run networks. We have around 1,000 members in the group globally. Importantly, it’s not just women involved in the group; it’s also men, at all levels. We run mentoring programs,

“Using data to help explain why HR decisions are made has been invaluable. That’s the language these other professionals speak, so HR should also speak that language” female talent, should we be getting a 50/50 male/female split in interviews, or in this market should it be 40/50 female/male? Whatever it is, we’re holding our recruiting team accountable: they need to track it and ensure they are getting female candidates into the pipeline. Then, depending on the numbers that we’re told about availability of talent for those roles, we’re trying to ensure that female talent makes it through to second- and third-interview stage. As an example, for software and engineering roles in Singapore we want to see five final candidates, and at least two of them need to be female. We’re ensuring there’s a female interviewer as part of the decision about who we bring into the company. We won’t sign off on the hire unless the diversity metrics have been met. The problem for us is that our recruiters have to work harder in a very fast-moving industry, because it’s not just about finding female qualified candidates; it’s become about finding qualified candidates, period.

educational classes, and focus heavily on professional development. WISE provides the opportunity for women to share their experiences. Where we’ve focused on over the last year or so is the men playing more of a role, and encouraging them to see things from the perspective of their wives, their sisters, their daughters. That’s been eye-opening. We’ll continue to ensure it’s not just a female group but pertinent to men as well. We need men in the workplace to help create better understanding and to model the behaviours we want to see.

HRD: This is obviously a far-reaching issue that needs widespread support to make meaningful change. Do you feel there’s only so much one organisation can do? CL: Working together is important. I know we’re a business and we’re in competition with others, but I feel like the cybersecurity industry knows we have a greater cause, a

3 TIPS FOR FEMALE LEADERS Chatelle Lynch has risen to the top in a maledominated industry. She shares her career tips with HRD. Build your brand. “I found early on that

1 I wanted to be known for a brand. What

was my brand going to be? What I found worked for me was delivering on commitments and ensuring that I would go one step further than what I was asked. For example, if a colleague asked for something, I wouldn’t look for someone else to do it; I would do it myself.” Learn from setbacks. “I moved to the US

2 not really knowing anyone. I didn’t know anyone at McAfee. I literally worked my way up to the top job in HR through many trials and tribulations, but I did it by working through setbacks and not letting them define me.” Back yourself. “Sometimes I think

3 women don’t own their success as much as they should. I don’t think all women are like that, but when I interact with women and they receive a compliment, for example, they will often shut it down. Whereas I’ve been in similar situations with men, and they will totally own it. So while I’m very conscious of remaining humble thanks to my background and how I was raised, I make sure I own my successes. Also, make sure you market your successes as an organisation as well. I made sure I invested in an HR comms team. We need our employees to know the value HR brings to them, because it ultimately impacts the culture and the working environment.”

greater mission. As an industry we’re banding together and doing whatever we can to take things forward to government and education and councils we’ve formed. Our CEO is on these councils, alongside the CEOs of our competitors. I’ve seen some great partnerships formed. There’s more of a focus on it, but we need more funding and more cybersecurity professionals ready for the future – both males and females.

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COVER STORY

TOP HR TEAMS

DREAM BIG Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top HR Teams

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Innovation has never been more important in the workplace, and HR has a key role to play. Over the following pages, HRD presents its annual list of Asia’s Top HR Teams INNOVATION IS not only a tool but also a way of thinking. Disruptive innovation is about delivering something that’s so good it makes other things irrelevant, and there’s no point in going back. That’s the advice from Ben Sorensen, business development and commercialisation manager at CSIRO’s Data61. Sorensen has shared his experience through Konica Minolta’s Innovators Series, which features videos of high-profile business innovators sharing their insights into what is driving innovation. “We need to take the language of innovation away from consulting jargon to make it simple and accessible,” Sorensen said. “It’s not rocket science, and it doesn’t need to be high-risk, high-cost, or slow. Everyone is at risk of being disrupted, so the concepts of change have to be made easy to adopt.” Innovation can’t fulfil its potential in isolation. Sorensen has identified four elements that must be meshed for success.

Leadership is everyone’s responsibility

True leadership doesn’t let anyone off the hook. It’s embedded in the culture and ensures progress. The focus of great leadership is on motivating and shared purpose, and is characterised by trust. Senior leaders are responsible for setting and communicating a clear direction, while also creating the conditions that enable the excellence of others to determine the best way to deliver improvements.

Strategy must shape the environment in your favour

People generally take a linear, analytic approach to strategy, if they take any approach at all. The best organisations do this automatically while also exploring for new opportunities to create value. They embrace the idea that the status quo doesn’t extend into the future, and systematically look for gaps in the market that provide new competitive advantage.

Start with purpose

All innovation activity must be based on a valid purpose. Every organisation that wishes to remain relevant in the long term must be motivated by more than just extracting value from a market. Sustainable organisations are customer-centric and purpose-driven, aiming to solve problems and create value for customers. They deliver real value by focusing every aspect and activity of the organisation on producing outcomes desired by its customers more effectively than its competitors do.

Culture is the force multiplier

Culture’s alignment with a valid purpose and well-grounded strategy is necessary to achieve greatness. And the best leaders work hardest at this. Culture is the most difficult part of the four elements. The challenge for most leaders is that they often inherit the organisational culture but are then responsible for how it evolves. Leaders don’t control culture, but they do control environment. They need to focus on creating an environment that empowers, encourages, and enables excellence.

Great organisations bake innovation behaviours into the culture by setting them as expectations. Over the following pages, HRD’s annual guide to Asia’s Top HR Teams reveals those who are embracing innovation to emerge as the leaders in their respective industries. This innovation is seen in the adoption of new technology, HR service delivery, change management, and HR mainstays like diversity & inclusion and learning & development.

INDEX BY COMPANY COMPANY

PAGE

Amadeus GDS

Aviva

Beam Suntory

Boehringer Ingelheim South East Asia and South Korea

BreadTalk Group

DBS Bank

Essilor Amera

Gardens by the Bay

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HP Inc.

Kering Asia Pacific

Mandapa, A Ritz Carlton Reserve

Marina Bay Sands

Mundipharma

Vinci Construction Grands Projets

Vodafone

Wharf Hotels Management Ltd

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COVER STORY

TOP HR TEAMS

GARDENS BY THE BAY Industry: Themed attractions Areas of excellence: Diversity & inclusion, learning & development

The accolades continue for Gardens by the Bay. Led by Phan Yoke Fei (senior director for HR and corporate administration), the close-knit HR team consists of 13 members. In mid-2017 the HR team was instrumental in picking up a Gold award (for companies with

fewer than 500 employees) in HRD Asia’s Employer of Choice Awards. In late 2017, Gardens by the Bay was recognised by the Ministry of Manpower for displaying Exemplary Human Capital Practices in fair employment and diversity, as it continues to boast an age-diverse employee base with numbers split evenly between baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (millennials). The group has kept its attrition rate at an annual average of below 4%, while maintaining a high ratio of employees with long service. On the development front, this year employees have managed to clock in a higher number of average training hours per person, proving that they are able to thrive and keep learning in their operationally intensive work environment. All this attests to how the horticultural-themed park has achieved its iconic status within and outside of Singapore.

organisation. With these initiatives in place, there was no need to involve a recruitment agency, which significantly reduced recruitment expenses by 68.48% compared to the budget for 2017. L&D also benefited from the transition from a traditional conservative training format to an extensive organisational learning platform. New syllabi were developed to build competencies of property trainers, and hiring managers were coached on how to spot talent. A revamped orientation toolkit was created to ensure seamless and memorable onboarding for new associates,

and measures were introduced to assess associates’ performance against defined goals. To ensure long-term sustainability of its L&D efforts, the company established the ‘Red Ring Leadership Philosophy’ to guide its leaders on how to grow a culture that fostered inclusion and ambition among its associates. Among other things, this philosophy/road map has led the team to develop a recovery system for addressing guest satisfaction, and craft a model on operational excellence to coach associates on applying the ‘zero error zero waste’ approach throughout their daily routine.

WHARF HOTELS MANAGEMENT LTD. Industry: Hospitality Areas of excellence: Recruitment, learning & development, performance management, leadership

In early 2016, HR director Juliette Lim saw the need to revitalise HR by moving away from micromanagement in favour of a “Lean Six Sigma, result-optimising approach” and shifting the focus from the usual administrative thrust to one centred on talent management. Since then, HR has undergone a complete transformation, beginning with talent acquisition, which made the biggest leap and achieved the most impact. To boost recruitment efforts, the team focused on crafting creative social media ads, followed by a group-wide initiative to actively promote job openings through different platforms. The same creative approach was used to promote opportunities for career development, which created an overall impression of the company as a growing and thriving

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AVIVA Industry: Insurance Areas of excellence: Employee engagement, culture

As an insurance company, Aviva’s foremost commitment is to defying uncertainty by protecting what matters most to their customers and helping them secure their future. At the same time, the leaders at Aviva also hope to help their internal customers – the employees – align that vision with their work, which may be challenging for those serving at the back end who are not able to interact directly with clients. In order to establish that connection, the HR team made customer focus an emphasis for all employees. One way of doing this was by allotting ‘storytelling’

time during their quarterly town halls, where employees could share cases and anecdotes on how the company was doing well and what areas the organisation as a whole could improve on. These authentic and inspiring stories helped employees better understand the impact of their work on customers’ lives and gave them a clearer sense of purpose. The team also integrated three drive factors – Customer First, Simplicity, and Innovation – into the corporate culture in order to sustain

strong business growth. This led to focus group discussions and action plans, and employees from different roles, grades and departments were invited to contribute their insights and collaborate. The results of Aviva’s annual employee survey affirmed the success of these initiatives – 89% of employees understood how their teams’ work fit with Aviva’s overall strategy, and 84% agreed that the ‘Aviva purpose’ was a motivating reason for them to keep improving on customer service.

GOOD TO KNOW… According to Aberdeen Group’s report, Best Practice: Use Modern Recruiting to Stay Cutting Edge, best-in-class companies are 35% more likely than others to invest in new technology to make recruitment more engaging for candidates.

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COVER STORY

TOP HR TEAMS

VODAFONE Industry: Telecommunications Areas of excellence: Diversity & inclusion, learning & development

At Vodafone, diversity and inclusion is a top-down commitment driven by the CEO, with the help of campaigns such as HeForShe. Commitment to these movements trickles down to the internal initiatives the team has come up with, such as the recently launched ‘Gender Smart’ program. This aims to help all the leaders gain ‘gender intelligence’ and understand the varying perspectives that come from people of different genders and how this characterises effective leadership. There is also an accompanying Gender Smart training program for women, to help them learn the ‘Lean In’ concept and grow their own careers and others’ by tapping into their

full potential and becoming a catalyst of change. Last year, the team also launched a web-based unconscious bias training program for all employees. All these training programs point to another need that the team also considers top priority: the requirement for continuous learning that’s vital to a business in the digital field, which is constantly facing disruption. In line with that, the team created ‘Vodafone University’, a digital learning centre developed with the support of

leading academic institutions, such as the London Business School, Harvard University and Imperial College, and accredited by external providers. Specialist and professional courses on sales and marketing, leadership, technology and customer service are available to all employees at any time, on any device. The platform also highlights the mobile nature of the business, and the focus on digital learning is very much in line with the company’s new ‘Big Idea’ following its rebranding – to ready everyone for an exciting future.

GOOD TO KNOW… A 2017 survey of 200 L&D senior decision-makers by Open University Business School found that only 20% of organisations consistently shared learning across geographies, and in nearly 50% of the organisations the learning architecture was found to be “decades” out of date.

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DBS BANK Industry: Banking Areas of excellence: Recruitment and onboarding

Having set their sights on becoming the Best Bank in the World by 2020, the team members at DBS aim to achieve absolute digital transformation and to ‘rewire’ the organisation to embrace a ‘start-up’

BEAM SUNTORY Industry: Distilled beverages Area of excellence: Change management

Following Suntory’s vision of creating a high-performing and high-engagement workforce in one of its biggest future markets, in August 2016 the HR team at

mindset despite its immense scale. For HR, this has meant reimagining the recruitment process to create the compelling candidate and employee experiences needed to attract and retain talent. To reach the younger generation and increase DBS’s visibility, the team created short videos as an engaging alternative to traditional job description posts. These were used to boost the company’s social

media presence. Meanwhile, hackathons became an important component of DBS’s recruitment strategy, to attract agile candidates skilled in solving real-life problems, and to also help the organisation cultivate the desired start-up mindset. Finally, driving home the bank’s desire to become completely digital, the team revamped the entire recruitment process to create a seamless digital experience from recruiting to onboarding. From digital signing of e-offer letters and online submission of documents, to a preview of work life at DBS, everything can be completed on one single platform. The team also created a microsite containing information and toolkits for hiring managers and ‘buddies’ assigned to new hires, in order to help incoming staff transition smoothly into the bank. In addition, the team has been steadily expanding and refining its learning platform, tools and programs, most of which have been featured in the news as industry updates. Clearly, DBS Bank is setting the benchmark for many other companies.

Beam Suntory Emerging Asia embarked on an accelerated project to launch a completely new organisation, office and workforce in just one year. This entailed laborious efforts by the team to study the industry and work within strict labour regulations, while keeping tabs on continuing market changes. It also involved extensive reorganisation work

by the team, in an effort to retain as many people as possible from the old organisation by assessing and retraining them to fit the new organisation’s needs. Out of 40 existing employees, 31 were successfully transitioned. Another 26 employees were added through different networks, referrals, agencies, and a job portal. Since its launch in July 2017, new office Beam Suntory China has step-changed the business to become the fastestgrowing player in China’s international spirits industry for 2017, having achieved 34% year-on-year growth in terms of net sales value (NSV). The aim is to double the company’s combined NSV in 2018. This achievement is a testament to the HR team’s contribution in the past year, not only to setting up new operations but also to the overall transformation of the organisation.

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COVER STORY

TOP HR TEAMS

BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM

SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SOUTH KOREA Industry: Pharmaceuticals Area of excellence: Change management

The HR team at Boehringer Ingelheim South East Asia and South Korea (BI SEASK) has remained at the forefront of change management best practice initiatives in the past year. These have

been critical to ensuring ongoing success following the major business swap of Sanofi’s animal health business (Merial) and BI’s consumer healthcare business in 2016. One initiative, ‘OUR FOCUS’, is broadly designed to reshape corporate identity, work behaviours and business ambition for the year 2025. The specific HR components concentrate on areas related to people growth and rewards, in sync with a strong behavioural evolution. OUR FOCUS is founded upon three concepts

related to how employees work: agility, accountability and intrapreneurship. The HR SEASK team has developed and executed actions and processes intended to socialise the changes through face-to-face ad hoc workshops, collating and sharing inspirational stories from employees and leaders who are demonstrating the new desired behaviours and giving visibility to behaviours in all HR processes. Another initiative is ‘One Team and One Face’. In line with the organisation completing its first year of integration following the major business swap, this initiative has aimed to ensure all employees learn to operate as One Team and provide just One Face to customers. The HR team – in a hand-by-hand collaboration with the business – has worked on setting new organisational structures while ensuring fair and transparent appointments for the new structures, aligning sales incentive plans for different units in different regions, and effectively infusing cultural elements from both companies.

applications and performance appraisals. Meanwhile, all job grades and applications across divisions and countries are currently being evaluated in order to achieve a consistent approach across BreadTalk’s global operations and to improve transparency of the reward system as well as the career progression framework.

To achieve consistency, the team is doing everything to encourage knowledge sharing and learning of best practices together, particularly through the BreadTalk Group Academy, which was launched to provide employees with comprehensive exposure and holistic training for the full spectrum of the business value chain.

BREADTALK GROUP Industry: Food and beverages Areas of excellence: Technology, learning & development

2018 is looking to be a busy year for the team at BreadTalk as it works on revamping existing strategies, taps into new sales channels and enters into joint ventures for new brands. In order to support these expansion plans, improving HR processes and global data reporting have become top priorities. As part of this support, the team has launched the SAP SuccessFactors employee portal and mobile application in Singapore as a one-stop online platform for all employees. The portal contains four key functions, allowing for the updating of personal particulars, and including a comprehensive employee directory, leave

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HP INC. Industry: Information technology Areas of excellence: Change management, employee engagement

Even as it reaches its 80-year mark next year, HP Inc. is doing everything it can to maintain the excitement and enthusiasm of a fresh-faced company. Since undergoing the largest separation in corporate history in 2015, the company has been determined to transform itself into a new, thriving organisation that continually brings to life inspiring technology solutions. For HR to effectively support this goal, this has meant putting together a leaner team/set of operations; becoming more agile and keeping a growth mindset by questioning and challenging the status quo; and analysing action plans and outcomes, all while keeping in mind the big picture. In the past year, the team led and supported a massive transformation across its operations in Asia, following the successful acquisition of Samsung’s printing division. Approximately 4,000

employees were merged across the Asian countries, and the Korea office increased its head count tenfold. Asia Pacific and Japan has been the fastest-growing region for HP, achieving double-digit year-on-year growth in 2017. In order to sustain this growth and promote agility and talent mobility, the team has worked to revamp certain processes – replacing traditional performance rankings with more focus on talent discussions and actions; encouraging cross-border interactions; and moving team members around the

region to expand their knowledge and grow experiences. Apart from focusing on growth and people development, the team has placed an emphasis on increasing the ‘happiness index’ at HP. One initiative in this area is having monthly ‘fun days’ for HR across Asia and encouraging the team to celebrate key events and share stories about the gatherings. This, and other similarly innovative initiatives, has resulted in an increase of over 20% in engagement scores in the last year.

MANDAPA, A RITZ CARLTON RESERVE Industry: Hospitality Areas of excellence: Communication, culture, employee engagement

Since 2016, the Mandapa team has had a zero voluntary turnover rate, a most satisfying point of affirmation for HR director Niluh Purwiasih. “We can feel a sense of belonging among each other,” Purwiasih said, explaining how the HR team maintains an open-door policy and actively contributes to a working atmosphere that promotes openness, transparency and genuine care among colleagues. These values have been vital to the overall culture of Mandapa, a luxury resort in Bali. The team has managed to successfully lead the rest of the Mandapa staff through various L&D, culture and wellbeing initiatives, not to mention taking part in Community Footprints activities. These efforts have yielded extremely positive results, particularly in Aon Hewitt’s employee engagement surveys, with the team receiving a 98% rating in 2017, following an already-high score of 96% in 2016.

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COVER STORY

TOP HR TEAMS

AMADEUS GDS Industry: Travel management Areas of excellence: Onboarding, health & wellbeing

ESSILOR AMERA Industry: Optics/vision care Areas of excellence: Leadership development, recruitment, benefits

Having studied how the hiring process has significantly affected attrition rate, the team at travel technology company Amadeus decided to look at how it could enhance the company’s onboarding process and help new employees transition even more effectively into their roles. With the Amadeus ‘buddy program’ in place, the team focused on creating links for employees at different levels by involving the most senior individuals in the process of induction; inviting specialists to share their knowledge; and getting promotional help and support from employees with the most team spirit. Aside from taking care of the newbies, the team also prioritised overall wellbeing by choosing to re-evaluate the existing medical plan and improve on the coverage. The team made sure that employees were duly informed of the changes through the official communication channels, as proof of their commitment to transparency, consistency and equality.

As a demonstration of HR’s efforts to be more innovative, the team at Essilor developed an Emerging Talent Program designed to instil the company’s core value of entrepreneurial spirit in the newest and youngest members of its talent. “This is a unique accelerated leadership program which provides unparalleled opportunity for young graduates to be deployed in various countries and placed on assignments in curated projects,” says HR director Tan Boon Boon. The program has helped the business significantly expand its talent pool while boosting employees’ value and marketability across the organisation. In addition to this, the team is also focused on maintaining an excellent onboarding experience, which they call the ‘Shopper Experience’, wherein each newbie is asked to visit a shop of their choice and evaluate their experience, and then share that with the rest of the team. This has enabled new employees to better see and remember the end customer’s perspective, which will hopefully help them address issues more effectively in their respective roles. The feedback gathered from the exercise also assists the business in regularly evaluating its own service quality and in-store experience. Given Essilor’s line of business, the team thought it fitting that employees should receive the best vision care. This led them to set up the year-round Employee Vision Center, where resident optometrists conduct eye exams for employees and prescribe lenses with the help of internal lens and frame owners. And as a nod to work-life balance, the team is also looking at how to best implement ‘customised’ flexi-work that takes into consideration employees’ GOOD TO KNOW… preferences as well as existing diversity and inclusion initiatives. According to research from Bersin by Deloitte, 22% of staff The flexi-work program will include arrangements such as turnover occurs in the first 45 days of employment. staggered start-and-finish work times, compressed work weeks and telecommuting.

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MUNDIPHARMA Industry: Pharmaceuticals Areas of excellence: Career development, recruitment

Dedicated to the noble cause of helping to alleviate suffering and improving quality of life, the Mundipharma team continues to work tirelessly to achieve its ambitious growth plan. Having grown exponentially from a six-market business to a 39-market business in a short time, the company shows no sign of slowing down as it sets its sights on hitting an ambitious target revenue by 2018. That it was able to rack up these numbers is a testament to Mundipharma’s excellent organisational culture, characterised by entrepreneurship, dynamism, and a strong emphasis on performance.

KERING ASIA PACIFIC Industry: Luxury goods Areas of excellence: Change management, talent management, employee engagement

Following Kering’s global HR transformation, the HR team in Asia Pacific was the first to roll out the implementation of Workday system and managed the project directly by coordinating all Kering brands (including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, etc.), while simultaneously reviewing 369 different

The various initiatives introduced by the HR team have included a robust performance and career framework and a competitive and properly aligned compensation and benefits framework. The team also rolled out a comprehensive suite of management and leadership development programs in line with the defined career framework, while looking after the development needs of all employees at various career points. The team also channelled its efforts into streamlining the recruitment process, with 80% of employees sourced either directly or through employee referrals, which significantly reduced hiring costs. A digital interview process, HireVue, was added, allowing candidates to answer a preset series of questions and submit a video application. These are then simultaneously

reviewed by HR and hiring managers, allowing them to compare notes and save time on recruitment. To further improve employee engagement, the team implemented flexi-work options and added a two-day leave provision per year for employees to participate in volunteer work within their local communities. This year, the team also introduced the AIA vitality program to further promote employee wellness.

policies and practices and achieving nearly 100 harmonised plans. In terms of people development, Kering Asia Pacific completed the most comprehensive and timely implementation of the new global talent review process, with HR team making a significant contribution by providing feedbacks and suggestions, many of which have been included in the official global guidelines. In addition, HR team has successfully made direct searches and closed several senior positions including regional function heads, resulting in savings of over HK$2m. Also on talent acquisition,

the team actively supported the global “Refer a Friend” program, which encourages talent attraction through employees, resulting in being the region with the highest number of referrals converted in actual hirings The emphasis on people development continues with Kering’s L&D offering available in diverse learning formats and covering topics for different targets. Participation has doubled every year from 2015 to 2017. Career development is also a priority, for which the team has implemented the global revamped Internal Mobility program, and had several successful cases. In an effort to build a positive workplace culture and encourage work-life balance, HR maintains an innovative approach to organising engagement programs, such as “Family Day” (opening the offices to employees and their families), running club, basketball and dragon boat teams. In 2017, the Group introduced its new parental leave policy that includes a minimum of 14 weeks at full pay, and APAC HR team was instrumental in the development, for example introducing adoption at same level of maternity leave, and adding nursing rooms in APAC offices.

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COVER STORY

TOP HR TEAMS

both globally and locally attuned, the HR team for HPE Korea set up ‘Visiting HR Services’, which facilitates exchanges between visiting employees/HR staff and members of the local offices. The initiative encourages regular dialogue on how operations can be further improved to achieve the shared vision. It also demonstrates how HR effectively serves as a strategic business partner

and actively contributes to shaping the company’s future. Partnering with business leaders, the HR team designed a series of comprehensive developmental programs, with two of these in particular highlighting the contributions of the Korea team. The ‘Take the Lead’ program, now in its ninth year, is an essential preparatory step for local talent aiming to join the ranks of senior leadership. It involves assignments to projects that provide trainees access and exposure to existing senior leaders and other stakeholders. The projects are sponsored by country leadership and designed to drive organisational growth. The other program, the ‘Manager Forum’, is a series of training and communication sessions tailored to equip managers for various areas of their work, including issues such as managing difficult questions, encouraging diverse perspectives, and creating an optimal work climate for employees.

instructions and risk evaluations are all rigorously implemented in order to minimise any risk, and a delegation system is in place to ensure accountability for everyone. The team also oversees a specific health, wellbeing and safety program that includes the following components: daily morning exercises; health checks conducted by a site-based nurse; regular health checks

for underground and compressed-air workers; appointed first aiders; spraying of mosquito repellent oil for disease prevention; education on pandemic diseases; training on personal protective equipment usage, and use of ergonomic tools. In addition to these, the team organises regular recreational gatherings for expatriates to promote relationship building and mental wellbeing.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Korea-based HR team

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE Industry: Information technology Areas of excellence: Communication, learning and development, leadership development

To show how the company could groom leaders and team members that were

VINCI CONSTRUCTION GRANDS PROJETS Industry: Construction Areas of excellence: Health, wellbeing and safety

As one of the giants of the global construction industry, VCGP upholds the vision of zero accidents and safety first, and the success of each project banks on the health and safety of each team member. All stakeholders are very much involved and responsible for the wellbeing of all employees, and the HR team works closely with all departments, from construction and technical to administration and safety. At VCGP, health and safety is systematically taken into account at all stages of a project, from design all the way to production and construction, and at all levels, from managers to supervisors and general staff. Method statements,

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MARINA BAY SANDS Industry: Hospitality Area of excellence: Talent management

Being part of an industry that constantly faces talent sourcing challenges, the team at MBS knows that focusing on recruitment alone won’t be enough to remain competitive. Hence, it has been juggling a number of HR programs to cover all bases. From implementing market-based salary and leave schemes and conducting talent-fit assessments, to establishing a robust performance appraisal framework, through to running 360-degree feedback for its numerous people managers and a customised executive leadership development

program for its top leaders, it’s all about enabling talent to stay mobile, and helping them to move ‘onward and upward’ during their stay at MBS. Understanding that the technology must be able to keep up with all talent movement, the team has also prioritised HR automation by rolling out a number of online functions, such as an applicant tracking system, a learning management system, an appraisal tool, online leave applications and filing of letters for annual

salary increments and bonuses. Meanwhile, it’s equally important for MBS that every team member remains aligned with the company’s mission and service philosophy, thus making the ‘OneMBS’ cultural transformation journey an ongoing priority for the HR team. This entails sustaining consistent internal communication efforts and relying on a strong team of 140 ‘OneMBS Champions’ who help drive awareness and adoption of the company’s five core values.

GOOD TO KNOW… The UN estimates that by 2050 one in three people living in the developed world will be over 60. In Singapore, 3.08 million out of a total population of 6.58 million will be aged 65 or older.

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HR TECHNOLOGY GUIDE 2018

31 STACY ZAPARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TOP RECRUITMENT TECH TIPS

One of the most connected women on LinkedIn shares the five essential recruiting tools she could not do her job without

32 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VS INTELLIGENCE AUGMENTATION

Most HR professionals are aware of AI, but Rob Bromage, CEO and founder of intelliHR, outlines the emerging field of intelligence augmentation and what it means for HR

34 AMPLIFYING EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY Technology has changed the recognition game in organisations, but the best might be yet to come, write Mark Barling and Amit Kaura

36 MIND THE (TECH) GAPS

Dow Chemical has started on a digital journey. Butch Clas, HR director for SEA and ANZ, shares his story with HRD

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TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Stacy Zapar’s 5 essential recruiting tools The veteran Fortune 500 recruiter embraces new tech but is wary of ‘flavour of the week’ trends STACY ZAPAR’S 21-year career in recruitment has seen her consulting on global employer branding, social recruiting and sourcing initiatives for top employers, including Zappos, TripAdvisor, Amazon and Netflix. The founder of Tenfold and The Talent Agency has also been a member of multiple technology advisory boards – it’s fair to say she knows a thing or two about how technology can enhance talent acquisition outcomes. “I’m interested in any tool that makes it easier to customise an outreach message and reach candidates wherever they hang out. That’s the direction I see technology going for us as recruiters,” she tells HRD. When asked what technology she could not do her job without, she did not hesitate in her response, reeling off five key tools to consider.

1. Combined ATS/CRM platforms “I’m a big fan of having your ATS and CRM in the same platform so that everyone is tracked in one place and people don’t get doublecontacted. I think having two separate databases is a bad candidate experience and an inefficient sourcing process waiting to happen,” Zapar says. She has recently demoed 16 different ATS/CRM tools and settled on Loxo, which she confesses she has “fallen in love with”. “It won’t work for large enterprises; it’s more for SMBs. But in general, a combined ATS/CRM is best practice – and there are plenty of them out there,” she says.

2. Facebook groups She remains an advocate of Facebook groups for crowdsourcing, networking and sharing with other people in the recruiting community. “It can almost act like a talent community, with groups of like-minded professionals gathering, sharing knowledge and tips.” Some of her favourite groups are SourceCon, Secret Sourcing Group, HR Open Source (#HROS) and her own networking group, The Talent Agency.

of reaching out to candidates. These tools pop up as a sidebar on social media sites and will show the candidate’s entire social footprint, including their various other social profiles, contact details, blogs they’ve written, Quora interactions and more. However, Zapar noted that, in the past year or so, LinkedIn Terms of Service have “put the kibosh” on the use of these aggregators on LinkedIn – leading to users’ profiles being suspended or deleted entirely – but they will still work on other social sites. Some of these social aggregator Chrome extensions include Prophet, Hunter and Hiretual.

5. Mixmax More critically, she suggests recruiters utilise other business technology – not necessarily just HR tech – to enhance productivity. “It’s easy to fall into this trap of saying ‘there are too many candidates, I can’t get back to all of them’. That’s when you need to look at your own processes and whether you are being as efficient as you could be,” Zapar says. Specifically, she mentions Mixmax, a CRM for Gmail that includes templates, scheduling capabilities, polling, and the ability to read email receipts and open rates in real time. “It means I can tell as soon as a candidate

“I’m a big fan of having your ATS and CRM in the same platform so that everyone is tracked in one place” Stacy Zapar 3. Canva.com Zapar also uses Canva to create visual job postings and other employer-branding images. “It’s about employer branding and sharing graphics and photos on job postings. The engagement you get from that is so much better than a text-only LinkedIn status update sent out from an ATS that says something generic like ‘UX Designer, rec number 2546, click here to apply’,” she says.

4. Social aggregators For the past several years, Zapar has been an advocate of social aggregator tools as a means

opens an email, or if they click any of the links. Even for hiring managers I can tell when they read my emails. That’s when I know when to pick up the phone and engage them in conversation,” she says. While she acknowledges the growing importance of AI and machine learning, she urges recruiters not to be swept up by “buzz terms”. “Great recruiters need to find great people and reach out to them in a way that will get a response. All these other tools are all well and good, but for me it comes down to the basics: find good people and get them talking to us,” she says.

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31/05/2018 2:38:43 PM

TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

INTELLIGENCE AUGMENTATION

Artificial intelligence vs intelligence augmentation Most HR professionals are aware of AI, but Rob Bromage, CEO and founder of intelliHR, outlines the emerging field of intelligence augmentation and what it means for HR

THERE HAS been so much hype around artificial intelligence over the last few years that I think there’s now a bit of fear surrounding it. A lot of people I speak to are still unsure why we need it and what exact role it can play, and probably wonder, “Will it take over our jobs?” I recently spoke at the HR Directors Forum at the National HR Summit about big data and how you can use AI to leverage all of your human capital data. There is an enormous opportunity for HR teams to leverage the latest technology around AI, but more specifically there’s also an opportunity to focus on intelligence augmentation, or IA, which is a term not as many people are familiar with.

What’s the difference? AI is an autonomous system that can be taught to imitate and replace human cognitive functions. To put it simply, the machine completely replaces human intervention and interaction. IA, on the other hand, plays more of an assistive role by leveraging AI to enhance human intelligence, rather than replace it.

What can IA do for HR? When it comes to IA, there’s certainly nothing to worry about, and in fact there is a massive opportunity for HR to embrace the access to the data insights that can be generated. There’s so much data that flows around an organisation;

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there’s data in exit feedback, goal feedback, performance feedback – it’s everywhere. There’s literally so much content flowing around an organisation that even the best HR team could not possibly process and make sense of it all. With IA, the machine is not making a decision and doing something about it without consulting you; the machine is just saying “Hey, take a look at this; I think it’s important and so you should pay attention to this”. That’s the whole concept of the augmentation: it’s enhancing, not replacing. A machine can identify trends and process data in order to make our jobs easier, our staff happier, and our businesses more successful. Even with issues like attrition, we can put an algorithm together to assess flight risk in

there, and this is where an all-in-one analytics and people management platform can allow people to get a grip on potential risks before they get out of hand.

Do we need AI then? It might sound a little daunting, but the truth is we need AI in HR because it has the capability to do some really awesome things for us and the business. One form of AI is natural language processing (NLP). NLP is a computer application designed to understand the human language as it is spoken or written. It can be used to do sentiment analysis by predicting sentiment or underlying emotions coming through in your qualitative data, and that’s

Intelligence augmentation plays more of an assistive role by leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance human intelligence, rather than replace it a business. I’ll give you an example. If you’re an HR manager sitting in another office, you might not know that Mary in your accounts team has just moved way out to the suburban outskirts because the rent is cheaper. You don’t actually know that Mary is now taking an extra 1.5 hours to get to work every day and, as a result, her passion for the job is fast flailing. Your People Management application helps you to identify that Mary’s address has changed and alerts you that her travel time is now pushed out to 2.5 hours each day. This may have given you earlier insight into why Mary’s performance may have been slipping and suggested an office transfer or even a salary review. So you see, the machine does not do the job for you – it enhances your ability to do yours. There’s logic and an algorithm sitting

pretty amazing. A member of the HR team simply could not sit there and process the massive amounts of data flowing in and around your business, let alone compile a report on it for you at the click of a button. At the end of the day, AI allows HR teams to see key issues taking place and act on them much quicker than you would have been able to without it. One of the main reasons we created the intelliHR platform was because we wanted to give HR teams all the tools to manage those issues more proactively themselves. To put it plainly… I think the ‘now status’ for many HR managers without the right technology is that they are forced to go digging through mountains of data for crucial information, which takes a lot of time. However, the ‘now status’ with intelliHR is that you can find the

THE DATA THAT MATTERS Critical data is everywhere and the intelliHR platform will find it for you. Data in employee life-cycle processes Onboarding and probation reviews Continuous feedback processes Goal and performance chat Self-reviews and performance reviews Diary notes and discipline processes data you need at a click of a button and save yourself not only time but the stress involved in getting to an issue after the horse has already bolted. There is a massive opportunity to leverage AI in an HR organisation, particularly if we look at it from the perspective of IA. I believe the greatest value to a business is the ability to be across all data, to the point where you can understand exactly what data is important at any point in time. The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said that if we wanted to have the biggest impact the best way to do this would be to make sure we always focus on solving the most important problems. I see AI with IA thinking as arming us with the data that shows us where those problems lie. Rob Bromage is an HR technology specialist with more than 20 years’ experience. He is the founder and managing director of intelliHR, a cloud-based people management platform that allows organisations to maintain a real-time handle on performance, creating a culture that contributes to strategic decision-making with data-driven insights.

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TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

Amplifying employee recognition through technology Technology has changed the recognition game in organisations, but the best might be yet to come, write Mark Barling and Amit Kaura

TECHNOLOGY IS helping to transform employee reward and recognition programs faster than at any other time in their history. So, why is this the case? A key in the shift from reward- to recognition-led programs is the removal of as many barriers as possible that limit the act of recognition, such as passwords and separate portals. By removing these barriers and incorporating recognition into an employeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flow of work, recognition frequency increases. At Achievers, through a clear focus on creating a fun, easy-to-use and integrated SaaS platform, recognition frequency is now the number one metric for best-in-class R&R programs. Globally, this produces programs that average 12 moments of recognition per person per annum. The next evolution of modern R&R is the seamless integration of where to recognise

Employees should be able to create and send a recognition from whichever system they are in at the time they see something worth recognising everyday great acts with where people work. This means recognition from and for everybody, everywhere, every day. So how does HR capitalise on the technological advancements in modern R&R platforms, and what do these changes mean? To answer that question, we need to consider how most organisations operate and how their people spend their week at work.

System overload Most organisations use anywhere between

10 and 16 different software systems to run their businesses. These systems can range from HRIS systems such as Workday or SuccessFactors, to document management systems like SharePoint, project management software like MS Project, and collaboration tools like Yammer and Facebook for Work. Not to mention social tools with a newsfeed, instant messaging and email, and many more. Employees spend at least 30 hours of their work week in such systems. With technology helping to transform R&R, there is a risk of introducing even

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more complexity into the HR technology ecosystem. Modern R&R technology like the Achievers Employee Success platform is SaaSenabled. It introduces a range of simple, smart, yet sophisticated functionality to power a recognition-led culture within any organisation. The risk, however, is that an organisation’s IT function will see such technology as yet another platform that needs to be managed, secured and controlled. The challenge is simple: how do you enable your employees to recognise everyday great work in your organisation while ensuring any R&R-enabling technology complements, rather than clutters, your existing systems?

predefined, well-understood and agreed-upon standard. The API lays out the functionality that is available in the host service, how it must be used, and what formats it will accept as input, or return as output.

Why is an API valuable in the world of modern R&R? Firstly, imagine all of your employee R&R programs – everyday recognition, innovation, recruiting referrals, years-of-service awards, even sales incentives – on one platform. It’s the place where everything belongs: a behaviour-driving engine that aligns your employees to your business objectives and company values, fuelled by recognising and rewarding shared victories every

With technology helping to transform R&R, there is a risk of introducing even more complexity into the HR technology ecosystem The way employees need to recognise Employees need an easy way to recognise their peers from whatever system they are working in when they discover a colleague’s accomplishment. It won’t matter if the employee is on the shop floor, using a point-of-sale system, answering calls in a call centre, in the warehouse, or in an email system like Outlook. Employees should be able to create and send a recognition from whichever system they are in at the time they see something worth recognising. Recognition needs to be where employees spend most of their time. Recognition needs to be where the work gets done. How can you achieve this outcome? By connecting your organisation’s software systems with modern R&R technology via API technology.

What is an API? An API, or application programming interface, is essentially a way for two different software systems to communicate with each other via a

day. And because it’s the modern approach, you have a recognition-led, fun-to-use social media approach in which great moments are shared in an instant. You have an HR software platform that everybody actually wants to use. Now, imagine if there was a ‘Recognise’ button inside all of the systems that your employees work in every day, allowing them to recognise fellow employees. Fostering a culture of recognition and driving employee engagement isn’t easy, but technology can make it seamless for employees to interact within a modern R&R hub. It can increase adoption and thus further the culture of recognition. That is the purpose of an API – the ability of a story, created in one system, to be amplified across a recognition hub, an RSS feed, or monitors in a call centre. This single story helps promote the message that what gets recognised gets repeated. APIs are rapidly transforming the opportunity for recognition to be created by

API INTEGRATION FOR R&R – BEST PRACTICE Workday has become an industry standard for HRIS. APIs are helping to increase their value by enabling the transfer of recognitions and achievements of employees into core modules like Feedback within Workday. Most of us can barely remember what we had for dinner yesterday, let alone what people on our team did six months ago. This integration can help provide a more informed review, allowing managers to see all the recognitions they’ve sent, as well as any recognitions their team members have received throughout that period, directly within the performance management system.

EMPLOYEE & ORG DATA (DAILY SINGLE FILE)

FEEDBACK

USE ACCOUNT CREATION & UPDATES REPORTING HIERARCHY ORG HIERARCHIES WORKER PHOTOS

FAVOURITE OR ALL RECOGNITIONS

employees – and with that the value, meaning and return on technology for HR.

Wrapping this up What’s exciting about the world of APIs and app ecosystems is that it has opened new doors for modern R&R technology like Achievers that hasn’t even been thought of yet. As an industry, we have never been better poised for innovation in the space of employee engagement than we are now. Mark Barling is the senior sales director at Blackhawk Network. Amit Kaura is a technology leader at Achievers, a Blackhawk Network company. The Achievers Employee Engagement Platform combines the highest-adopted employee recognition platform with an active listening interface to accelerate employee engagement.

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TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

CASE STUDY: DOW CHEMICAL

Mind the (tech) gap(s) While organisations race to keep up with the digital evolution, tech developers may want to look back and better align themselves with business needs

HRD: How would you say HR tech has evolved in the past couple of years, in terms of use and needs addressed? Butch Clas: I think what you’re going to see is that we’re trying to look for ways to make HR even more productive than they have been so far. One trend that everybody keeps talking about is HR’s got to get out of the administration role and more into the consulting role. And some of these tools are going to help us do that. If we look at our HR Next Generation [system], the intent is we’re going to have much more self-service, so people will be able to go on and ask those questions, and the system’s going to have a lot of that. And hopefully that’s going to generate a lot more discussion, where they’re coming to HR and saying “Help me. What should I be doing here? What can I look for?” And some of that help will be online, but then hopefully, with the HR partner, there’ll be a lot more sitting down, talking about strategy [and] how we can do things for the business, the functions we’re working for, and really step up to that next level. I’m not sure whether we’ll have fewer people in the future, but we want to continue this productivity drive, and we should have less ‘approvals’ and less administration, and more time to really talk with the clients and make sure we’re getting the most out of the organisation.

HRD: What are some challenges you’ve seen/encountered in dealing with HR tech?

ACCORDING TO a survey by CareerBuilder, at least 45% of employers are definitely keen to adopt new technologies but are often unable to do so due to a number of factors. Key challenges mentioned include finding a comprehensive and unified set of applications and partnering with a trusted software vendor. Many HR practitioners may be ready to leap into new technology, but given limited knowledge and infinite choices of solutions/software most of them likely end up

holding back for fear of getting the wrong kind and wasting valuable time and resources. HRD chats with Butch Clas, HR director for SEA and ANZ at Dow Chemical, on how far HR tech has come and the ground that has yet to be covered. Dow Chemical Pacific provides wholesale and distribution of chemicals and allied products for various industries, such as construction, energy, packing and healthcare.

BC: One of the challenges that we’ve had is – it’s interesting, because I haven’t heard of many companies doing this – we tried to go to a global payroll solution. We’ve had a few stumbles, [and] we’re still not where we want to be on that. We have a range of payroll providers and solutions right now. We’d like to think that HR tech should be an enabler, to make things simpler and easier. But sometimes when you implement large ERP systems, what you find out is there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.

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Another challenge that we’re looking at – and that I’m curious to see if we can get ahead of the game with – is when you’re a chemical company you have quite complicated shift patterns because you’re running plants 24/7. And there are a lot of rules around things like when do people work, how do you pay them overtime, what kind of allowances they get, etc. We’ve been trying to automate more, to have a time and attendance management system that would do all that, and that’s part of our HR Next Gen project. But sometimes the solutions I’ve seen really aren’t there yet. Even though we’re ready for the next step and we’re ready to define what the rules are, sometimes the technology is not quite where it needs to be right now. Sometimes it’s [because of] the complexity of the business, or certain things that make it difficult to take it to the next level in digitalisation and become more automated and user-friendly. The problem is, if you’re working in 70–80 countries, it could be that you have even more than 70–80 potential solutions; sometimes it’s site-driven, sometimes it’s country-driven, and sometimes the solutions out there aren’t really set up for that, even though they’re trying to get there.

HRD: Are there any tech-related issues that you find more specific to the Asia-Pacific market? BC: Of the things we run into sometimes, one is how well the technology is ready to deal with local language issues. There are ones that are easy to deal with, like Mandarin; you can have a system that talks in Mandarin. Sometimes we get into a bigger challenge in Southeast Asia because we also have specific alphabets and languages that are not always catered to, and because of a smaller population it becomes a bit prohibitive as to whether you can create a localised, tailored solution. So if I want to have something in Bahasa Indonesia, or Thai, or maybe Burmese eventually, that’s another set of alphabet characters/language altogether. The problem is, it’s not that easy to create those custom solutions, even though

technology should make that possible. And as we have plants in some of these countries, like Thailand and Indonesia, we do have this need sometimes. But the problem is we don’t have big operations. We could probably do it for Thailand because we have 1,000 people, but for a place like Indonesia, we’ve got two small plants with a few hundred people, and they may not necessarily speak English, so you want to try and provide some of the content in Bahasa, which is not that easy to do. With the HR Next Gen, they are going to

through some iterations of prototyping right now as we put the solution together.

HRD: Does Dow Chemical have an overall strategy for digitalising HR? BC: We see that we have to be a lot more efficient, and part of that digitalisation is looking at how we do things right now. So we’re trying to see if we can move from our current ERP systems and find ways for both our customers and employees to put more things on the cloud, to become more [user]

“The problem is, if you’re working in 70–80 countries, it could be that you have even more than 70–80 potential solutions” have to look at the country level to see how they can customise some of the help, and that may give us the opportunity to introduce some local languages. Even though the panels may not be available in those languages, there may still be ways to provide help in the local language. So if somebody wants to change their address, or enrol a new person in medical insurance, you can have local tips and local language help for that. We’ll see how that comes; it’s a little bit early to say. We’re going

friendly for the people working with Dow. We’re looking at things like how to get rid of paper, how do you make this into a more digital experience? Digital to me is hand phone, any type of device that you’ve got, you should be able to interact with Dow [through it], and it should be easy to use. We’re really talking about the employee experience – how can we make it easy to use, how can we make the data available 24/7 to people whenever they need it.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Butch Clas provides three essential tips for those starting out on their digital journey. Embrace the change. “It depends on the size of the organisation – if I’m looking at big organisations, I don’t think the HR folks have a choice. Practitioners are going to have to get ready for the change, because the fact is analytics and new platforms are becoming the norm, and I think if you don’t keep up with that, you’re going to become obsolete.” Step back and assess what you can do better. “Even for an SME with limited resources, you’re trying to look at how you can do things better and more effectively, and that’s just a matter of surviving and keeping up. There are a lot of tools out there on productivity, and I do think with cloud-based solutions we’re going to see more and more of that as time goes on.” Networking pays dividends. “Networking with other HR practitioners is a good way to try and be aware of the current environment. One thing I try to spend time on is always to keep up with what’s new, keep my HR skill set up to date, [and consider] what kinds of things I should be thinking about. Sometimes you may have to sell it to the owner or to the business, and you’ve got to be proactive in doing that, because if you don’t, somebody else will come along, and you can become obsolete.

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WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

The lean, agile and ﬂexible workforce The workforce growth rate is slowing, but that shouldn’t necessarily mean that productivity and innovation will falter “EITHER WE self-disrupt or we are disrupted by the competition.” Those were the words of Lim Swee Say, former Minister of Manpower, back in November 2016. He was talking specifically about the growing need for small and medium enterprises to transform themselves into ‘Lean Enterprises’. That core message has sparked Workforce Singapore’s (WSG’s) ongoing marketing efforts, which send a straightforward message: ‘Transform and Grow’. However, underlying those words lie a number of potentially daunting challenges for both employers and employees. While factoring in how to best navigate oncoming economic challenges, attracting and retaining local manpower, and improving productivity and innovation, the goal of the Transform and Grow initiative is to provide support for businesses to be agile, flexible and lean in today’s challenging climate.

Why change? There are some fundamental demographic issues facing Singaporean society – and by extension Singaporean businesses – which are requiring a rethink of how businesses are run and human resources are utilised. The minister summed up the key challenge. “With ageing and a low birth rate, the local workforce is growing much slower, and may stagnate in the next decade. So, in other words, 10 years from now, the local workforce will stop growing,” he said. “With foreign manpower growing much slower too, our challenge is to ensure that this sharp drop in our total workforce growth will

not become the bottleneck in the future growth of our economy and also for your businesses.” To break this manpower bottleneck of the future, the tripartite partners have come together to jointly spearhead the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS) since October 2015. The minister added that these partners are NTUC and e2i of the labour movement; trade associations and chambers such as the SNF; and key agencies including SPRING, WSG, the IMDA, the Singapore Tourism Board, the

Economic Development Board, the Building and Construction Authority, and others. “We are here to provide one-stop support to help our SMEs to build new capability so that they can grow better, to build new capacity so that you can grow bigger, to build new market to grow faster, and to build new human capital to grow stronger,” he said.

The path to now In October 2015, the Ministry of Manpower flagged that Singapore’s total workforce

DEVELOPING AGILE MINDSETS At a speech at a Workplan Seminar in May, Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower, commented on the rapidly changing world of work. Specifically, the minister highlighted political disruption and demographic disruption in the form of lower fertility rates and an ageing population. In addition, technological disruption is impacting jobs and how work is conducted. The minister said it was critical for employers to embrace new tech and to create ‘agile ecosystems’, which start with employers, employees and the government adopting an agile mindset. This might involve workers upskilling or deep-skilling to enable them to do larger jobs or become specialists. It might involve more traditional cross-skilling, or broad-skilling, to prepare them for deployment to another department, line of business or country – all of which needs to be supported by employers. “It is the essence of SkillsFuture to make every worker a better worker, who is agile enough to move quickly and flexibly from old jobs that are lost to new jobs as they are created,” Minister Teo said. “A workforce with agile mindsets and agile skill sets is half the battle won. The other half requires agile businesses.” Citing just three examples of how MOM is also remaining agile, the minister mentioned the evolution of Work Trial into Career Trial, the expansion of Professional Conversion Programmes to include cover redeployments or reskilling to avoid retrenchment, and the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme shifting from bespoke solutions to ready-to-go solutions so that more businesses can be more manpower-lean, more quickly.

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growth was projected to slow going forward. As SMEs collectively are a major source of employment for Singaporean workers, it was recognised that helping them to adapt to this new business environment would be critical. MOM launched the pilot LED Scheme to help progressive SMEs transform and grow in the new manpower-lean landscape. The objective is to support SMEs that want to be pioneers and early adopters of change by becoming more productive, more innovative, and more manpower-lean. The Singaporean government has also made significant investments in helping SMEs upgrade, through programs such as the Capability Development Grant administered by SPRING, and Enhanced iSPRINT by the Infocomm Development Authority. These schemes cover three broad areas: capability development manpower development international market development To build a stronger core Singaporean workforce, other initiatives have focused on: transformation of existing businesses to reduce manpower wastage and overall reliance on foreign manpower

the introduction of breakthrough ideas to make industries more future-ready the transfer of advanced skills and knowledge

What’s next? In her keynote address at the LED Symposium in November 2017, Josephine Teo, who now helms the Manpower Ministry, said investment in innovation helped companies upgrade their hardware and hopefully improve their workflow. “At the same time, we need to upgrade the software, and the most important of them all is your human capital – your workers,” she said. Minister Teo added that under the current LED Scheme employers could obtain support for temporary foreign workers to have the capacity to train and upskill local workers to operate new machines and implement new work processes. Some 5,200 organisations – from micro SMEs to multinationals – have taken up the LED Scheme, across all sectors, including food services, construction, retail, logistics and manufacturing. “We now can see more companies having the determination and the ideas on how to grow their business the smarter way, by

improving processes and also by employing more technology, not necessarily more people,” Minister Teo said. Looking ahead, this will be taken a step further by helping employers to enhance the capability of their local workforces, so as to accelerate transformation. “We are piloting a new scheme called the Capability Transfer Programme, or CTP,” the minister said. “CTP facilitates the transfer of capabilities to help local workers pick up worldclass skills and knowledge lacking or in short supply in Singapore. Not only will our local workers attain new skills, they will get better jobs and be ready for the future. Higher levels of support will be given for industry projects and projects with high impact.” Furthermore, the Adapt and Grow initiative has helped place more than 25,000 jobseekers into new jobs and careers in 2017, about 20% more than in 2016. The ongoing goal is to help both missed matches − where employers and jobseekers have not found each other – and mismatches, where there are skills or wage gaps that make it hard for the jobseeker to secure a job. The existing Jobs Bank will also be transformed into a new platform called MyCareersFuture. This will have new features to help jobseekers and employers find better matches. It will have intelligent job matching and can recommend jobs to jobseekers that will best fit their skill sets. It will also highlight jobs that are supported by Adapt and Grow initiatives such as the Professional Conversion Programmes, to help bridge job and skill mismatches.

Help at hand There is no silver bullet to resolve Singapore’s workforce challenges, but employers should know where they can get support. Like all Adapt and Grow initiatives, the LED Scheme supports all organisations. It provides a ‘one-stop’ service for businesses, especially SMEs, to access schemes offered by different government agencies, without having to figure out where and who to approach for what. For further information, visit www.wsg.gov.sg/

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POSTGRADUATE BUSINESS EDUCATION

Meeting disruption head-on As technology continues to redefine the workplace, it’s never been more critical to keep skills sharp. Is it time to return to school?

EIGHT HUNDRED million jobs could be lost worldwide to automation by 2030. That was the key takeaway from a 2017 McKinsey Global Institute study. Such an eye-catching statistic grabs headlines, even if the reality is rather less dramatic; for, while automation is already eliminating certain jobs, it is also creating many new jobs and simplifying even more of them. It’s something that Professor Richard R Smith, Deputy Dean of Programmes at the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, has been asked about repeatedly, and he’s mindful of blindly taking such pronouncements at face value. “The impact is going to be very broad, but it’s evident that automation is creating new opportunities and even enhancing certain jobs. In some ways it’s taking tasks away and in other ways it’s adding new tasks due to the increased focus on data, analytics and insights,” Smith says.

Data-driven HR For HR professionals, this new focus on data and analytics is akin to a quiet revolution. Smith relays a conversation he recently had with an airline executive. The executive was hailing the power of analytics and how it had transformed the way his business operated. Based on an analysis of its customer profiles,

the airline knew how and when people had purchased their tickets and how much food and alcohol to load on board. However, the executive added that there were still around 15 people on each flight who the airline had extremely limited information on: the flight staff. In all likelihood, such a situation will not last for much longer as employee insights will become as sought after as customer insights.

Future-proofing the workforce Lifelong education in 2018 has never been more of a two-way dialogue between employer and employee. The onus lies with employees to take more of an interest in their

Smith has seen three types of employers. The first is focused on the here and now – they refuse to invest in the skills of their employees because the future is uncertain and a longterm focus will only result in a loss of time, money and resources as employees rapidly move to the next employer. The second is a traditional approach whereby there is continual investment in employees via internal training and upskilling. The third flips the traditional notion and is more of a hybrid. It has the employees themselves self-driving their careers. The employer doesn’t prescribe training for them but instead provides support, which, rather than monetary support, may take the form of

“The employee is in the driving seat; they are selecting what they want to do and the employer is supporting them” Professor Richard R Smith, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business own professional development to ensure they don’t fall behind, as much as it falls on employers to provide support, guidance and advice wherever possible – to ‘future-proof ’ their own employees.

flexible work options to allow for study. “The employee is in the driving seat; they are selecting what they want to do and the employer is supporting them while allowing them to pick their own paths,” Smith says.

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From passive to proactive Tied to those three approaches is whether or not the organisation takes a proactive and strategic approach to future-proofing its workforce, or whether it takes a more passive, reactive approach. A skills audit is a good place to start. When Smith talks about strategic talent management in his courses, he emphasises that a critical first step is ‘discovery’. “Oftentimes organisations don’t know what or who they have in their ranks,” he says. “That’s why LinkedIn is making a killing because they generally have more information about your employees than you do – or it’s more accurate because they have people in their network evaluating and commenting on their skills and capabilities.” Smith adds that an analysis of internal skills can provide a great basis for strategic workforce planning. “If you know your objective is to move into the digital space, you can look at your talent and answer whether you are ready for that move or not,” he says. “And if not, what steps must you take to ensure you have those skills?” He adds that forward-looking employers are implementing a segmented approach to L&D – creating personalised and targeted learning to focus on the unique skill requirements of each worker. “People are aware of these policies that Google has, whereby 10% of a worker’s time is used for upskilling – but that doesn’t apply to everyone at Google,” Smith says. “That’s just one segment of their workforce. In HR we tend to take a company-wide policy rather than an employee segment policy.”

Two postgrad upskilling options What can HR do to ensure their own skills remain sharp? Smith suggests two postgraduate programmes offered by SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business that can help equip HR professionals to thrive in this digital age.

THREE KEY TRENDS Professor Richard R Smith outlines three key elements shaping postgrad business study in 2018. A data-rich environment. “We feature analytics quite heavily in our programmes. Students are given a refresher on statistics because that’s the backbone of thinking about this data-rich world we’re living in. They must be able to look at data with a critical eye, analyse it and come up with meaningful insights.” The rise of evidence-based management. “We have so much information around us – now we need to understand what the data tells us so we take some of the guesswork out of management. We have a strong focus on using data to make informed choices. It is important to make executive-level decisions based on evidence, because we know from psychology that sometimes our judgments may have biases.” Regionally focused leadership. “The Asian business context is dynamic and more interconnected across borders. However, HR is not always prepared. There have been studies over the years that show HR to typically be country-focused rather than regionally focused in Asia. Both our Executive MBA and our Master of Human Capital Leadership programmes have a strong focus on regional dynamics and leadership. It’s great to be current in the activities in the country of Singapore; however, that won’t cut it in the future as human capital leaders need to be managing digitally and working effectively across borders.”

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SMU LEE KONG CHIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Ranked third in Asia and 35th worldwide in the University of Texas - Dallas rankings (based on research contributions for the period 2013–17), the Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) at SMU is one of the youngest business schools in the world to be triple-accredited with the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (Association of MBAs). With more than 4,000 students and over 100 full-time faculty members holding doctorate degrees from renowned universities such as Cornell, Harvard, INSEAD, Oxford, Stanford and Yale, LKCSB offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programmes and is affiliated with a number of research centres, such as the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics, the Centre for Marketing Excellence and the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. For further information, visit www.business.smu.edu.sg.

The first is the Master of Human Capital Leadership, which Smith says is perfect for HR professionals but does not cover traditional HR turf; instead, it requires students to think about human capital as a resource of the organisation. The goal of the program is to prepare future CHROs for operating at the top of their organisations. So while traditional

“What you see and hear in the classroom one day, you take into the workplace the next” Professor Richard R Smith, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business HR topics including executive compensation and evidence-based talent management are covered, so too is financial accounting and finance. These are what Smith describes as “the language of business”. “This is honestly not about learning operational HR; this is for people who are taking their HR careers to the next level,” Smith says. The second programme is the Executive MBA, which Smith describes as being well suited to those who are already in a CHRO or senior HR role but are looking for a broader base in the areas of general management and business leadership. Generally, EMBA students have more experience – between 12 and 20 years.

THE L&D SHORTFALL Mercer’s Global Talent Trends Study indicates that 82% of companies say they plan to develop and promote from within. However, there’s a disconnect between this objective and what’s actually happening. 50% of organisations plan to make changes to their HR technology in the next 12 months, while only 36% plan to invest in HR training and development. 13% of companies currently have a curriculum for developing HR professionals. 42% report gaps in their HR skills, but have yet to begin planning for how to address them.

The programme is completed in short segments, conducted around the world. Like those doing the Master of Human Capital Leadership, EMBA students spend time at Wharton Business School in the US, and then also go to China and India. “It really takes a global perspective on the issues facing business,” says Smith. “While it’s

not an HR program, we do find that senior HR leaders get great value from it as they’re looking to further their executive careers.” Each programme is part-time. The EMBA is a one-year commitment and is done in residential block weeks at SMU, in China, India and the US. These blocks are designed as intense sprints over the year, whereas the Master of Human Capital Leadership includes classes over a period of 15 months. Not surprisingly, both programmes have a practical focus, with assignments and projects based on real-life work challenges. “We make sure we’re grounded in research and current thinking but also make it practical and hands-on,” Smith says. “What you see and hear in the classroom one day, you take into the workplace the next.” As SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business moves towards the introduction of blended learning – a mix of in-person classroom and online content delivery – Smith says digital “isn’t something we just teach, it’s something we do”. “We’re supporting the move to blended learning because we can’t just be preaching about digital; we need to be doing it ourselves. This is the future,” he says. SMU plans to introduce more blended learning course modules in the coming year.

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ENGAGEMENT

Singapore’s engagement dilemma There is no instant fix for a disengaged workforce, but there are foundational steps employers can take to improve the situation SINGAPORE CONTINUES to have the least engaged workers in the region, sitting at 59% according to Aon’s latest figures. Conversely, employers from neighbouring countries have seen improvements in engagement levels. Malaysian employers have seen an overall engagement score of 63%, while Indonesian employers sit at 76%. The Philippines (71%) and Thailand (64%) also outstrip Singapore.

What’s going wrong? Daniel Sherrington, regional director APAC at O.C. Tanner, says country engagement scores are simply an indicator of what’s happening within the companies of a given country, so the real question should be: why are there so many low-engagement companies? To answer the question, it pays to take a closer look at traditional management styles and how businesses are run. For decades, Sherrington says, the prevailing management philosophy in Singapore – and much of Asia – has been grounded in managing for compliance rather than managing for new value creation. Low-engagement companies

have approached work by defining tasks to be done and then holding people accountable for delivering only on what is expected. The overarching management style in Singapore has tended to focus heavily on making sure employees are meeting expectations, and annual performance reviews are often similarly expectation-oriented. O.C. Tanner’s research indicates that Singapore is also quite unique due to a combination of key factors. Sherrington outlines these below.

diverse cultures, wants and needs from its people. This is a fantastic asset but comes with its own challenges.” 2 Juggling the needs of three generations

of employees. “This is very strongly demonstrated in Singapore, where the older Gen X and baby boomers often

“Singapore pays the price for often being a regional hub by having many diverse cultures, wants and needs from its people. This is a fantastic asset but comes with its own challenges” Daniel Sherrington, O.C. Tanner 1 Challenges in managing a diverse global

workforce. “Singapore pays the price for often being a regional hub by having many

have a very different relationship with their companies and their peers than the millennials. Up until now, older Gen X

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THE POWER OF RECOGNITION In 2015, the O.C. Tanner Institute conducted a survey to get employees’ perspectives on what they wanted most from their leaders. Here is the specific question asked: “What is the most important thing your manager or company does (or could do) to cause you to produce great work?” Thirty-seven per cent said, “Recognise me”. “That’s a great place to start,” says Daniel Sherrington. “I don’t know” “Recognise me”

37%

3% 4% 6%

“Give me a promotion” “Train me”

6% “Nothing: I’m self-motivated”

13%

7% 12%

12%

Other “Pay me more” “Give me autonomy”

“Inspire me”

Source: Cicero Group 2015 white paper: “Employee performance: What causes great work” (Commissioned by O.C. Tanner Institute)

and baby boomers have been making key employee engagement decisions based on their own experiences and philosophies and are out of touch with the younger generation.” 3 A failure to invest in leadership and

management training and development. “This has had a knock-on effect of people not investing their own hearts and minds in organisations – and is seen in people moving jobs every one to two years.” Sherrington says millennials in particular don’t like work environments where these types of practices are common, because they feel underutilised and underappreciated. They ultimately reduce their levels of engagement and care less about their work and their customers. “These companies get significantly fewer improvement ideas per employee, lower

productivity, lower customer NPS, lower growth, and lower profitability,” he says. “Then company leaders complain that they don’t have enough money to invest in their people. And the cycle continues.”

Why it matters Statistics from Gallup indicate that only 15% of the global workforce is engaged, so clearly work still gets done regardless of whether employees are engaged or not. However, how much more productive could the workforce be if it were engaged? David Sturt, executive vice president of the O.C. Tanner Institute, says: “Many of the companies we work with, and ones we have studied that have a strong employee engagement culture, are achieving two to three times higher engagement levels, usually in the 70–80% range. As a result, they significantly outperform their competitors. They achieve much higher levels

of innovation, productivity per employee, profitability, market share, and growth. They invest in engaging their employees, and the results speak for themselves.” It must be stated that they also attract the best talent because everyone wants to work for these companies.

Lifting the game What can be done about Singapore’s poor engagement levels? There is no one silver bullet, but there are some key areas that must be addressed to ensure employees feel their work and presence truly matters, as Sherrington explains: Employee experience. “Companies that do this well focus on the entire employee experience, from hire to retire. This requires analysing all employee touchpoints, from the initial contact through the recruitment and onboarding process, to how they are

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TURNING THINGS AROUND Is it possible to turn around a predominantly disengaged culture? Yes, but it won’t happen overnight, says O.C. Tanner’s Daniel Sherrington. The key is to determine the root cause of disengagement. Do people feel valued and appreciated? If not, find out why. Then work with senior leadership to develop an effective road map for creating a great place to work. Look at how your organisation creates and fosters an environment in which people feel connected to the employee experience on a very personal level. If people are leaving bad managers rather than the company, this must be addressed immediately through better management training and development. If it is poor leadership and communication, this could be a key reason your people aren’t feeling aligned. “Be prepared to address multiple challenges,” Sherrington says. “It won’t be easy, but the results will be game-changing if you get it right.”

O.C. TANNER O.C. Tanner, the global leader in employee recognition, uses an evidence-based approach to help companies create engaging cultures. Twenty-five of the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For® use an O.C. Tanner recognition solution. To find out more, visit octanner.com/sea or contact us at info@octanner.sg.

rewarded and recognised, all the way through to their last day in the office. Employees must feel appreciated and valued at every stage of their career. At a foundational level you have to look at the big picture and not just try to fix the results of a bad employee opinion survey.” A sense of purpose. “Employees don’t just want a pay cheque – they want to feel like they are making a difference. The best hospitals help their janitorial staff feel like part of the healing team. Great airlines empower staff to make air travel a delight. If your employees don’t align with your organisation’s purpose, or have a direct line of sight to how their work contributes to that purpose, they can’t possibly achieve results.” Wellness in and out of the office. “I recently spoke to a lady at my animal welfare volunteering group in Singapore; she is a graphic designer and has worked for a Singaporean company for eight years and is highly regarded. She wants to leave because her employer is strictly against any staff working from home. This total lack of trust, despite having given eight years and many long hours to this business, has her wanting to leave as she feels underappreciated and undervalued, not due to the quality of her work being overlooked, but because she knows great companies provide flexible working arrangements, and she has more than earnt hers. “With the millennials being more vocal, the trend for employees seeking work-life balance, flexible work arrangements, and improving wellness outside of the office is here to stay and likely to increase. Employees now demand that employers think about the overall wellbeing of their workforce, not just from nine to five. Whether it’s better leave benefits, programs to manage stress,

or simply creating a culture that cares about employees’ physical, emotional, financial and spiritual health, companies must have a strategy to show employees they care, and it has to be consistent.” Opportunity. “Employees need to sense there’s an opportunity to grow and advance in their organisations. But growth doesn’t always need to mean a promotion. In fact, sometimes doing work you’re proud of provides an even greater high. There is a huge opportunity here to help employees develop and gain new skills, try new things, and innovate in ways that help your company grow. So let them.” Organisational agility. “Organisational agility means creating a company culture where employees adjust and adapt easily to constant changes in your workplace and industry. One thing is clear: employees want to work for a successful organisation, and successful organisations are not afraid of change. This may pose a challenge to riskaverse organisations that don’t like change. However, it is a very clear message from employees that they will better thrive in an agile environment.”

A strategic imperative Most critically, Sherrington urges employers to treat employee engagement as a strategic business objective and not a ‘tick-the-box HR initiative’. He suggests not just talking to industry experts but also comparing internal sentiment figures with global and Singaporebased benchmark engagement figures published by the likes of Aon and Gallup. “Ask yourself and your leaders if you really believe that you do a great job recognising and appreciating the good and great work being delivered in your organisation day in and day out, and look at what other businesses are doing as a best practice,” he says.

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SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS HRD’s inaugural HR Service Provider Awards aims to recognise the best of the best when it comes to HR’s most valued business partners

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TO THE uninitiated, engaging an HR service provider must be a daunting task. Finding the vendor with the reputation, resources and knowledge required – not to mention the right cost for those services – might be a full-time job in itself. Yet the benefits of seeking out the best of the best are significant. The most soughtafter service providers can be HR’s right hand, acting as a seamless extension of the in-house HR team, providing specialist expertise and having deep knowledge of their sector. There are three basic service provider classifications that HR can leverage: consulting/advisory, information technology, and process outsourcing. Most HR professionals would have encountered these organisations either on the client side (ie the business that is procuring the services) or the

consisting of HRD’s own global team of subjectmatter experts, as well as respected industry professionals. One award per category has been given to the service provider who garnered the highest number of votes. Judges were interested primarily in service delivery: how does each organisation deliver its services? They also looked at innovation and a commitment to research and development. Most of all, they wanted to see how the lives of HR professionals are made easier or more efficient by using these products and services. As HR’s role becomes more and more strategic, it’s likely that service providers will be increasingly called upon to help out with dayto-day transactional work, or to help in-house teams provide specialised services. Read on to see who is up to the task in 2018.

supplier side (ie the business – or vendor – that is providing the service). For the HR Service Provider awards, HRD identified 10 key specialist areas: Recruitment Systems & Technology Relocation Learning & Development Human Capital Management Systems Payroll Systems Reward & Recognition Talent management Corporate health & wellbeing Pre-employment Screening Psychometric Assessments Vendor submissions were vetted and voted upon by an independent panel of judges

HR VENDOR LANDSCAPE Type

Consulting/advisory

Information technology

Process outsourcing

• Provision of advice, recommendations or project management services

• Provision of technology services on premises or in the cloud

• Provision of services to execute transactions or activities. This could be one-off or ongoing process outsourcing

Service example

• • • • •

• Solutions could be end-to-end on premises (eg SAP), or in the cloud (eg Workday) • Solutions could be function-specific in the cloud (eg Workable or LinkedIn)

• One-off services like medical or background checks • Outsourcing and/or offshoring of HR processes like payroll, recruitment, mobility/relocation services, workers’ compensation, etc

Vendor example

• McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC, IBM, Accenture • Korn Ferry, Mercer, Aon Hewitt • Herbert Smith Freehills, Minter Ellison, Holding Redlich

• SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle/Taleo, Microsoft • Workday, Cornerstone OnDemand, SABA • Google, Apple, Custom Apps • LinkedIn

• • • • •

Description

Remuneration benchmarking Employee engagement advice/services Employee relations case advice Project management support Recruitment services

Impact

Strategic vs tactical Short-term vs long-term

Coverage

Across multiple services Across multiple business units Across multiple geographies

IBM, Infosys, Accenture Manpower, Kelly Recruitment agencies (various) Training providers (various) Corpsec, Kinnect Health

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SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

RECRUITMENT SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY

SMS24/7

AS AI automates many recruitment functions and traditional recruitment agency business models are shaken up by new technology – which empowers employers to do a lot of the recruiting themselves – it’s increasingly difficult to be viewed as truly cutting edge in this field. Yet SMS24/7 is undeniably innovative, using technology to streamline and automate parts of the recruitment process. SMS24/7 provides a unique number for its clients to place in their advertisements. This number can be used across multiple channels, including newspapers, online or at the shopfront. Once a candidate sees the ad, they will SMS or call the hiring number and the SMS24/7 system will automatically respond with a series of questions to determine the suitability of the candidate. If the candidate fulfils all the questions successfully, they will be able to set an interview date and time with the company/ interviewer. When a suitable candidate responds, the system will automatically forward the candidate’s information to the client’s designated phone number or email in real time. All the interviewer needs to do is wait for the candidate to turn up and interview them. Through the SMS24/7 system, companies and their HR departments no longer need to handle numerous phone calls or plough through applications before interviewing qualified candidates. The system helps filter out qualified candidates and keeps the rest in a log for future use. True to its name, the company’s 24-hour service impressed the judges. “I’ve worked in busy recruitment functions, so I know time is at a premium,” wrote one judge. “With SMS24/7 HR departments don’t have to worry about missing a candidate’s phone call during lunch hour or non-office hours as we respond to every single candidate and reply within 10 seconds.”

HRD chats with Daryl Koh, director, SMS24/7.

HRD: What does an accolade like this mean for your organisation – and why do you think what you do resonates so well with the end user? Daryl Koh: This came as a huge surprise to us, and we are extremely humbled and honoured to receive this award. We see this award as validation that we are doing the right thing, and we would like to thank all our customers that have believed in us and supported us throughout the years. We are focused on the end-user experience and making our customers’ lives better and easier. We also work on a subscription-based business model as it offers convenience, flexibility, and cost-saving advantages, which we believe help to build long-term relationships with our customers.

HRD: In what is a crowded market, why do you think SMS24/7 finished so strongly? Is there anything you believe your organisation does ‘above and beyond’ to better serve customers? DK: As we focus on the user experience, we continuously look into simplifying the process of applying for a job for the applicant, while going the extra mile to understand how each company recruits. Then we personalise a system according to their requirements and demands. Attention to detail and creating an efficient and effective SMS system to cater to different recruitment patterns are also equally important to us and our customers.

HRD: What question do you get asked the most by HR professionals, and what would you like to communicate to our readers? DK: The most commonly asked question by HR professionals is: “How are you different from a recruitment agency?”

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Unlike recruitment agencies, we work on a subscription-based business model as opposed to success fees. Our service runs solely on an SMS system, and everything is automated and operates 24 hours, seven days a week. That means applicants can apply for jobs during nonoffice hours and even on weekends, and companies never

have to miss out on a qualified candidate again! Our service can also handle largescale recruiting projects, and as many as, or more than, 1,000 candidates in a short amount of time.

HRD: The area SMS24/7 operates in has been disrupted by technology. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next in this space? DK: We are constantly exploring new features to enhance our system and user experience, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve

recently launched an automated referral system for companies who are considering implementing this in their hiring process. We are also in the midst of designing an automated appointment reminder service, and what that means for our customers is potentially saving tons of valuable time that would be wasted calling up candidates to schedule or remind them of upcoming interviews. This frees up time for our customers to focus on more productive tasks and on interviewing the candidates.

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SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

RELOCATION HRD chats with Jacob George, president, SIRVA Worldwide Relocations & Moving, about the win.

HRD: How does it feel to be acknowledged in this way by an independent panel of judges? Jacob George: Incredibly honoured SIRVA WORLDWIDE RELOCATIONS & MOVING

SIRVA DELIVERS high-quality customised relocation and moving solutions that satisfy the needs of clients and their people in the most efficient way – wherever they do business. Offering an extensive portfolio of mobility services across 204 countries and territories, SIRVA provides end-to-end solutions and delivers an enhanced mobility experience for clients. SIRVA has a portfolio of well-known and recognisable brands, including Allied, northAmerican, SMARTBOX, and Allied Pickfords. Underpinning these services is a commitment to technology. SIRVA’s technology platforms are cutting-edge tools and solutions that enhance both the process and experience of relocation and moving through greater efficiency, consistency and transparency. SIRVA is also the only provider with a comprehensive service portfolio offering over 50 mobility services. These allow the company to meet its client needs from letter of assignment to repatriation, including immigration consulting, home sale assistance, moving household goods, and family support at the destination.

and humbled. It’s recognition of the hard work the team does every day in making sure the voice of the customer is heard and looked after. SIRVA’s mission is to earn our customers’ trust by caring for their relocation and moving experience wherever the business opportunities take them, and it’s great to see our continued investment in our people, our technology, our products and services, and that our global footprint is bearing results.

HRD: What do you believe is SIRVA’s unique point of difference or unique selling point compared to the other players in the relocation/mobility space? JG: It begins with SIRVA’s value proposition of who we are as a company and how we are recognised in the marketplace: We commit to the highest standards of service, with responsiveness and approachability, and take ownership of the complete customer experience. We take accountability for doing things the right way, no matter what. We invest in our people and leading technology to best serve our customers. We empower our people to think creatively, express

their ideas and proactively develop the best solutions for our customers. We actively engage in and support the communities in which we live and work. In addition, the fact that SIRVA is the only fully integrated moving and relocation company operating in 204 countries and territories allows us to have on-the-ground resources wherever our clients need us. The fact that we direct deliver many of the critical services around the world makes us unique. Our technology platform makes the whole process seamless from start to finish for all stakeholders. But ultimately it boils down to the fact that we offer customisable solutions that are tailored to each client, which is what makes SIRVA an industry leader today.

HRD: How does SIRVA utilise technology in its service offerings? JG: We are capturing the benefits of technology and data analytics by developing powerful, bespoke, secure (SOC 3-accredited) employee- and client-focused technology and data analytics tools available 24/7. While on the move, relocating employees have access to SIRVA Connect – our customisable and intuitive mobile app. This allows them to have real-time access to all relevant information at their fingertips. With its intuitive functionality, the system does the thinking for them and provides the right information at the right time. With its industry-leading convenience and connectivity, SIRVA Connect helps put relocating employees at ease. Our best-in-class SIRVAlytics™ is a simple, integrated reporting platform that is customisable to our clients’ needs. Its predictive analytics help our clients understand and predict and plan for the future.

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SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

ACHIEVEFORUM

WITH EXECUTIVES under immense pressure to guide their organisations through uncharted territory amid constant change, keeping skills up to date and sharp has never been more important. Innovation is the key for the Learning & Development category winner, AchieveForum. Its aim is to equip leaders to succeed in the moments that matter most. By combining the leadership capabilities of AchieveGlobal and The Forum Corporation, AchieveForum provides clients with a wide array of offerings in the leadership development space. AchieveForum Alliance, a new member organisation, leverages the collective knowledge and productive power of many organisations to greatly exceed what’s available to an individual firm. In April 2018, the company introduced

Everyday Coaching, which provides clients with direct access to tools, current insights, and a community of coaches to get the knowledge and support they want – when they want it – on any device. This testimonial from a VP of HR in the semi-conductor industry speaks volumes about the way in which AchieveForum partners with clients: “Our new program goes beyond the classroom to challenge leaders with solving critical business projects using the skills and behaviours of a new leadership development model. Through this experience-based approach, leaders will not only contribute to projects that have a significant impact on our bottom line, but will gain and refine the leadership skills necessary to help drive our company’s evolution.”

HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

UNIT4 ASIA PACIFIC

FEW CATEGORIES are as competitive as human capital management systems. The judges paid close attention to user experience; accessibility to reliable, consistent data; compatability and integration with existing technology; and system mobility – a critical consideration in this ‘anywhere, anytime’ world. The winner of this category, Unit4 Asia Pacific, offers a multi-country HRMS and payroll solution for mid to large organisations. The HRMS, Prosoft, provides a comprehensive range of modules that help HR in areas such as Personnel, Payroll, Leave, Claims, Timesheets, Attendance, Appraisal and HR Insights. Critically, the Payroll module includes multi-country payroll compliance under one payroll engine. Flexibility was the key for our judges. The Unit4 Prosoft HRMS offers multi-platform

deployment options. Customers can choose to deploy the SaaS option, On Premise, with managed hosting, therefore providing a high degree of flexibility. A 99% client retention rate in 2017 is a sure sign that Unit4 is hitting the mark. Unit4 also prides itself on having its management, support and R&D teams locally based in Singapore. This localised support also means the teams can stay on top of the latest regulations and are able to remain compliant with any new updates on the market. One judge voiced the frustration that many HR professionals have with their existing systems: “The frustration I have is that we have great tools but they are not connected – this winning system from Unit4 sounds like it addresses that frustration. I loved the idea of a central system that brings all functions together.”

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PAYROLL SYSTEMS

READY SOFTWARE

THE CHANGES to the payroll function in the business world witnessed by Ready Software since it was established as a software developer in 1993 are considerable. Crossborder operations, local regulations, the rise of gig economy workers, and demands for more user-friendly technology have all played a role in shaping Ready’s offerings. With stories of underpayment of employees breaking almost daily, getting payroll right and remaining compliant with a multitude of laws and regulations has never been more challenging. The key to ReadyPayHR.net’s payroll and HR software on the cloud is just how comprehensive and user-friendly it is. The judges all commented on the impressive nature of the Ready offering, as it combines both a payroll and HR employee data management

system. This extends to employee self-service systems such as ePayslips, eLeave, eClaim, eForm and eNoticeboard. One judge commented: “Ready Software has an impressive commitment to reinvesting back into R&D to remain leading edge. They also have a commitment to engaging and listening to customer requirements. The flexibility built into the system and the ease of scalability is unique.” The judges also noted Ready’s strong local expertise, which allows the company to offer valuable advice, and a high degree of security around compliance issues. Ready Software was also lauded by judges for being able to manage rapid-growth clients while maintaining a level of service that has resulted in a high client retention rate.

ACCENTURE, BOSCH, Canon, Chandler Macleod Group, Daikin, DBS, DuPont, Estée Lauder, General Motors Thailand. These are just some of the clients that use the services of BI WORLDWIDE, a global engagement agency that helps clients drive performance improvement through their employees, channels and customers. The company was founded in 1950 by Guy Schoenecker, who discovered innovative ways to provide consumer loyalty programs and incentives to various industries. It grew into what is now a multinational organisation serving 2,000 corporations in 150-plus countries and more than 20 languages. In terms of reward and recognition, BI WORLDWIDE’s ‘G’ series has been identified by Gartner as a sample vendor in the Hype Cycle for Human Capital Management Software report. A number of new products have been developed and

introduced, including a rewards catalogue and e-commerce platform on the popular WeChat social app for mainland China, and a mobile-first global reward and recognition application (BUZZ). The company’s reward schemes include traditional categories such as vouchers and goods, but have been expanded to offer employees experiences, travel opportunities, and concierge servicing. “A comprehensive reward offering that creates an exceptional employee experience. The ability to theme and tailor rewards is a great bonus for employers.” said one judge, commenting on why BI WORLDWIDE’s offering in the reward and recognition space is so enticing. BI WORLDWIDE’s service offerings make recognition a central part of company culture, helping to continuously recognise employees in easy and practical ways.

REWARD & RECOGNITION

BI WORLDWIDE

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SPECIAL REPORT

HR SERVICE PROVIDER AWARDS

TALENT MANAGEMENT

PAGEUP PEOPLE

PAGEUP IS a global talent management SaaS provider. The PageUp solution unifies recruitment, performance management, learning, compensation, career planning, succession management and advanced workforce analytics to help global employers overcome the talent management challenges that are inherent in operating across multiple geographies. The key benefits of PageUp’s Unified Talent Management solution include: delivery via one platform that facilitates the movement of people and data and creates a consistent and engaging experience for employees visibility and business intelligence provided through a helicopter view of the workforce, supporting quick, smart talent decisions mobile-enabled technology to deliver talent management anytime, anywhere and to empower employees to manage their own careers

high configuration to align with specific business/industry requirements and deliver efficiencies through automation Critically, data on the PageUp platform can produce C-level analytics and reporting that align talent with corporate strategy. The judges were impressed with PageUp’s focus on where its strengths lie: in strategic talent management. This allows the company to quickly deliver innovation that matters to clients. Importantly, PageUp’s R&D budget is wholly invested in a Unified Talent Management solution; it is not segmented or stretched across different products. One judge said: “The range of applications and focus on UX make PageUp a very valuable product. The scale on which it is used globally is testament to its robustness and client service focus.” Another commented: “The focus on employee experience and on-demand cloudbased services shows a clear understanding of what the market is asking for.”

CORPORATE HEALTH & WELLBEING

MEDNEFITS

FROM YOGA classes to mental health clinics, through to healthy food and lifestyle lunchtime talks, it seems corporate health and wellbeing is currently in a golden age. Assisted by user-friendly, peer-driven technology apps and platforms, there is no limit to what employers can offer their employees when it comes to health and wellbeing. In a hard-fought category, the judges were impressed with the disruptive innovation displayed by Mednefits, a new kind of health benefits company that uses technology, data and design to make benefits simple, affordable and human. Mednefits believes in “designing a better healthcare experience for

SMEs and our members – the kind we want for ourselves, and our loved ones”. Mednefits pools SMEs together to give them the buying power of a large enterprise while removing back-office complexity by fully automating the claims process. “We focus on the benefits your employees truly enjoy, to keep your employees healthy and happy. Most importantly, this results in helping you to increase employee retention and productivity,” says CEO and co-founder Chris Teo. It seems to be paying off. Within the past 12 months, Mednefits has grown its customer base tenfold, from 18 SMEs to 180 companies with a total of 15,000 employees.

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PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING

HIRERIGHT

EVERY HR professional knows the cost of a bad hire and acknowledges the increasing importance of pre-employment screening in ensuring that the people they hire are exactly who they claim to be. Founded in 1981, HireRight has more than three decades of experience in background screening, and boasts close to 2,000 employees worldwide in offices across 11 countries and 15 locations. HireRight screened more than 13 million candidates in its last financial year. The four key areas of verification HireRight offers are: identity, credibility, experience, and risk awareness. The judges were impressed with HireRight’s commitment to data privacy, as well as its mission to nurture a culture of safety and security for everyone – from both a candidate and employer perspective. In an industry first, HireRight will be launching a unified global platform to ensure a consistent experience for candidates and customers around the world. This will

allow customers to consolidate and access their global screening programs through an integrated system. However, its products and services are also carefully tailored to regional and country-specific needs. For instance, the Financial Regulatory checks comply with various monetary authorities worldwide. HireRight has also moved with the times. Centred around a mobile-first design, its Applicant Center 2.0 allows candidates to upload photos of documents and complete the background screening process through a handy app. The mobile experience also allows candidates to manage the entire verification process seamlessly across devices – a key feature for the many tech-savvy candidates in Asia who use mobiles as their primary devices, while working across other connected devices at the same time. The system includes intelligent design forms and dynamic help in the form of videos and custom instructions to provide extensive support for the candidate throughout the screening process.

PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENTS

PSYASIA INTERNATIONAL

FROM ONLINE aptitude and personality assessments to HR training, employee screening, psychological assessments and interview services, PsyAsia International has it covered. The company offers premium online training in psychometric testing, leading to international certificates from the British Psychological Society (BPS Level 1 and 2 RQTU). It also offers training and assessment services in Hong Kong and throughout Asia. Across all services, the focus is on scientific, evidence-based psychology. When asked about its value proposition, PsyAsia’s answer is succinct: “All services are backed by cuttingedge science and delivered by fully registered psychologists”.

An impressive list of client testimonials about a BPS Level 1 and 2 course offered by the company tells the story of why PsyAsia International leads the pack. “Very useful for the HR professional to increase the overall standard of new hires,” said one HR manager in the hospitality field. “This is a practical course all managers should attend to ensure hiring the right people for the right position for a longer period of time,” wrote another in financial services. And finally this review from an operations manager in the construction industry: “This course helped me to review my past interview skills and has provided structured interview skills in order to sharpen my competency.”

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FEATURES

INSIDE HR

Winning the battle for tech talent Recruiting tech talent on a massive scale is just one challenge facing Dellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head of global talent acquisition. She shares her tips with HRD

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FOUR TIPS FOR ENGAGING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA Marie Moynihan outlines what has worked for her team at Dell. Engage your employees in storytelling. “Make it authentic, real, gritty. The videos you see on the corporate website are great, but they don’t tend to perform well on social. You want short, snackable content, ideally either video-based or at least with an image – that’s what performs best on social.” Tap into the reach of your employees. “When you develop this content, engage your employees to help promote it and put it out there. They all have contacts in the talent pool you’re after, and people are much more likely to look at something sent by a friend than from a corporate handle.” Choose your platform with care. “If you look at platforms like Facebook, it’s now really an area where you need to pay to play to get decent attraction. The organic content isn’t really performing there any more. On Twitter I would say images perform better; people aren’t really searching Twitter for videos or articles. They are looking more for the bite-sized testimonial with an image. Instagram is actually a great place for employee-generated content.” Customise your content. “You’ll need to make sure it’s locally relevant. If you’re looking to attract people in Brazil, you’ll need to have local team members speaking Portuguese that people can relate to, otherwise it’s a waste.”

Networking is a key component of Dell’s summer program, and students are encouraged to connect with peers across parts of the business during their internship

MOST HR professionals on the hunt for tech talent understand how tough it is: there is simply not enough of it to go round, meaning that it’s very much a candidate’s market. A chat with Dublin-based Marie Moynihan, senior vice president, global talent acquisition, at Dell, confirms that this is a global issue. For an organisation the size of Dell, the problem is magnified tenfold: on average the company hires 20,000 external team members annually, across some 180 countries. The bulk of these roles will fall into the ‘tech’ category. Dell prefers to undertake direct hiring

and will only use external agencies in select markets such as Japan – hence the size of Moynihan’s team is around 500 people spread across the globe. The team’s use of the latest technology is critical to filling roles. “The team is responsible for sourcing the best talent, for developing an authentic, compelling employment brand and getting that message out there,” says Moynihan. “Then of course the team facilitates the selection and the offer process. A big part of it is ensuring we provide a great candidate experience along the way.” The talent acquisition function at Dell is facing some daunting challenges. “The biggest challenge we’re facing is one that’s facing the entire tech sector, and that is that the demand for tech talent – including sales talent – is very much outstripping the supply,” Moynihan says. “One of the reasons for that is that most companies across all sectors now are going through a massive digital transformation of their core product and service offerings, so they are competing alongside the tech industry for this limited pool of talent.” The hurdles don’t end there. Moynihan says the industry is evolving at such a rate that many of the required skills are brand new, and the education sector is struggling

to keep pace. “Data scientists, cybersecurity specialists, user experience designers – these are roles that didn’t exist 10 years ago. Now these skills are in high demand, but the talent isn’t necessarily there,” she says. The third key challenge is that the pool of candidates is not as diverse as companies like Dell would ideally like. “Seventy per cent of employees who work in the tech sector today are men, so we really need to see more girls opting to take STEM-related subjects at university so they can move into the talent pool later on. That is a big issue, and it’s really not changing at a fast rate,” says Moynihan.

A plan of attack So how is Dell tackling these issues? Moynihan says that, firstly, the company knows what candidates are looking for in this sector. She cites research from the likes of LinkedIn, which paints a clear picture of what people want from their workplace. “They want challenging work where they feel they can personally make an impact; they’re looking for a culture and values set that is very open, respectful and flexible. They also want to constantly learn and develop their careers. Our focus is very much on targeting talent with messages of

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FEATURES

INSIDE HR

Texas interns enjoying their University Relations welcome event. Activities included table-top games, food and networking opportunities

Winners of the MA Intern Kickoff event’s welcome raffle attended a Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park

Summer interns in Massachusetts gathered for a photo in Hopkinton during the Welcome from University Relations event

Dell Round Rock interns pose during an event. Social media competitions for interns are a great way for students to share their projects and experiences throughout the summer

Director business operations Jackie Thomas at Dell’s Santa Clara, California, campus after filming for Dell’s Women in Technology video and blog series

how all this can be achieved at Dell.” Moynihan adds that Dell is at the epicentre of this digital transformation and is having an impact on all the major trends in technology. This also means the company is able to ensure employees gain exposure and experience in a rapidly changing landscape. “When we talk to candidates we talk a lot about their career progression opportunities, not just a specific role,” she explains. In addition, Dell is a leader in flexible work arrangements and ranked number six on the Forbes list of the top 100 companies for remote jobs. Over 50% of the Dell global workforce

“When we talk to candidates we talk a lot about their career progression opportunities, not just a specific role” Marie Moynihan, Dell work outside a traditional office space at least once a week. “That’s a big selling point for us and it helps in attracting the best talent regardless of where they sit,” says Moynihan. From a professional development perspective, Dell provides a significant amount of internal development to ensure team members can upgrade their skills and gain new certifications in the technology field – all of which can be undertaken while employees are working. In addition, close collaboration with universities aims to develop the right kind of curricula for these new

skills. At an even earlier stage, partnerships with schools aim to showcase STEM-related careers, particularly to women. “We have to remind girls that IT is not just for geeky guys, so we go to schools and show videos of the work environment and interviews with people who are doing really interesting jobs,” Moynihan says. “We ask at the beginning of these sessions how many are considering tech jobs, and out of 50 people maybe only four put their hand up. At the end of the session one hour later, 25 hands go up. It just shows that you’ve got to get out there and show people what it is really like to work in this sector.”

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BIG DATA AND HR AT DELL Marie Moynihan provides insights into how Dell is making smarter decisions.

A few Dell employees who were featured in Dell’s Women in Technology video and blog series at the Santa Clara, California, campus. Authentically sharing employees’ success stories is a valuable way Dell connects with potential candidates

Talent acquisition in a digital age Few areas within HR’s remit have been disrupted so radically by technology as talent acquisition. Moynihan says technology today is an “essential ingredient” to attract and hire talent. Breaking talent acquisition down to its component parts, on the attraction side the big change is social media. “Social media platforms are now critical to, firstly, getting your brand messaging out there, and secondly, your specific job postings,” Moynihan says. “LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Glassdoor, Indeed are all platforms that we are heavily invested in, and additionally we’ll use localised platforms such as WeChat in China, which is their Facebook equivalent.” In terms of pipeline talent management, Moynihan says a scalable applicant-tracking system is crucial. Dell uses Workday, which Moynihan says is great because it integrates everything from the minute a candidate applies through to retirement. “You’ve got all the data on team members right across the employee life cycle in one place,” she says. A candidate relationship management system, or CRM, is also vital to maintaining relationships with talent who might not fit today because there is no suitable open role for them – but they might be great talent for

“The main way we’re using big data is in trying to determine the best fit for key roles. What we’re doing is taking the myriad of data sources that we have on team members, and our data scientists are then correlating that data with psychometric profiles that we ask candidates or team members to complete. Sales roles are a good example. We’re looking at things like time to proficiency, revenue and margin attainment, retention, and then we correlate that with psychometric profiles to identify if there are particular traits that lead people to be more successful in our environment. “We’ve also done some interesting work linking employee engagement with customer satisfaction and overall sales performance. That has helped to convince the broader leadership in the company of the value of employee engagement and in particular the impact of inspirational leaders. We can show that people who work for inspiring leaders have higher sales attainment. So that hard data is making it much easier to get leaders to internalise the culture and behaviours we’re looking for as a company.” the future. It’s important to stay connected. Dell uses Avature for this purpose. Dell also utilises InterviewStream video technology for live interviews. In addition, for some entry-level roles candidates will be asked to respond to questions on video in their own time. Onboarding is administered online – forms are filled out and submitted electronically, and new hires can view videos on the culture at Dell. In short, Dell is one global giant that is – rightfully – utilising the latest technology to engage with talent.

The future of recruiting Where does Moynihan see talent acquisition moving to in the future? From the attraction perspective she feels the trend is very much towards existing team members being talent ambassadors and advocates for the employer brand. “Ensuring they have a good experience and are talking about that experience socially has never been more critical,” she says. Moynihan also believes talent acquisition will be one of the earliest HR functions to adopt AI and machine learning technologies. “I see great opportunities for this technology to help funnel the most relevant talent for opportunities that arise, thus reducing the sourcing component of the recruiting role,” she says. Indeed, the role of the recruiter in time may

become more like that of an account manager. “They’ll focus on qualifying roles upfront, provide expertise in the selection process, and manage the customer experience, both for hiring managers and candidates. They’ll then use big data and analytics to improve the process,” Moynihan says. These insights will fundamentally change the work of recruiters – mainly by forcing them to focus more heavily on the candidate experience, which will increasingly be viewed like the customer experience: tailored and highly personalised. “People want a more personalised approach, an Amazon-type approach,” says Moynihan. “They’re not getting that today in the candidate market, but I believe that’s where it’s heading.” She adds that, on the diversity front, technology may also help to remove bias from decision-making. For example, we might start seeing candidates using avatars instead of photographs or videos of themselves. “There’s a world of possibilities emerging in this space, and it’s all about personalisation, being real, being authentic. These changes are also impacting who we hire into the talent acquisition space,” says Moynihan. “It’s not necessarily just about HR skills; we’re looking for people with marketing, social media and sales skills.”

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

A PROBLEM-SOLVER

Nada George believes it’s not about having all the answers but about being determined to work at it until you do Nada George learnt the value of education and a strong work ethic from her immigrant parents when, in her last year at school, where she was vice-captain, she won a prize that she didn’t even know existed. “It was for building relationships across the board. It made me think about what I wanted to do next -- I wanted to work with people. It got me thinking about HR. It was an important moment; the award was the clincher.”

1999

1995

WINS PRIZE, DECIDES HER FUTURE

ESTABLISHES REPUTATION Early in her career, a generalist role saw George become the go-to person for systems-related matters. It was her first experience of working across territories and it built her reputation. “[I heard about] a meeting at which they were discussing … the Asia-Pacific, and someone said, ‘Nada’s taking care of it; it’ll be fine’ – and the meeting moved on. It’s not about having the answers; it’s about being determined to problem-solve until you do.”

FINDS CRUCIAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE George supplemented her learning with a new program freshly added by her university, which augmented her studies in the field of industrial relations and HR so that her economics degree became a triple major. “At the end of my first year they announced a new stream called management. I thought the management piece of the puzzle was really important. Picking up the additional units was not a big deal; if you love something it’s not a burden.”

2004

JUMPS IN AT THE DEEP END

2012

MAKES A CHANGE A demanding role that required a move to China provided an ideal conclusion to George’s time at Honeywell. “It was a great way to pull my experience together: we hired 600 people in two years. I had grown up at Honeywell; it was time really well spent. But I was homesick. I could be comfortable or I could take a step in another direction. I realised that if you’re afraid to make a move, that’s probably the time to make it.”

2016

EXPANDS PORTFOLIO A month into her maternity leave, George got a call telling her of a company restructuring that would add the Philippines and Malaysia to her portfolio.

“It’s about helping our leaders lead and bringing value in different ways. It’s about asking great questions and being strategic … My challenge is to determine how best to help empower people” 62

1996

Eighteen months into a new role at Honeywell, George became known for having a handle on the data in a complex situation following a failed merger. When the AsiaPacific region was restructured, the new regional head asked her to work for him. “It was really jumping in the deep end. I did what I needed to do to get us through the chaos. Those were formative years. I was on the road three weeks out of four internationally for years.”

2013

BUILDS A TEAM George replaced her US expat leader at Amex in the VP post for ANZ. It was both her first board position and the first time she had a team all in the same place. “We had a great team; it’s easier to build camaraderie when you’re sitting next to them. The experience was a nice consolidation of all that had come before. I loved what I did, was excited about it; I wanted to solve things, to improve it however I could.”

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email hrdeditor@keymedia.com

Most recently, Saliba joined a hip-hop dance crew. “It’s more intense than anything I’ve done before,” she says.

2 years old Saliba’s youngest-ever dance student

Estimated number of competitions in which Saliba has taken part

7am–2am Length of Saliba’s day when filming The Veronica’s clip

DANCING UP A STORM When she’s not consulting for the Disability Trust, you’re most likely to find Sara Saliba centre stage DANCE HAS been a part of Sara Saliba’s life since the age of two, when the now-HR consultant’s parents signed their constantly pirouetting toddler up for lessons. Since then she has studied jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, ballet and modern dance up to four days a week; activities that have been supplemented by teaching – from the age of 16 – and choreography.

But it was more recently, when the thenWollongong resident won a scholarship for a workshop that culminated in a dance role in a professional music video clip, that she says she “started to get hungry for more”. Performing in video clips has since become a sideline for Saliba, who has appeared in promotional videos for such high-profile recording artists as The Veronicas, Guy

Sebastian and Samantha Jade. While Saliba says performing has helped her in her professional life by making her more comfortable with speaking in front of a group, what really keeps her going back is the pure joy of dance. “Any physical exercise is good for relieving stress, but dancing makes me happy anytime – it’s pure happiness and joy.”

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