HRM 12.5

Leadership development Recruiting young hires Employee empowerment

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ISSUE 12.5

Ready for take-off Overcoming people challenges at start-ups

CONTENTS hrm12.5

COVER STORY 22 Ready for take-off

The start-up scene in Singapore is flourishing. HRM finds out the biggest HR challenges small companies with big dreams face, and what they are doing to conquer them

IN THIS COVER STORY “Some local start-ups don’t have enough vision and lack clarity in their business plan. This makes it hard to convince talented people to join” Mohan Belani, director of Singapore start-up, e27

EDITOR

TRAFFIC MANAGER

JOURNALISTS

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Evelyn Lim

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Yogesh Chandiramani

Sumathi V Selvaretnam Shalini Shukla-Pandey Priya de Langen EDITORIAL RESEARCHER

Vivien Shiao Shufen

Fiza Ramli Amos Lee

John Paul Lozano

REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR

ACCOUNT MANAGERS

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

GENERAL MANAGER

Natasha Vincent Charlene Lim

Kaveri Ayahsamy

REGIONAL MANAGING EDITOR

George Walmsley

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Richard Curzon

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

David Teng Photography PRINTED BY

Times Printers Pte Ltd

MICA (P) 158/07/2010 ISSN 0219-6883

Published by: Key Media Pte Ltd 121 Telok Ayer Street #02-01 Singapore 068590 • T: +65 6423-4631 • F: +65 6423-4632 • E: info@keymedia.com.sg

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hrm12.5 CONTENTS

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46 FEATURES

14 Electric Dreams

Singapore-based energy company YTL PowerSeraya believes that its employees generate ideas and solutions, driving the organisation forward.

Individualised career road maps and continuous learning and development are therefore paramount for long term growth, says CEO John Ng Peng Wah.

18 NXP Semiconductors – Assembling Top Talent

The growing adoption of tablet PCs, smartphones and e-book readers is driving rapid growth in the semiconductors industry. Companies like NXP are catching this wave of change and adjusting their HR strategies to meet new demands. This involves managing and training existing employees, while attracting new talent in large numbers. HRM reports.

26 Uplifting Your Service

Ron Kaufman, founder of UP! Your Service, has worked over 20 years to help organisations build strong service cultures. He says changing the negative perception of service has to come from within each organisation.

34 Power To Decide

A growing number of organisations are empowering employees by giving them responsibility to make day-to-day decisions. HRM finds that this engages them with the business for even better long-term results

38 Supporting International Talent

As companies in the region continue to operate in an increasingly globalised business environment, they will inevitably need to look for talent beyond their own borders. Whilst having a global and mobile workforce is now recognised as a critical component for success, managing that multinational talent does have its own unique challenges.

46 True Leaders Stand Out

Interpersonal skills are what set great leaders apart from mere good ones in the new world of work. Success today depends on combined cooperation and people skills. HRM finds out what training initiatives companies are adopting to build these up among present and future leaders.

30 Fresh Off The Bus

Increasingly, employers are warning of a talent gap when it comes to fresh graduates looking for their first job. Many are taking the initiative and helping their university-educated recruits on general work skills both before and after they are hired.

REGULARS 4 Analysis

52 Resources

55 Viewpoint

59 Talent Feature

6 News

53 In Person

57 Talent Challenge

61 Viewpoint

12 Leaders on Leadership

54 Twenty-four Seven

58 Talent Ladder

63 Executive Appointments

Contact us: Read something you like? Or something you don’t? Perhaps there’s some insight we haven’t considered?

Have your say on HRM’s news, features, and contributions by emailing: info@keymedia.com.sg

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analysis

What will the law say?

The soon-to-be reviewed Employment Act will look into more worker protection and be updated to be relevant to the changing labour landscape

T

he Singapore workforce will soon be seeing more worker protection and better working conditions, with the Employment Act being reviewed this year.

During the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Workplan Seminar, Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for Manpower and National Development said that the Government wants to raise the quality of existing jobs, by ensuring Singaporean workers are treated fairly and responsibly.

The Employment Act (EA) is set to change to keep the legislative framework relevant and up-to-date with the changing working landscape and to ensure that employers adhere to employment laws, said Minister Tan. It will also try to address the work arrangements for employees on short-term contracts as well as look into more protection for low-wage workers.

“First of all, the character of our labour force is changing. Singaporeans The Employment Act was are becoming more educated. We are last reviewed in seeing more Professional, Managers and Executives (PMEs) in our workforce,” he said. Currently, PMEs form about 32% of the resident workforce, which is an increase from 27% in 2001.

Also, he said “we see a lot more outsourcing that is taking place. As a result of that, there are changes to work arrangements, so we have short-term contracts, for example, emerging over the years. Thus, we need to look at the EA in the context of these changes.”

The Employment Act was introduced in 1968 and has been reviewed a few times since. It was last reviewed in 2008.

For the review this year, MOM will work with tripartite partners and other stakeholders to take into account the interests of workers and employers. MOM will also be seeking feedback from the public and will be conducting a public consultation exercise in the second half of 2012.

2008

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Employers point out that they would like to see some changes in certain areas of the Employment Act, namely more employees to be covered under it. Currently, the Act covers junior managers and executives earning up to a basic monthly salary of S$2,500. They are protected against the non-payment of salary and can pursue their salary claims at the MOM Labour Court.

Experts say that the Act should be extended so that employees who are earning more than $2,500 can also seek redress at court. Annie Yap, Managing Director, AYP Associates says that the salary band should be increased to include coverage for employees earning between $4,000 to $5,000 and not just those in the lower wage scale.

Wendy Cheong, Director, Human Resources Department, Science Centre Singapore, says that “it may be appropriate time for the government to review the Employment Act, especially the wage conditions for low wage workers, because the living standard in Singapore has gone up substantially while the minimum wage for this group of workers has not proportionately increased.”

However, she says that the Government needs to take into consideration the business costs for employers should the minimum wage be increased drastically.

Besides the minimum wage for low paid workers, there is also a call for more protection for this group of employees. MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Zainul Sapari, in an interview with regards to the difficulties faced by low-wage workers in labour disputes in Today, stated companies do not face any punitive measures for delaying or not paying employees’ salaries when ordered by the Labour Court. Such companies should be fined or brought to court again, says Yap. On the same note, the Government is planning to improve conditions for low-wage workers, especially those who have less than balanced working relationships with their employers, said Minister Tan. Furthermore, as more organisations are looking into contract or short-term, employers say that the revised Act should address this group of employees also. “I think the Act should be updated to cover this group of employees since there are risks involved being a contract or freelance employee,” says Yap. Another major issue that Minister Tan highlighted is the compliance rates of employers when it comes to employment laws. “We acknowledge that regulations are only as good as their compliance rates, and laws are only relevant and make sense when we can enforce them,” he said.

The Ministry will be stepping up efforts to ensure that employers comply with employment laws, including the CPF Act and Employment Act. This follows findings that CPF contributions are in arrears. In 2011, CPF audits and investigations helped recover S$9.5 million in CPF arrears for 10,000 employees in 3,700 companies.

NEWS ASIA ASIA

SINGAPORE

Most hires perceived as ‘average’ or ‘bad’

Top complaint: Job bias against locals

While hiring expectations in Asia are generally positive, most hires are perceived as ‘average’ or even ‘bad’.

According to the quarterly Hudson Report for Asia, in China and Singapore, the proportion is more than 50%.

At 64% across all sectors, China has the highest proportion of hires considered to be ‘average’ or ‘bad’. The exception is the consumer goods sector, where respondents say that 49% of recent hires are not regarded as ‘good’. The proportion of poorer hires for other sectors ranges from 65% to 71%.

Fifty-four per cent of hires are considered ‘average’ or ‘bad’ in Singapore. At 51%, the Manufacturing and Industrial sector has the lowest proportion of ‘average’ or ‘bad’ hires, while the consumer, advertising, and media sector reported the highest – 58%.

Hong Kong has a lower proportion of ‘average’ or ‘bad’ hires overall compared to the other two markets, however at 46% it is still considered significant. At 41%, the lowest proportion of ‘average’ or ‘bad’ hires was reported by the Banking & Financial Services sector.

Mark Carriban, Managing Director, Greater China, Hudson comments: “In a challenging economic environment, organisations with robust hiring practices that enable them to identify and recruit high quality candidates have a significant competitive advantage.”

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While top discrimination-related complaints are traditionally related to age, language and race, concerns over fair opportunities for local Singaporeans emerged as the top issue in 2011 for the first time. According to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices’ (TAFEP) 2011 Annual Review, the total number of complaints of this nature rose to 277 last year, from 115 in 2010.

TAFEP has approached more than 100 employers over allegations of discrimination based on nationality. Concerns include those related to job advertisements stating a preference for foreigners, and foreign supervisors favouring their own countrymen.

According to Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for Manpower and National Development, TAFEP has seen more complaints since enhancements were made to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices last October.

The enhancements aimed to ensure jobs advertised were open to all Singaporeans.

All reported discriminatory job advertisements were subsequently removed and, in two cases, the employers were warned by the Ministry of Manpower, said Tan. Other complaints related to nationality include allegations of employers purposely speaking a different language, employees having to eat separately, and local staff receiving condescending remarks.

MALAYSIA

Employee and expatriate confidence soars Positive business conditions, coupled with government initiatives to provide training and development opportunities to local workers, is creating a high level of confidence among white collar professionals in Malaysia.

According to findings in the Michael Page Employee Intentions Report for Malaysia 2012, 67% of Malaysiabased respondents consider the market to be strong or very strong.

Optimism in the country’s employment market is also being felt by Malaysian expatriates, the majority of who currently work in Singapore, with 56% of the opinion that Malaysia’s current job market is “strong” or “very strong”. Further, 59% predict an improvement or significant improvement compared to last year’s employment market.

This sentiment is expected to translate into heightened job seeker activity with around 40% of professionals reporting it

“highly likely” they will change jobs within the next six months and many expatriates also considering a move home for work.

“With increased competition in the job market among local professionals and returning expatriates, employers will need to implement effective strategies to keep top performers in their business,” says Paul Cooper, Regional Director of Michael Page International in Malaysia.

For Malaysian-based professionals intending to seek new employment opportunities, career growth (46%) and a salary increase (20%) are the two main reasons cited. These two reasons will also influence employees to remain with their current employer, with 39% of survey respondents citing career development opportunities as a reason to stay, followed by financial reward (35%).

“Based on these findings, we know that companies offering structured career development opportunities and the most competitive salaries will be in the best position to both attract and retain their best people,” says Cooper. “This is particularly important as the local job market receives an influx of potential talent, including returning expats with international experience.”

NEWS INTERNATIONAL UK

WORLD

Older employees faring well

International experience counts

Older workers in the UK, especially women, have been faring well since the recession, says a new study on the subject.

According to The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) report; Age, gender and the jobs recession, there are 271,000 (8%) more women aged 50-64 in the labour market than at the start of the recession in 2008, and 200,000 (6.2%) more in work. The number of men in this age group in employment has risen by only 3,000.

Women aged 50-64, and men and women aged 65 and over are the only age groups to have registered an increase in overall employment rates since the start of the jobs recession. They have also registered the smallest increases in unemployment.

On the other hand, people aged 25-34 are the only other age group to see a rise in employment over the course of the jobs recession, with the number in work increasing by 249,000 (4%). Much of that increase is likely to have come from inward

EUROPE

migration, the research found.

Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser at the CIPD, said that when it International experience can be counted as a comes to work, older people clearly fared key factor in career success, according to a better than younger jobseekers, older new report by recruiter Hydrogen Group. women having done best of all.

Survey results from the Global “While a combination of population ageing Professionals on the Move Report 2012 show and fewer people wanting to retire early, either that almost three quarters of respondents for financial reasons or because of a broader (72%) think their employers view desire to prolong their working lives, is boosting international experience as either “important” the older workforce, it is older women that are or “very important”. This is up from the 63% getting most of the available jobs,” he said. revealed in last year’s report.

He also adds that further examination Also, 94% of respondents are considering is needed to find out why this happening. relocating or have already done so, and they Moreover, Dr Philpott said that there is a are taking the step to gain international need to continually stress the business case experience because they recognise it as a key for an even more age diverse workforce as factor in career success. the economy starts to recover. This is The study also found that international particularly true migration of professionals is given so much increasing, with three destinations public policy being the most popular – the US, action is focused Australia, and the UK. on cutting youth Women working overseas are unemployment, doing it earlier in their careers: (US$765) minimum he said.

36% of women who are already monthly wage in Greece abroad are between 21 and 30, Source: Reuters while this applies to just 17% of men. Only 19% of women are over 40, compared to nearly 50% of the men surveyed.

Dan Church, Client Services Director at European businesses are cutting back on Hydrogen, said the most significant impact of the skills development at the very time when they global financial crisis has been that migration is should invest more; and skills shortages are spread more widely than ever before. “People persisting in spite of a very large pool of now need to go where the revenue is,” he unused talent here and across the world,” said explained. “Five years ago this might have been Mark Spelman, MD, Strategy, Accenture.

New York, London or Hong Kong; now it is also The study also showed that employers are Shanghai, Houston, Vietnam and so on.” He not sufficiently exploiting the available skills added that workers recognise the value of of many of Europe’s 25 million unemployed international experience on their CV, and are people or the additional 15 million who have queuing up for international assignments. withdrawn from the labour force owing to a lack of opportunity including older people, mothers and youths.

A total of 500 senior decision makers from European businesses, government agencies and civil society organisations were surveyed.

€580

Businesses cut training expenditure Eighty six percent of European employers have cut or frozen spending on skills and training in the last 12 months despite a continued concern over skills shortages, according to new research.

The report, Turning the Tide: How Europe Can Rebuild Skills and Generate Growth revealed that only 18% of companies and bodies plan to increase spending on skills and training over the next 12 months. Yet, 43% of them currently face at least moderate skills shortages and 72% of respondents say Europe’s businesses, policy makers and civil society organisations need to increase investment in this area.

“There’s a double paradox in that

What it should have been

In the previous issue of HRM, we wrote that the Dairy Farm Group hires 9,700 full-time and part-time employees across the Asia Pacific. It was also mentioned that the size of its regional HR team is 50. This is incorrect. These numbers solely apply to its operations in Singapore.

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NEWS INTERNATIONAL LATIN AMERICA

Latin America should tap youth talent Latin American countries need to leverage their booming youthful populations to improve their talent pipeline, reveals a report by Manpower Group.

According to the report How to Unleash Latin America’s Greatest Resource: Talentism is the New Capitalism, even though there is a large untapped youth population, employers have difficulty filling jobs, due to a lack of appropriate skills sets.

Employers in the region are having more trouble filling jobs than the global average, with nearly six out of 10 Brazilian employers, and 42% of those in Mexico, having difficulty filling jobs. Yet unemployment remains a problem for the region.

Jeff Joerres, Manpower Group Chairman and CEO, and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on Latin America, said: “Latin America is taking on a much

stronger role in the global economy as the region’s economies grow and the demographics become more powerful, but increasingly talent is the differentiator.”

He added that talent is everywhere within Latin America’s large and youthful populations, yet nowhere as employers struggle to find the right skills to leverage growth opportunities. “The region must overcome its skills mismatch by developing its existing workforce if it is to truly realise its growth potential.”

IRELAND

Jump in Irish emigration The economic downturn in Ireland is pushing its citizens overseas to find employment, and the most popular destination is Australia.

Ireland’s Central Statistics Office has reported a 16.9% increase in Irish emigration for 2011, and the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has found a 68% jump in visas granted to Irish workers over the past year.

According to the Global Post, Australia’s growing economy, mixed with the boom in its mining and construction industries, has made it an attractive location for work. The West Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has forecast that that state alone will need an additional 500,000 workers by 2020, with a shortfall in the workforce expected in 2017.

Healthway_DiscoverBetterCare_FA2.indd 1

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leaders on leadership

L&D in tough times Should businesses still invest in their learning and development despite the bleak economic outlook?

Professor Vivekanand Gopalkrishnan

Clement Goh

Managing Director, Equinix

Director of Research, Deloitte Analytics Institute Asia

Turbulent times provide great opportunities for businesses to reinvent themselves from both tactical and strategic perspectives, and smarter companies ask how they should invest in their manpower development.

We believe that the focus and quantum of such efforts should be guided by risk analyses and forecasts of the market, the talent space, as well as disruptive forces.

Many economic trends are fairly cyclical, and successful companies learn to recognise, predict and adapt to them.

Upgrading manpower skills with structured programmes during downturns allows them to improve performance and utilisation rates during better times. A proactive training plan ensures business continuity in the face of attrition, and is also well appreciated by employees, as it aligns with their personal development goals.

However, disruptive forces – whether geo-political, technological, or social – present greater threats and opportunities. Assessing such external forces, predicting their impact on the business, and developing action plans with accurate reward-risk metrics empowers companies to make strategic decisions on many issues including talent development and retention.

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In today’s economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make sure businesses are setting aside training funds that are targeted toward the most effective programmes in order to provide best possible outcomes for employees.

Those who do not invest in their employees put themselves at risk of losing their best talent or relevance in the industry. For example, to keep up with rapid technological changes, employees need to learn how to build and operate modern applications that they might not be familiar with.

Employees, who serve as the foundation and frontrunners of businesses are most motivated and productive at work when they are learning new skills and moving ahead. Working in a competitive environment will challenge them to set and meet bigger goals. With growth, they are also able to take the lead on different projects within the company and gain exposure to different roles and functions.

The learning curve for employees in any company is essential to keep up with the competition. Keeping them empowered gives businesses strong support and flexible strategies to weather the changing economic environment.

Natasha Kwan

Managing Director of South Asia and Chairman, Singapore, T-Systems

At T-Systems, broadening and honing our people’s skills is important to us.

The last economic downturn saw many companies scaling back on their investments, including cutting back on training. At T-Systems, however, we continued to invest in our people. In key offices, we offered our employees 1,500 days to participate in further education programmes. As a result, our employee fluctuation rate reduced and revenues increased.

Today, our employees are still provided with a wide array of career and development opportunities. We have in place a company-wide e-learning platform that offers easily accessible tools and learning materials for all employees. We provide support for our managers to further their expertise with MBA programmes from major global business schools. We also conduct regular staff exchange programmes abroad to further develop their career.

We continue to provide our employees with the latest in training technology and techniques because at the end of the day, people are at the core of our business. From our experience, we know that a business needs qualified, competent and highly engaged employees and leaders to ensure success, in any economic climate.

leaders talk hr

L

Singapore-based energy company YTL PowerSeraya believes that its employees generate ideas and solutions, driving the organisation forward.

Individualised career road maps and continuous learning and development are therefore paramount for long term growth, says CEO John Ng Peng Wah

eading energy provider YTL PowerSeraya believes in offering training and cross-functional opportunities so that its 400-strong workforce can develop and attain their full potential.

While the company’s core business is centred on generation and retailing of electricity, it is also rapidly becoming a diversified energy company, supplying utility services such as electricity, steam and cooling water, engaging in oil trading, and producing water through reverse osmosis desalination.

With these new developments and the automation of many work processes, the company has been experiencing a wave of manpower changes and in the last 15 to 20 years, says John Ng Peng Wah, CEO, YTL PowerSeraya. “The focus has shifted from oil-fired plants to gas-fired plants, so we have to reconfigure the skill sets of our people.”

Turning up the heat

Increasing productivity is one of the key things on the HR agenda at YTL PowerSeraya. The company takes a holistic approach towards this, cutting across various business units.

Efforts at raising productivity are driven by the ‘R-cube’ Productivity Task Force which comprises members from all departments of the company. The team looks at areas such as minimising the company’s environmental footprint as well as ways of using less resources to generate the same output.

Getting staff involved in these efforts makes them feel empowered and increases their sense of ownership in driving things forward, says Ng. “Productivity must come from the ground so we try to drive it at the managerial level instead of through senior management.”

Electric

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam

YTL PowerSeraya has also been outsourcing less important work functions to third-party service providers so that its employees can focus on skills that are critical for its core business. As a result, jobs like cleaning and servicing of general equipment are now farmed out. According to Ng, this enables employees to channel their attention to core functions like jetty management, storage management as well as the maintenance and operation of key equipment.

Elevating abilities

Talent development at YTL PowerSeraya not only serves as an effective retention tool but also enables employees to meet changing job demands and external changes in the industry.

The company places a lot of emphasis on developing the creativity and skills of its employees. In 2011, it invested S$900,000 on some 800 training

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leaders talk hr

Bio brief John Ng was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the PowerSeraya Group in May 2009. An industry veteran with more than 20 years of commercial and engineering experience under his belt, he transitioned with the Company from its PUB days to the current PowerSeraya Group.

Prior to his current appointment, Ng was the Group’s Senior Vice President of Retail & Regulations.

During his tenure, Seraya Energy – the Group’s retail arm – witnessed rapid business growth and made it to the list as one of Singapore’s 50 fastest growing companies for two consecutive years.

Until his appointment, Ng has also held other management positions within PowerSeraya, including General Manager of Business. He currently serves on the PowerSeraya Board. He is also currently a council member of the Singapore National Employers Federation.

He holds a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from National University of Singapore and a Master of Science in Material Science from Carnegie Mellon University, USA.

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leaders talk hr

Me-myself-I + I love: Working in a focused and dynamic environment surrounded by warm, passionate and friendly colleagues + I dislike: People who seek unrealistic success targets without putting in their fair share of hard work + My inspiration: Many of our political leaders who have humbly guided and shaped this nation + Strength: Desire to learn new things and applying them to life + Weakness: Impatience, and this trait reveals too readily at times + Five years on: Make a significant contribution towards the less privileged in countries that deserve our help + Favourite quote: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (known psychology professor noted for his works in the study of happiness and creativity): "Unless a person takes charge of them, both work and free time are likely to be disappointing."

places for its workforce. This works out to an average of two training places per employee.

Training programmes at YTL PowerSeraya aim to increase technical competencies as well as professional and management skills. “Employees can only be happy at work if they are engaged in what they are doing and engaged with their supervisors and subordinates,” Ng says.

The Transformational Leadership Development programme for example, aims to raise engagement levels and help managers become more effective leaders. Here, the emphasis is on coaching rather than instructive learning and the programme serves as a constant platform for employees to engage their subordinates. “It helps managers understand who they are working with and why different people work in a certain manner,” Ng explains.

Group discussions are held every two to three months for the sharing of “training nuggets” or best practices. Employees are also allowed to attend external workshops, seminars and conferences to improve their professional and personal competencies. An Employee Sponsorship Scheme provides staff with the opportunity to upgrade themselves in their areas of interest. A number of employees have earned their Masters’ degree through this initiative, Ng says.

Drawing young talent

Attracting fresh blood into the organisation is a key HR challenge for YTL PowerSeraya. “Many of our young graduates do not want to become engineers. The commercial side is more attractive to them.”

YTL PowerSeraya runs a very targeted recruitment programme to draw in young talent. It offers internships and bond-free scholarship for students from the Nanyang Technological University. “This lets them learn more about our business and be excited by what we are doing. In the process, they would join us or spread the word around their campus,” Ng says.

Young employees are also encouraged to constantly upgrade their skills and the company sponsors local degrees for candidates who show good potential.

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leaders talk hr

Striking a balance

Labour relations

YTL PowerSeraya is constantly seeking YTL PowerSeraya maintains strong ties with the Union of Power and Gas Employees ways to help employees strike a balance (UPAGE). “The union has been very proactive in working with management of all power between their work and family life. companies in Singapore. We have been able to close off a lot of gaps between union A staggered start time scheme was matters and management matters,” says John Ng Peng Wah, CEO, YTL PowerSeraya. introduced in 2010 to help employees opt The energy giant also works closely with UPAGE and supports them in their various for a work schedule that suits them, within initiatives. It contributes to the UPAGE Endowment Fund, which provides bursaries for management time limits. Selected children of all members. employees are also given a “P.A.T” on their back through a “YTL PowerSeraya Achiever Treat.” Under this, employees get to relax and recharge at affiliated YTL resorts.

Another highlight is its Vibrancy Club, which organises activities like dinner and dances as well as family days for employees. It recently organised an excursion to Bottle Tree Park where employees learnt the basics of organic farming. Activities like these help bring strong foundations between colleagues, Ng says. “It is extremely important that staff find a balance in the organisation as they will be able to contribute a lot more.”

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hr insider

NXP Semiconductors –

Assembling top talent 18

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hr insider

The growing adoption of tablet PCs, smartphones and e-book readers is driving rapid growth in the semiconductors industry. Companies like NXP are catching this wave of change and adjusting their HR strategies to meet new demands. This involves managing and training existing employees, while attracting new talent in large numbers. HRM reports.

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey

N

XP Semiconductors has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past five years. In 2006, the business was bought from Philips by a group of private equity investors, but by 2008 the company’s outlook was bleak.

“We were facing a lot of challenges across the board, especially considering the economic downturn in 2008,” recalls Robert Rigby-Hall, Chief HR Officer, NXP Semiconductors. “It was imperative that we took radical action; so we defined a blueprint for our survival. We redefined our product strategy, carefully choosing which areas to focus on and which to leave alone, redesigned processes, streamlined the organisation and set out a plan for success.”

Today, the picture is fundamentally different. After going through a successful IPO in 2010 with a listing on the NASDAQ, + Total number of staff: NXP has a total the organisation is on an upward trajectory and has a high of 25,000 employees across 25 proportion of market-leading positions. countries. NXP places heavy emphasis “To give just two examples, every single car manufacturer on research and development and in the world, with only one exception, uses our technology for has approximately 3,200 personnel their Car Access and Electronic Immobilizer systems,” says working in Research and Development Rigby-Hall. “Also, 85% of e-passports in the world and innovation across the globe. incorporate our chips.” + Size of HR team: 160 HR has played a critical role in reducing organisation costs, + Key HR focus areas: Taking initiative, improving processes and getting the company ready for IPO. being accountable and learning “We’re now in the growth phase which is why HR is changing,” says Rigby-Hall. “Currently, we are focusing on further embedding our new values to drive our future culture, optimising labour flexibility, ensuring we have the best talent in the right locations, and in making sure that all 25,000 employees are aligned with the mission of NXP and are fully engaged in helping the company reach its potential.”

At a glance

Taking ownership

Asia is an important market for NXP as the organisation expands its operations here. In addition, the semiconductor industry is evolving at a rapid pace and the challenges that employees face are constantly changing as well.

“As such, we need a committed team that can grow with NXP as it continues to progress,” says Rigby-Hall. “By fostering an independent and self-motivated environment, our employees will be well-equipped with the right attitude and skill-sets to address the challenges we face.”

In order to develop current staff and bring in new talents to revitalise its operations, NXP has spearheaded a number of HR strategies, including issue 12.5

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“Our business is incredibly fast-moving so it’s not for the faint hearted. You need to be curious, analytical, think on your feet, take ownership and move fast. That’s what makes it exciting and great fun!”

employee development engagements, as well as revising its values and culture, and employer branding to align staff with NXP's objectives.

The HR strategy is drawn up after listening to customers and through extensive meetings that take place between HR business partners and the leaders they support. The insights were based on data that HR gathered through tools such as the annual employee engagement survey.

All these have resulted in NXP recently revising its values and employer branding in Singapore and the region to create a “Customer Focused – Passion to Win” culture based Robert Rigby-Hall, Chief HR Officer, on its five core values – ‘Raising the bar’, ‘Engaging NXP Semiconductors curiosity’, ‘Taking initiative’, ‘Working together’ and ‘Develop(ing) deep core competence’.

“We want every employee to feel engaged, accountable and excited to be working at NXP,” says Rigby-Hall. “To achieve this, we foster a strong and pro-active learning culture in which employees take personal ownership to get the best out of themselves, both in results and behaviours.”

One of the most important factors in the semiconductor industry is flexibility. “Everything that we do in HR is focused on how we can create maximum flexibility in our employee base – whether that’s temporary staff, varying shift work patterns, remote global teams, variable compensation (bonuses) or learning and development programmes with a new focus on e-learning that we can continue even in years when investment needs to be curtailed due to market economics,” Rigby-Hall explains.

In order to engage employees across its global operations more effectively, NXP tailors its operations and systems according to the local culture and laws.

“As a result, there are varying recruitment approaches, pay systems, and benefit plans for employees in different regions,” says Rigby-Hall. “For instance, in some countries we offer dormitory accommodation for factory workers.”

Talent search

NXP is constantly keeping an eye out for individuals with the skill-sets and relevant experience to join the company. Although most talent is drawn from the semiconductor or electronics sector, NXP also welcomes candidates from other industries, as they will be able to support the organisation in crucial roles, such as communications, finance and marketing.

“We source for talent through a broad spectrum of channels and are constantly updating our outreach programmes to keep up with the times. For example, in response to the rising popularity of social networks, NXP has rolled out their Social Media Recruitment and Referral initiative,” says Rigby-Hall.

This system allows NXP to keep tabs on talent movement in the industry more efficiently and effectively find and engage individuals who it feels will make a good fit for the company’s unique and dynamic culture.

“In addition, we have a Global Employee Referral programme so that our employees are also on the lookout for great talent to join them,” Rigby-Hall adds.

Developing talent

When new talents are brought on-board, they receive a career roadmap and are clearly briefed on what is expected of them within the confines of their role.

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hr insider

Who’s who in HR? “In order to track our employees’ growth and map it to NXP’s objectives more accurately and effectively, we have recently upgraded our performance management process to add a much clearer focus on results (the ‘What’) and behaviours (the ‘How’) as well as on personal development and growth,” says Rigby-Hall.

Peer review processes have also been tweaked to create a better-rounded view of each employee. The tool is available all year round so that managers and employees can record results and seek feedback.

In addition, NXP invests in training and development. It looks to enhance both technical skills that contribute to one of the organisation’s values – ‘Develop(ing) deep core competence’, and in critical management and leadership skills. The company holds ‘Key Position Review’ meetings, during which HR focuses on training, career opportunities and succession of critical roles in the organisation and those individuals in each role.

“We believe that the best assessor of one’s strengths and weaknesses is the individual in Managers within NXP Semiconductor are conjunction with his or her encouraged to recognise employees both directly manager. Thus, we are placing and in front of their peers. “We challenge people more emphasis on taking to recognise their peers,” says Robert Rigby Hall, personal responsibility for Chief HR Officer. development in our training This is done via local programmes that are curriculum,” says Rigby-Hall. managed by local HR organisations. The results “Most recently, we have of these are published in global employee launched a suite of e-learning communications channels. courses to support the needs of “As a result, employees in NXP are recognised each of our businesses,” he not only locally but also on a global platform,” adds. The launch of the says Rigby-Hall. e-learning portal is a costefficient yet effective way of learning for staff, while also encouraging initiative and willingness to learn amongst employees.

The e-learning portal offers the flexibility for employees to follow courses when it is suitable, at work or home, or even while on the move.

“The approach supports our values, specifically to ‘Engage Curiosity’ and ‘Take initiative,” says Rigby-Hall.

“It provides individuals with the opportunity for growth and development, giving them a platform to be better equipped to help contribute further in our ambition to become a great company.”

One of the areas that NXP will be focusing on this year is to help managers understand their teams’ employee engagement survey results and provide them with an online platform where they can develop action plans and have access to best practices from their peers.

Managers globally can use the Gallup online tool to see their scorecard and define action plans, amongst other metrics. This is also used to share best practices, and to engage mangers, making them more accountable.

“Our business is incredibly fast-moving so it’s not for the faint hearted. You need to be curious, analytical, think on your feet, take ownership and move fast,” says Rigby-Hall. “That’s what makes it exciting and great fun!”

Rewarding talent

Robert Rigby-Hall Chief HR Officer (Singapore)

Randy McMills HRM Sales & Marketing / Country HRM Americas (USA, San Jose)

Marnix Mali HRM BU Automotive / Key Position Management & Talent Management (Eindhoven)

Frans van Heesbeen HRM R&D / Country HRM Netherlands (Nijmegen)

Marcelle Yih Country HRM China (Shanghai)

Renee van der Burg HRM Operations (Singapore)

Nanne Brouwer HR Controller (Eindhoven)

Ben Immink HRM BU SP / Recruitment & EES (Eindhoven)

Xander Bijnen HRM BU HPMS (Eindhoven)

Evelien Leijten HR Operations (Eindhoven)

Jose Stinis Global Rewards & M&A (Eindhoven)

Glenn Kaufman Management & Organization Effectiveness (USA, New York)

Petra Zimmer HRM BU ID / Country HRM Germany (Hamburg)

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Ready for take-off Overcoming people challenges at start-ups The start-up scene in Singapore is flourishing. HRM finds out the biggest HR challenges small companies with big dreams face, and what they are doing to conquer them

By Vivien Shiao Shufen

W

hat do top firms like Apple, Google and Hewlett-Packard have in common?

Aside from a net worth amounting to billions of dollars, these tech giants all had humble beginnings as lowly start-up companies that ran on limited resources and manpower.

In fact, many of their now-famous founders started operations in their very own garage where they toiled away as virtual unknowns before achieving any success.

Start-ups these days still do not have a glamourous reputation as a workplace – people associate working at start-ups with being a long,

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hard slog with uncertain payoffs.

It is only when a start-up achieves phenomenal success or gets bought over for an enormous amount of money that people take notice of it.

One example would be the photo-sharing start-up Instagram which was recently bought over

by Facebook for a whopping US$1 billion.

Instagram never made a penny in its two years of operations prior to the sale. But the 13 members of the team behind it are probably now laughing all the way to the bank.

However, this is not a true reflection of reality.

According to author of High Tech Start Up, John L.

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Nesheim, fewer than six out of one million business plans submitted to venture capital firms ever reach the initial public offering (IPO) stage.

With such dismal statistics and poor reputation, start-ups face an ocean of challenges that can cause them to either sink or swim.

Why HR

If start-ups are hard-pressed for capital, is HR necessary for them to function? After all, start-ups have a lot of other matters to deal with, especially in small teams where one person may be doing the job of several people.

According to Jonathan Davis, executive vice-president of US-based firm Acadia HR, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’.

“Regrettably, HR has the ability to sink a small business faster than virtually anything else for reasons like wrongful termination, violation of payday laws, harassment and discrimination,” he points out.

Legal ramifications aside, HR is The only real resource vital to any start-up because the only start-ups have is their real resource start-up founders have (unless they have very deep pockets) is their human capital.

Almost all founders of start-ups which made it big credit their people for the crucial role in their success.

“This [Apple] is not a one-man show… There’s a lot of really talented people in this company,” the late Steve Jobs told BusinessWeek.

Likewise, HP founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard believed that a company that was truly great was one that valued its employees.

“The best possible company management is one that combines a sense of corporate greatness and destiny, with empathy for, and fidelity to, the average employee,” said the duo in the book Bill & Dave by author Michael Malone.

However, many start-ups still fail to take note of the importance of HR by placing it on the backburner.

“I notice that many start-ups lack proper HR management,” observes Smith Leong, founder of Waddup Events. “Most of them have little or no knowledge on HR, and do not realise the need for certain HR practices.”

HUMAN CAPITAL

Recruitment woes

With the lack of awareness of HR practices, it can be even more difficult for start-ups to deal with their HR-related woes. For example, one of the biggest HR issues that start-ups have to face would be attracting talent.

When it comes down to recruitment, start-up founders and HR personnel say they are disadvantaged compared to multi-national corporations (MNCs).

“Start-ups don’t have the employer branding that MNCs do,” explains Michelle Alphonso, Chief Operations Officer of digital agency PointStar Group.

“Some perceive start-ups as unstable which may result in job instability. Start-ups are also unable to pay high salaries and bonuses compared to MNCs,” she adds.

Mohan Belani, Director of e27, echoes this sentiment.

“The biggest hindrance for startups is the cost factor – expenses in terms of hiring people,” he said.

“You have to pay good money to get good talent.”

For Simon Kemp, Managing Director of social media agency We Are Social, family disapproval may be a factor that stops fresh graduates.

“For some, their families may be more traditional,” notes Kemp. “Start-ups may not have a track record and this sparks a fear of the unknown,” says Kemp.

However, start-up founders do not always play the blame game.

“Some local start-ups don’t have enough vision and lack clarity in their business plan,” says Belani. “This makes it hard to convince talented people to join.”

Leong also added that despite the difficulty in recruitment for start-ups, recruiting real talent is an issue faced by all companies.

“It may be easier to hire in an MNC, but whether that person is a talent or not, is another story altogether,” says Leong.

Keeping them in

Hiring excellent employees is one hurdle cleared, but companies need to retain their employees for an extended period in order to reap the benefits. A high turnover rate will only milk start-ups of their precious time and money.

“Working in a start-up is not easy as it can involve long hours and no obvious career path,” explains Alphonso.

More often than not, it is the mismatch of expectations that causes many fresh hires to quit.

“People come with expectations of what it’s like to work at a start-up and often, these expectations do not match reality,” says Kemp.

“They think start-ups is about a funky work environment that is exciting, and new products will be pushed out every few months or so, but this is often not the case,” he adds. issue 12.5

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Many employees tend to leave due to the multi-tasking nature of work at start-ups.

“Things are changing all the time, so it’s a given that the role might change,” says Belani.

“Employees who cannot adapt fast enough or are not flexible enough are likely to throw in the towel.”

In addition, poaching by other firms also contributes to a high turnover rate.

“Juggling so many skills makes these employees very valuable to MNCs as they learn a lot on the job,” explains Kemp. “They are often made offers by large firms who value them for the agility and their ability to deal with other parts of the business.”

He also noted that sometimes employees jump ship to their clients.

“We had an employee who switched over to Skype, who is one of our clients,” says Kemp.

“New hires choose to leave for so many reasons, such as being put off by hard work and the unwillingness to step out of their comfort zones,” he adds.

Recruitment and rewards

With so many challenges in their way, the question is: how do start-ups manage to attract and retain the talent that they need to grow?

Quotes from start-up founders “We did not want to run a hire-and-fire operation, but rather a company built on a loyal and dedicated work force” Bill Hewlett, Founder, HP

“The cost of hiring someone bad is so much greater than missing out on someone good” Joe Kraus, Partner, Google Ventures

“When people are placed in positions slightly above what they expect, they are apt to excel” Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group Source: 50 Inspiring Entrepreneur Startup Quotes by inspirationfeed.com and www.hp.com

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One way to get the right talent is for companies to pay close attention to the hiring process.

“The recruitment process is the key to getting talented employees,” stresses Belani. “The person must be the right fit, with both personality and drive.”

Kemp agrees on this, saying that workers with the right cultural fit and similar values are more likely to stay on in the company.

“Values such as enthusiasm and passion are important,” he says. “We want someone who is already doing something similar back home because he loves to do it. We want to pay someone to do a job they love.”

He added that qualities like motivation, initiative and a belief in the company are important factors to consider.

As many start-ups are unable to pay their employees as well as MNCs, they offer their staff stock options as an alternative form of compensation.

“Stock options can be a solution to retain staff,” says Leong. “It is one of the approaches that I take with my staff who show potential in the business. It will give them a sense of achievement as well as belonging and willingness to fight harder since it’s their ‘own’ business.”

According to Belani, savvy employees understand the importance of profit sharing and stock options.

“However, it has no real value unless the product is sold and the founder has a solid track record,” he cautions.

Besides rewards based on monetary value, it is important for leaders to reward employees with other means as well.

“The smallest gesture from a boss can mean a lot to an employee,” says Leong.

“Like on occasions such as birthdays, successful projects closed, meeting targets, client’s positive feedback and so on. It all adds up by making employees feel good about themselves and what they are doing. Sometimes these small gestures can beat a pay raise.”

Engaging employees

Aside from monetary gains, staff in start-ups tend to stay on in their companies because of two other

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Experiencing a start-up main factors: career Yap is currently working part-time at local start-up e27. When asked why he chose to development and employee go down this path instead of choosing a engagement. more reputable MNC to get work “For start-ups, it is experience, Yap explained that the more about the hands-on exposure he gets working a start-up is learning and development more valuable. that you receive rather “At a start-up, you get more than compensation per Jacky Yap, responsibility as you are in charge of a se,” says Kemp. significant aspect of the company,” says Final year student, National University He explains that as Yap. “Most importantly, you get a sense of Singapore employees get a sense of of achievement as you know that what ownership in the business you do matters,” he adds.

Yap also talks about the vitality and energy of start-ups. as they have a say in the “They are young and dynamic with little rules,” he says. way things are run, and this However, he admits that the pay may not be as good as helps them to grow more. compared to large firms.

Likewise, Belani says “That is not an issue because when the company that the intangibles are succeeds, you stand to gain as well,” Yap points out. more significant.

Yap plans to continue working at a start-up after he “We try to create a graduates and possibly start his own. work environment where employees are free to pursue their interest and passion,” he says. “As management, we try to inspire them to build something of value not just to the company, but also to themselves.”

He adds that in such a work space, there is no top-down, hard-handed approach where employees have to take instructions from the boss. Employees are free to take the reins and be creative with their ideas.

“We hired one guy to be in charge of events,” says Belani. “Because he was so good, the role soon morphed into business development entirely on his own initiative.”

“Employees have the freedom to be engaged in projects that they are interested in, and they value that,” he adds. “The intangibles are more valuable than the tangibles, such as money.”

The journey ahead

Even with the lack of resources, start-ups are still finding ways to recruit, retain and reward talented employees so that their business remains vibrant and thriving. While the road ahead is often paved with uncertainty and difficulty, the start-up community in Singapore has only gone from strength to strength.

“Give employees the trust and flexibility for them to do what they enjoy,” advises Leong. “This business is not just mine, but everyone in the team’s. I’m not just a boss, but a team member as well.” issue 12.5

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Uplifting your service Ron Kaufman, founder of UP! Your Service, has worked over 20 years to help organisations build strong service cultures. He says changing the negative perception of service has to come from within each organisation

By Priya de Langen

“T

he fundamental definition of service is taking action to create a value for someone else,” says Ron Kaufman, founder of UP! Your Service, a service education and management consultancy firm.

With over 20 years of experience educating organisations on building great service cultures under his belt, one cannot help but listen when Kaufman speaks about service as an issue. In his upcoming book, Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues and Everyone Else You Meet, Kaufman explores the fundamentals of service and how companies can go about building the foundations of making service part of their organisational culture.

Providing great service is not just something that organisations can do for external stakeholders; they can also build service internally. Ultimately, providing the right types of service will contribute to a company’s long-term success.

Mind your mindset

Despite this importance, the perception of service and the service industry in its entirety is often negative. Kaufman explains that there are still challenges that need to be addressed. “We treat service as a ‘fuzzy side’ and there has been poor thinking regarding customer service – that ‘the customer is always right’, or worse, ‘the customer is king’,” he says. “So, what does that make the service provider, the slave?”

Another challenge is that the people who provide the service (whichever type of work) also feel “servile”. “When they are in service to someone else they do not necessarily feel dignified,” he says.

Kaufman argues that service – both to give and receive – is a natural need for human beings. As such, he wants to “uplift” the idea of service to people.

“We are the species that needs service and we only create value and success in our lives or careers when we provide a service (to others).”

Kaufman agrees that there is a negative perception of service in Singapore, but he says that the market has improved tremendously over the

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“The fundamental definition of service is taking action to create a value for someone else” Ron Kaufman, Founder, UP! Your Service

past 22 years that he has been here. “In Singapore, while we have dramatically improved in service standards, the spirit of service and the attitude and desire to give someone else a good service experience, is still not native to the population,” he says.

However, he notes that this mindset can be changed. For a country that benchmarks itself with the rest of the world constantly, he suggests that people in Singapore should ask themselves, “how do I do better than what I did yesterday?”

Another step that Singaporeans can do to improve service overall in the country is to be a better customer. Kaufman explains that customer service is not just about the person serving but also about the person on the receiving end. “A customer can have a big impact on the service; find out the person’s name, express your appreciation, and have the right information so that you can tell the person what you want,” he advises.

Creating a service culture

There are many organisations around the globe that are renowned for their great service cultures, including Singapore Airlines (SIA), and The Ritz-Carlton.

Kaufman says that there is a difference in just improving an organisation’s service performance and “uplifting” its service culture. He says that organisations need to observe and ask themselves what these companies are doing differently in their fundamental activities.

He expounds on this in his book under the chapter, Build. He explains 12 building blocks that can help an organisation develop an uplifting service culture, including Service Recruitment – attracting likeminded persons who are technically qualified as well as aligned to the organisation’s vision, spirit, and values.

Biography Ron Kaufman is a global consultant, speaker and educator who specialises in building service cultures in the world’s largest and most respected organisations. Based in Singapore for more than 20 years, Kaufman has worked closely with Singapore Airlines, Changi Airport, Raffles Hotel, Marina Bay Sands, NTUC Income, and many government agencies. He is a regular contributor to Bloomberg Businessweek and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and LIFE magazine. He is the founder of UP! Your Service, a service education and management consultancy firm with headquarters in Singapore and representative offices around the world.

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There are several organisations in Singapore that have stepped up their game when it comes to building a great service culture. NTUC Income is one company that has gone the extra mile to cater to its clients through its innovative Orange Force – orange three-wheelers with the branding of the company that are on the highways in Singapore. The professionally trained team’s job is to respond to people who need help in the case of accidents, usually within 20 minutes.

Not all the people they help are policy holders, and yet they help them anyway.

“They have created a service innovation that has a great impact on their market reputation and is great marketing for them,” says Kaufman. He adds that this innovation came about from an effort to reduce fraudulent claims – a risk reduction strategy.

Another company that has improved its service externally to its customers as well as internally for its employees is Marina Bay Sands (MBS). When MBS was launched, their internal tagline was “We are magnificent” but Kaufman says that there was a dissonance between the standards of service and their vision at that initial stage. Ultimately, the organisation changed its vision to “A journey to magnificence”.

Kaufman says the integrated resort is currently building a strong HRrelated culture where there are learning and development opportunities and cross-functional training opportunities for their employees. “The shift in the vision is a nice alignment between what they want to create for their guests and what they want to do internally,” he says.

HR provides service

When it comes to service, it is not just external stakeholders that matter but also internal ones where an organisation’s HR has a big part to play. “HR has the opportunity and responsibility to create value for their employees,” says Kaufman.

This should start at the initial recruitment stages – HR should ensure the new hires are not only a good fit for the organisation but also the recruitment process should be an honest reflection of where these employees are going to work.

Also, HR can create value for employees through the orientation process.

Kaufman says though HR is often responsible for this, other departments should also be involved in the process. “How many employees come out of an orientation and say ‘that that was so valuable’?” he asks. “The challenge for HR is to create an experience for the employee to think that ‘I am so glad that I joined the company’. That would create a lot of the value.”

This very much applies for other parts of talent management, including career development and benefits for employees. Kaufman says that when it comes to benefits, different people value different things. “Some people would prefer working on flexible time and they will work their tails off for you if you give it to them.” Kaufman says that organisations should have a dialogue internally to align their goals to cater to their employees.

Ultimately, everyone within an organisation should ask themselves what they can do to make it better for someone else, as it is about being a service partner. “How can HR make other people understand this? What does it take to be service partners and how can we show it?” he concludes.

CASE STUDY

Changi Airport A well-known airport around the globe, Changi Airport, Singapore has 28,000 employees working in it every day, from those in the retail outlets to the customs.

Employees at the airport understand and share the same vision, which is to serve their customers well.

“When you are in an unfamiliar airport and you have a question, whom will you ask? Will you pause to locate the official Information Counter or will you ask about anyone who is wearing any kind of uniform?” asks Ron Kaufman in his book, Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Customers, Colleagues, and Everyone Else you meet.

He says that from people who work in the coffee shops to the airline employees at the gates would be able to tell a passenger where the departure gate locations are and where they can buy a last minute gift from a souvenir shop. Kaufman says that all employees are passionately dedicated to service and this comes from Changi Airport’s engaging service vision – “Many Partners, Many Visions, One Changi” – and everyone works together to create positive experiences every day.

Furthermore, Kaufman says the airport constantly communicates an uplifting service culture internally to its employees and externally to millions of passengers every day. Huge posters are frequently refreshed with new expression of the airport’s vision, photographs of top-ranked service personalities, winners of service contests, and quotations from customer compliments.

Passengers also see banners promoting the airport’s success but most of all, they get to see a message appreciating them: “Your smile is our inspiration. Thank you for making us the world’s most-awarded airport.”

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Fresh Increasingly, employers are warning of a talent gap when it comes to fresh graduates looking for their first job. Many are taking the initiative and helping their universityeducated recruits on general work skills both before and after they are hired

By Priya de Langen

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G

off the bus

etting the right young hire into an organisation is no easy task. Many employers say there is a talent gap at present, with studies also indicating that although graduates have valuable vocational skills, they need to improve on other general employability skills.

A recent UK study by Ernst & Young that tested 1,000 university students for their employability skills, revealed that graduates were not willing to take risks and needed to build resilience in order to really excel in a work environment. The students were also found to be weakest in skills such as time optimisation and the courage to overcome fears or changing situations.

All organisations have specific skill-sets that they want from their new hires, particularly graduates, to have in order to fit the work environment but they are willing to give these ‘newbies’ time to adjust. As a result, companies have various learning and management trainee programmes to continually develop these young employees.

What have you got for me?

In a recent survey by the NUS Career Centre in Singapore, it was revealed that the top attributes employers in Singapore look for are good communication skills, a desire to learn and adaptability. Also, good emotional intelligence and crosscultural communication skills are qualities that are required to work in the global environment.

Max Loh, Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, says that making a transition from school to career can be an overwhelming experience for graduates. “It’s about relearning all over again, that is immersing oneself in a different culture and working environment, and learning how to work with people of varied backgrounds and experiences,” he explains.

He adds that some graduates are more sought after than others for specific capabilities, in particular those who are fast learners and are adaptable, and those who have demonstrated the willingness to try out different opportunities.

Alice Lim, HR Director, L’Oréal Singapore, explains that most organisations are looking for graduates who have a sense of accountability and are proactive.

“They must also be motivated and have an open mind. Specifically to L’Oréal, we look for graduates who are creative and operational – able to think out of the box and be willing to work hard.”

Melissa Gee Kee, Leadership and Organisational Development Director, Southeast Asia and Australasia (SEAA), Unilever, says that the organisation looks for new hires that, besides being commercially aware, are also driven and energetic. Furthermore, Unilever looks closely at extracurricular activities that might highlight traits such as a global mindset as well as leadership and team experience.

However, there are also traits and skill gaps that can turn employees off graduate candidates. Gee points out that business and commercial acumen are something graduates typically do not have much knowledge about. “They tend to are something graduates typically do know the theory but not the application, or have never studied not have much knowledge about business or finance before. In today’s world of work this is an imperative skill to understand how your function can influence and impact the bottom line.” She advises graduates can take an internship during their pre-graduation years in order to help develop this acumen. They can also

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“They tend to know the theory but not the application or have never studied business or finance before. In today’s world of work this is an imperative skill to understand how your function can influence and impact the bottom line” Melissa Gee Kee, Leadership and Organisational Development Director, SEAA, Unilever

attend talks or seminars from corporate leaders, and participate in business challenges.

Diana Low, Director, Michael Page International in Singapore, says that graduates can work towards being an attractive catch for a company. “It is important for graduates to have a positive attitude to increase their appeal over the recruitment process.

This includes a willingness to learn, ability to be adaptable and flexible in any situation and possess commercial acumen,” she says.

Top skills organisations want graduates to have

Testing the waters

Experts and employers say that as much as organisations want a young hire who is the right fit, graduates too have their interests and will be testing potential employers on what they can offer.

As a result, companies need find out what interests this group of workers so that they can + A global mindset successfully attract the best + Innovation graduate talent. + Adaptability Loh states that Ernst & Young + Determination holds regular networking sessions + Business acumen with its interns and undergraduates + Time management skills + Potential leadership skills to stay close to the ground and understand what they look for in a desired employer. “Consistently, we get responses like ‘continuous professional and personal development’, ‘fair starting salary’, ‘good work-life balance’ and ‘conducive working environment and culture’. These priorities have largely stayed the same over the years though they may have ranked differently each time,” he says.

Lim states that graduates want to work for organisations that have strong employer branding; companies such L’Oréal that can provide a fast track career progression as well as international exposure.

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Other factors that are attractive to graduates include attractive remuneration, a working environment that embraces work-life balance, and strong commitments to corporate social responsibility, she notes.

Low of Michal Page says that graduates will most likely apply for positions within companies that offer them the ability to develop their skills and broad industry knowledge that will equip them for future career growth.

In order to attract and retain young employees, Loh advises organisations to focus on designing a sustainable career package that supports a graduate’s continuous professional and personal development.

“It is important that an organisation keeps track of each individual’s changing needs and priorities. This will be down to the job of a coach or a mentor who should carry the long-term and important responsibility of coaching and mentoring the graduates. Being new to the organisation, graduates require continuous feedback and coaching to help them to assimilate well and be successful in their role,” he explains.

Besides campus talks and seminars, companies are now coming up with different ways to attract creative young talent. Lim says that L’Oreal places high emphasis on employer branding on tertiary education campuses by engaging students through campus activities. Besides workshops and recruitment talks, the organisation also offers business games such as the well-known L’Oreal Brandstorm competition. Graduates from around the world can take up the opportunity to come up with a marketing idea for one of L’Oreal’s products.

“Through these activities, we are able to share our experiences and introduce L’Oréal as an organisation to the graduates,” states Lim. Unilever too places emphasis on its employer branding to attract graduate talent. “It’s about continuous on-going engagement, delivering consistent messages, following a segmented approach, and diversifying the media we use to communicate with the graduate community,” explains Gee. Aside from conducting campus talks and attending career fairs, it has a digital media strategy using Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook to improve the awareness of company. Also, Unilever also offers the UL Business Case Challenge and an internship through the UL Internship Programme.

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Developing green horns

Hiring the cream of the crop is all well and good but what are organisations doing to develop their young workers in terms of skills and business acumen?

Loh says that Ernst & Young offers graduates a number of ways to develop their skills. He says that due to the size of the company, which operates in over 140 countries and has a 152,000 strong workforce, employees will be exposed to working on a global scale as well as experience different cultures. “They will also learn to manage a diverse work portfolio and serve global clients ranging from conglomerates to fast-growing enterprises. They also gain traveling opportunities for work depending on the project assigned to them.”

In addition to its daily work practices, Ernst & Young has a global development programme called EYU to equip graduates with technical competencies as well as leadership and other relevant soft skills.

“The programme is a structured framework for

everyone in the firm to obtain the right in-house training, on-the-job learning, and coaching and mentoring by seniors to accelerate their career development,” explains Loh. Unilever offers new hires the Unilever Future Leaders Program (UFLP), which is a management trainee scheme. Gee says that the programme helps them learn about business quickly while they are supported with training, mentoring, and career development. This three-year scheme is way to help fast track a person’s career into a management position. At the end of the programme, the successful trainee will be offered his or her first management position.

In addition, the organisation provides talks and workshops to constantly better the skills of young hires through various development programmes such as ‘how to’ sessions and technical skills sessions that focus on understanding Unilever’s brands. These are run both virtually and on campus.

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feature

A growing number of organisations are empowering employees by giving them responsibility to make dayto-day decisions. HRM finds that this engages them with the business for even better long-term results

By Priya de Langen

Power to decide O

rganisations such as SAS, Google, and Zappos are some that made it to the top ten of the Fortune magazine’s list of Best Employers in 2011. As varying as the industries as these companies operate, there are some things that they have in common that make them great workplaces: inclusive, engaging corporate cultures; innovative ways of engaging staff; and empowered employees.

Top-down management, or a directive leadership approach, is something that many companies use but numerous organisations are now making headway into empowering their employees at the lower pay grades. In the study, Interaction Associates 2011 Building Trust in Business Survey, employees rated their leaders on specific skills. Workers gave

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lukewarm marks for several areas including “sharing power through effective delegation”, “listening to employee feedback”, and “supporting risk taking”.

Organisations that have effectively empowered their employees say that it has been beneficial to the organisation as it has helped with engagement and productivity levels. However, they caution that there are several challenges to cultivating a culture of empowerment in the workplace, namely trust issues.

Moreover, they highlight that management can pave the way for empowerment by embracing this culture.

What about sharing power?

Experts say that empowering employees by delegating authority will help the business in the long-run, since

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employees will feel that they have more say in their work. “Empowering employees helps share power and increases engagement.

Delegating the authority to participate in and achieve specific results starts the process,” explains Brenda Wilson, Asia-Pacific leader for Talent Management Consulting at Mercer.

She adds that it also benefits managers through effective time management while enabling employees to improve existing skills while developing new ones.

Stephen Choo, Director, Hay Group, notes that there is a growing trend in the West of organisations empowering employees but there are relatively few taking the plunge in Singapore. Organisations in Singapore tend to have a taskoriented leadership style and although this is good at getting results, it is at the expense of long-term quality. “There is a lack of empowerment because it is about the tasks at hand,” he says.

“The classic management practice of rewarding employees by compensation is short-term. If companies work with trust, empowering and recognising their employees, they will go a long way in retaining and motivating workers,” Choo explains.

Choo also says that employees wanting more say in their work is part of their basic employment needs, and Gen Y employees especially prefer this working style when compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers who are used to relatively more hierarchical working structures.

Jumping hurdles

The idea of empowering employees is a good one, note employers and experts, but there are many challenges to address before moving forward with this working style. Some of the key issues that prevent management from adopting a less directive approach have to do with trust, effective work delegation, and the fear of misuse of power.

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) is one organisation that is actively empowering its employees. Torie Henderson, President, Global Account Management, Omnicom Media Group, Asia-Pacific, says that the organisation had its fair share of challenges when it came to sharing power with its employees.

“Striking a balance and finding a middle ground that works in terms of power sharing has been the most challenging issue so far,” she explains.

“As a group, we have experienced both extremes of the spectrum – an inclusive approach that alienated employees and an extremely democratic approach that led to misuse of power and mitigated responsibility.”

Choo says that ultimately employers and managers need to understand that empowerment does not happen overnight. Rather, it is a continuous process. “Both managers and employees must understand that empowerment must be earned and not given haphazardly.” He adds that there needs to be trust between employers and employees for empowerment to work.

Wilson of Mercer affirms this, saying that trust needs to be built between managers and their employees. “Often new or less experienced people managers may feel unequipped to share power because they may lack the basic skills that build trust with their staff,” she explains.

She adds that delegating work is one of the most difficult challenges for new managers managing subordinates’ performance. “Most managers say issue 12.5

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“Employees are encouraged to make their own decisions while adhering to the Lenovo Way” Tan Ai Sim, HR Director, ASEAN, Lenovo

they do a ‘moderate’ to ‘great’ deal of delegation, but direct reports actually receive little direction about what is really wanted.”

Paving the way for empowerment

So, where to begin when it comes to empowerment? As interesting as it may sound, in order to move away from a top-down management style, the onus is on leaders and managers to delegate and empower their employees.

Furthermore, HR can help facilitate the process.

Choo highlights that though HR can play a part to facilitate the process of empowerment, it needs to come from beyond a policy perspective. “It needs to be embedded in the organisational culture. The leadership needs to take the initiative and it has to start from senior management and even the CEO.” He adds that while employers need to set the tone and culture, employees need to be trained for their tasks so that they can handle the responsibility.

“Employers should be clear about the whole process, what the boundaries and rules are. Employees need to be trained and supported in order to succeed because if they are not trained to take on a task they will most probably fail at it,” says Choo.

Wilson of Mercer advises that an organisation can hammer out the details for this work style to happen. “Develop trust in a less-skilled staff member by delegating very structured assignments

Get empowered Greater Accountability

Greater Commitment

Empowerment

Greater Trust

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and providing the support needed for the person to develop increased competence.”

She also advises that managers should be specific about the goals, timeframes and tools that will be needed to complete a task. “Check in at pre-set milestones and reinforce not how to do it, but rather what is to be achieved.”

Henderson agrees that other than specific policies, empowering workers has to do with corporate culture. One of the key values of OMG is to “lead by example”, and this is not just the prerogative of the senior leadership but extended to all employees.

“The senior leadership exerts a key influence in empowering and encouraging employees to reach greater heights by being available, by listening, and by coaching. It is something that is woven into the culture of the organisation rather than through a formal policy that lives on paper,” she explains.

Technology giant, Lenovo is another organisation that has incorporated empowering staff into its corporate culture. However, it started from the ground up through changing its company values.

Tan Ai Sim, HR Director, ASEAN, Lenovo, states that the company’s Chairman and senior leadership team (Lenovo Executive Council) studied and discussed the issues facing this organisation regarding long-term growth and short-term needs.

This led to the “Lenovo Way”, consisting of ‘4Ps’ – Planning, Performance, Prioritisation and Practice.

“Our leaders saw the greatest gap in how we were performing and living our values was in the areas of ‘trust’ and ‘entrepreneurship’, and how these needed to be demonstrated in our day-to-day work. Every employee across the entire organisation needed to deliver on commitments and ‘take ownership’,” says Tan.

What’s happening on the ground?

Greater Flexibility

Organisations that have successfully managed to empower their employees say that there are various ways to go about it, from implementing policies to giving greater ownership of work to staff.

Employees in Lenovo adopt a “company-first” approach that focuses on delivery and accountability.

“Due to our global business, it is instrumental in keeping our teams together despite working physically apart. As a result of this, employees are encouraged to make their own decisions while adhering to the Lenovo Way,” explains Tan.

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CASE STUDY

Japanese MNC In OMG, workers are encouraged to have open conversations with their managers on KPIs and other relevant business issues, with the feedback passed on to senior management, explains Henderson. Besides on-the-job training on different topics, basic media planning, communication, and public discussion boards are common in the organisation. In addition, mentoring is given to employees.

Both companies have benefited from adopting a less directive working style. Tan says that in Lenovo, “employees enjoy the flexibility, there is greater ownership and accountability in responsibilities, and it has also created a culture of inclusiveness”.

Moreover, their desire to ensure effective execution of work has contributed to strong continuous growth of the company, she adds.

Henderson highlights that in OMG “that freedom to contribute to business decisions within a clear framework has helped our organisation to

Stephen Choo, Director, Hay Group, noted that after an employment engagement survey, a Japanese MNC based in Malaysia found that there was a lack of empowerment in its culture and wanted to change this. Instead of asking HR to come up with some ideas, the organisation decided to form a committee of employees (including many Gen Y staff) and gave them a pool of money to spend on programmes for all employees.

The result of the experiment was that the organisation found that employees relished the new found responsibility. “Since they were given the trust, these employees took on the responsibility, rolled out the programmes successfully and effectively engaged the rest of the organisation along the way,” says Choo.

come up with bigger and better ideas, and also contributed to a lively and stimulated workplace.”

In addition, she says that the organisation’s talent turnover rates have improved substantially. “Positive vibes and an enthusiastic, ‘can-do’ spirit, are striking attributes that can be felt within the organisation and also by people visiting our organisation from elsewhere. A happy workforce motivated by power sharing, has a lot to do with it.”

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feature

Supporting

international talent

As companies in the region continue to operate in an increasingly globalised business environment, they will inevitably need to look for talent beyond their own borders. Whilst having a global and mobile workforce is now recognised as a critical component for success, managing that multinational talent does have its own unique challenges. HRM investigates

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey

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A

recent report from Brookfield Global Relocation Services suggests that there is now a more diverse international assignee population across a wide range of home or host countries. Add to that increasing pressure on relocation budgets, and it’s clear that companies are having to become more flexible in an effort to increase employee satisfaction and better manage mobility programme costs.

“In the past, a single assignment policy was all a company often needed to fulfil long-term assignments that were typically offered to one type of assignee – a senior executive from company headquarters,” said Brookfield’s Scott Sullivan. “Today, the topic among mobility managers has shifted to ‘show me a flexible international assignment policy that works’.”

Maersk Line has adopted this flexibility in its own relocation policies. “We have staff in some locations who receive a ‘hardship’ premium (in some African markets for example),” says Baker. In the past, it was common for a relocation package to include things like several extra flights home per year or extra annual leave, but most staff prefer the money as they can use it as they see fit. in work ethics, attitudes and “We calculate the amount for the expectations pose a challenge hardship premium based on the quality of to management living index (i.e. comparing the quality of living of their new location vs. their home base). We use the Mercer Quality of Living index, but there are also others available. It assesses things such as security, recreational facilities, infrastructure and cultural openness,” says Baker. “The index then puts an economic value on these hardships and we pay the allowance to the expat in their monthly salary.”

DIFFERENCES

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Challenges

Gone are the days when a one-size-fits-all approach worked. Managing a global workforce today has its own set of challenges, especially when it comes to integrating foreign talent into the local workforce.

Integrating global talent into the local workforce entails striking a balance amidst cultural diversity, says Alice Oh, Relocation Manager, Santa Fe. “Differences in work ethics, attitudes and expectations pose a challenge to management, not to mention expatriate staff, especially in adjusting to new working conditions,” says Oh. “Perhaps more importantly, expats need to ‘feel at home’ in their new country of assignment to ensure a smooth transition.”

While the globalisation of talent is a huge opportunity, it also adds significant complexity into an organisation’s talent management programmes. “The biggest challenge is to find a way to balance the needs of the business with the needs of the employee,” says Baker.

He cites three main ways HR can overcome these challenges. One is issue 12.5

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“It is important to set expectations with employees that an overseas assignment is not a guarantee that the person would be promoted quickly upon their return” Peter Baker, HR Director – Asia Pacific, Maersk Line

to understand that personal circumstances and preferences change. It’s important to keep an open dialogue on all sides and not to make assumptions about an individual’s preferences. “Someone who is completely mobile in their 20s and early 30s may not be willing to relocate when they have school-going children or when their spouse has a good job in the current location,” says Baker.

Also, HR should take into account evolving business needs. For example, if an employee leaves their home country on a temporary expatriate assignment, many times he or she might assume that there will be a role available for them upon their return. However, organisation structures in multinational companies evolve rapidly, meaning roles can change. “Hence, it is really important that there is an on-going link between the ‘host country’ and the ‘home country’ to ensure that there is an appropriate role for an expatriate to return to,” Baker explains.

Lastly, employee expectations should be managed accordingly. An overseas assignment should be an accelerator experience. The person should learn new skills and gain new perspectives that will increase their progression through the organisation. “It is important to set expectations with employees that an overseas assignment is not a guarantee that the person would be promoted quickly upon their return,” Baker cautions.

Rethinking relocation The traditional focus on relocation can sometimes put the wrong candidates in top jobs, as multi-country leaders don’t typically need to move to drive business outcomes.

According to a study of more than 11,500 global leaders by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), a research and advisory services company, just 18% of them are considered “effective” in their role.

While most organisations look for leaders who have a “global mindset” and are willing to relocate, that job description ultimately leads companies to hire the wrong candidate for the position. The competency that actually differentiates successful global leaders is their ability to influence others – the survey found this was four times more important than having a “global mind-set”.

Two-thirds of the leaders who are most effective in global roles are unwilling to relocate, while those leaders who are the least effective are the most willing to move. These two realities call into question the basic assumptions that most organisations use

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to determine the best candidates for global leadership roles.

“The most successful global leaders are not interested in moving for their next job, said Brian Kropp, managing director, CEB. “Rather than making relocation non-negotiable, companies should first make sure that a prospective leader has the right skills and aspirations to be successful as a global business leader.

Travel and relocation can then be negotiated based on the needs of the company and the candidate.”

In order to attract the best global leaders companies should: » Highlight the leadership responsibilities and opportunities associated with the role, rather than the global aspects. » Focus on the skills required for success including the ability to influence others, vision and decision-making. » Tailor travel and relocation aspects of the job to the preferences of the candidate. » Integrate new leaders into global networks to provide critical market and organisational information.

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GLOBAL TALENT MOBILITY CONGRESS 2012

Relocation support

When relocation of talent becomes necessary, providing adequate relocation support becomes essential to allow expatriate staff to integrate quickly and seamlessly into the new country.

Baker believes it is important to be clear on the differences between genuine expatriate assignments (where the person is in a host location for one or two assignments and then will return to their initial home) and foreigners who choose to set up a permanent career centre in the new location.

“In Singapore, we provide relocation support, housing, schooling, medical and home-leave to expatriate staff, since it is assumed that someone who is only staying in Singapore for a few years would not purchase a house in Singapore and would probably want to keep their children’s education within their home-based curriculum at an international school,” says Baker.

For other staff moving permanently to According to the Overcoming Inhibitors to Singapore, Maersk International Employee Mobility study by Brookfield provides transportation of Global Relocation Services, inhibitors raised by personal items and some respondents include: short term housing to » Mobility programmes that are not aligned with business goals help the employee settle » Business unit and senior management leaders in. “We have many staff who are out of step with the career development here from Europe, the needs of their globally mobile employees US, Australia and other » Policy provisions that do not address the current parts of Asia who are needs of assignees employed on standard » Lack of commitment to compliance in key areas ‘local’ Singapore » Regional resistance to global programmes contracts (including myself) who have no active link with their former home base and there would be no expectation that they would return to a role in their former home base,” says Baker.

Relocation experts such as Santa Fe organise orientation programmes for each expatriate staff member, through which they find out basic information and get acquainted with key locations in the city.

“Home Search is a typical expat requirement, wherein viewings are facilitated and lease terms are negotiated for the expat, simplifying their property selection process,” says Oh. “Expats also look for Visa and Immigration services, wherein they receive step-by-step guidance on applying for work, resident, and student visas for themselves and their dependents.”

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CONGRESS SERIES

Profile of Joydeep Bose

Joydeep Bose is the President and the Global Head of Human Resources for Olam International Limited. Joydeep holds a post graduate management degree from XLRI, India and is a graduate of engineering. Joydeep has more than 22 years’ experience in the Human Resources field across industries such as chemical processing, telecom, information technology and supply chain management. His expertise is in the areas of

Joydeep Bose Tom Pedersen Frieder Rummel President & Global Head of Learning & Chief Human Head Human Development Resources Officer Resource Asia DBS Bank Olam International Allianz organization performance enhancement, transformational change, mergers & acquisitions and leadership

development. His earlier assignments included Human Resources consulting engagements with prestigious

Fortune 100 companies in the US.

In his current role at Olam, Joydeep is primarily responsible for providing leadership to the human resources

function globally across more than 60 countries. Over the last seven years the Human Resources function has

played a key role in the expansion of Olam which has grown in this period from a privately held company with 2500 employees to a publicly listed company with more than 16000 employees. Olam is listed on the main

board of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and ranks amongst the top 30 companies in Singapore in terms of

market capitalization.

On the talent front, Olam has been recognized with multiple awards from the Singapore Human Resources

Tom Farmer Principal, Global Mobility- Asia Pacific Mercer

Institute for leading HR practices. More significantly, Olam’s leadership practices have been recognized as being amongst the Top 25 Global Companies for Leaders for the year 2009 as per the study conducted by Hewitt Associates in association with Fortune magazine. Olam is the first and only company in Singapore to make both the APAC and Global Top Companies List for Leaders.

Joydeep is a member of the committee engaged in sponsoring research for the International Trading Institute which is a partnership initiative between International Enterprise, a Singapore government organization and the Singapore Management University created with the objective of building talent for the trading industry in Singapore He is also a member of the HRD Workgroup of WDA working towards enhancing skills of Human Resource Professionals in Singapore.

Mark Buchanan Julia Smith Head of Partner Compensation, Fragomen Benefits & Mobility Chartis Asia Pacific

Rohit Zutshi Jennifer Westen Head of Human Group Director Resource Human Resources Gazprom Marketing International SOS & Trading Jennifer Westen Group Director, Human Resources International SOS Group

Jennifer Westen is the Group Director, Human Resources of International SOS and is based in Singapore. She is Australian and has now spent a total of 15 years working outside of Australia in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Jennifer joined International SOS in June 201 as Group Director for Human Resources. Her responsibilities include talent, workforce planning, HR strategic alignment to the business, global mobility, recruitment and selection, training & development, career planning, compensation and benefits etc.

Prior to International SOS, Jennifer has worked in large multi-national organizations in a variety of senior leadership positions based in Sydney, Australia, Hong Kong,

James Clemence Partner PwC International (Singapore)

James is a Partner with individual tax, mobility a was initially based in Pr transferring to Hong Ko

Martino V. Ottimofiore Regional Compensation & Benefits Manager Maersk Line

Rosanna Irene B. James Clemence Filart Partner, International Assignment Solutions Global Mobility Partner - Talent Deployment PricewaterhouseCoopers and Mobility (PwC) IBM

Dr Low Lee Yong CEO & Founder MHC Asia Group

43

James has extensive ex companies from all indu and immigration issues world. This includes ad arrangements, remuner incentive plans in order mobile workforce and a for companies and indiv

James leads PwC’s spe practice in Singapore a South East Asia region.

James is a member of t England and Wales and Accountants.

Direct Tel: (65) 6236 39 Email: james.clemence

Daniel Mittelhamm Head HR Global Mobility APJ SAP

+65 6423 4631 www.hrmcongress.com

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Relocation on the rise in Asia Asian companies now hire about one-third of all senior executive talent in the region, estimates CTPartners, an executive search firm. The firm says that ten years ago, almost all the senior executive positions in Asia placed by international search firms tended to be for foreign multinational corporations. In ten years’ time, the proportion of senior talent hires by foreign multinational and Asian companies in the region is likely to be split evenly between the two.

Over the last decade, CTPartners has also witnessed a more than tenfold increase in the number of candidates from the US and Europe that want to come to work in Asia. “The economic slowdown in the West has resulted in their interest in moving here, in search of greener pastures,” explains Kathryn Yap, Managing Partner of CTPartners in Singapore.

As the Asian businesses of global firms expand and diversify, their senior management roles can no longer be filled effectively by one-dimensional executives. “What is required are executives with profit and loss experience, strategy expertise, and bottom-line skills as well as people management skills,” says Yap. “As a result of the red hot demand for such talent, seasoned professionals with top-level general management expertise are among the most difficult executives to identify and retain in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Once the move is carried out, other related ‘settling-in services’ are provided by the relocation consultant, such as assistance with setting up a bank account, installation of utilities, and advice on where to find daily essentials. “Customised programmes on cultural training are also available for the expat or for the family,” adds Oh. “These services are meant to help the expat ease into their new lives as swiftly as possible.”

An example of one such service is Santa Fe’s customised orientation programme to cater to an organisation’s entry-level campus hires. “We devised a special programme for this specific group of assignees, who do not qualify for full expatriate benefits, and yet the organisation wants to ensure that they are treated well and provided with settling-in assistance,” says Oh.

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s r e d a e l e u Tr

stand out

Interpersonal skills are what set great leaders apart from mere good ones in the new world of work. Success today depends on combined cooperation and people skills. HRM finds out what training initiatives companies are adopting to build these up among present and future leaders

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey

S

ome experts opine that generally, Asians may have the tendency to view ‘leadership’ from a perspective of positional power as opposed to a ‘personal mastery’. “This may be due to societal conditioning, as ‘leaders’ are usually people in positions of authority,” says Nitin Goil, Senior manager – Future Leader, Training Vision Institute, adding that not much emphasis is paid on self-learning to grow leadership in Asia.

“Leadership does not apply only to those in power. It’s also about confidence in your own

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knowledge, skills and decisions,” he adds.

KC Loo, head of employee engagement and career development at Malaysian telco Maxis, believes that the importance of leadership skills is notably rising in importance and emphasis now. “Leaders in the region are currently working more on global presence and the business dynamics of an organisation have changed inevitably,” says Loo. “That means leaders in Asia or even in the West need to simultaneously work globally;

corporate learning

hence leadership skills in any geographical areas should no longer be taken as a new paradigm,” he adds.

Christina Lu, vice president of HR, Volvo Construction Equipment concurs, saying that leaders who are taking on senior roles in the region are highly qualified in their profession and do focus on leadership skills as key to success of today’s business environment.

“Without solid leadership programmes to build future leaders and support current leaders, companies will not be able to sustain their business and stay competitive,” says Lu. “In addition, they will not be able to attract talents and retain them.”

Walking the talk

Interpersonal skills

As an organisation specialising in human capital development, Training Vision ensures that all staff have a minimum of 40 hours of training per staff.

“A core programme of the company is the Workplace Skills Qualification (WSQ) Leadership and People Management (LPM) Level 5 conducted in conjunction with Pepperdine University, in which all senior managers are expected to attend during their tenure in Training Vision,” says Nitin Goil, Senior Manager – Future Leader, Training Vision Institute.

All other managers are expected to attend the WSQ Leadership and People Management Level 4. The rest of the staff are required to attend Personal Effectiveness modules under the WSQ framework.

“Through this process, staff are able to see that leadership does not only fall onto the shoulders of those in power but also on themselves; the actions they want to take do make a difference in the organisation,” he adds.

According to Bill George, author of Authentic Leadership, “leadership is not about style”. Rather, it is fundamentally based on values. “We also believe that having the right values is pivotal,” says Goil. “Once the values are centred, other competencies like interpersonal skills or emotional quotient (EQ) fall naturally into place.”

The failure of many business leaders, as seen with the collapses of leading organisations like Enron, Anderson and ING Bank, is not about leadership charisma, style or techniques, but rather a lack of personal values and principles leading to infringements in corporate ethics and governance, Anthony explains.

Interpersonal skills set great leaders apart from merely good ones as success in the new world of work depends on combined cooperation and people skills. “Interpersonal skills involve EQ, fostering open dialogues, influencing, negotiation, stakeholders communication, managing and resolving conflict, and have right organisational political skills,” says Loo.

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corporate learning

HR needs to access wellness and strength in order to customise a training programme to best fit the person, says James Foo, Director – HR at Mövenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa. “To set a person apart from the rest, a good leader needs to have confidence to take the lead.”

“He also needs to have the ability to lead and motivate others to get things done. A good leader is one who possesses the personality and interpersonal skills that motivates others, takes the lead and makes his subordinate to achieve their goals,” adds Foo. A leader with appropriate interpersonal skills will lead happy and productive workers thereby increasing productivity. “Leaders with good interpersonal skills can generally control their feelings in difficult situations and respond appropriately, allowing communication to be comfortable with less conflicts and misunderstanding,” says Foo.

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All this makes for a strong business case for HR and senior management to invest in developing interpersonal skills of current and future leaders within the organisation.

Developing true leaders

At Volvo, there are specific leadership programmes, globally aligned as well as customised locally, to support leaders in the various leadership pipelines.

“We have various communication training courses offered to our managers. In addition, our managers are given feedback from their employees regarding their communicative leadership through our annual climate survey,” says Lu. “The managers will have to follow up on an action plan to address the improvement areas thereafter.”

Another way leaders are developed is through profiling and assessments. This involves various

corporate learning

Mark of a true leader competences that are benchmarked by an external provider.

“Depending on the various levels of leadership, we provide executive coaching to develop or enhance their leadership versatility and interpersonal skills,” says Loo. “Those skills also include the resilience and psychological reserves to tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity hence this cannot be done solely via classroom.”

For first line leaders or supervisors, Maxis gives them classrooms and residential programs. For middle managers and depending on whether the leaders are crucial in the next pipeline, more investment is attached to that leader on various business simulations in a residential programme and breaks in between are supported by e-learning.

“A mix of classroom, on the job training, e-learning platforms for webcasts and assignments and coaching is used to develop

effective leaders at According to James Foo, Director – HR at Mövenpick Maxis,” says Loo. Heritage Hotel Sentosa, the interpersonal skills a Besides identifying great leader should possess include: talent, Mövenpick + A good listening ear Heritage Hotel Sentosa + Positive thinking and attitude grooms and develops + The ability to adapt to changes them via different modes + Affinity to take risks of training. “Other than + The ability to control emotions typical classroom training sessions, we also register the pool of talent on our electronic training (e-learning) portal,” says Foo. “It allows them to access the course material 24/7 at their own time, anywhere, anytime for self-study. This e-learning allow our employees’ flexibility and convenience with no disruption to their work, especially for operation staff,” he adds.

Mövenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa engages external trainers to impart ‘people skills’ to senior

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corporate learning

management. The same course is included in the talent programme for key talents identified by HR. “Topics include ‘listening’, ‘tone of voice’ and ‘interaction’,” says Foo. “We also conduct in-house training on ‘social behaviours’ such as how one Each year McDonald’s invests over behaves and carries himself or herself is part of leadership training.”

£36 MILLION (US$57 MILLION) in training its 87,500-strong workforce

Upskilling future leaders

Whilst training current leaders is important, having a consistent pipeline of fully-trained future leaders is also essential to the smooth running of a business. Volvo emphasises on sending staff such as PMETs, and non-leaders for training to prepare them for leadership roles.

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“We have programmes in place to prepare emerging leaders with potential to take on their first leadership role,” says Lu. “It is a combination of classroom learning, e-learning, and selfmanaged learning.”

For its future leaders, Mövenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa has in place an internal talent development programme, the Young Talent Development Programme, to identify and develop potential leadership talent.

“Different areas and competencies will be drawn up with a time line to complete the training,” says Foo. “HR and the department head will also sit down with this person and explain the programme objectives and expectations to get him or her excited and motivated. Constant reviews with staff are critical to ensure they stay on track throughout the programme,” he adds.

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resources

The Enemy of Engagement

W

orkplace frustration is a silent epidemic creeping through every organisation but is rarely recognised or confronted, say authors Mark Royal and Tom Agnew. In their book The Enemy of Engagement, they charge frustration as something that wears down motivated, dedicated employees who care about their work but are unable to get the support they need to do their jobs well.

With extensive research conducted by management consulting firm Hay Group, the book analyses the pertinent topic of workplace frustration in detail. One key concept highlighted is the significant difference between employee engagement and employee enablement – the latter means helping employees to motivate themselves to succeed while the former means developing employees’ ability to perform effectively.

The book also delves into the root causes of workplace frustration and provides possible solutions to get rid of organisational obstacles that hinder workers from reaching their full potential.

According to the authors, the root cause of frustration “cannot be fixed with splashier leadership or more engaged employees” – instead, what’s needed are “informed, targeted management practices that enable employees to do their jobs”.

The Enemy of Engagement suggests some strategies to bring about change. Firstly, the book explains how to provide clear direction about organisational priorities to help people focus on the highest value tasks and encourage superior levels of teamwork both within and across business units. It also shows how to support training, development, and empowerment opportunities to ensure that employees have the skills and authority to get the job done. Lastly, it explains how to provide the tools, information and other resources employees need to work efficiently and effectively.

Packed with comprehensive research, a case study and examples, the book is a must-have for all leaders who are seeking ways to better productivity, improve financial results and promote customer loyalty.

At a Glance The Enemy of Engagement Authors: Mark Royal and Tom Agnew Published by: American Management Association Retail Price: S$40.61

RESPECT:

Delivering results by giving employees what they really want

I

s it possible to have a successful business, and yet give employees what they want? Absolutely, say Drs. Jack Wiley and Brenda Kowske, authors of RESPECT: Delivering results by giving employees what they really want.

According to them, managers and organisations who give their employees what they want outperform those who do not. This is based on extensive research amassed from more than 25 years on factors that motivate employees and how they perceive their work.

In the book, what employees really want boils down to seven key elements, summarised in the acronym R.E.S.P.E.C.T. They are: recognition – a pat on the back from managers and the organisation at large, exciting work – a job that’s challenging, interesting and fun, security – job security, whether that means one year or 10, pay – fair compensation for a day’s work and enough of it, education and career growth – opportunities to develop their skills and career,

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conditions – a workplace that is comfortable and well-equipped physically and socially, and truth – frank, honest and transparent leaders.

Companies that take care of these seven fundamental wants end up with more engaged employees, more satisfied customers and better shareholder returns. The book examines each element of R.E.S.P.E.C.T and offers real solutions for managers and leaders to implement.

Written in a straightforward and engaging style, the book makes complex information easy to digest and understand. Additionally, it provides useful diagnostics to help organisations assess their areas of vulnerability, making this a very practical guide for leaders everywhere.

With an impressive amount of data and personal experience, the authors demonstrate that giving employees what they really want can truly be a win-win situation for both the employers and workers.

At a Glance RESPECT: Delivering results by giving employees what they really want Authors: Drs. Jack Wiley and Brenda Kowske Published by: John Wiley & Sons Retail Price: S$60.94

in person

Pauline

Chua

General Manager, Human/Organisation Resource & Development, Fuji Xerox Years in HR? I have been working in HR since 1992 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology & Education.

Why HR? I have always been interested in people, what makes us tick and how can we reach our full potential. I believe HR can make a difference as people are key in most organisations.

Why Fuji Xerox?

Fuji Xerox Singapore (FXS) is a reputable MNC well known not just for its technology and innovation but its strong leadership and CSR practices.

Biggest achievement?

It has been very fulfilling working in an organisation where employee engagement is one of the top priorities.

On such initiative is F.U.N. @ Work which focus as on building a fun and energetic work environment.

Family?

I am blessed with two children, age eight and five years who keep me on my toes; a supportive husband and a loving mother who lives with me.

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Catching up with family, friends and keeping fit through activities such as pilates and roller-blading.

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Is to have a mobility management partner with flexible and customizable solutions “Crown offers a variety of services that can be customized to our needs.

We enjoy their flexibility and their eagerness to provide great solutions.

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13-Feb-12 3:32:01 PM

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twenty-four seven combined with two soft boiled eggs and my must-have, “Teh-O”.

Chloe Then HR, Learning and Development Executive, DHL Supply Chain Singapore and DHL Global Forwarding (Singapore)

8:30am Just reached office. Had

10:30am Have a discussion with my

breakfast at home earlier, so I just grab a quick cup of coffee for my daily caffeine boost.

boss on important updates. I also look through all the training requests from our business units, and contact respective managers on their training justifications if needed.

9:00am Time to do a review of my to-dos for the day. I read my emails, and follow up on matters that need action. I also drop a line to my HR colleague in Malaysia - who is assisting me in the area of Learning & Development - to resolve any outstanding items.

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12:00pm Usually, lunch time is spent with my HR team at Changi Airport Terminal 3’s Wang Café. This place is our all-time favourite. I am a fan of their chicken macaroni soup -

1:00pm Back from lunch, I review our employees’ training plans, and plan ahead for upcoming classes throughout the year.

3:00pm I start working on my learning reports – analyse the data, and identify any specific areas that need attention. I also raise payments for training course fees, and any other incurred training expenses along the way.

5:00pm Read my emails, and follow up on new action items. I call employees to clarify any enquiries or difficulties faced. I also ensure that our annual training schedule is updated to reflect changes and additions.

6:00pm Time to go for my evening Muay Thai class if there are no other urgent matters on hand.

viewpoint PayrollServe

From Manual to Electronic Leave Management…Painlessly Key considerations for migrating from a manual to an automated leave management solution

T

he adoption of an enterprisewide leave management solution presents numerous quantitative and qualitative benefits to both HR personnel and employees (see Part 1 of article in HRM Issue 12.1 p.74). However, while the idea behind implementing a new system is all good and well, in reality most people will feel apprehensive about adopting and using a new system.

Implementing a new leave management solution is no different from any systems implementation project; it must be carefully planned, organised and executed.

For an enterprise presently organised around a manual form-based leave management process, there are key considerations for moving towards a paperless environment.

Review and document leave policies – Unless there is a clear and precise understanding of all the various leave policies in place, the “rules” cannot be configured into the system. Issues like leave eligibility, forfeiture, proration or encashment calculation must be duly documented. So, it is a good time to take stock and rationalise the various leave policies with a view of streamlining them before computerisation. The simpler the policies, the easier they are to implement.

Decide on the workflow – The leave application and approval can be simple, single-stage approval sequence; or a multi-stage process involving several

Tay

thain lin Technical Director persons. It is important to be able to map are browser-based and highly out the desired leave application review intuitive, employee training may not and approval workflow for different be required. Nevertheless, some leave types and employee groups. online documentation may be useful Create the leave policies and rules as instant guides. The leave – All the required leave types must administrators may however require a be configured in the system before certain level of proficiency training on testing can be conducted. Testing is maintaining leave policies if selfimportant to scrutinise how “rules” maintenance of the system is behaves and the accuracy of necessary for the future. computations.

Clear and timely Depending on the communication is + PayrollServe test results, system the key ingredient 8 Wilkie Road, #03-08, settings need to be for successful Wilkie Edge, Singapore 228095 tweaked. implementation of + Website: www.payrollserve.com.sg Data preparation any new systems.

– This could be one Employees’ of the most tedious tasks in the apprehension about the new leave implementation process. Other than management system can only be the usual employee profile addressed by clearly addressing the information, HR has to collate, verify concerns and providing the necessary and summarise the leave balances level of post-implementation support. attributable to each employee for This is a new role that the HR has to conversion to the electronic leave play as the guardians of the system. system. If past transactions are required for reference purposes, then historical data must be captured and + This is part 2 of a 3-parts series. In the next imported into the system as well. issue: Part 3 – “Checklist for Selecting a Train – As most leave systems today Leave Management System”. issue 12.5

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talent challenge

Mental wellness in employees According to the Journal of American Medical Association, depression is the single most expensive ailment for employers, costing US$44 billion in lost productivity each year in the US alone. What can HR do to promote employee well-being at the workplace?

As a firm, PwC has always believed that it is important our professionals find a sustainable work life balance. We encourage each staff to take the initiative to plan Deborah Ong for both personal and professional goals in their annual development plan. To Human Capital Partner, PwC LLP, support this, PwC organises various firm-wide sports and community projects for our Singapore staff throughout the year.

We encourage our staff to take time off to be with their families and friends. It is important that our people enjoy close social support networks. Our firm has introduced lifestyle benefits to subsidise part of the expenses our staff incur when they go on holiday.

Most importantly, we cannot neglect the significance of promoting a good experience at work. We ask our colleagues on a day to day basis to treat each other the same way we treat our clients. The PwC Experience that we seek to build translates into simple behaviours such as respecting each other, being responsive, and having open lines of communication. When our staff feel that they are being treated with respect, their disposition and mood in the group shifts for the better and we all can testify to working more effectively with people we can get along with.

From time to time, employees will encounter changes in their work life arising from career transitions, re-organisation of the department or company or introduction of new technology. In addition, employees may also encounter a traumatic incident at the Director, HR, KK Women’s and workplace or difficult customers. These changes or incidents may impact the mental Children’s Hospital wellness of employees.

KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital has various programmes to promote employee well-being. For example, our Life@KKH and FlexiWorks initiatives help promote employee well-being by helping staff to have flexible work arrangements, cope with their work and provide avenues for staff engagement apart from work. For mental wellness in particular, we have set up a Carers’ Support Network comprising of fellow colleagues who are trained to provide a listening ear and counsel their colleagues who are facing work or personal problems. So far, we have had about 50 employees who are trained to be peer supporters. The names of these trained peer supporters are listed in our intranet so that any staff can approach them for help.

Chua Pek Kim

Byron Rienstra

I think the right way to tackle this question is by focusing on wellness at both an organisational level, and an individual level. HR has a privileged perspective to be able Head of HR, Global to understand, from a multitude of viewpoints, what it feels like, or should feel like, to Markets, Wholesale Banking, Standard be part of a positive and constructive organisational ecosystem. We have the sorts of Chartered Bank insights and tools to assist organisations evolve in a way that promotes wellness in the broadest sense. Do it well enough, and you can promote a shift in how an entire industry tackles the nature and purpose of work itself.

I suspect we will hear more organisations talking about ensuring their people, and their organisational purpose, are connected in a virtuous circle of contribution and meaningful impact: in such a way that employees can see how they positively shape the communities they are part of, the industries they create, and the world they live in. To me, that’s the broadest way to tackle both our professional strategic responsibility, and our duty of care: by assisting our organisations in building positive purpose that resonates with employees and their various communities. issue 12.5

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talent ladder

Bryan Lim

Senior Director, HR, Fortis Healthcare Global

Rachael Fitzpatrick HR Director, Asia-Pacific and Japan, Akamai Technologies

Eileen Ang HR Director, W Singapore – Sentosa Cove

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Bryan Lim was recently appointed Senior Director, HR at Fortis Healthcare where he is charged with establishing and delivering HR operations for Fortis’ Global HQ in Singapore and its international subsidiaries.

He is a seasoned HR professional with more than 16 years of experience of proven track record delivering in both business and functional roles. Prior to joining Fortis, Lim worked for the Advanced Technology Investment Company of Abu Dhabi, where he led a multi-million dollar human capital development project involving the selection and development of a large number of local engineers and technicians to spearhead the Emirate’s advanced technology and semiconductor sector.

“It was an honour to pioneer human capital development for the advanced technology and semiconductor sector in the UAE. Having delivered on my mission in Abu Dhabi, I decided to return home and embark on an equally meaningful endeavour in the healthcare sector by joining Fortis’ fledging Global HQ in Singapore. I’m looking forward to playing my part in helping to enhance the quality of healthcare across Asia and the World.”

Rachael Fitzpatrick has joined Akamai Technologies as HR Director for Asia-Pacific Japan. Fitzpatrick is responsible for HR strategy and management and will play a key role in driving Akamai’s expansion strategy.

Fitzpatrick has 12 years of HR generalist experience in the IT, Insurance and Shipping industries. Her areas of specialisation include M&A activities, market pricing and benchmarking strategies as well as coaching and neuroscience in the workplace.

Based in Singapore, she reports to Linda Pettingell, Senior Director HR Business Partnering at Akamai. She will also work closely with the Asia-Pacific and Japan management as well as the global HR team to ensure that quality programmes and localised practices are delivered to all employees here.

“Joining Akamai during this period of its development allows me to connect with creative people and offers me the opportunity to strengthen Akamai’s overall resource planning and deployment throughout the region. I am pleased to be able to play a part in helping Akamai reach its full potential as an industry leader.”

Eileen Ang is the new HR Director of W Singapore – Sentosa Cove. She is responsible for managing the HR and coaching (W lingo for learning and development) functions of the hotel.

Ang was previously with AsiaRooms.com as their HR Manager, Asia-Pacific where she managed the setup and alignment of HR processes across offices in Asia.

Ang decided to move back to the hospitality industry as she missed the vibrancy of the industry and the various emotional connections that she had created with the different hospitality talents in the past eight years.

“I am thrilled to be joining W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, it’s definitely going to be an exciting journey. My immediate task is to recruit the right talents in time for the opening of our hotel in August 2012. But of course, I would like to create a great workplace for them where our talents can truly be themselves and grow both personally and professionally!”

talent feature

How recruitment firms can help you find the right candidate In any industry, a company’s greatest asset and resource are its people. That is why having the right people in place often largely determines the success or failure of a company. This is where recruitment firms play a crucial role in partnering companies to find the best available talent

P

artnering with the right recruitment firm can not only help companies hire a suitable candidate in good time, but it will also market your company to potential candidates in a positive and accurate manner.

There are many recruitment firms in the market with different recruitment styles and approaches. However, there are some guidelines to consider in order for HR to select a recruitment firm that would add value in assisting with the whole recruitment cycle. » Meet with the recruiter to understand his/her track record, experiences, and approach. » Inquire about the recruitment firm’s sourcing and interview processes.

(E.g. Do they meet all their candidates? How is the interview process going to be? Reference checks? Technical skills tests?) » Global recruitment firms gravitate towards sourcing for candidates from a larger candidate database whilst specialised boutique firms prefer to actively target candidates from the client’s competitors.

Know what sort of recruitment style you prefer.

Recruitment firms should be seen as an extended HR arm for a company looking to hire talent, and a smooth partnership can ensure that the recruitment process would yield positive results. Below are some pointers on what HR can do to ensure that they get

Gary

lai

Managing Director – SEA, Charterhouse Partnership the best experience out of working with recruiters at any one time as you do a recruitment firm. not wish to have the same candidates » Regularly speak with a trusted point getting multiple similar calls from of contact from the recruitment firm different recruitment firms. to know the hiring and market » After each candidate interview, it is trends, competitors update, salary crucial to provide feedback to the information etc. recruiter on the represented » When you meet with a recruiter, candidate so that the recruiter could invite the recruiter to meet with further refine his/her search. yourself and the hiring manager. » Keep in contact with the recruiter to This will allow the recruiter to not find out about the candidate’s only better thoughts because understand the candidates usually + Gary Lai Managing Director – SEA, technical nature of feedback their initial Charterhouse Partnership the role, but also the thoughts on the landed + DID: +65 6435 5601 firm’s culture and position to their + Email: garyl@charterhouse.com.sg the hiring manager’s recruiter soon after personal starting work. preferences. The more information With all the above points, the most you provide the recruiter, the more important ingredient in establishing able the recruiter will be to and maintaining an ideal partnership represent your firm and target more between HR and the recruitment firm is relevant candidates. constant transparent and trusting » Work with no more than two COMMUNICATION between both parties. issue 12.5

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www.stmi.nus.edu.sg

viewpoint HiringBoss

Getting on the HR cloud Smart investments in HR technology can lead to long-term cost savings and productivity improvements, writes Matt Allanson, Sales Director, HiringBoss

A

s we all know the global economic crisis (GFC) is still fresh in everyone’s memories.

Some people ask if we’ve actually learnt anything – I think we have.

Corporations are no longer spending to the excess levels of the last decade, they are careful when making decisions, and given the level of over investment that went on a few years back I am not surprised.

When it comes to improving business processes, however, more often than not companies have to spend money to save money. Why? Because increased productivity through automation of processes can yield massive returns on investment.

Heather McLeish from HiringBoss Japan says, “Typically we have come to expect the finance department to push back on spending. CFOs in particular are notoriously reluctant to spend; particularly when it comes to technology. However, for technology that will offer significant efficiency gains, CFOs are as willing as ever to invest’’.

Therefore, one big question I have for all Singapore CFOs, CEOs and HR Directors is: How many hours do your employees spend posting job ads, screening resumes, scheduling meetings, chasing hiring managers for feedback and requisition signoff? Not sure? It is almost impossible to quantify without a modern system or

Matt

allanson Sales Director, HiringBoss

process in place, but we can assume these ‘hidden’ costs are not insignificant.

HiringBoss was built to deliver significant cost savings through dramatic improvements in productivity.

Also our pay-per-user SaaS model delivers scale and a future proof product offering that will grow with our clients businesses for many years to come. It is worth pointing out that today, more than 30% of all software being used by corporations in the US and UK is on the cloud. This has risen from less that 10% only 5 years ago. In Asia the shift is slower but rapidly gaining momentum.

McLeish continues ‘’ A lot of people often feel some level of attachment (to their old systems) or buyer’s remorse. They often know they didn’t get their money’s worth and find it hard to throw the old system away.

Some spend over a million dollars

implementing HR software that hardly anyone uses and sadly remain attached to that old technology.’’

In a competitive talent market like Singapore, being able to measure and manage hidden recruitment costs is becoming increasing important.

HiringBoss provides the transparency corporations need to better manage their costs. This, coupled with other capabilities such as social recruiting and improved employer of choice branding, enables us to offer an affordable service that until now was only available to large, wealthy corporations.

The future of HR technology has finally arrived. Don’t procrastinate any longer; get on the cloud with HiringBoss. + Matt Allanson Sales Director, HiringBoss + Email: matt@hiringboss.com issue 12.5

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executive appointments Theresa Hall Singapore

frazerjones.com

HR Roles Frazer Jones exclusively focuses on the Global HR market and our specialist teams recruit across the full HR spectrum for local, regional and global positions, encompassing all levels and industries. Established in 1996 in the UK, Frazer Jones is a market leader in almost all of the geographic locations in which we operate. With offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Dubai, Sydney and Melbourne, and a proven track record in Europe as well as demonstrable capability recruiting in the Americas, Frazer Jones assists clients and candidates across the globe.

Global HRBP, Technology Singapore Responsible for influencing and collaborating with HR and regional/ country CIOs, supporting them with HR strategies aligned to the needs of the business and country markets. The successful candidate will execute HR transformation and change management programmes, organisation effectiveness initiatives and lead various high level HR projects on a global scale. Applicants should have a strong background in a MNC technology company coupled with HR transformation, change management, senior level advisory and influencing skills. Ref: TH185170A. SG$ 250,000+ Allowance

Senior HRBP SEA, Banking Singapore Our client is an established global bank. Supporting a dynamic group of employees in the SEA region, the successful candidate will manage the delivery of professional HR consulting services that contribute to the growth in capability of the business. Working closely with stakeholders, you will provide consultative advice to the business with a focus on advising and guiding on talent, company culture and business and process transformation.

The ability to liaise with client groups and strategically enhance change is critical for this role. Ref: TH182230.

SG$ 240,000+ Bonus

To discuss HR roles across Asia, please contact Theresa Hall on +65 6420 0515 or Fiona Nesbitt on +65 6420 0520.

Alternatively, email theresahall@frazerjones.com or fionanesbitt@frazerjones.com Visit frazerjones.com for all of our latest HR roles. EA Licence No: 10C4100.

THE SR GROUP . BREWER MORRIS . CARTER MURRAY . FRAZER JONES . PARKER WELLS . SR SEARCH . TAYLOR ROOT LONDON . DUBAI . HONG KONG . SINGAPORE . SYDNEY . MELBOURNE

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Global Network.

www.michaelpage.com.sg

Local Expertise.

With 161 offices in 33 countries, we have the resources and expertise to help you take the next step in your HR career.

Growing MNC Direct report to APAC HR Director

Our client is a brand named global leader in the HR consulting space.

With a strong focus in developing the South East Asian market, there is a need for a quality Talent Development Consultant to lead business development and content strategy for the organisation. This role will report to the Regional Managing Director and be focused on establishing key client relationships across the region, as well as developing “thought leadership� in the areas of talent development.

To succeed in this role, you must possess a passion for regional client development and growing revenue and market share for the business. Please contact Peiwen Teo quoting ref: H1231850

Compensation and Benefits Manager

Senior HR Business Partner

Our client is one of the world’s leading corporations in the technology sector. As they are expanding their business in Asia, they are now looking to recruit a Compensation and Benefits Manager to join their team. Your main responsibility will be to guide business leaders in developing and implementing compensation strategies that are aligned with corporate needs. You will be the key lead for annual salary reviews and develop compensation plans that are both equitable and competitive to encourage employee retention. Ideally you should be degree qualified and have a minimum of 5 years experience in compensation and benefits team management.

Please contact Ling Quek quoting ref: H1234130

#12829

Global HR Consulting Market Leader Regional Business Development

Our client is a global provider of telecommunication facilities who provide global services and solutions. With a rapid expansion plan and annual growth exceeding 65% over the last 5 years, they are seeking a Regional HR Manager to join their team. You will be part of the global HR team encompassing talent management, leadership development, succession planning, talent acquisitions and change management. With a strong focus on core values that encourage innovation and a positive attitude to the opportunities afforded by change, an exciting and exponential growth opportunity awaits.

Please contact Cherry Wu quoting ref: H1231100

Reputable MNC Local Role

Southeast Asia Focused Advisory Role to the Business Our client is a growing MNC in the electronics industry with a strong emphasis on talent attraction and development. There is an opportunity for a HR professional to champion a high performance culture across the Southeast countries. Your main responsibility will be to develop and implement HR strategy in line with the geographical business plans. You will provide support and manage the overarching goal to develop a passionate and engaged workforce across the region. Ideally, you should be degree qualified and have at least 10 years of strong business partnering experience in Asia, within a forward looking MNC environment. Please contact Audrey Neo quoting ref: H1109930

To apply for any of the above positions, please go to www.michaelpage.com.sg/apply quoting the reference number, or contact the relevant consultant on +65 6533 2777 for further details.

Specialists in HR Recruitment

161 offices in 33 countries | www.michaelpage.com.sg

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Licence No: 98C5473 Business Registration No: 199804751N

Regional HR Manager

GMPRS1012_GMP_ExecAppoint 238x190.pdf 1 4/12/12 3:26 PM

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www.achievegroup.asia Singapore | Malaysia | Hong Kong

Established in 1990, the Achieve Group is a multi award-winning organisation and HR outsourcing partner-of-choice for local conglomerates and multinational corporations within the Asia Pacific region. It specialises in Talent Acquisition comprising General Recruitment, Technology Recruitment, Foreign Recruitment and Executive Search Divisions, as well as HR Consulting.

EA Licence No.: 05C3451

1. Human Resource Manager

1. Human Resource Manager

Established Company West, 5.25 day work week (Alternate Saturday)

Town area Very good benefits and bonus payout

Our client, a Well Known and Established Company in manufacturing power cables is inviting suitably qualified candidates to fill the position as a HR Manager.

Our Client, located in Town area, is seeking for suitable candidates to join them

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the full spectrum of HR functions of the company, including recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance management, compensation and benefits and budgeting • Oversee the general administrative function including Tenders and Contracts to ensure compliance with procurement guidelines, logistics and admin support for the company • Maintain good union-management relations • Strategic HR partnering and implementation of HR strategies • Provide advice to line managers in managing staff disciplinary issues, counseling, grievance handling and employee relations

• Lead and direct the Human Resource team to deliver a comprehensive HR service to the business • Employee Relations managing absence, disciplinaries, grievances, sickness etc.

Measure employee satisfaction and identify areas that require improvement • Performance Management coaching managers on performance management issues and processes • Learning & Development providing guidance on development for managers and their teams • Training - Implementing the training and development agenda; identify areas that need attention and improvement • Recruitment & retention - managing talent and succession planning; taking overall responsibility for recruitment activity and campaigns • Reward advise and support employees on company benefits • Policy & procedures implementation of new HR policies, procedures and processes • Working with senior managers, coaching them and advising on all people issues • Deal with complex disciplinary/grievance and HR issues, using HR and company knowledge evidencing appropriate decision making skills • Managing priorities between casework and projects, HR budgets

Requirements • Possess a degree with specialization in HR • Must be able to communicate fluently in english and mandarin • Minimum with 5 years of experiences for a manufacturing company • Superb communication skills honed in business partnering/advisory roles • Examples of adding value as both an individual contributor and active team member • Experience of dealing with senior and sometimes challenging individuals • Ability to represent the Human Resource function as part of the bigger business picture • Demonstrable experience in managing TUPE, redundancy or other relevant HR projects • Strong understanding of employment law • CIPD or equivalent qualification

Responsibilities

Requirements • Degree from a recognized University with at least 10 years of relevant Human Resources experience, of which at least 3 years is at a managerial level • Knowledgeable about the Employment Act and other employment related legislation and regulations • Dynamic, team player with business acumen, passionate and resourceful with strong operational and strategic HR Management skills • Good interpersonal and communication skills

Interested candidate please submit your updated resume in MS Word format to: Position 1: strike7@achievegroup.asia Position 2: blessing8@achievegroup.asia We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

141 Market Street #13-00 International Factors Building Singapore 048944 T +65 6323 0050 F +65 6323 3006

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RECRUITMENT INTERNATIONAL AWARDS 2011 BEST INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT COMPANY

www.robertwalters.com.sg

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THE ASIAN BANKER SUPPORTING INDUSTRY AWARDS 2011 THE ASIAN BANKER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR STRATEGIC EXECUTIVE SEARCH TO THE COMMERCIAL BANKING INDUSTRY

Our Singapore office provides a complete, fully integrated recruitment service that focuses on the placement of HR professionals at all levels into both financial services and commercial sectors regionally.

Business Registration No: 199706961E. Licence No: B550103E.

executive appointments

HR VENDORS OF THE YEAR AWARD 2011 WINNER, PREFERRED RECRUITMENT FIRM (MID RANGE / HIGH END ROLES)

For a confidential discussion, please contact:

ASIAMONEY HEADHUNTERS POLL 2010 BEST HEADHUNTING FIRM FOR BANKING MIDDLE / BACK OFFICE RECRUITMENT IN ASIA

Joanne Chua, Associate Director HR, Supply Chain & Business Support divisions T: (65) 6228 0292 E: hrsg-hrm@robertwalters.com.sg

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Returning the Human to Resourcing

Director, Compensation and Benefits

Senior HR Manager - GTO

Talent Management Manager

Innovative Technologies

Premier Bank

Major Financial Body

Business Partnering Role

Global Technology & Operations

Dynamic Team

Salary circa S$180k-S$220k + bonus

Excellent Career Progression

Singapore Role

Our client is an established US multinational, with more than 100 years track record of delivering technologically innovative business solutions. Due to continued growth, there is an opportunity for a C&B Senior Manager/Director to join them.

This major bank offers a full range of products to a global network of clients. With an impressive growth plan for the region, it is now seeking a dynamic and seasoned HR Manager for its GTO Division.

Our client manages financial investment in various asset classes and promotes employee-friendly practices and policies.

Reporting to the VP HR (APAC), you will contribute towards the attraction and retention of employees by developing and implementing compensation and benefits practices that are competitive, equitable and aligned with overall business objectives. You will ensure initiatives are aligned with global/corporate best practices and design, drive and work with the country operations in implementing programs, policies and associated training, in enhancing the co-relation between rewards and performance management.

Reporting to the Global Head of HR, GTO, you will work closely with the senior GTO managers to align business and people strategies through appropriate advice and intervention.

You will influence and co-ordinate the development of a performance culture through effective implementation of integrated people management strategies and plans including performance management, compensation and talent management. You will play an integral role in business transformation programs and support the achievement of their overall strategic plan.

Ideally you have a minimum of 10 years experience in C&B. Regional experience is a must and ideally from a US MNC. You are highly numerate and analytical. An initiator and operationally hands on, you are tenacious, resilient and have the patience to push things through. Strong influencing skills (both direct and indirect) would be a critical success factor for this role.

To apply, please submit your resume to Cecelia Koh at ck@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number CK4033\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Degree qualified, you have more than 15 years of relevant experience working in a global MNC or bank. You have a proven experience in dealing with senior management and possess strong ability in influencing and implementing change. You are commercial, driven and will thrive in a fast paced environment.

To apply, please submit your resume to Adnan Atan at aa@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number AA4027\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

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You will lead, develop and execute talent management practices so as to attract, develop retain and deploy talent to meet the organization goals. You will partner with senior management and line managers as well as other HR colleagues to drive successful talent review strategies, talent identification, succession plans and monitor the development of critical talent. As part of a team, you will also be involved in projects relating to employee engagement and development.

Degree qualified, you will have relevant years of experience gained in a major bank or MNC. With strong interpersonal and communication skills, you are able to relate with staff at all levels. With strong influencing and negotiation skills, you are strategic, proactive and a team player.

To apply, please submit your resume to Adnan Atan at aa@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference no AA3994\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

executive appointments HRM Awards 2009 Sponsor of the Best HR Manager of the Year Award Asiamoney Headhunters Poll 2009 Best Headhunting Firm - Middle/Back-Office category No. 2 in Asia

HR Business Partner

Head of Talent & Learning Operations

Organizational Development/ Talent Management Specialist

Services Industry

Global Bank

Leading Global MNC

Newly Created Role

Competitive Remuneration

Exciting Initiatives

Salary circa S$130k-S$170k base + bonus

Excellent Career Progression

Salary circa S$150k-S$250k + variable bonus

Our client is a leading global MNC. Innovative and exciting would best describe the business that they are in. Due to a changing organizational structure, they are now looking for a driven HR professional to further deepen their HR organization.

This premier global bank promotes talent and learning development through its well-established talent management practices and programs. It is recruiting a dynamic and high caliber Head of Talent and Learning Operations.

Our client is an extremely established global MNC. There is now an opportunity for an OD/Talent Management specialist to join them in this newly created position.

You have worked a minimum of 10 years in a progressive and dynamic MNC. Prior HR experience in a services environment will be highly advantageous. You are strategic in mindset, and operationally hands on. You are a strong team player and possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

International candidates who may not necessarily have the Asia experience are welcome to apply. Candidates with prior C&B experience will be preferred.

To apply, please submit your resume to Cecelia Koh at ck@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number CK4015\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Degree qualified, you will have at least 15 years of relevant experience gained in a progressive bank or MNC. With strong interpersonal and leadership skills, you are familiar with learning technologies, process migration, project management, financial analysis and product management life cycle for talent and learning products.

To apply, please submit your resume to Adnan Atan at aa@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number AA4060\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Reporting to the Global Head of OD, you will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Talent Management Framework and strategies to address key leadership and organizational development needs for the region as a whole. You will continually drive high performance to ensure the firm’s competitive advantage through the development of their leadership values/competencies, with an emphasis on assessment, development, deployment and retention of talent.

Ideally, you are degree qualified preferably with specializations in OD/talent development/ employee engagement. You are highly collaborative and work well with global/regional/ in-country senior management (in and out of HR). You are hands on and structured in approach. Dynamic and committed, you work well in a highly diversified and global culture.

To apply, please submit your resume to Cecelia Koh at ck@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number CK3911\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Licence No: C690801Z

Reporting to the VP HR, you will partner the business in generalist HR activities. In the initial months, there will be a strong emphasis on the C&B functions and this will subsequently taper off to include organizational development, performance management, talent management and succession planning, including recruitment.

You can be expected to partake in strategic HR initiatives as well as get involved in operational day to day matters.

Reporting to the Head of HR Country Service Delivery and Group Head of Talent and Learning Product Delivery, and managing a dynamic team, you will provide thought leadership, delivery expertise and support to the Talent and Learning function to ensure seamless implementation of Talent and Learning products and services. This would cover technology infrastructure, process optimization, standard, governance and controls, decision-support analytics and financial data analysis, risk management and team management.

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Human resources professionals speak to tHe experts Hr Business partner – insurance influential Hr role.

Director of Human resources newly created role setting up the apac Hr function.

A highly reputable insurance and financial services organisation has a fantastic opportunity for an influential Human Resources Business Partner to join their Singapore operation. With a strong background in the insurance sector, you will provide the full spectrum of HR function by giving expert advice, guidance and coaching to help the business achieve its goals. In addition, you will also participate in HR projects and implement new initiatives. A pragmatic approach and the ability to work with and influence key stakeholders across a range of different cultures is essential.

A US multinational within the manufacturing industry is seeking a Head of Human Resources to set up the function across Asia Pacific. Reporting to the Vice President of Human Resources, you will be responsible for providing leadership and direction to the function. You will continually review, develop and implement human resource strategies, policies and plans to provide, promote and sustain an employee-orientated and high performance culture. You must possess over 15 years of progressive human resources generalist experience with more than five years at senior management level in a high-volume environment.

oil & Gas - Hr manager submerge into Hr operations.

Head of Graduate recruitment streamline & own the graduate recruitment process.

Working for a large and diversified global subsea oil and gas organisation, you will provide strong hands on HR support to the business and will be responsible for implementing new initiatives. Having successfully demonstrated your hands-on, tactical HR management expertise, you will be suitably educated with five plus years of relevant HR experience of which at least two to three years should have been in a management position. Singapore labour market knowledge is essential and Indonesian exposure is an added advantage. This opportunity will suit a hands-on, pro-active and resourceful individual. You should have the ability to function well within a fast paced, high volume, business environment.

Managing a team of graduate recruiters, you will facilitate the successful placement of first-class graduates into the bank across the region. You will ensure that effective screening and interviews take place by using structured assessment tools and techniques. Maintaining close working relationships with both internal customers and external parties, you will promote an effective employer brand to potential candidates, as well as undertake travel within the Asia Pacific region for PR and recruitment purposes. You will have an outstanding graduate recruitment track record, ideally within the banking sector, coupled with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate with all levels of management.

please contact ash russell, mamta shukla, thomas Girling or Vargin Yeke at hr.singapore@hays.com.sg or +65 6303 0721.

hays.com.sg

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