Hrm 13 07 Target the right talent

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ISSUE 13.7

Recruitment Special PLUS: • Top hiring mistakes • Workforce planning

Developing local leaders at Merck, Sharp & Dohme Kicking off careers at BT Asia Pacific Conducting better interviews

HRM 13.7

Contents EDITOR Sumathi V Selvaretnam JOURNALIST Shalini Shukla-Pandey ASSISTANT JOURNALIST Vivien Shiao Shufen TRAFFIC MANAGER Azimah Jasman SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amos Lee

17 Recruitment Special Hiring the wrong candidate can cost you dearly. In this special issue on recruitment, HRM provides you with tips on targeting the best talent for your organisation. Find out more about workforce planning, conducting better interviews, social recruitment and the top ten hiring mistakes that you should avoid.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Paul Lozano REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Evelyn Lim SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Yogesh Chandiramani ACCOUNT MANAGERS Yvonne Wong Rebecca Ng GENERAL MANAGER Kaveri Ayahsamy REGIONAL MANAGING EDITOR George Walmsley MANAGING DIRECTOR Richard Curzon

“Recruiting will always be about personal relationships and we continue to focus on building those relationships. As an initial part of that, social media is about awareness and sparking interest – starting those relationships”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY David Teng Photography Frank Pinckers Photogrphy PRINTED BY Times Printers Pte Ltd PUBLISHED BY Key Media Pte Ltd 121 Telok Ayer Street #02-01 Singapore 068590 Tel: +65 6423 4631 Fax: +65 6423-4632 Email: info@keymedia.com.sg

– LJ BROCK, VICE PRESIDENT – GLOBAL TALENT ACQUISITION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, RED HAT MICA (P) 137/07/2012 ISSUE 13.7

ISSN 0219-6883

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Contents

Check out HRM online:

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FEATURES 14 | Kicking off careers

The BT Group is one of the world’s largest communication providers with over 89,000 employees spread across several markets.

Richard Cook, Vice President, HR, BT Asia Pacific, explains how the organisation has been engaging and retaining bright, young minds

18 | Bridging the gulf

Is there a chasm between your company’s business objectives and what’s being delivered through the recruitment process? It may be time for a rethink…

22 | Conducting better interviews

A bad hire can disrupt workplace dynamics, slow down productivity and ultimately result in financial losses for the organisation. HRM looks at how HR professionals can fine-tune the interview process to identify candidates that best meet their needs

32 | Watch out for black holes: Top 10 hiring mistakes All too often HR and recruiters are faced with the fallout from bad hires. Whether its poor cultural fit, or simply broken promises – there are sure-fire ways to avoid disappointment.

HRM presents a list of 10 missteps to avoid during recruitment

36 | Well of talent

Pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme

(MSD) aims to help the world “be well”.

Patrick Bergstedt, President – Asia Pacific, MSD shares some of the talent challenges that stand in the way, and how the organisation itself stays in the pink of health

42 | Helping employees switch off

The best organisations recognise that work is only one part of employees’ lives, and that a healthy balance between work and play is required for optimal at-work performance.

HRM finds out what some workplaces are doing to help their staff switch off

48 | The training manager of the future Sunder Ramachandran, a senior training manager with Jardine Lloyd Thompson in India, says technology is continuing to transform the way learning and development transpires within organisations. In this special guest contribution, he outlines some of the most important developments that will affect the role in the coming years

52 | Personal Data Protection Act: What HR needs to know

New laws set to take effect from July next year will regulate the way organisations and HR handle the personal data of employees and job candidates. Lionel Tan, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications partner with Rajah & Tann LLP, explains what the changes will demand

52 REGULARS 3 | Analysis 4 | News 10 | Leaders on Leadership 11 | HR Insight 51 | Viewpoint 55 | Viewpoint 56 | Twenty-four Seven 57 | Viewpoint 59 | Talent Ladder 60 | Talent Feature 61 | Resources 61 | In Person 62 | Talent Challenge 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 2

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ANALYSIS

Labour crunch

Boosting your part-time work pool Professionalising part-time work and better workplace integration could help attract more housewives and mature workers into the workforce

The quota for foreign workers will be further tightened this month, adding further pressure on companies already experiencing a labour shortage.

Part-time labour pools are a useful resource in times like these. They are especially critical in the food and beverage and retail sectors where wide fluctuations in business volumes through seasonal peaks and troughs are typical, Darshan Singh, Director, Human Capital Division of SPRING Singapore tells HRM. “A cost-efficient method to address these varying demands is to tap on part-timers to complement full-time staff.”

However, while companies do employ a significant proportion of part-time workers, Singapore does not have a stable pool of well-trained part-time workers, says Singh. This can affect the quality of service and customer satisfaction.

SPRING Singapore has been encouraging companies to hire more mature workers and housewives into their workforce to ease the talent crunch. Over the next few months, it will be working with business associations and self-help groups to spread the message further.

SPRING is also channelling part-time workers to retail and food and beverage establishments through its Part-Time Pool Programme (see: boxout). Launched in 2011, the programme, which promotes flexible staffing models, has deployed 3,300 part-timers to some 130 participating companies in these sectors. However, mature workers and housewives make up just a third of this pool.

To overcome this, companies need to better integrate such employees into the workforce, says SPRING. Food and beverage company Han’s for example, has successfully engaged this segment of the workforce – 40% of its staff are over 40 years old, with 18 over 62 years old, and even two aged over 80. Having younger, able-bodied employees work alongside older and disabled workers has helped the company attract and retain staff.

Another example is the Jumbo Group of Restaurants, which has hired some 150 mature workers and 128 back-to-work women. Christina Kong, the group’s senior director of HR and corporate affairs told HRM that the company has been looking at innovative ways to attract this group of employees. In the process it has re-designed jobs as well as introduced flexible work hours.

Employers can better integrate part-time workers by placing emphasis on recognising and rewarding them based on their level of commitment, performance and experience, akin to how full-time employees are recognised, says Singh.

“This would allow companies to engage the more committed and dedicated workforce based on their experience, maturity and work ethic, regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time employees.”

According to Singh, both companies and part-timers need to play their parts and put in effort to professionalise part-time work. “Companies need to create a positive and supportive culture for part-time workers. Besides short-term tweaks to job roles, incentives and work arrangements, companies need to put in place systems and practices that will integrate, develop and reward part-time employees for the long run,” Singh concludes.

Part-Time Pool Programme (PTP) Under the Part-Time Pool Programme (PTP), manpower service providers offer a competitive benefits package to part-timers, including CPF contributions. Parttimers are required to attend a Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) retail or food and beverage course by the Singapore Retailers’ Association (SRA) or Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) respectively. Part-timers who complete the minimum number of required deployment slots within three months after their training receive an additional bonus.

Qualifying employers can also receive a deployment grant of up to $10,000 to offset the hourly rates paid to manpower service providers.

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NEWS

Asia VIETNAM

SINGAPORE

“Subleasing of employees” is now allowed in Vietnam.

The labour ministry has adopted a new labour code that provides protection for these workers as well.

Taking effect from May 1, the new regulations allow for outsourcing in 17 occupation groups, and stipulate that subleasing contracts may not exceed 12 months in duration.

The employee lessor (defined as “an enterprise licensed to conduct labour outsourcing”) must pay a sublet employee salary at least equal to the salary that the employee lessee pays for its own employees at the same level.

A labour outsourcing agreement must stipulate the place and type of work, length of term for the outsourcing arrangement, work times, labour safety conditions, and the respective rights and obligations of each party.

Companies involved in labour disputes, restructuring, or mergers are not permitted to sublease workers, and leased workers cannot perform under hazardous conditions.

As the global talent shortage continues to intensify, 47% of employers in Singapore are experiencing difficulty finding staff with the right skills, according to the 8th Talent Shortage Survey by Manpower Singapore.

Employers in Singapore are having the most difficulty filling jobs in office support, supervision, and labour this year, in comparison to 2012’s hard-to-fill areas of production operations, accounting, finance, and engineering.

Outsourcing of talent approved

CHINA

Adopt ‘Apple-like’ innovation in HR “Think bigger on innovation in HR if you want to keep us onnboard”. So suggested nearly half of skilled workers surveyed in a study by Futurestep, a Korn/Ferry company.

It found that many workers are prepared to quit a job they’re happy in if they feel they are being let down on promises around innovation.

Two-thirds of employees said they would leave a role if they were targeted with a job that offered more innovative benefits, while 53% would leave a role they were happy in if approached in a particularly innovative way.

Equally worrying will be the news that the clock is ticking. Employers have a window of just six months to deliver on innovative ways to engage and develop their people, according to the majority of those surveyed.

While workers want to see innovation from day one, they’re ready and willing to give back, with 53% saying that innovative approaches to engagement and development would make them more likely to perform better in their jobs.

Chong Ng, managing director of Futurestep Greater China said: “In order for ambitious growth targets to be achieved, companies need to be focused on getting the very best from staff – innovative recruitment, engagement and development methods are the keys to this”.

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Talent shortage in office support The

24.9%

rise in job advertisements for Malaysia’s HR sector was attributed to companies expanding internal HR teams Source: Robert Walters Asia Job Index Q1 2013

66%

of staff rate career progression as “important” or “very important”

Jobs most in demand in 2013

Jobs most in demand in 2012

Secretaries, administrative assistants and office support

Production operators

Supervisors

Accounting and finance staff

Labourers

Engineers

Drivers

Secretaries, administrative assistants and office support

Sales representatives

Sales representative

Source: 2013 Asia Pacific Travel/ Hospitality Industry Salary Report

Engineers

Drivers

IT Staff

Skilled trades

Skilled trades

Teachers

Statutory maternity leave in Vietnam increased from four to

Accounting and finance staff

Insurance staff

Teachers

Technicians

six months from 1 May

Source: Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs

Half

of Singapore’s family firms appointed outsiders to either the chairman or CEO positions Source: DBS Bank & NUS study, ‘Asian Family Firms: Success and Succession’

Over time, as the education and skill profile of the local workforce improves, HR will need to consider a successful workforce strategy that identifies and solves talent acquisition challenges. They will also need to anticipate future challenges and put in place solutions to address them effectively. Some 54% of Singaporean employers surveyed indicated they would relook into their work models in this regard, while 41% planned to increase their focus on improving talent pipelines.

“After years of talking about talent shortages, the survey results show employers are now awakening to the business effects that occurs when talent is scarce,” said Linda Teo, country manager of Manpower Singapore.

“Business leaders have accepted that talent shortages are an on-going, longterm challenge and are ready to address solutions; they just want guidance.”

© 2012 ManpowerGroup. All rights reserved.

HAVING ALL THE TALENT IN THE WORLD IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE When a severe shortage of engineering talent in the local market jeopardized a $1B infrastructure project, an Australian rail company turned to ManpowerGroup.™ Our global network reached out to an entirely different hemisphere, rapidly recruiting the professional talent they needed in the UK to stay on time and under budget. See how our Innovative Workforce Solutions can open up a world of possibility at manpowergroup.com

® ® ManpowerGroup™ Solutions | Experis™ | Manpower | Right Management

10 Anson Road, #12-07 International Plaza Singapore 078803 | Experis.com.sg | Manpower.com.sg | 6232 8811

Potential.

Realised.

We know that when talent shines, business grows. That’s why Korn/Ferry helps our clients design, build and attract the talent they need to achieve their business goals.

Copyright Š 2013 Korn/Ferry International. All Rights Reserved.

www.kornferry.com

NEWS

Asia HONG KONG

SINGAPORE

According to a recent survey by Towers Watson, four out of 10 employers are spending upwards of 20% of their payroll on providing employee benefits.

However, despite this significant spend, only slightly more than half said those benefits were being valued sufficiently by employees — and 15% said that their offerings were not valued at all.

Online hiring and freelance earnings in Asia set new records in the first quarter of 2013.

The most recent Global Online Employment Report, from online work platform Elance, shows that demand for online talent has surged this year with the need for mobile development and web programming skills leading the charge. Jobs for expert talent with writing skills also expanded.

According to Elance’s first Annual Impact Report, 85% of companies believe hiring freelance talent online gives them a competitive advantage. Seventy-four per cent of companies reported they will hire more freelancers in 2013. The demand for high-quality talent, not costs, is driving businesses to turn to online freelancers.

Singapore ranks seventh globally among countries hiring online freelancers. This reflects a shift in workplace trends, coupled with the strong Asian economy, where talentsavvy companies are supporting the creation of an elastic workforce for work on non-sensitive but critical objectives.

The most popular skills in demand by Singaporean businesses were PHP programming, graphic design, creative writing, as well as HTML web design. As of February 2012, 35% of Elance freelancers were based in Asia. India and the Philippines had the largest number of freelancer populations (340,890 and 85,621 respectively).

Online work gains momentum

Employees undervaluing benefits

Organisations’ spend on employee benefits in the last fiscal year Less than 20% of payroll

20% to <40% More than of payroll 40% of payroll

Don’t know

Employees can expect an actual average variable bonus of

2.3 months for 2013

Region

39%

37%

3%

21%

China

38%

33%

7%

22%

Hong Kong

39%

46%

1%

14%

Indonesia

29%

43%

7%

21%

Malaysia

334%

45%

4%

17%

Philippines

34%

44%

3%

19%

Singapore

42%

33%

3%

22%

Taiwan

40%

34%

1%

25%

Thailand

35%

33%

4%

28%

The 2013 Asia Pacific Employee Benefit Trends survey also found that employee value perception does not necessarily increase as spend increases.

When it comes to benefits communication, the survey found that almost a third (31%) of employers do not communicate with their staff on benefits (although high, this number is an improvement from 55% of respondents in 2009). The survey also found a strong correlation between effective communication and benefit value perception — companies that communicate effectively tend to see higher employee value attached to the benefits they provide.

“It is crucial that employers recognise the diversity in their workforce and that different segments of employees have different needs,” said Andrew Heard, managing director of Asia-Pacific Benefits, Towers Watson. “Flexible benefits are a great way to do this, as they enable employees to pick and choose those benefits that appeal to them.

“Without a strong communication and administration strategy, much of this effort is wasted.

Employers should take a holistic look at their benefit design and overall portfolio to optimise their benefit spend and increase employee value perception.”

Source: Hay Group report, “Building the Capabilities of the Next Generation Workforce”

Oslo

has knocked Tokyo off top spot in the list of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates Source: ECA International

74%

of employees in India who are happy in a role would leave if they were offered innovative benefits by another company Source: Futurestep study

MALAYSIA

Hospital staff asked to lose weight It’s not just the patients at Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital who have health problems. Hospital director Dr Selahuddeen Abdul Aziz says many staff are also in need of a tune up. He told The Star that about 59% of them suffer from obesity, 14% have high blood sugar content, 13% have hypertension and 3.8% are smokers.

The hospital has launched a 10,000 steps health programme and staff have been directed to undergo physical exercises, regular check-ups and health screenings.

“Those overweight will be asked to walk 10,000 steps daily around the hospital compound every Tuesday and Thursday,” Selahuddeen said. “If they can reduce their body weight by 10% within three months, they will receive certificates and prizes. We all are responsible for our health.

“The hospital will provide its staff with guidance on healthy diet as we want them to be healthy, energetic and productive,” he added.

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NEWS

International VENEZUELA

UK

Venezuela’s new president has announced increases in the minimum wage, worth up to 45% more for both public and private-sector workers by the end of this year.

A 20% rise reportedly took the national minimum wage to US$390 a month on 1 May. Another 10% jump is scheduled for 1 September, and a planned increase in November increase will add between five and 10%, depending on the inflation rate.

For the first time, there are now more than a million workers in the UK aged over 65. British firms are increasingly willing to recruit and retain over-65s, who now represent a sizeable chunk of the 29.76 million-strong national workforce.

According to the latest jobless figures from the Office for National Statistics, the UK workplace is slowly “greying” with growth in early 2013 bringing in more jobs for mature workers.

The Guardian reported that younger people were having a tougher time breaking into the jobs market. The number of 16-24-year-olds in employment fell by 4,000 to 3.68 million in the three months to April.

Jim Hillage, director of research at the Institute for Employment Studies, said the rise in employment for the over-65s was significant. “While this reflects a welcome willingness among employers to recruit and retain experienced people, it may also reflect the need that some older people have to top up inadequate pension arrangements.”

US

EUROPE

Seven out of 10 US workers have “checked out” at work or are “actively disengaged,” according to a recent Gallup survey. In its ongoing survey of the American workplace, Gallup found that only 30% of workers are “engaged, involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their workplace”.

Out of the 100 million people in America who hold full-time jobs, 30 million are actively engaged, 50 million are “not engaged” – just going through the motions at work – and 20 million are “actively disengaged” - they hate going to work and undermine their companies with their attitude.

“The general consciousness about the importance of employee engagement seems to have increased in the past decade,” said Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management and well-being. “But there is a gap between knowing about engagement and doing something about it in most American workplaces.”

Gallup estimates that workers who are actively disengaged cost the US as much as $550 billion in economic activity yearly. The report found that different age groups and those with higher education levels reported more discontent with their workplace. Baby boomers, for instance, were more likely to be “actively disengaged” than other age groups. Employees with college degrees were also more likely to be running on autopilot at work.

Research by the UK’s Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) has uncovered a distinct mismatch between the expectations of employers and young people in the typical recruitment process. This conflict of understanding is hindering young jobseekers from entering the labour market and is a factor in the high rates of youth unemployment in certain parts of Europe.

In a report titled Employers are from Mars, Young People are from Venus: Addressing the young people/jobs mismatch, a number of flash points hindering young people from finding work were identified.

These included the “vicious cycle” of employers asking for workplace experience for entry-level roles.

The study pointed out the “de-motivating effect” that a lack of application acknowledgement had on young people, although it was noted that some employers were overwhelmed by a large volume of “scattergun” applications from young people who did not research potential roles properly.

The research also highlighted the fact that selection and recruitment processes were often lengthy and not transparent, which meant that young people had no idea about the stages involved or what they should do to prepare.

“When it comes to recruitment it can feel as though young people and employers are on completely different planets,” Peter Cheese, the CIPD’s CEO, said. “Too many young people are struggling to find their first job, whereas many employers are finding it difficult to get the skills they need.

“This mismatch needs to be addressed, not only to reduce youth unemployment and the long-term impact it can have on young people, but also to ensure UK businesses are equipped with the right talent for the future.”

Minimum wage rises, and rises

Most workers just don’t care

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Silver workforce rising

From ‘different planets’

NEWS

US

UK

Unattractive people are less likely to succeed at work

People who are considered unattractive are more likely to be belittled and bullied in the workplace, according to new research. The study, by Michigan State University, found that unattractive workers were treated more harshly than their attractive colleagues when it came to promotions and which tasks they were given to do. Being “ugly” played more of a role in how someone was treated than their age, gender or how long they had worked with the employer.

Another study by the University of California-Berkeley claims to be the first to find a direct correlation between attractiveness and bullying in the workplace.

“Frankly, it’s an ugly finding,” said Associate Professor of Management Brent Scott. “Although we like to think we’re professional and mature in the workplace, it can be just like high school in many ways.”

His researchers asked employees how often their colleagues engaged in “cruel” behaviour towards them, things such as saying hurtful things, acting rudely, and teasing. The workers rated as unattractive by a control group were treated harshly more often than those considered attractive. Harsh treatments included being given menial tasks or jobs other people didn’t want to do and being overlooked for promotion.

The researchers also collected information on how agreeable or friendly the workers were, based on questionnaires completed by their spouses, partners or good friends.

The study found that disagreeable workers, like unattractive employees, were treated more harshly than their co-workers. “Our findings revealed that both personality and appearance matter,” Scott said.

AUSTRALIA

Workplace law in review Australian workplaces are feeling the impact of a number of changes in workplace relation laws.

Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 and The Fair Work Amendment Bill, as well as changes to wages have seen the jurisdiction for the FWC ramped up, an increase to the minimum wage and more.

To recap, here is a quick round-up of the changes that will be affecting Australian employees and their workplaces: • The Fair Work Commission (FWC) will receive a five million yearly increase for anti-bullying orders.

• The salary threshold for unfair dismissal has been increased to $129,300 (US$119,150) • Maximum compensation for unfair dismissal has increased to $64,650 ($59,575), up from $61,650 (US$56,810).

Presenteeism a big problem

Over

50%

of successful women feel they prevent themselves from rising in their organisation Source: McKinsey & Company (MK&C), Unlocking the full potential of women at work

Six out of ten

employees have found aspects of a new job different from the expectations acquired during the interview process Source: Glassdoor

Only

18%

• A 2.6% increase to the minimum wage.

• The Department of Immigration (DOI) may now issue infringement notices of $15,300 ($14,100) to businesses employing workers in breach of work rights or visa conditions. Negligence, fault or intentions do not have to be proved.

• The Coalition announced its plans for the parental leave scheme, which involves increasing maternity leave to 26 weeks, and basing the wage on the mother’s actual wage.

of HR executives are concerned with their organisation’s lack of potential leaders Source: Right Management Australia

Some 93% of employees in the UK go to work despite being seriously ill, new research has found.

In a survey by risk insurance group Canada Life, a third of respondents said they would rather use annual leave to recover than accumulate sick leave on their employment records.

The Office for National Statistics corroborates the study, showing that the average number of sick days fell from 5.6 days per employee in 2007 to 4.1 in 2012.

The majority of cases (76%) felt that their illness “was not serious enough to take time off”. Further reasons included: “my workload is too great for me to have time off” (31%); “I worry about the financial implications” (20%); “other colleagues make me feel guilty” (19%); and “I feel too threatened by the risk of redundancy” (13%).

Not surprisingly, the survey found that 81% of employees reported that they had caught illnesses from colleagues, with a fifth commenting that it was a regular occurance. This has a serious impact on productivity, with 82% noting that their performance was worse when they were unwell.

“It is worrying that the UK’s workers are so reluctant to take time off even when they are genuinely unwell,” said Paul Avis, marketing director of Canada Life Group. “Anxieties about heavy workloads, risk of redundancy, and criticism from other colleagues are preventing employees from taking the sick leave that they need.”

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LEADERS ON LEADERSHIP

Leadership communication

Leadership style Do leadership styles evolve? How has yours changed over time?

Jena Tan

Managing Director for Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan, Morgan Advanced Materials

In a volatile environment such as what we are in now, leaders play a crucial role in steering the business to succeed. I believe that leaders need to be adaptive. They must evolve their leadership styles to suit the ever-changing needs of the business that are brought about by market forces.

At Morgan Advanced Materials, we have embraced evolution by unifying the previous divisional structures under a ‘One Morgan’ philosophy. Today, we emerge stronger as a company working towards a common goal, that is, to become innovative, differentiated and offering increased value to our shareholders.

Having been on my journey with Morgan for nearly 15 years, I can say that I am continuously growing and learning as an individual, as a member of the team, and as a leader. I believe my leadership style today is an influence of the Morgan culture that is based on excellence and efficiency. I believe in participatory leadership and coaching as role-modeled by the great mentors that I have had the opportunity to work with. I believe in having open communications with my team and engaging them in the decision-making process. All in all, I believe that the “constant” of a good leader are his or her competencies, sound values and ability to adapt.

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Micheal McCollough

Regional Vice President, Channels and Alliances for Asia Pacific and Japan, Akamai Technologies

Organisations may change over time but effective leaders are those that grow and develop together with their teams. Having been in different organisations, I have witnessed how my leadership style has matured and evolved along with my roles and responsibilities.

While most of my past responsibilities have me playing a role where I am leading my team in modifying and executing a global blueprint for local execution, Akamai has provided me with the opportunity to take a more active role in driving change as we evolve and grow our channel business in Asia and globally.

Asia is a key market for Akamai and despite the varying cultural differences across the respective regions, to be an effective leader one must emphasise the fundamentals of being transparent to your teams, providing clear and measurable goals and consistently communicating progress against the plan.

This makes it important for me to modify my leadership style in alignment with these cultural differences of the respective teams in order to obtain the best results from the team.

For me, a mark of a good leader is their ability to find a balance between keeping to uniformed approaches in dealing with classic situations, whilst possessing flexibility in dealing with inevitable changes both internally and within their environment.

KY Wong

Vice President, Global Operations, AB SCIEX

In the sector that we are in, life science, our view of the world is a constant evolution. As ecosystems change, companies evolve, leaders and employees also need to adapt their mindsets and actions to solve the challenges that they face.

With younger working generations becoming smarter and more aspirational, and technology paving the way for innovations, leaders need to evolve their roles in order to remain relevant.

In the past, leaders were viewed as paramount in organisations, having absolute knowledge and power to drive policies and procedures.

With the digital revolution today, the playing field is levelled as the new generation is increasingly empowered with information via online discourse, and more comfortable with sharing their thoughts.

Hence, my leadership style has changed over time as I adopt a more consultative and engaging style in the decision-making process, constantly seeking feedback and taking on the role of a mentor and coach.

I believe that the key to success is to lead with passion. The heart (core) of that is motivating the team to be part of the success story, and to instil pride that what we do positively changes people’s lives.

HR INSIGHT

Social media Did you know that Marriott Hotels is the biggest recruiter on Facebook? Or that Fortune’s third most desirable company to work for has less than 1,000 fans on Facebook? The war for talent on social media is wide open. How does your company stack up?

THE TALENT POOL

1.06 billion

HOW RECRUITERS USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO DISCOVER TALENT 100%

monthly active users

SOCIAL MEDIA

MADE A HIRE

93%

89%

80%

500 million

60%

total users

200 million total users

80%

66% 54%

60%

40%

40%

26% 20%

15%

0%

OTHER TOOLS IN THE SOCIAL TOOLBOX POOL

90 million monthly active users EXAMPLE Starbucks jobs

5,182 followers

POOL

10 million users

EXAMPLE NET-A-PORTER Group careers

915 followers

POOL

100 million active users

100%

20%

0%

RECRUITERS & COMPANY CAREER CHANNELS Biggest recruiters on Facebook: Number of likes

EXAMPLE Life at Google

378,735 have them in circles

Marriott Hotels

690,000

Royal Marines

334,000

Dell

British Army

333,000

Unilever

195,000

290,000

MOST DESIRABLE COMPANIES 1. Life at Google 46,000 209,000

2. SAS

6. NetApp 800 1,100

7. Hilcorp Energy Company – not available

11,000 7,800

Biggest recruiters on Twitter: Number of followers

Park Place

68,000 Twitter

340,000

Life at Google

209,000

Disney Animation

Intel

63,000

177,000

3. CHG Healthcare Services 8. Edward Jones 940 300

16,400 2,700

4. BCG

9. Ultimate Software

55,000 6,600

YOUTUBE – Most viewed company career channels: Number of views

2,700 7,900

5. Wegmans

10. Camden Property Trust 1,100 600

33,000 54,000 Facebook likes

Twitter followers

Defence Jobs Australia

5,000,000

Life at Google

2,270,000

Royal Navy

Verizon

1,800,000

222,000 Geico

540,000

Source: RecruitLoop.com ISSUE 13.7

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HR INSIDER

BT Asia Pacific The BT Group is one of the world’s largest communication providers with over 89,000 employees spread across several markets. Richard Cook, Vice President, HR, BT Asia Pacific, explains how the organisation has been engaging and retaining bright, young minds

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam

Richard Cook arrived in Asia in 2009, on the back of the financial crisis. “It was uncertain as to what the future of BT would be in the region. But we saw Asia as a growth centre and as a result, we developed an investment case that developed into the growth plans we have today,” says Cook, who is the Vice President of HR at BT Asia Pacific.

Over the past 12 months alone, the global communications provider has increased its regional headcount by 800 to reach its current pool of 3,500 employees, he shares.

Aside from boosting its recruitment, one of the other challenges faced by BT at the moment is retaining those employees who come through their doors, says Cook. In line with this, BT Global Services offers a number of initiatives to keep its workforce engaged and excited about their future with the organisation. For example, employees receive a Development Action Plan from their first day, 12

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HR INSIDER

At a glance • Name: BT Group • Total no. of employees: 89,000 globally; 3,500 in the AsiaPacific region; and 670 in Singapore • Key HR focus areas: Graduate development, leadership development

Kicking off

AREERS ISSUE 13.7

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HR INSIDER

BT Asia Pacific something that is tailored to help them succeed and progress in their careers. “It is an anchor to make sure that there is a contract between the manager and the employee to say: This is what we seek to achieve in the next 12 months or 24 months, both in terms of the development in their current role as well as foresight into what they will do next.”

Developing leaders

If the leaders are not clear, then it is very hard to get that

sense of direction

Feedback from employee engagement surveys at BT has shown that employees want a clear sense of direction, says Cook. “If the leaders are not clear, then it is very hard to get that sense of direction.”

In this way, the BT Pioneers programme helps new or junior leaders find their footing in the organisation. It equips them with the skills and capabilities to nurture their people and in turn become strong leaders themselves, says Cook.

The structured programme is offered over three modules. It helps employees gain a better understanding of the principles of management, the performance management cycle, and the need to set clear expectations. “The follow-on modules will reinforce what they undertook initially and start to go into more sophisticated discussions on development and career progression,” Cook notes.

“If the programme is successful in Asia, we will roll it out across the rest of the BT Group as part of an initiative around organisational health –where we make sure we get the performance of the business right and balance that against the health of the organisation.”

Graduate development Another key area that BT has been focusing on in the Asia Pacific region is building capabilities from the very foundations of the workforce. For the last two years, the company has been running a successful graduate programme and plans to hire another 22 graduates by the end of this financial year. “They have been a fantastic source of energy, enthusiasm and talent,” says Cook.

The graduates enter the company through a business management programme, where they are rotated every six months for the first two years. They then have a joint discussion where they can express their preferences and decide where they reside in the business, Cook says.

BT has also been attracting students studying overseas, giving them the chance to return home and work in a local BT office. For example, BT has a partnership with the University College of London to actively attract Malaysian candidates back into Malaysia. “This works extremely well for us as they have international experience and are also mature by virtue of the fact that they’ve had that experience,” Cook says.

The Asia-Pacific management team also spends a lot of time on the graduates, says Cook. They often present various projects to the leadership team and are very highly visible. “We only give graduates to the best managers who can provide the best projects. If the graduate comes back after six months and says he didn’t do anything like the project he was expecting, that manager doesn’t get another graduate,” Cook explains.

WHO’S WHO IN HR

Richard Cook Vice President, HR BT Asia Pacific

Amy Tang

HR Delivery Partner South East Asia

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Amiko Kayanuma

Prachi Tisgaonkar

Leana Caramoan

Natalie Scully

Aneendeeta Dattoo Midya

Karyn Thye

HR Delivery Partner South East Asia

HR Delivery Manager South East Asia

Regional Recruitment Manager - Asia Pacific

Staffing Specialist South East Asia

Regional Resourcing Manager – Asia, Middle East and Africa

Reward Manager Asia Pacific

HR INSIDER

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Boosting cross-collaboration:

The BT Challenge Cup Employees at BT can participate in the BT Challenge Cup, an annual competition that encourages employees to work together in teams and devise the best solutions to specific business problems. It is a cross functional activity that sees employees from different departments sharing their expertise and working together. The best teams are evaluated in a global final where they stand to win attractive prizes, such as five-star hotel breaks.

One of the winning teams for example, launched a video channel on Youtube that offered solutions to common customer problems.

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The expectations of graduates are also high, shares Cook. For example they are very tech-savvy and come into work with their own devices. “Gone are the days when we give them a standard issue Nokia phone or Blackberry. From their point of view, they are used to working in the same way that they do at home,” Cook says. “If they are going into a meeting room or pantry, they fully expect to have a strong Wi-Fi signal so that they can access any applications they need.”

To a certain extent, feedback from graduates has helped BT sharpen its focus on the working environment, Cook says. For example, graduates have been part of a working group which helped to evolve a culture of flexible working.

1

Prepare

Prepare payroll for all employees

2

Working smart BT Singapore’s new premises at Changi Business Park reflects the company’s aim to create the first ‘‘worksmart” office. Here, employees do not have fixed desks and can sit where they feel they are the most effective.

For example the sales team might want to sit with the technical design team to find a solution for a specific customer problem, explains Cook.

In BT Singapore’s previous office in Chai Chee, just 46% of the desks were utilised at a given time. The “worksmart” concept has enabled it to scale back on its desks.

Currently there are 443 desks available for 670 employees, who are also assigned lockers for their personal belongings. Each employee also gets a wireless headset so that they can be reached wherever they are in the office.

New facilities include an innovation showcase room, 31 meeting rooms, nine video conferencing rooms, a telepresence room, customer meeting rooms, collaboration zones and ‘The Hub’ – an informal cafeteria area for ad-hoc meetings, town halls meetings and ‘lunch & learn’ sessions.

The new layout has lowered barriers between people in the office and encouraged more open conversations and collaboration, Cook concludes.

Process payroll to compute CPF and net pay

Gone

are the days when we give them a standard issue Nokia phone or Blackberry

3

Print reports and payslips.

Employees can view payslips via mobile app.

Process

Reports Payslips

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The Recruitment Special • Workforce planning and recruitment • Conducting better interviews • Social recruiting • Top 10 hiring mistakes

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Workforce planning

Bridging Is there a chasm between your company’s business objectives and what’s being delivered through the recruitment process? It may be time for a rethink…

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the gulf

So, your company has a 12-month plan involving an aggressive growth campaign around the launch of new product lines and a double-digit boost to the top and bottom lines. Has that strategy filtered through to your recruitment plans? And do those plans factor in changes to the way in which people now want to work? In short, is your recruitment function ‘in the loop’ with your business plans?

Tim Nelson, Asia-Pacific president of Futurestep notes that despite growing recognition of the importance of workforce planning, it’s not a strong skillset amongst HR or other business leaders. He says there is a key difference between a hiring plan and a workforce plan – and this is often where the gulf lies. “The distinction is, the recruiting team gets a hiring plan, which is often driven by a factor of turnover or growth.

Yet they’re not necessarily involved in tying the hiring plan to a workforce strategy. They have no context,” he says.

Nelson warns the two terms are often used interchangeably – yet are different. A workforce plan is all about strategy: around mobility; or part-time workers versus permanent staff; or around the capabilities needed to align the organisation with its business strategy.

The hiring plan, and those involved in talent acquisition (essentially the ‘nuts and bolts’ of sourcing, hiring and on-boarding) is typically relegated to the end of the supply chain.

Proactive, not reactive Paul Slezak, co-founder of Recruitloop.com, believes one of the primary reasons there is such a ‘gulf’ between what companies need and the calibre of talent they’re getting in through the recruitment process is because far too often the recruitment process is reactive. In other words there is no sign at all of any workforce planning.

“Companies need to be careful that they don’t go hell for leather into recruitment mode only when a need arises – for example in response to a resignation or a large client win,”

he says. “By its very nature, workforce planning implies a far more proactive and structured recruitment process.”

This is backed up by research. Over half the organisations surveyed in Randstad’s World of Work Report currently spend 10% or less of their total strategic planning time on future workforce planning.

Considering the long-term nature of today’s key human capital challenges, the workforce planning horizon is also alarmingly short. Almost half of employers don’t plan their workforce a year in advance – and just 13% plan for a two-year period or less. This suggests the positive work that many organisations are doing around talent management needs to be integrated with workforce planning that looks much further ahead.

For example, with 45% of employers looking to boost middle management capabilities over the next five years, now is the time to start thinking about the pipeline for executive recruitment, training and development. It’s also important to think about the work options, systems, processes and performance measures that will support these managers, to ensure their success – and their loyalty – in the future.

When navigating through the workforce planning process, many businesses will ask what the future business looks like: X number of sites; X amount of revenue; X number of people; X number of brands and so on. Yet Employment Office managing director, Tudor Marsden-Huggins, suggests the critical question that needs to be asked is – ‘what do our people look like?’

Kerryn Fewster, co-director of change management firm Change2020, agrees. She says simply that talent needs to be linked to strategy. “Organisations get impatient and may take ‘who they get’ if the need to fill a role is urgent, but ideally urgency should be taken care of due to internal succession planning and therefore if there is an unexpected departure, an internal candidate can assume the role,” she says.

Fewster suggests looking internally in the first instance, and growing and grooming that talent, as they are normally a good fit with the culture and know how the business works.

She also suggests identifying businesses that have a similar culture or who invest heavily in their team members.

“Be prepared to approach departing – or still employed – team members if required. Also, build a solid and genuine relationship with a limited number of recruitment agencies, ensure they are wedded to your business, know how it works, what the needs are, and what is the ‘fit’ required, so only genuine candidates are submitted for consideration.”

Look ahead, not just behind It’s not unusual for a hiring plan to look retrospectively at what’s occurred in the past and repeat. Yet this too is changing, with a shift in focus towards measurement, data, analytics and insight. Nelson explains: “There’s a trend in recruiting to be much more metric driven. And those metrics can tell you historically what’s happened but you can use those as predictive tools as well.”

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THE RECRUITMENT SPECIAL

Workforce planning TO-DO LIST Top tips for improving workforce planning: Put a project team together to review your workforce plan. Include managers and employees at all levels – particularly those whose functions will be critical to your future success Assess the current strategic position of your organisation. Include factors such as the size and diversity of your workforce, your business goals, any long-term plans for expansion or diversification, and location-specific circumstances Consider the experience, knowledge, skills and capability required for the successful and smooth functioning of your organisation in pursuit of your goals Remember to consider the broader political, economic, social and technological environment your organisation may need to succeed within five to 10 years from now. For example, employment regulation, the number of women in senior roles and outsourcing of HR services, are all likely to increase during this time Integrate workforce planning into your core strategic planning process, and ensure clear action plans are established to measure and review progress Source: Randstad

Eight out of 10

workers in Singapore find contract assignments an attractive option given the current global economic environment Source: An online survey by Hays

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The more successful organisations, Nelson adds, are those that have a mix of tactical recruiting data, business strategy, involve the business stakeholders and the talent acquisition function, and then carry out a dedicated workforce planning exercise.

Marsden-Huggins says investing in systems and software is essential. With integrated systems, he notes, you’re well positioned to plug into what your future business needs will be and then capture the relevant data for workforce planning. “By having intuitive systems in place, it’s possible to mine your candidate potential from the second a candidate shows interest in your company.

Invest in systems to tell you what you’ve got to work with, then use that data to plan your future workforce,” he says.

The workforce is changing…

Any workforce plan should also acknowledge that the workforce is changing. Flexibility has become the name of the game – and that flexibility can take many forms. Have employers been slow to drop the notion that 9-5 work is the only way?

Nelson says progress has been slower than anticipated but the more receptive employers realise that knowledge workers in particular can now conduct their work from different locations, working different hours. It’s all about the outputs, not the inputs.

There are certainly different philosophies about work inside of organisations. Some are tied to traditional notions (witness Yahoo’s surprising proclamation of an end to work-from-home arrangements), while others have radically gone the other way, embracing campus style

HRMASIA.COM

structures where even managers don’t have set desks. Then there’s a big bucket in the middle where flexibility is being driven by the value of the employee to the employer, to the point where they dictate how and where they will work.

Slezak adds that if an employer is wanting to find the best candidate to excel in a role, they have to be open to the chance that this ideal candidate may not want to work a standard work week. “Employers need to seriously consider tapping into the part-time workforce, or perhaps be more open to the idea of two A-grade part-timers job sharing,” he says.

Slezak says he’s had to “educate” clients that letting the most suitable candidate leave the office at 3pm twice a week isn’t going to bring the business to a grinding halt.

“The best talent don’t need to be supervised at all times,” he says. “And often the best talent may in fact be parttimers, telecommuters, job sharers or flexi-staff.”

While Fewster is an advocate of flexible work modes, she warns that the culture and workflow of the business should be considered in advance of ‘developing jobs for individuals’. “The important thing is that jobs are designed to allow outcomes to be delivered,” she says.

Nelson also issues a warning. Don’t just use short-term workers to plug gaps, he says “Successful organisations have defined, through a workforce plan, what group or category of people the organisation can benefit from in terms of a contingent strategy – they have it defined. It’s not a question of ‘we have to backfill here and we have no choice’,” he says.

Move with the times Customer service delivery, new business acquisition, team collaboration tools, staff retention incentives: all of these business processes and more are constantly being reviewed, renewed and revamped. Should recruitment be any different? The experts interviewed for this story agreed there are benefits to re-thinking a function that has changed little since the late 1990s.

As Marsden-Huggins explains, recruitment in the modern sense is a recent invention, one that came about in an opportunistic manner when skills shortages started to occur across the labour market. Recruitment agencies popped up quickly to find talent for companies in need of people, without an awful lot of thought going into intelligent processes.

“Recruitment these days is a sales process, and needs to be regarded as its own core function in an organisation,” Marsden-Huggins says. “Just as sales and marketing are now distinct areas of business, recruitment and HR should be separated. HR is a compliance and risk mitigation function, whereas recruitment is a sales process, and recruitment marketing is probably different again.”

It’s also worth noting that recruitment typically has peaks and troughs. For example, sometimes 20 new staff are needed and at other times of the year none are required. It begs the question over whether a department of five full-time recruiters is viable year round – and if not, what the alternative might be. Outsourcing is

effective from a resourcing point of view, yet this too needs to be carefully considered.

If people really are important to the success of a business, is it prudent to outsource the function that brings those people into the business? MarsdenHuggins is sceptical, and says recruitment through traditional agencies will always have higher turn-over. If you recruit through an agency, you’ll never actually ‘own’ your people. They will!

They will call them every six months to ‘see if they are still happy in their role’.”

Nelson concedes there is no right or wrong way when it comes to recruiting models or recruiting processes. “Having a fluid approach where you continually align and rethink recruitment is a good thing. You should be continuously refining, rethinking, aligning your business and talent strategy, and therefore your workforce plan.”

Slezak adds that organisations choosing to hold onto the recruitment function themselves no longer necessarily need full-time teams to coordinate and run the entire process.

There are plenty of examples where technology is helping to speed up the hiring process: from social recruiting tools, to job ad copywriting software; and from CV matching technology, to online recorded video interviews. “I’m certainly not saying that technology will replace the human element when it comes to hiring staff, but it can – and has already been seen to – speed up parts of the attraction and selection processes that may have caused bottlenecks in the past,” he says.

Meanwhile, for companies choosing to engage an external recruitment partner, it’s time to take a close look at what they are getting in return for what is often an exorbitant investment.

“What are they really receiving in return for 15-20% of a candidate’s salary that they can’t find themselves?

Or that they couldn’t engage an expert independent recruiter charging an hourly rate to help them with? In this instance, businesses are paying purely for time and expertise – much like they would for other professional services,” Slezak concludes.

C

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Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

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Time for a rethink?

According to data from The Interview Group collated from 2008 to the present, online recruitment sites and word of mouth from people we know are the two most frequent job sourcing methods.

Interestingly more than twice as many people get their jobs from direct approaches from the employer compared to direct approaches from recruiters. Given the high cost of traditional print advertising the data suggests this may be a waste of money with only two percent finding their jobs this way. Only six percent of people getting new jobs have done so by approaching recruiters.

[DL] Source of New Opportunity (n=5680) - Top 10 N.A (starting own business, leaving workforce or no new role yet)

35%

Saw it sdvertised in an on-line recruitment site

17%

Word of mouth from an acquaintance

16%

Unsolicited approach directly from the new organisation Approached a recruitment agency

12% 6%

Approached the organisation yourself

5%

Unsoclicited approach by a recruitment angency

5%

Saw it advertised in a newspaper or magazine

2%

Unsolicited approach from a former employee of your current organisation

1%

SurveyAnswerOtherSelected

1%

Source: interviewgroup.biz

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THE RECRUITMENT SPECIAL

Interview skills

Conducting

better interviews

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A bad hire can disrupt workplace dynamics, slow down productivity and ultimately result in financial losses for the organisation. HRM looks at how HR professionals can fine-tune the interview process to identify candidates that best meet their needs

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam Bad hires can be a costly affair for your organisation. A global survey of 6,000 hiring managers and HR professionals revealed more than half of employers in each of the ten largest world economies believe that a bad hire has negatively impacted their business.

Conducted by Careerbuilder.com and Harris Interactive, the survey also revealed that hiring someone who was not a good fit for the job or did not perform it well, led to significant losses in revenue and productivity, as well as challenges to wider employee morale and client relations. Employers also incurred additional costs when they had to recruit and train another worker.

According to the survey, 27% of US employers reported a single bad hire could cost more than US$50,000 at the end of the day. In Europe, bad hires caused the greatest losses in Germany, with 29% reporting costs of ¤50,000 (US$65,231) or more.

In Asia, three in ten Indian employers (29 percent) reported the average bad hire cost more than two million rupees (US$37,150), and nearly half of surveyed employers in China (48%) reported costs exceeding 300,000 yuan (US$48,734).

A rigorous and well-thought out hiring process is one way to ensure that your organisation is netting candidates that match your needs and objectives.

Pre-interview preparation Job seekers are not the only ones that need to prepare for an interview. Interviewers need to do their homework as well, to ensure that the meeting is fruitful for all parties.

Most interviewers do not plan enough, says Kim Seeling Smith, founder and CEO of Ignite Global. “If you are a new interviewer, plan to spend at least 30 minutes preparing for the interview. With more experience that time frame decreases.”

A first step would be to start thinking about the behaviours that are needed for the role. “These include behaviours that are required to fit in well with the organisation (commonly collaboration, integrity, flexibility, and communication) and behaviours that are needed to do the role (such as the ability to analyse data, influencing skills, and being detail oriented).”

Next, construct questions based around those behaviours while challenging yourself to phrase the question differently, says Smith.

For instance, instead of saying, ‘tell me about a time when you had to influence someone’, say ‘tell me about a time when you convinced someone to take a different course of action than one they had already decided on.’

“This strategy prevents the interviewer from simply pushing for the answers that he or she wants to hear within the questions - a common mistake,” she says.

Interviewers should also avoid looking at résumés at the last minute. “Review the résumé. Identify specific things that you’d like to ask about their experience and or achievements and pre- plan questions around those,” Smith says.

If the session involves more than one interviewer, it is important that everyone involved gets together to plan a strategy around the questions, the company information that needs to be highlighted, as well as the interview sequence, says Smith. “Remember, candidates evaluate you as a potential manager by how you interview them. Don’t let yourself down and lose top talent by not preparing well.”

Certain skills and knowledge can be taught and learned, but internal success factors like talent, drive, attitude,

Conduct a ‘knockout’ interview over the phone A preliminary phone interview helps the interviewer determine if a candidate is able to bring certain non-negotiables to the table. If these requirements are not met, the candidate is struck off the list saving the interviewer the time and effort of a faceto-face interview, says Dave Anderson, leadership expert and CEO of LearnToLead.

Possible questions: • Availability to work specific hours • Availability to work specific days of the week or holidays.

• Is the candidate able to travel, if the job requires it?

• Discuss physical requirements of the job. Can the candidate lift 15 kilogram, or stand for extended periods of time?

• Are there any events coming up in the applicant’s life that could cause them to require an extended time away from the job?

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Interview skills

5

character and high energy levels cannot be changed much within a person, says leadership expert and CEO of LearnToLead, Dave Anderson. “Thus, HR should be digging deeply into the candidate’s life to find evidence that they possess these ‘unteachables’.”

According to Anderson, the interview process should be a fact-finding process rather than a casual conversation or sales pitch. Interviewers should also be mentally prepared for the interview so that they are analytical and not emotional, he says. “Making emotional decisions based on someone’s appearance, personality, personal biases or stereotypes is a major cause of hiring errors,” he says.

“When you like someone too soon in an interview based on those factors you stop assessing them; and when you dislike someone too soon because of emotional factors you’re in a hurry to end the interview without spending enough time determining their potential fitness for the position.”

unconventional interview questions

Q1 What were you doing the last time you lost

all track of time?

– This helps to identify what a candidate’s strengths are.

Q2 If you were interviewing the company as a

potential employer, what would you ask it?

– This is a great question and shows the level of the candidate’s research, what the candidate’s priorities are, and how the candidate thinks.

Interview techniques

Q3 Which of the KPIs listed will you do easily, and which will you need additional support or training for?

– Make it safe for them to tell you what they might need additional help with.

Q4 Tell me about a time when you disagreed

with a course of action that your boss wanted to take. How did you handle it?

– This gives an indication of how the candidate deals with authority, how strong their integrity might be, and how they handle tough situations.

Q5 If you were to start your own company, what would it be and how would you run it?

– Gives an indication of the work environment they would like to work in and what they would like to spend their time doing.

Source: Kim Seeling Smith, Founder and CEO of Ignite Global

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The interview process should be a

factfinding process rather than a casual conversation

Interviewers use many different methods to seek out information from candidates. One straightforward method is behavioural-based interviewing. This looks at specific examples of past events, and the candidate’s behaviours around those events, related to the candidate’s ability to do the job. For example, if you are looking for a technical person to identify and resolve complex issues in an autonomous environment you might ask them to describe a time when they identified a problem within a project and how they resolved it, Smith says.

A less forgiving but efficient interview technique is the ‘knockout’ process. Such interviews are typically done over the phone to save time. “Interviewing unfit candidates consumes enormous amounts of time and resources. Knockout interviews save valuable time by eliminating candidates who clearly don’t meet your values, standards, or work requirements before they have a chance to waste your time in a face-to-face interview, ” says Anderson.

According to Anderson, the objective of the knockout interview is to speak to fewer people, and not to sift through a mass of candidates in search of the right few.

“For instance, if one of your corporate core values is “attention to detail” and an applicant submits a résumé with multiple spelling errors, why would you want to waste your time in person with such an obvious mismatch for your needs?” Anderson asks.

In the knockout process, the interviewer has the intention of finding a way to eliminate the candidate instead of exceptions or loopholes to hire him or her, says Anderson. “In companies with high performance cultures, hiring is an elimination process, not an inclusive process. HR knows they must be careful to protect the culture, brand, customer experience, morale and momentum of the organisation. Thus, they must conduct rigorous interviews.”

Lastly, an applicant should know and understand what a company stands for before they’re officially hired, says Anderson. “We recommend going over values and expectations during the interview so there are no surprises about what you expect once you hire the person.”

Past performance can indicate the future Most savvy candidates are at their best behaviour at interviews, having meticulously prepared for the session in advance. So how can an interviewer tell that they are genuine?

Past performance can be indicative of a candidate’s future results. “Human beings are creatures of habit.

Once they establish a pattern of behaviour (and behavioural psychologists say that these patterns are actually established within us between the ages of three and 15) we tend to do the same thing over and over again,” says Smith.

According to Smith, the context of these behaviours change, but the behaviours do not. “For instance, the five-year-old who doesn’t share his toys may become the 25-year-old who doesn’t work well with others. We

modify our behaviours to some extent as we mature and are faced with situations in the work environment, but if we have a pattern that is engrained in us, it’s very difficult to change,” she says.

Interviewers must look for patterns of past behaviour for a clear indication of future behaviour, says Smith. “It’s not about what the candidate would do, it’s about what they did do. Interviewers must be on their guard for this, because candidates will always try to tell you what they would do - after all, their job is to make a good impression and sell themselves.”

One way to ensure that the candidate is telling the truth is to get as much detail as possible, says Smith. So for example, when asking a candidate about a past project, you could ask them to describe details such as where the event occurred, the project and the problem, how they resolved it, what their specific role was, and if anyone else was involved. “Most people (there are some exceptions) cannot lie in great detail without a lot of forethought,” Smith says. Another way is to let them know sometime during the interview that their responses will be verified with a reference check.

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THE RECRUITMENT SPECIAL

Social media

SOCIAL RECRUITING From providing access to higher quality talent and building brand awareness to encouraging basic conversations about the company and its products and services, social media in recruitment is something HR can no longer afford to ignore. HRM discusses

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey Dell, Ernst & Young and Unilever are some of the global companies that have been building their employer brand on social media platforms to attract fresh talent into their fold.

The Ernst & Young Careers Page on Facebook has over 124,000 ‘likes’ and encourages potential candidates to asks questions, meet other interns as well find out more about the company and its recruitment activities.

“Social media provides an option for companies to reach out to potential talents in the market proactively, compared to the past where companies could only wait

for talents to apply for jobs,” says Annie Lim, Associate Director, Charterhouse Partnership.

As the ultimate grassroots sounding board for an organisation’s communities, social networks offer powerful new methods to connect talent and opportunity. Crucially, the success of these methods relies on the quality of those connections.

LJ Brock, Vice President – Global Talent Acquisition and Infrastructure, Red Hat, says that ultimately, interaction is the key to using social media to recruit. “People want to forge real relationships and feel a connection to others,” he says.

One in three jobseekers in Singapore still believe employers will not look at their social media profile

Source: Hays Singapore survey

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Social media CASE STUDY Royal Plaza on Scotts Royal Plaza on Scotts uses social media to bring its employer brand and culture closer to its current associates and potential employees. Information that is being disseminated is treated with the utmost importance as it sets the tone for the organisation, says Juliana Ong, Director – HR, Royal Plaza on Scotts.

For instance, the hotel promptly shares information about awards it has won on various social media platforms to show its appreciation for all employees.

“This also helps to spread the word to job seekers who visit our Facebook page, which then attracts talents to join us,” she says. Personal achievements and milestones of associates such as graduations, marriages, arrivals of newborns and even successful attempts to quit smoking, are also shared via the Facebook page so fellow associates are able to share the joy.

“Employees can also access photos of the fun we have at the workplace with “weekly delights” which brings surprises to our employees,” says Ong. “This can be a cup of fresh cut fruits hand-delivered to the offices or back of the house area for all associates to indulge in or an additional signature dish on the canteen’s menu by chefs from the hotel’s award-winning restaurant.”

Employees of all levels and the general public are able to comment on, or simply ‘like’ initiatives that the organisation is rolling out. “Through our engagement efforts, suitable candidates may take on a more proactive role in applying for positions within the hotel after seeing the organisation’s culture for themselves through these social media platforms,” says Ong.

How to “recruit socially”?

64%

of all job seekers have at least two social networking profiles Source: Jobvite Social Job Seeker Survey 2012

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Companies need to take communication via social media seriously and ensure that it is handled by staff who understand it. “Employers need a clear strategy on how they address social media and present their brand – it has to be part of an overall brand strategy and not a free-for-all,” says Chris Mead, Regional Director, Hays Singapore and Malaysia.

Companies looking to pursue social media also have to bear in mind that ‘content is king’. This means the investment needed to implement an effective and safe social media strategy can be substantial.

“Content must be consistent, high quality and channel-specific to add value and reflect well on a firm’s brand,” Mead explains. “Potential and existing employees will only return to a blog or follow a feed if it is relevant and topical.”

The smartest and most influential talents use social media to interact with a community of like-minded individuals, brainstorming topics of their interest, and coming up with some of the most innovative ideas. Companies can therefore use social media to identify these groups and source for the right talent.

“The resulting social buzz that can come from hiring one of these ‘influencers’ can also be positive for a company,” says Brian Cheng, Business Unit

HRMASIA.COM

Executive of IBM Collaboration Solution. He points to the 2011 decision by Apple to hire a talented hacker as an intern.

Red Hat’s recruiters try to be active in their relevant communities both in person and online.

This helps them to understand what potential candidates are looking for in an employer, a job, and a way of life. “People interact with our recruiters, see the story we have to tell, and want to be a part of this company,” says Brock. “And then we see them bring their friends into the company and it just continues to build.”

Social media gives companies access to a much wider audience. That can be incredibly powerful, says Brock, because if it’s done well, everyone in the company can act as recruiters. “That’s the ultimate goal – enable your people to reinforce the employment brand and grow the company with the right people.”

Lim agrees, saying that instead of merely posting jobs on social media, HR should actively look for the best talents and talk to them. “Hiring managers need to speak to these talents and tell them exactly why they should be excited about working for their organisation,” she explains. “It is important to be personal and enthusiastic so that the best people will respond to the personal touch and get excited about the company’s opportunities.”

One of the biggest differences that global foreign exchange trading services provider, OANDA, sees from using social media recruiting is its ability to attract a higher number of pre-qualified candidates.

“The candidates are usually very well-informed about the company’s history and products – and it has been a great experience to speak with people who are already engaged and enthused about the brand even during the first conversation,” says Denise McKinnon-Frew, head recruiter for OANDA. “In my opinion, maintaining a wide and consistent social media presence, coupled with the provision of a clear and informative website, definitely helps to attract the right talent to your company,” she adds.

On the whole, social recruiting needs to be complemented by a very clear strategy that defines the competencies essential for job success and the right screening mechanisms to sift-in the right candidates, says Leong Kok Fann, Managing Director for SHL Singapore in the Southeast Asia region.

Challenges faced Getting social media right can be hard, and raises questions of message and brand control. An on-going resource is needed to post and monitor content and to interact with a company’s followers, says Mead.

Managing resources in-house presents its own

hazards, since content is often provided by more than one person and by different departments. “So, heads need to be allocated to manage this process across all channels to ensure content and messaging is aligned to company positioning and to respond consistently to any negative comments,” Mead explains.

Also, companies may be looking in the same places as everyone else, thus finding the same candidates as their competitors. “If you constrain yourself to the same two or three popular platforms as most users, chances are, you are looking at the same talent pool as your competitors,” says Lim. Companies may also sometimes find it difficult to ensure the authenticity of candidates’ data and information sourced online.

One of OANDA’s challenges is to ensure that all social recruiting content is current and up-to-date.

“With social media, it is extremely quick and easy for listings to go viral and get reposted on several different channels and sites,” says McKinnon-Frew.

“Although we ensure that the posts on our official channels are regularly updated, we cannot control or amend the information on external sites, and this can potentially cause confusion for the jobseeker.”

Just as social media has the power to support and drive an employee value proposition, badly handled, it can completely undermine those efforts, Mead cautions. “And worse, the evidence remains online indefinitely.”

Measuring the ROI of social recruiting Social recruiting is still relatively new and there are currently no hard and fast metrics of measurement.

Leong advises companies to identify effectiveness indicators and compare these after implementing an integrated hiring strategy that takes social media outreach into account, alongside, definition of essential competencies, and an existing mechanism to measure candidates’ potential fit to job.

“I have personally seen a huge uptake in unsolicited applications and a better calibre of candidates since OANDA began to embrace LinkedIn for social recruiting,” says McKinnon-Frew. “The channel has become one of our most effective recruitment tools.”

While it is challenging to accurately measure the ROI of social recruiting, Royal Plaza on Scotts measures its social media’s presence against its employee engagement scores and the interaction that the hotel receives from posts, including the number of responses and ‘likes’.

“Being on Facebook since 2010 has helped increase employee engagement scores,” says Ong. Red Hat uses a set of metrics to see the impact of its social media effort, including numbers of re-tweets, shares, and followers, and tracking sources of these.

“We also track how people heard about Red Hat, why they applied, and who referred them,” says Brock.

“Social recruitment is often coupled with human efforts in talking and selling the job to the candidates. Hence, measuring the ROI on social recruiting may not be as accurate as compared to (measuring) the definite cost of agency fees, internal recruitment, and overhead costs,” says Lim. Companies that use LinkedIn can measure ROI through the channel’s ‘Talent Brand Index’ (TBI),

43%

of US employers feel that the quality of applicants has improved thanks to social media Source: Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey 2012

Jobseekers beware

be careful what you put out there!

One in three jobseekers still believe employers will not look at their social media profile, according to a survey by recruiting experts Hays in Singapore. However, 50% said they change their privacy settings when job searching and the remaining 17% un-tag pictures and edit content.

“While there are many advantages to using social media as part of your job search, it can also work against you if you are not careful,” says Chris Mead, Regional Director of Hays in Southeast Asia.

“A growing number of hiring managers believe that online content (such as a candidate’s social media profile) can give a good insight into a candidate’s character and likely cultural fit with the organisation,” he adds.

Mead advises candidates to assume that all publicly available online content could be used as part of the decision making process.

“Change your privacy settings and be sensible in the content you post online,” says Mead. “But don’t just restrict your focus to pure social sites like Facebook or Twitter – Google your name to make sure all online content is appropriate.”

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THE RECRUITMENT SPECIAL

Social media

Mobile channels

will become more and more important to recruiting over the next five years Source: LJ Brock, Vice President – Global Talent Acquisition and Infrastructure at Red Hat

which measures two important elements of an employer brand – reach and engagement – to calculate the ROI of social recruitment.

“The ‘Talent Brand Reach’ (talent that’s familiar with you as an employer) is divided by ‘Talent Brand Engagement’ (talent that is interested in you as an employer) to give the TBI,” Mead explains.

“You can also look at how many people are following your company on LinkedIn,” he adds.

Staying ahead If a company is not recruiting socially, is it losing out? Brock thinks that company would be “way behind the curve”.

Companies that are not recruiting on social media platforms tend to miss out on those passive candidates who may not be actively looking for a new opportunity, he says. “Engaging with the array of social media sites that potential jobseekers use gives organisations a means to boost and enhance their reputation as a forward-thinking employer of choice,” says Mead.

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On the other hand, if you are active on social media but doing a poor job of it, you’re even worse off than someone with no presence, Brock adds. “Fortunately, with the speed that everything moves online, you can reverse these effects, but be prepared to have detractors – that’s part of the job.”

Still, social networking sites are neither replacements not pre-requisites for telephonic or face-to-face communication with a candidate.

“Recruiting will always be about personal relationships and we continue to focus on building those relationships,” says Brock. “As an initial part of that, social media is about awareness and sparking interest – starting those relationships.”

McKinnon-Frew concurs, saying, “A true recruiter understands the importance of direct contact with a candidate,” she explains. “There are subtleties and nuances that can only be felt and understood with personal contact between the recruiter and candidate.”

“It is a relationship built on mutual trust and respect,” she adds. “Nothing can take the place of relationship building in this instance.”

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Ajit Nambiar Head of Compensation, APAC & EMEA, GOOGLE

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Martino V. Ottimofiore Regional Compensation & Benefits Manager MAERSK LINE

Choo Siow Leng Director, Human Resources NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Jaclyn Lee Senior Director, Human Resources SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

Loke Yin Leng Director, Total Rewards, Asia Pacific COVIDIEN

Khor Ling Deputy Director Performance and Rewards EASTERN HEALTH ALLIANCE

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THE RECRUITMENT SPECIAL

Hiring mistakes

Watch out for black holes Top

hiring mistakes All too often HR and recruiters are faced with the fallout from bad hires. Whether its poor cultural fit, or simply broken promises â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there are sure-fire ways to avoid disappointment. HRM presents a list of 10 missteps to avoid during recruitment

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1

Lack of clarity about the job being recruited for

Major companies still fall into the most basic trap of recruiting: a failure to define exactly what they’re looking for. Peter Acheson, CEO of Peoplebank, says it’s an issue which they see all too regularly. “We had an example recently where a large multinational client hired a person into a role and they weren’t even sure who the person would report to. If you then think about it: if they weren’t even sure who the person was reporting to, were they even clear about what they wanted in the role, what skills they were looking for? I think a lack of clarity around the role being hired is actually quite a common one,” Acheson says.

He adds that in examples such as this, a new recruit may turn up for their first day and the employer is totally underprepared for the commencement of their tenure.

Ultimately a lack of clarity around the role can leave new recruits dissatisfied with their new employer before the ink is even dry on the contract.

2

Lack of clarity about the role description

A key trap many employers fall into is asking the recruiter to provide candidates for a particular position, such as a sales manager, without providing a nuanced role description. “I know I’m just giving you one example, but you would be amazed at how often we see it. A client rings us and says: ‘I need to hire an XYZ person, could you find me one?’ and that’s it. As an organisation now, we always say to a client we will need to go through a process of talking a lot deeper about the job specification you are looking for, and I might say ‘let me send you a draft job specification for that type of role, and we can work from that’,” Acheson says.

In addition to this, the burden of compiling an accurate role description needn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of HR. Given an organisation could have literally dozens upon dozens of job titles, it is highly important for close consultation to occur between line managers and HR. It is integral this process occurs in order for the technical aspects of the role (the real ‘nitty-gritty’ details) to be properly f leshed out and included in the description.

3

Too much focus on technical skills While pre-selection screening software can be useful in narrowing down the field, it can also be very limiting. A good analogy to keep in

mind is this: if the role HR is recruiting for is a ‘kidney bean sorter’, and your description includes ‘must have kidney bean sorting experience’ – this theoretically excludes all the applicants with chickpea and lentil sorting experience.

This is a hiring mistake Acheson sees frequently, and adds that in many cases of hiring for technical roles, there is too much focus on the technical skillset and not enough focus on inter-personal skills, personal attitude and their ability to play in a team. “There are very few roles that exist in the work force today where an organisation can tolerate a lone wolf – a person who is just very good on their own, and they’re technically very strong but they have no ability to work in a team or to communicate what is required,” Acheson says. Yet he also positively adds that a tangible shift has occurred in the last four or five years towards a preference for candidates with developed people skills, ability to play as part of a team and a big shift in focus around the importance of attitude.

4

Who’s running the show?

5

The interview process

US-based HR thought leader Susan Heathfield laments the regularity with which organisations fail to plan their interviewing process.

“You wouldn’t choose a school for your child or launch a project without a plan. Why, then, do organisations put so little planning into interviewing candidates for positions?”

Heathfield says. She adds that interviewers need to meet in advance and create a plan, asking questions such as ‘Who is responsible for which types of questions?’ and ‘What aspect of the candidate’s credentials is each person assessing?’

Acheson adds that time and time again, even right now, organisations and recruiters alike fail to forward-plan what type of hiring process the candidate is going to be put through. “Is it going to be one interview, two interviews, four interviews? Even down to when we get to the day of the interview – what’s the nature of the interview, how are we going to run it? What’s the structure of the interview?” Acheson questions.

Poorly constructed interview questions and a lack of behaviouralbased interviewing is an ongoing issue in recruitment. Particularly prevalent with junior or middle management, Acheson says they will often walk the person through the structure, asking a series of closed questions: ‘Oh so you worked the ANZ bank between December 2010 and December 2011?’” ’Yes I ISSUE 13.7

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THE RECRUITMENT SPECIAL

Hiring mistakes did’, ‘What did you do at the bank?’ etc, rather than getting into deep behavioural questions that access the ability of the candidate to do the role.

What’s more, according to author and HR expert Peter Gilbert, there have been surprising academic studies which have shown that job interviews fail to accurately predict how well suited a person may be for a job. “In a University of Michigan study, John and Rhonda Hunter analysed how well job interviews accurately predict success on the job. The surprising finding: The typical interview increases your chances of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent. In other words, f lipping a coin to choose between two candidates would only be two percent less reliable than basing your decision on the interview.”

6

Failure to stress test

7

Failure to deliver candidate control

A failure to secure the candidate by not adequately selling the role is a key recruitment misstep. The first element of this problem can be avoided by being clear about the job role they are going to have and who they are going to report to. The second element is by ensuring the line manager the new recruit will work with is directly involved in the hiring process. “The benefits of the organisation they are going to be working for, the team they are going to be working in, [need to be really sold]”, Acheson says, and this is best done by the line manager.

At the end of the interviewing process, has it been ascertained as to whether the candidate is still interested in the role, and ‘If we were to offer you this role at this sort of salary level, is it a role you would accept?’

Acheson says it’s integral that any issues an employee may have in terms of what has been presented to them by the recruiter need to be addressed before an offer is made. “Because what we often see happen is clients will go through an exhaustive interview process, but they have failed or forgotten to confirm that the candidate is still interested in the role, they’ve not asked the candidate questions about the environment they are going to be working in, the people they are working with, and so on. Invariably what happens is we get through the interview process, an offer is made and the candidate says ‘Thanks for the offer, I’ve got to decline because I didn’t really like the company I was going to be working for’, or those sorts of issues because there’s been a lack of what I like to call candidate control,” Acheson says.

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8

A lack of rigorous reference checking

9

Managing the offer process effectively

10

Professionalism and consistency

A subset of reference checking which is now overly prevalent is an over reliance on social media. For example, the LinkedIn resume or the LinkedIn career summary is not necessarily an accurate representation of a person’s career. “There is a very fundamental issue with that, and that is that the LinkedIn career history or the LinkedIn career summary has been put up by the candidate and it may be biased, if I can put it that way. So generally the lack of rigorous reference checking – these days you want to get a 360-degree view of the candidate, so you want to be getting a person that has worked with them, a person they have worked for and possibly even a peer as well, so a minimum of three referees to give you that 360-degree view of a candidate,” Acheson says.

All too often there is an excessive delay in the offer process, and this can mean the difference between getting your first and second choice. “I see this all the time: the interview process finishes with a candidate, and it’ll be another three weeks before they get their offer. You’re really tempting fate if you allow that to happen,” Acheson says. “There are a lot of reasons for that, one being you are leaving the door open for that candidate to be approached by someone else.”

Acheson also notes it reflects badly on an employer if the process moves too slowly during the initial stage. The candidate will be thinking, ‘What’s the organisation going to be like to work for if it takes them two or three weeks to get a letter of offer to me? ‘They don’t value me, they are too bureaucratic’. “Those are the feelings you create in a candidate if you take too long to make an offer,” Acheson says.

The other aspect of ensuring that the offer process is handled effectively is by ensuring it is done so in a professional manner. It is best practice to make sure the offer ref lects previous discussions, not something wildly different. Nothing creates doubt in a candidate’s mind more than thinking ‘We had a conversation, it was confirmed to me on three occasions that the role would be paying $100,000 a year, but I’ve got this offer and its only $80,000’.“Nothing creates more doubt, frustration, and negativity than poorly managing the offer process,” Acheson confirms.

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Greater Reach

LEADERS TALK HR

Merck Sharp & Dohme

Well of

talent

Pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) aims to help the world “be well”. Patrick Bergstedt, President – Asia Pacific, MSD shares some of the talent challenges that stand in the way, and how the organisation itself stays in the pink of health

By Vivien Shiao Shufen “At the end of the day, the medicines are for the people,” says Patrick Bergstedt, President of Merck Sharp & Dohme Asia-Pacific (MSD), quoting the company’s founder. He says that remains a strong creed for the company around the world. “Making sure that the majority of the world’s population can reach the benefits of the medicine – that’s what drives us and our employees.”

MSD is one of the biggest healthcare leaders around the world. The dynamic Asia-Pacific region – a leading growth driver within the emerging markets – is one of particular importance due to its tremendous potential for further growth.

Bergstedt currently has 14 markets under his watch and is based in Singapore, the company’s Asia-Pacific headquarters since 2007. Within Singapore alone, there are 1,500 employees working across research and development, manufacturing, and commercial operations. With increased investments in research and manufacturing in particular, MSD is looking to expand its presence in both Singapore and the region.

“Looking at the map, you may be fooled into thinking that Asia-Pacific as a region is homogenous,” says Bergstedt, who has been based here for almost two years.

“It can be a big minefield for foreigners who don’t understand the individuality of each country. Cultural sensitivity and diversity are very important factors.”

Talent challenges Despite the unique circumstances of each country, Bergstedt says that the war for talent is a recurrent theme in the region.

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“Particularly in Asia, there are abundant opportunities but limited talent,” he explains. “We are all competing for a certain skill and capability. Finding good talent is very hard, especially in the newer frontier countries like Indonesia and Vietnam.”

Bergstedt adds that MSD is also expanding into countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where the business climate and the war for talent are even more challenging.

“It is even harder (to find) graduates and people who would be a good fit with the company’s values, standards and ethics, as we take compliance very seriously,” says Bergstedt.

Another talent challenge he faces is in ensuring that every subsidiary of MSD in the region can eventually be placed under the leadership of local talent. Many of these companies are still

BIOGRAPHY Patrick Bergstedt was appointed President, Asia-Pacific for Merck Sharp & Dohme in September 2011. This was an internal promotion, after Bergstedt joined Merck in 2001.

He was initially responsible for the company’s antibiotic portfolio. Over time, this responsibility increased and he managed the entire Infectious Diseases Franchise (including anti-bacterials, anti-fungals, HIV, and HCV products). He was also responsible for working closely with basic research teams to provide commercial leadership for early stage programs.

Bergstedt joined Merck with a commercial track record in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biologics. His working career spanned several key markets, including South Africa, France, Belgium, and the US, and included 18 years French pharmaceutical multinational Hoechst Marion Roussel (now Sanofi). During his tenure there, he played an important role in developing a global Anti-Infection business and leading numerous product launches. He also gained extensive experience in building and driving partnerships with both small and large companies.

Bergstedt is a graduate of Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa, where he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

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Merck Sharp & Dohme young, but it is hoped that they will be eventually managed by locals, he says. “In South Korea, our country leadership team is all Korean, and the same goes for Malaysia. While it’s not the same case in every country, it is one of our goals.”

To Bergstedt, expatriates are used largely to fill gaps.

“We will continue to use expats as developmental opportunities, but for us to be truly successful, our subsidiaries have to be managed by local talent,” he notes.

Staff development When it comes to attracting the minimal numbers of talent available, Bergstedt says MSD has to work hard to differentiate itself. “Many companies have similar compensation, and similar benefits – how do you go beyond that?” he asks. “One thing we try to do is invest in our people.”

• What you love: Food, family, music, and my job • What you dislike: Dishonesty • Strengths: Prepared to work hard, strong values, and communication • Weakness: Impatience • In five years time: I’ll still like to be here to see the rewards of what we are putting in today

At MSD Asia-Pacific, the turnover rates range from between nine percent and 12% across the different country markets. “I think it’s still too high. We invest a lot in training people, so every time we lose an employee – especially if we lose him or her to a competitor – the impact is even greater, Bergstedt says. “It’s not about attracting talent, it’s about retaining talent.”

The organisation has a vast array of training programmes and schemes for staff to choose from. To groom future leaders, there is the Asia-Pacific Rotational Assignments programme. For the last financial year, there were 10 employees across Asia-Pacific and inter-regional talents from the UAE and US who were participating.

These staff work on special business projects in areas such as marketing and market access. Prior to the beginning of the assignment, each participant draws up a specific list of business and developmental objectives and outcomes, together with their sending manager and host manager. The host manager acts as the coach for the participant during their assignment to ensure that not only are those objectives are met, but that the participant has a rich learning experience.

Another leadership initiative is the Emerging Market Future Leaders programme. Targeted at country managers and senior management executives, it is an 18-month programme developed with Harvard University where participants work on specific action learning projects.

Recently, Kenneth Frazier, the global CEO of Merck (as it is known in the US and Canada), came up with the General Management Acceleration Programme, which will be launched later in the year and provides a more direct route for ambitious staff looking to enter the management ranks. “There were 200 people in the running, and we narrowed the list down to 10. Five are from the Asia-Pacific region, with two selected from Singapore. It says something about the talent here,” says Bergstedt.

Innovating wellness For MSD to stay relevant and produce the most cutting-edge medications and vaccines, it has to constantly innovate.

Singapore may have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, but even the Deputy Health Minister says that there must be ways to treat people more effectively, says Bergstedt. That is where an innovative culture comes in.

“The company spends US$8 billion each year on research and development, and historically the innovation mindset has been all about our scientists. What we now realise is that we have to untap the innovation and creativity in every employee,” he says. “It’s helping our employees to see on a day-to-day basis things that can be potentially done differently and better. It’s trying to differentiate between busy work and work that adds value.”

In an effort to innovate in the right direction, MSD has started on a project called “Customer-Centricity”, which aims to find out what customers really want in order to put 38

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their needs first. This ensures that innovation can directly benefit both customers and shareholders.

To create a strong innovative culture within, employees must feel that they are very much a part of the company and that they own the successes, explains Bergstedt.

“Within the company, we try to encourage our employees to speak up. Building an environment where there’s courage, candour, openness and transparency is important,” he says.

Helping the community At MSD, there is a strong culture of volunteerism and giving back to the community, Bergstedt says. “Making a difference to the world is an important driver,” he says.

The organisation recently launched MSD Assist, a new programme to ensure quality medicines are made accessible and affordable to lower and middle-income Singaporeans in government subsidy schemes. It gives eligible patients up to a 50% discount to treat common chronic ailments, such as high cholesterol and hypertension.

MSD was also the first Corporate Health Ambassador recruited by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) last year.

Volunteers from MSD have to undergo training by HPB to do certain tasks such as take blood pressure and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Following this, they facilitate outreach programmes and activities to promote healthy lifestyles across Singapore.

In 2012, MSD staff also raised $45,000 for the Children’s Cancer Foundation through its Hair for Hope initiative, in which staff shaved their heads for sponsorship.

“We have people who volunteer not just in Singapore, but overseas such as in Cambodia. Employees in Singapore are a special bunch of people – they give of themselves, their time, and they care about more than just work,” observes Bergstedt.

Leading the way “I was in the military before, and so I have a great interest in reading about generals,” says Bergstedt. “I always had respect for generals who were at the frontlines compared to those who sat behind a desk, and that has shaped my thinking.”

As a leader, Bergstedt says that being a role model in terms of values is very important. He also believes in the need for transparent communication and has an open door leadership style.

“When employees get their performance review at the end of the year, they should never be surprised. If they do, it is a failure of management,” he notes. To him, it should be a case of conversations held throughout the year, no matter how uncomfortable, so that staff know where they stand.

“There’s a book on my desk called ‘Employees First, Customers Second’, by Vineet Nayar, Vice-Chairman of HCL Technologies,” he says. “I keep it close to remind me that at the end of the day, the company has great medicines but our best resource is our people. Remembering that our company is only as good as its people is something dear to me as a leader.”

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Prudential Singapore

Customised Healthcare for your convenience

An innovative corporate managed care scheme, Pru Priority Plus enables companies to customise their inpatient, outpatient and wellness needs on a single health platform. Lena Tsia, Senior Vice President and Head of Group Business, Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Limited, explains more An organisation’s workforce will face new pressures as the business continues to grow and expand into new markets. Ensuring employees stay in the pink of health is a critical concern for HR, as this determines the company’s continued success.

“The first challenge is our ageing population coupled with an increasing life expectancy”, says Lena Tsia, Senior Vice President and Head of Group Business, Prudential Singapore.

Singapore is currently ranked fourth in the world in terms of life expectancy, as reported in The Straits Times on May 27 this year.

“What this means is that there will be more people who require corporate healthcare services when retirement age increases correspondingly. This can in turn lead to higher medical inflation as companies bear increasing medical costs when their employees require more extensive medical services; which stresses a pressing need for preventive care and early detection programmes”, Tsia says.

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“Pru Priority Plus creates both financial and administrative convenience for our customers”

Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, agrees. “Singapore now needs to focus on extending quality of life through preventing and delaying the onset of chronic diseases and, where they exist, slowing down their progression”, he told The Straits Times.

As healthcare gets more expensive and consumers become more sophisticated in their healthcare needs, healthcare insurance providers must continue to stay cost-effective and, very importantly, relevant to the needs of consumers, Tsia says. “We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of Pru Priority Plus as we continue to provide innovative and relevant products to our consumers.”

A managed care scheme, Pru Priority Plus allows companies to customise both the inpatient and the outpatient benefits of their plans. “This sets it apart from most managed care schemes in the market, which lack flexibility to customise the outpatient benefits other than via an annual limit or co-payment.”

– LENA TSIA, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF GROUP BUSINESS, PRUDENTIAL ASSURANCE COMPANY SINGAPORE

Benefits for employees With Pru Priority Plus, employees have access to over 400 general practitioners and specialist clinics for their healthcare needs, offering them a wide choice of medical practitioners and one of the strongest healthcare provider panels in Singapore.

A very popular feature of the scheme is that there are no cash payments required upfront when employees visit any of Prudential’s panel of doctors. “Pru Priority Plus creates both financial and administration convenience for our customers,” Tsia says.

In the event that employees have to submit claims after non-panel clinic visits, they can expect one of the fastest claims turnaround time in the industry, as commented by several insurance brokers.

Members can also enjoy discounts with selected merchants, including GNC and Eu Yan Sang.

Improving HR efficiencies A managed care scheme like Pru Priority Plus helps reduce administrative burdens, and thus enables HR to focus on more strategic issues within the organisation.

One key benefit is the provision of consolidated billing.

Traditionally, the HR department receives multiple billings for the different employee benefit products it has purchased, such as Inpatient Insurance plans, Outpatient General Practitioners’ plans and Outpatient Specialist plans. Within each billing, there will be many different rates, depending on the complexity of each account. This increases the number of administrative transactions. With Pru Priority Plus, HR will receive only one consolidated bill with one standard rate for all three insurance plans, which greatly simplifies the billing process.

Cost control is another tangible benefit. In addition to delivering superior plan design and customisation,

Promoting

holistic health

at work goes beyond medical coverage

Prudential links patients to its panel of doctors via a convenient and easy-to-use web portal, allowing instant monitoring and control of expenses. “Employers can see at once if an employee has maxed out his or her entitlements, and take the appropriate cost control measures,” Tsia says.

Prudential is also able to customise and implement its managed care scheme based on the employer’s needs.

Companies on a tighter budget could opt for basic coverage while those seeking more could choose comprehensive coverage with maximum benefits, and enjoy freedom in choosing to use any hospitals or clinics.

Promoting wellness Promoting holistic health at work goes beyond medical coverage. “The implementation of preventive care and early detection programmes such as early health screening is important for employers because the cost of implementing early prevention measures is much lower than that of providing medical treatments for cure. This means cost savings for companies as well,” Tsia says.

Every member under the Pru Priority Plus programme will enjoy a complimentary health screening package which also addresses the three major chronic conditions: Hyperlipidemia, Hypertension and Diabetes. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 13.5 million deaths worldwide are caused by these three chronic conditions.

Prudential also helps to facilitate health talks, vaccination programmes, and lifestyle and sporting classes for clients. As Tsia adds, “We believe in holistic care, and work with our partners to achieve that.”

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FEATURE

Work-life harmony

Helping employees

switch off

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FEATURE

The best organisations recognise that work is only one part of employees’ lives, and that a healthy balance between work and play is required for optimal at-work performance. HRM finds out what some workplaces are doing to help their staff switch off

By Vivien Shiao Shufen

In today’s digital age, the line between our work and personal lives has been drawn much thinner than before. With the rise of flexi-work and Bring-YourOwn-Device policies, it is becoming more tricky for workers to truly switch off from their jobs.

We are not just talking about staff that check their work e-mails as soon as they wake up, or those working via an iPad before heading to bed.

Surveys have shown that employees even continue working when they are on vacation. According to a Nielsen survey by accommodation website Stayz, 51% of employees check their e-mails daily even when they are on holiday.

With so much connectivity, it is important that employees are able to balance the demands of work with the very real need for personal time and space. Work-life harmony is key to unlocking the potential of each employee and it is imperative that HR is in the driver’s seat to make sure that staff are able to perform at their optimum level.

The role of technology Advances in technology have undeniably made most people’s lives more convenient, but there is also a price to pay for this constant accessibility.

“Technology has indeed blurred the lines between our personal and professional lives,” says Gabrielle Tourelle, Global Talent Director, Text100. “For that reason, we need to be mindful of how we choose to use technology, but more importantly how we take an overall approach to managing our lives so that we feel fulfilled at work and at home.”

She explains that while technology can enable workers to spend more time at home, it is necessary to ensure that employees take breaks and are not unnecessarily checking e-mails and introducing work stress into their lives.

“We rely heavily on technology for staying connected, but we also encourage downtime from phones and laptops,” adds Tourelle.

American Express acknowledges that while technology can cause the boundaries of work and home to blur, it is also an enabler for staff to enjoy f lexible work arrangements. Technologies such as IP phone, audio and video conferencing, instant messenger tools, and a global electronic room booking system, are some ways that the organisation helps employees be productive while enjoying f lexi-work opportunities.

“We are shifting the culture from predominantly a presence culture to a results-driven culture, and technology definitely plays a vital part in making this possible,” says Yoshimi Nakajima, Singapore Country Manager, American Express.

For generator rental provider Aggreko, technology can also play a significant role in work-life balance for staff, even while also addressing the needs of customers.

“For example, we have customised and highly efficient logistical systems that allow us to mobilise available equipment and expert technicians to any part of the world at any time,” says Moonie Moon, Director of HR, Aggreko Asia-Pacific. “While this allows us to provide customers with the 24/7 service they rely on us for, it also allows us to ensure that our technicians are taking the necessary time off for a quality work-life balance.”

Walking the talk More companies are now aware that well-balanced employees are more engaged and productive, and many have implemented schemes to boost the well-being of staff.

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FEATURE

Work-life harmony

In American Express,

childcare leave of six days is offered for employees who have children up to aged 12, regardless of nationality

“It is critical to see the signs and deal with a person’s concerns before they feel like the only solution is to seek a job that can provide better balance” – GABRIELLE TOURELLE, GLOBAL TALENT DIRECTOR, TEXT100

DHL Express is one company recognising that a healthy body begets a healthy mind.

The Singapore country office has a gymnasium where staff can go for a quick workout during lunch or after work. The company also encourages employees who are passionate about sports or hobbies to set up and champion hobby clubs. To date, there are several clubs established, including those for soccer, cycling, cricket and golf enthusiasts.

“These hobby clubs provide an excellent platform for greater interaction between colleagues, and help strengthen employee camaraderie as well as promote a healthy lifestyle,” says Herbert Vongpusanachai, Managing Director, DHL Express Singapore.

Some 61 DHL participants took part in the recent OCBC Cycle Singapore 2013. They were rallied together by a core group of employees from the cycling club and span all levels – from senior management down to the junior staff.

DHL also encourages staff to participate in community outreach programmes to gain a balance between work and life. It believes these sort of programmes add deeper meaning to each employee’s time with the company.

As for Text100, there is a global Duvet Day programme that allows employees 44

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two unscheduled paid days off per year. “It is meant for those days when you would rather pull the duvet over your head and go back to sleep, rather than face work,” explains Tourelle. “Our philosophy is simple: our people work hard and play hard.”

By factoring in extra downtime for staff, the company offers employees to recharge and value life outside of work. In the Text100 Singapore office, a ‘Get a Life Day’ is offered for every staff member once a month. Each worker is able to come in to work two hours later than usual, or leave two hours earlier.

Aside from f lexible work arrangements in American Express (see boxout), the organisation has a number of initiatives to help employee achieve work-life balance, including paid parental and f lexi-leave benefits.

In the Singapore office, childcare leave of six days is offered for employees who have children up to aged 12, regardless of nationality. Staff also get six days of f lexi-leave for personal situations such as accompanying family members to medical appointments. Up to 60% of employees made used of this benefit in 2011.

The company also has its Healthy Living Programme, that was launched in 2010 to establish a culture of health and wellbeing among staff. It encourages American Express employees to be active, eat healthy and stay balanced at home and in the workplace.

“Since launching the programme, we have seen significant reductions in both health claims and sick leave,” says Nakajima.

Reaping the benefits At DHL Express, when staff are provided with opportunities to take part in community outreach programmes, not only can they take their minds off work, it also fosters interaction among colleagues outside of a work environment.

“We have seen how such non-work activities have improved relationships between supervisors and staff, enhanced employee engagement and given our staff opportunities to demonstrate active leadership,” says Vongpusanachai. “These improvements were also noted in our annual Employee Opinion Survey, which tracks ‘Active Leadership and Engagement’, among other metrics.”

It is important that companies measure their schemes and strategies, to accurately gauge their impact on staff and business goals.

In this way, American Express has observed that employees have higher levels of productivity and

FEATURE

perform better when they have better work-life harmony. The organisation has seen an increase in employees’ retention and engagement, leading to a higher rate of employee satisfaction and higher retention rates. An internal survey recorded that 87% of employees were satisfied with their corporate culture of f lexibility.

“The ultimate benefit lies in your ability to grow and retain employees,” says Tourelle of Text100. “If people are feeling conf licted between work and their personal lives, it will be harder for them to succeed and if it is not addressed, it can be the key reason people leave. It is critical to see the signs and deal with a person’s concerns before they feel like the only solution is to seek a job that can provide better balance.”

For these companies, the cost of investing in staff is worth every penny.

“People are a company’s most precious asset,” says Moon of Aggreko. “We believe that when employees feel that they are well taken care of, they will be most inclined to take care of the company’s business.”

Flexi-work at American Express At American Express, a global programme named “BlueWork“ addresses how work is changing by opening up the boundaries around where and how work is actually being done. It provides tools and environments that facilitate flexibility, creativity and collaboration. One component of BlueWork, is flexible work arrangements which range from staggered working hours to encouraging remote, off-site work areas.

Four distinct work styles are assigned to every role to match the work that is being done so as to support employees’ productivity and maintain work-life balance.

• Hub – An employee whose role requires them to work in the office every day is assigned dedicated office workspace.

• Club – An employee whose role requires frequent in-person interaction with colleagues and leadership, can utilise unassigned cubicles in the office (hot-desking).

• Home – An employee who only occasionally visits the Hub Office and consistently works from home three or more days a week • Roam – An employee who primarily works at client locations and makes regular short visits to the Hub Office

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Nominations now open 2014

awards

AWARDS

2014

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore | 21 February 2014

Title Sponsor

Event Partners

www.hrmawards.com

ADVERTORIAL

Boost your business with Is a shortage of manpower taking a toll on your organisation?

WorkPro is a new programme designed to help back-to-work locals and mature workers rejoin the workforce. Jointly developed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the initiative aims to foster progressive workplaces and strengthen the Singaporean core in the workforce.

Through the programme, employers receive a wide-range of assistance to implement work-life strategies and redesign jobs. Companies who come on board also receive incentives when they recruit mature workers and back-to-work locals, or place them on flexible work arrangements (FWAs).

Engaging older workers Older workers could offer a wealth of experience and expertise to companies facing a shortage of manpower. The Age Management Grant under WorkPro helps employers acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to manage and assist this group of employees. Areas include good re-employment practices, performance management and managing a multi-generational workforce. The grant offers support of up to $20,000 per company and encourages employers to take the first step towards implementing age friendly practices and culture.

Redesigning jobs Restructuring jobs so that workers find them more valuable, appealing and satisfying is another way to tackle the labour crunch. Through the Job Redesign Grant, employers can now redesign jobs to attract and retain mature workers, and back-to-work locals who

have been out of work for three months or more. Companies can receive up to $300,000 for Job Redesign Projects.

They can use this grant to defray expenses on equipment that encourages hiring and retention of workers, training courses as well as consultancy services for enterprise productivity programmes.

Striking a balance Back-to-work employees greatly appreciate flexible work arrangements (FWAs) that enable them to balance their work and family commitments.

The Work-Life Grant offers up to $160,000 to each company, providing employers with funds to create a supportive and family-friendly work environment. This grant is offered in two ways. The Developmental Grant helps employers to put in place FWAs and other work-life programmes. The FWA Incentive is offered to employers who support at least 30% of their total workforce on FWAs.

Hiring back-to-work locals Workers who are keen to rejoin the workforce after a period of absence would benefit from the job preparation workshop and job search services that would enhance their employability and employment opportunities. Those who are newly-hired by WorkPro companies can also receive retention bonuses and other support at work such as mentorship support and on-the-job training. Companies that hire these workers can tap on the On-the-Job Training allowance to help the newly hired employees to better settle into the workplace.

Talent retention Engaging and retaining freshly-hired talent amidst a competitive business landscape can be another challenge for employers. The New Hire Retention Incentive encourages employers to implement measures that boost the retention rate of these workers.

To find out more: Call NTUC at 6213 8237 or SNEF at 6827 6949.

Alternatively, visit www.wda.gov.sg/workpro www.mom.gov.sg/workpro or www.snef.org.sg

“WorkPro will help employers create more progressive and work-life friendly workplaces. This will make it easier for working women to strike a balance between work and family, as well as create more flexible jobs for women who want to return to the workforce” TAN CHUAN-JIN, ACTING MINISTER FOR MANPOWER AT THE “WEAVING FAMILY AND WORK” JOB FAIR AND CARNIVAL 2013 ISSUE 13.7

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Corporate Learning

The training manager of the

FUTURE Sunder Ramachandran, a senior training manager with Jardine Lloyd Thompson in India, says technology is continuing to transform the way learning and development transpires within organisations. In this special guest contribution, he outlines some of the most important developments that will affect the role in the coming years

In a 2012 article on training managers, I highlighted the transition in a training managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role from being an owner and deployer of content, to that of a supply chain manager of knowledge.

Now, as we approach the second half of 2013, the demand on this skill will be even greater and new dimensions of engagement will further transform the role of a training manager. While there is already acceptance of gamification and custom apps for learning within most organisations, the following are some other key changes that will impact the training managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in coming years.

Social media integration in learning design Enterprise social networks like Salesforce Chatter, 48

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

and Yammer have made deep inroads and enjoy a fair amount of acceptance in most global organisations. Social learning will become mainstream and training managers’ will have to start thinking ‘social’ right from the design stage.

Interactive learning and simple social scaffolding will be the organic way in which people will learn within organisations. Crowdsourcing of ideas and learning will be an accepted way. Training managers will be expected not only to use social platforms in learning design, but also become evangelists of such tools. Learners will embrace social media and learn in supported as well as competitive ways. The training manager will no longer be the expert, but will be expected to find, organise and enable those experts using social platforms.

Learners now prefer microblogging over typical internal emails – SUNDER RAMACHANDRAN, SENIOR TRAINING MANAGER, JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON, INDIA

MOOC as part of enterprise learning strategy This disruption that is occurring in the academic space is ground breaking. As massive open online courses (MOOCs) become a go-to-medium for both students and professionals, the training manager will be expected to integrate them as part of the enterprise learning strategy. Platforms like coursera and udacity are already leaders in this space.

They provide a great form of quantifying informal learning and the training manager can work closely with the business to identify courses that meet specific business needs and include them in each employee’s personal learning plan.

For example, you can create a learning goal for all first time operation managers to take the Introduction to Operations Management course offered by the University of Pennsylvania through coursera.org.

This can be further integrated with the organisation’s competency charter and become a springboard for lateral and vertical movements. As knowledge required to perform the job moves closer to instant access, it will become less likely that people will prove their credentials by having an internal corporate training certificate. Instead, training managers will set the standards of performance required to achieve accreditation,

install systems for enabling achievement of that accreditation, and then track completion.

Facilitating managed search Training Managers will have to embrace managed search as part of the learning design as learners’ scrawl the web for instant answers. Sites like quora.com, which is a question-and-answer service built on a social-media backbone, have soared in popularity since launching in 2009.

Founded by a former Facebook chief technology officer, the site has already attracted high-level executives, journalists, industry insiders, and entrepreneurs, all eager to answer a vast array of questions for free. This is a great example of crowd sourced queries. Sites like Quora exist to create a system where the community, creates, and builds content around questions. It’s almost like Wikipedia but with a specific focus to answer questions. Training managers will have to encourage learners to find answers and build such activities as part of the learning plan design.

Search platforms like these also play to gamification principles and provide an opportunity to reward experts who answer the most questions or provide the best responses.

Social learning will become mainstream and training managers’ will have to start thinking

‘social’

right from the design stage

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Corporate Learning Enterprise-level micro-blogging

The learning and development world can certainly learn from the

“less is more” Twitter approach

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Learners now prefer micro-blogging over typical internal emails. If managed well, enterprise micro-blogs make it easier to find information, have a conversation, and also search for topics. The learning and development world can certainly learn from the “less is more” Twitter approach.

The training manager will now be expected to use Twitter or other enterprise micro-blogging sites for engaging learners. While using Twitter as a backchannel is already popular in many learning events, training managers will have to think of innovative new uses. They could, for example, manage a “chatterthon (similar to a “tweetathon”) on a platform like Chatter within the organisation on a specific theme or topic. This could allow the organisation to capture knowledge while making the process fun and engaging.

There is a clear choice that the training manager will have to make to stay relevant and add value to their organisations. Either take ownership of some of these changes or some other department will, making the training manager irrelevant.

VIEW POINT

Ascott

Mel Rose Angeles Head of HR for Singapore Operations, The Ascott Limited

Journey of an Ascott employee For employees to truly blossom and grow, it is important that they know that they are valued just as much as guests. Mel Rose Angeles, Head of HR for Singapore Operations, shares how this philosophy works in practice at the serviced apartment provider At Ascott, the experience each new hire undergoes from pre- to post-employment is viewed with great importance. Our employees are just as valued as our residents and we want to create a memorable experience for them. There are many similarities in the way we treat both our employees and our residents.

From the start At the pre-employment stage, HR focuses on making the prospective hire feel at ease by arranging for the interview to be conducted in a friendly, less formal setting. It is important that each candidate is treated with dignity and respect. We try to build rapport by reassuring them that it is perfectly alright to talk about problems and mistakes in order to provide an honest, balanced picture of their past performance.

During the interview, we listen and respond to what the candidates have to say with empathy, helping to defuse any negative feelings that may be present, such as frustration, anger or resentment. We are also open in providing insights on what it’s like working with the company, such as our service culture towards internal and external guests, corporate social responsibility and environmental initiatives.

Onboarding When a candidate is onboard, we want them to feel welcomed and that they belong to a “family”. Prior to the new hire’s arrival, an e-mail is sent to the department informing them about the new employee. Ascott also has a system that HR accesses to trigger the various departments involved in the preparation or setting up of equipment for the new employee. In addition, HR will also prepare a welcome kit to help the employee settle in quickly.

This is similar to the way we treat our residents. Prior to a resident’s arrival, the respective departments are informed and asked to have the relevant apartment prepared, taking into account the preferences or requests made during reservation. For our long-staying residents, we have a welcome hamper prepared, containing items to aid them in adjusting to a different living environment.

For new hires at Ascott, there is a buddy system in place to help them adapt better to the new environment and answer any questions they may have. This is useful for newcomers as it helps to ease tension and anxiety. The staff orientation programme includes a visit to all sister properties in Singapore and aims to build the product knowledge of new employees.

They also undergo job rotations to understand the functions of the various departments and how teams work closely together.

A parallel to this scenario can also be observed when a resident moves to a foreign country: our staff are trained to use their local knowledge to help residents settle in quickly and integrate with the local culture. Ascott usually hosts events or resident gatherings to help residents socialise and build a community.

Engaging staff We constantly try to engage staff by keeping them updated on the company’s progress, plans and activities. Celebrating confirmations and birthdays are also ways to show staff that we care. At Ascott, both the physical and mental well-being of staff are important to the company and management.

Examples of staff engagement activities include “Fruits Fridays” to encourage staff to eat healthily and exercise, and Appreciation Week where staff show appreciation of their peers through personal notes or emails. As part of Ascott’s staff recognition programme, there is a quarterly LIFE Heartware award that recognises employees who constantly live up to our brand promise. These staff members are identified through guest feedback and observation by supervisors.

For residents of Ascott, the company seeks to engage them through little ways to stay in the pink of health, such as healthier breakfast items on Fridays and monthly activities such as Zumba dance exercise.

Having good internal service is important as it promotes positive employee experiences and a pleasant working atmosphere. Starting right and engaging them often will result in high retention rates that will ultimately provide the foundation for good service to be delivered externally to our residents.

Tel: +65 6736 9800 Email: enquiry.singapore @the-ascott.com Web: www.the-ascott.com

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FEATURE

Data Protection Act

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT What HR needs to know New laws set to take effect from July next year will regulate the way organisations and HR handle the personal data of employees and job candidates. Lionel Tan, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications partner with Rajah & Tann LLP, explains what the changes will demand

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FEATURE

Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA) came into force on 2 January 2013 and is applicable to all organisations in Singapore, except for organisations in the public sector. Organisations have been given a transitional period of 18 months, which ends early in July next year.

The objective of the PDPA is to regulate an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities relating to personal data. For instance, organisations must seek the consent of individuals before collecting, using or disclosing their personal data, as well as provide individuals with access to any personal data kept. An organisation must also protect personal data in its possession or control, as well as remove personal data that is no longer required to be retained for legal or business purposes.

Under the PDPA, personal data is defined very widely and refers to any data to which an organisation is likely to have access, and from which an individual can be identified. The regulatory authority in charge of implementing the PDPA will be the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC).

General compliance

The objective of the PDPA is to

regulate

an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities relating to personal data

Organisations are well advised to take advantage of the transitional period to develop and implement policies and practices for compliance. Failure to fulfil an obligation or duty under the PDPA could attract both criminal or civil sanctions, and the PDPC has the right to impose fines of up to $1 million.

In particular, organisations need to designate at least one person as a data protection officer, who will be responsible for ensuring that the organisation complies with the PDPA. Organisations are also expected to respect the Do Not Call Register, which allows individuals to opt-out of receiving marketing messages by registering their Singapore phone numbers. The DNC Register, available for public sign-up from January next year, applies to voice calls, text messages and facsimile.

Under the PDPA, it is an offence for any person or organisation to send a marketing messages to a Singapore telephone number unless that person or organisation had checked with the relevant DNC Register and ensured that they are not registered.

HR implications Given that almost all organisations collect and process personal data of employees, many HR processes and policies will need to be reevaluated. Organisations can no longer deal in personal data in an unfettered manner, such as storing personal data of employees indefinitely on servers or in general storage. Under the PDPA, such information must be deleted once it is no ISSUE 13.7

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FEATURE

Data Protection Act “Organisations can no longer deal in personal data in an unfettered manner, such as storing personal data of employees indefinitely on servers or in general storage” – LIONEL TAN, TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA, AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS PARTNER WITH RAJAH & TANN LLP longer necessary for legal or business purposes.

Similarly, the personal data of non-shortlisted job candidates who have must be destroyed or anonymised.

Organisations will also have to identify where potential data security breaches may occur by analysing how personal data is collected, what medium is used for storage, and where personal data enters and leaves each department. Organisations will then have to implement the necessary security policies to address any possible risks identified.

There are some exemptions in the PDPA that are highly applicable to HR activities.

For example, an organisation may collect personal data about an individual without their consent if such an activity was carried out for an evaluative purpose, which includes determining the suitability, eligibility or qualifications of an individual for employment or promotion.

There is also an exemption providing for the collection of personal data pursuant to ‘managing or terminating an employment relationship’, which includes using an employee’s bank account details to issue salaries, or monitoring how the organisation’s computer network resources are being used. Do note however that organisations are still required to inform their employees of the purposes for which such data is being collected. This could be done by including the relevant terms in the employment 54

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agreement or the employee handbook.

Another instance where a PDPA exemption will apply is when the organisation has to use the personal data of an individual when dealing with workplace grievances. Such use typically requires the individual’s consent. However the organisation may be exempted from seeking such consent if the use of the personal data is for the purpose of any “investigation or proceeding”.

Next, organisations may disclose personal data without that individual’s consent to a prospective party of a ‘business asset transaction’, which refers to any type of acquisition, disposal or financing of an organisation or division. Employers are also not required to provide access to an individual’s personal data where such data is “opinion data” that is “kept solely for an evaluative purpose”. This includes opinions written in the course of assessment of individuals for employment or promotions.

Finally, organisations should take note that the PDPA provisions do not apply to business contact information, which is commonly provided through business cards. Unless such a business card was provided solely for personal purposes, an organisation that receives such information will not have to worry about complying with the PDPA requirements on seeking consent before using it for business activities.

Prepare early Currently, organisations still have some lead time to undertake a review of their processes and activities to ensure that they will be compliant with the PDPA. However in order to avoid unforeseen delays, organisations would do well to initiate such reviews as soon as possible.

VIEW POINT

UNIT4

Ho Chee Tiong Sales & Operations Director

Get the most out of your training dollars Proper planning, follow-ups and tracking software can help organisations realise greater returns on their investments in staff training, writes Ho Chee Tiong, Sales & Operations Director, UNIT4 Prosoft HRMS I was having coffee last week with one of my secondary school friends who is now the proud founder of a trading business. Having started the business less than two years ago, he successfully grew the company from a one-man start-up to a sizable team of 30 employees, complete with various organisational functions. We were talking about the training grants given out by the Singapore Government and one of his comments that struck me was that he does not send his employees for training because they are too busy to go for training, and such training even if 100% subsidized, does not compensate for the productivity loss incurred.

“Every minute spent on training is opportunity costs!” he said.

Having been in charge of the training coordinating committee in my company, I have seen how training when properly administered greatly improves individual performance and in turn company performance; and not to mention morale and communication too (especially through team building training). Sad to say, many organisations today send staff for training for the sake of clocking hours and fulfilling audit requirements. This is not helped by the fact that certain training programmes do not produce immediate and impactful results.

Even good ones can be let down by a poor trainer.

There are so many controllable and noncontrollable factors affecting training success. For a start, we need to get management buy-in to invest in such training. The supervisors and the employees have to be excited about the learning opportunity too. One of the key factors is the planning. With

proper planning such as Learning Needs Analysis (LNA), employees will be sent for courses relevant to their needs and in fact save money in the long run!

For example, we send promising employees for a supervisory course as part of their career development plan. When they are well- equipped with supervisory and management skills, they are able to guide their subordinates more effectively.

Another key factor will be training follow-up.

More often than not, trainees are high-spirited and motivated right after the training. However they quickly lose steam when there is no regular follow-up and mentoring post training. Mental note to self: Every training needs due diligence in post training follow-up.

Many software systems are available to help organisations map out their employee LNAs. You can also use the tools to check on who has not gone through mandatory corporate programmes, who is due for re-certification as well as each department’s utilisation of training hours and training costs. Such tools could also help Training Managers to evaluate the training effectiveness (through online feedback forms etc.). With such feedback, you can improve on areas such as training content and delivery methods, ultimately to enhance training effectiveness.

Most importantly, the management must have the belief and determination to plan for learning and training to equip employees, so that they succeed in their work in line with the organisation’s goals. After my two hours of sharing, I hope my friend is now more convinced that a well-planned training could actually lead to higher productivity in the long run.

• Tel: 6333 6133 • Email: prosoft.sales.sgp@unit4.com • Web: www.myprosoft.com www.unit4apac.com

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TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN

HR at work 9.00am My day begins with a cup of Nescafe coffee and a quick catch-up with my Head of HR to review the projects and initiatives that are currently running in both our local and APAC entities.

11.00am Time to walk the ground. Being in an entity that hosts both technical and non-technical employees, it is essential to listen to the voices of the people and address any concerns that they might face on a day to day basis.

Sylvester Lau

Assistant HR Manager, HOERBIGER KT Asia (Singapore)

12.00pm Lunch time! We often take a walk or hop on to a feeder bus that brings us to the coffeeshops near our area in Joo Koon.

1.00pm Supporting the APAC countries as Business Partner is an essential part of my role. For today, I had to support our Malaysia team in addressing a Sales Commission proposal as well as ensure that their exit management is well maintained via a standard exit process and interview with proper clearance templates.

3.30pm As payroll works on a monthly timeline, I check to ensure that we are on track. Reaching the end of the week, it’s also time to verify and tabulate the weekly attendance data and to create an attendance report for the management. I then proceed to verify all forms of billings to ensure that we have received our insurance claims, made all payments and that our mobile and local phone lines are not overused.

4.30pm As we have just completed our quarterly HR newsletter in April, it is time to consolidate new articles from our APAC counterparts for the next series. While this is happening, it is also a good time to catch up on the happenings throughout the region and to ascertain all regional meeting schedules.

6.00pm Knock-off and time to head off to our bi-weekly sports activity. We play badminton at Jurong West Stadium, which is located just 10 minutes away. Time Out!

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VIEW POINT

PeoplesHR

Dinesh Saparamadu Founder & CEO, PeoplesHR Web: www.peopleshr.com

Get your culture right:

Cultivating a high performance organisation Performing a “cultural diagnostic” can help organisations clearly define their culture and align it with corporate strategy for greater results, says Dinesh Saparamadu, Founder and CEO, PeoplesHR Is your culture a friend or foe?

In the field of biology, the DNA of an organism contains the entire set of genetic instructions describing the organism. Scientists claim that an entire organism can be regenerated from just its DNA - its biological identity.

Corporate organisations also have their DNA - the set of characterises that uniquely define them - their culture. It is a completely dynamic, intangible and subconscious element of a company that governs its every action. The organisation is built around how good their culture is.

In organisational strategy, the plans and missions of a company can easily be reused by other companies, its strategies can be stolen and values replicated, but culture is the only aspect that cannot be copied. Culture remains an innate feature of the company that belongs to it alone, culture cannot be replicated.

Acknowledging the existence of organisational culture cannot do you much good. You have to

analyse it and get it working for you – make your culture have a positive impact on your organisation’s journey and drive your corporate strategy. High performing organisations spend a lot of time and money analysing and formulating their company culture, making sure it is not an obstacle but a facilitator of corporate strategy.

To start with, you have to perform a “culture diagnostic”.

You have to first perform organised focus group discussions with your people and utilise questionnaires to try and gain first hand perspective of what your culture is. You have to ask questions like “what makes us innovative?” and “why do our customers like us?” – They are questions which prompt cognitive analysis and better understanding.

When culture is understood and documented, analyse what the best culture would be for your company and your corporate strategy and perform a gap analysis of the existing and desired culture. You can now select which elements of culture

must be emphasised and which should be de-emphasised. A start-up would focus on innovation, learning and relationship building; a company seeking growth will have an achievement-oriented spirit.

Leaders in organisations must not let the culture sway away from what drives the corporate strategy. Culture should be inculcated into employee orientation programmes, handbooks and other internal material; so when new employees join the organisation they have a good idea of how they should act and what is expected of them.

In essence, cultural change – like genetic reengineering – is a delicate process; it should be done with care, ensuring employees do not reject change.

Using change management principles will always help.

To access thought-provoking leadership videos, articles and whitepapers don’t forget to visit PeoplesHR.com

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GOES DIGITAL! It’s Free. Download the new HRM Magazine App for your iPad, just search “hrm asia” in iTunes® Store

Exclusive iPad-only content & videos The latest hrm news & HR jobs delivered instantly Interactive data that you can sort the way you want

TALENT LADDER

New appointments Filia Lim

HR Director – APAC, Flowserve Filia Lim has recently joined Flowserve – a leading manufacturer and aftermarket service provider of flow control products and services – as HR Director of the Asia Pacific region. She will be responsible for ensuring that HR remains closely aligned with the needs of the business across APAC. Lim comes to the role after holding a number of senior HR positions in a variety of companies. Most recently she was

Head of HR for BT in the Southeast Asia region.

Her experience spans the HR spectrum, from influencing and leading organisational change, coaching and talent development through to HR services. For Flowserve to continue to grow, it is dependent on its strategic objective to attract and retain exceptional people. Hence, her immediate task upon joining is to make sure the RPO

programme that Flowserve embarks on is implemented properly.

“Flowserve is a company which has established a dynamic and prosperous environment. I am extremely excited to join Flowserve as HR Director. I hope to bring my expertise and innovative approach across all areas of HR to the HR team to help the company achieve its ambitious plans for further growth and ongoing success.”

Antonio Lasaga

Head of Human Resources, Infiniti Motor Company Antonio Lasaga has recently been appointed as Global Head of HR in Infiniti. In this role, he is responsible for all HR matters globally, with a specific focus on talent acquisition and talent management in order to support the company’s growth plans.

Based at Infiniti’s global headquarters in Hong Kong, he reports directly to Infiniti Motor Company’s President, Johan de Nysschen. “I am very pleased about Antonio Lasaga joining

the Infiniti leadership team. We are putting a highly diverse team of internationally experienced leaders in place as we are questing to develop Infiniti into a globally recognised and highly successful premium car brand.

Antonio is pivotal in this effort as he will identify even more talent around the world to join and further strengthen Infiniti,” says Nysschen.

Prior to his new assignment, Lasaga was Director, HR and General Affairs,

for Nissan in Spain where he was responsible for 4,700 employees in five factories, a Research & Development centre, Parts & Distribution centres and sales offices.

Before that, he spent ten years with ABB where he held multiple local and regional HR leadership positions based in both Spain and Dubai.

During this time, he had HR responsibility for Spain, the Near & Middle East, India and Africa.

South Asia/ANZ, and HR Business Partner leading Malaysia Services and Technical Support Contact Center Operation, Asia Sales Organisation and Global Business Operations and Marketing. Prior to joining Dell, Shankar was leading the talent acquisition organisation for Komag USA (Malaysia).

Shankar is passionate about coaching young talents to grow and thrive in their career aspirations and he is excited about this new role as he believes that the company has

great HR leaders in each country who will be part of Dell’s overall transformation.

“We are in the midst of working through our transformational strategies. We will continue to provide Operations Excellence and focus on being a strategic partner to the respective Site Leaders. I aspire for Dell to be a leading world class HR organisation that continues to lead the way and be the change agent to help emulate best practices from this region.”

Shankar Nagalingam HR Director, South Asia and ANZ, Dell

Shankar Nagalingam is Dell’s current Country Human Resources Director for South Asia and ANZ. Shankar has 20 years of experience in numerous HR functions supporting Manufacturing, Services and Solutions, Technical Support, Business Operations, Information Technology, Sales & Marketing and Contact Centres, within multinational environments.

During his nine-year tenure in Dell, Shankar has held key positions such as Director of Talent Acquisition for

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TALENT FEATURE

Hays

Creating high performance teams What makes high-performance teams tick? Ashleigh Russell, Senior Business Director, Hays Singapore, shares some insights on how organisations can help them reach their maximum potential

Ashleigh Russell

Senior Business Director, Hays Singapore

Strong teams made up of talented individuals help companies succeed in the increasingly complex business environments they operate in today.

However, the best teams are more than a collection of talents – they are a unit directed towards a single purpose. But assembling the right team can be an enormous challenge in itself and requires a mix of raw talents, clear direction and timely management.

The notion of the “high performance” team has been around since the 1950s when the term was first coined in the United Kingdom. Since then, the concept has been used to describe the anatomy of winning sporting sides, business units and other successful teams.

There is widespread recognition in all fields that it is team-based effort that brings competitive edge rather than individual performances. And while the relationships that exist inside teams are too varied and nuanced to apply to a ‘one size fits all’ formula, there are a number of typical characteristics that bind high-performing teams together, wherever or whatever their goal.

The high performing team is united by a clear purpose that is so compelling that each member willingly provides the extra effort – or discretionary effort – required to make peak performance their

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norm. Each member understands not only how their role impacts on their fellow team members but also the overall success of the organisation.

Our latest Hays Journal looks at how the theory behind high performing teams has been put into practice by some of the world’s most successful companies. The case histories show how creating a high performing team can help a company achieve sustained high performance even through change.

From a manager’s perspective, considering the team as a whole offers a challenge of its own. High performance teams trust in the competencies of their fellow team members and stand together in the face of change. This can be a change of manager, the technology they use in their work or to the business conditions they operate within.

However, even a high performance team needs monitoring to identify what is working and what isn’t and make changes as needed. The relationships and behaviours of a team need to be reviewed to monitor how a team is working together, handling conflict and developing trust. This should apply to both self managed teams and those that are led.

If there is a change to a team because someone leaves, take the time to re-establish the fundamentals including ensuring each team member understands their role and tasks as well as their purpose and their expectations of one another. This will allow the team to operate free of politics to focus solely on performance.

To read the full article visit hays.com.sg/haysjournal or for more HR-related articles and discussions join our LinkedIn Group “HR Insights with Hays.”

Please call: Hays HR team #27-20 UOB Plaza 2, 80 Raffles Place, Singapore 048624 Tel: +65 6303 0721 Email: hr.singapore @hays.com.sg

IN PERSON

HR talent Raymond Chan HR Director, DP Architects

How many years of HR experience?

17 years.

Why HR? My boss said that I would make a good HR person 17 years ago and I have never looked back since. I guess my people-oriented personality and knack of managing people are the strengths he saw in me.

Why DP Architects?

I am proud to be part of DP Architects. It is the largest local architecture firm in Singapore and seventh largest in the world. It has been playing an integral part in the architectural landscape of Singapore in the last 46 years. Most importantly, I found it so satisfying to be the pioneer of the HR department when I joined the firm five and a half years ago. There is still unfinished work and new challenges are mounting every day. There is never a dull moment and I am thoroughly enjoying my work.

Biggest achievement?

When I first joined the firm, it had about 500

employees and a team of eight people managing the HR department. Today, the firm has more than doubled in size. However, we are still managing with the same number of people, and that is a quite an achievement.

Biggest challenge?

To be everywhere…everyone seems to want your attention.

After hours?

With my limited hours left after work, I can only afford to spend precious time with family or keep fit by going running. Running is a stressreliever and at the same time the few marathons I participate in regularly provide the personal challenges and achievements I look forward to.

Family?

I am a proud father of four lovely kids. However, it is my wife that I am most appreciative of and cherish dearly. She gave up her full-time job to be with the kids so that I can focus on my work.

RESOURCES

Book reviews

Talent Intelligence Everyone knows what talent management is, but what about talent intelligence? In their book Talent Intelligence: What You Need to Know to Identify and Measure Talent, authors Nik Kinley and Shlomo Ben-Hur share that talent management is in fact built upon talent intelligence – the understanding that businesses have of the skills, expertise and qualities of their people.

The book explains that talent intelligence forms the basis for every people decision that companies make. Yet, companies appear to be failing to produce good talent intelligence, and that is leading to poor HR decision making, the two leading experts in the field suggest.

The authors believe the talent management industry has failed to produce any notable impact on

businesses’ ability to identify talent since it began over 30 years ago. The book explains that most organisations lack the expertise needed to successfully navigate the labour markets and as a result, they often use the wrong assessment processes for their needs, or use them in ways that limit their impact.

The book is filled with illustrative examples showing how to overcome the stumbling blocks that stand in the way of successful talent intelligence, and reveals step-by-step what organisations need to measure their workforce skills, and how they can successfully use the results.

It is compelling reading that is full of insights that to benefit HR and business professionals looking to invest in their talent measurement activities and bring them to the next level. The principles illustrated would serve readers well in understanding what works and what doesn’t, so that they can improve talent management practices and impact their organisations positively.

Title: Talent Intelligence Author: Nik Kinley and Schlomo Ben-Hur Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Cost: S$59.29 ISSUE 13.7

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TALENT CHALLENGE

HR and communication

Building bridges How important is the relationship between HR and line managers – and how do you foster it?

Ken Hoskin

Regional Chief Talent Officer, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific

The relationship between HR and front line managers is crucial to reducing involuntary churn and to an overall successful talent management strategy.

Our people and the ideas they develop are our only asset. We are also in a client centric industry and the pressure for line managers to put clients’ needs first amongst everything else, can push talent related matters down the “urgency” list. A strong partnership with talent helps bring a focus back on these activities, such as planning a staff member’s development plan for the year, or making sure they are taking the “coach approach” to developing their team members on a daily basis.

To do this well, the Talent Team must have a deep understanding of each line manager’s business goals and the goals they have developed with their clients. If the messaging and rationale for development, learning and other talent activities are not congruent with these business goals, they will never get the needed attention and will just “get done” rather than being done to truly help grow the talent across the organisation. To facilitate this, we are bringing people from the front line of the business into senior talent roles because they understand the business goals and we then help them develop the necessary HR or talent specific competencies.

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John A. Murphy Vice President – Human Resources & Organisational Development, Pandora Productions

Any survey of the ever increasing literature on Human Resource Management will provide us a wide variety of definitions of what “HRM” is; probably the simplest definition of all is: “Human Resource Management is the Management of Human Resources”.

This definition appears simplistic but it leads us to the supplementary question, ‘Who then is responsible for managing human resources’? The conclusion, that managers are responsible for managing their human resources, means that the relationship between HR and line managers is of critical importance.

The foundation on which an effective working relationship is built is trust. Trust relies on two key elements, Competence and Credibility. If HR is to fulfill its Business Partner role, we must first clearly demonstrate our competence in our areas of responsibility. Secondly, the options and solutions we propose must be credible; in other words there is a clear line of sight between HR programmes and activities and business operational and strategic needs.

Strategically, in developing future HR and Line Managers who can work effectively together, one initiative that truly helps is by ensuring that HR Managers have the opportunity to work in Line Management roles and vice versa, creating a common view of the two perspectives.

Paul Wong

HR Director, DHL Supply Chain, Singapore

Building good relationships with others certainly has more advantages than those with bad relationships. As a HR professional, it makes my job easier when the line manager and I have a good working relationship.

I once had a misunderstanding with a line manager over a proposal. However, when we established a good relationship, that line manager became a good source of input to help improve subsequent proposals.

Relationships can have high fluctuations due to many factors and hence cannot be taken for granted. To foster and maintain a healthy relationship with a line manager, I find it helpful to be HUMBLE: H – Honest: Be upfront, frank and yet diplomatic with the line manager.

U – Understand: Get to know his likes and dislikes. Be sensitive to his needs.

M – Meet: Find opportunities to meet and connect with each other regularly.

B – Build trust: Relationships make or break and depend on level of trusts.

L – Lead: Be proactive to maintain the relationship (especially if broken).

E – Engage: Acknowledge his value and seek to work with him more often.

No HR or line manager is an island.

Both need to relate well and work together to add value for the company.

Theresa Hall Singapore

frazerjones.com @FrazerJonesHR

HR Roles HR Business Partner Pharmaceuticals This is an outstanding opportunity to be part of a leading multinational pharmaceutical brand with a billion dollar global revenue. This valued client is seeking an established HR Business Partner to support its business in Singapore with a headcount of around 100 people, with the assistance of two direct reports. Partnering closely with the COE’s, this role will cover the full spectrum of HR and will include a strong focus on compensation & benefits. The successful candidate will have a solid and progressive background in HR coupled with 5 years at management level.

Ref: FN 191301.

SG$120,000

AVP HR Business Partner Banking This growing international bank is looking for an experienced Business Partner to join its team. The role will be pivotal in the development of the HR function as this institution undergoes a transformation of its current function. Change experience is desirable and applicants should be willing to embrace a broad spectrum of responsibilities and work to a wide-ranging job description. The team is made up of HR practitioners from varying backgrounds and so this incumbent must be a team player with operational and strategic experience. Stakeholder management and communication skills are essential. Ref: JG 191321 SG$150,000

To discuss HR Roles across Asia, please contact Jenae Grieveson, Fiona Nesbitt or Theresa Hall on +65 6420 0515.

Alternatively, email jenaegrieveson@frazerjones.com or fionanesbitt@frazerjones.com | EA Licence No: 12C6222.

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

{

WE KNOW RECRUITMENT AND WE MATCH HIGH PERFORMERS WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPANIES

Head of HR, Asia

Senior Compensation & Benefits Manager

Regional L&D Specialist

› Business partnering responsibilities

› Multicultural work environment

› Consistent growth momentum

Our client is a global investment management company based in Europe looking to appoint a Head of HR for the region. You will be responsible for the delivery and enhancement of existing programs to support business objectives and advising management on effective HR practices across countries. Applicants should be degree qualified, with at least 10 years of experience in a multinational and be able to demonstrate your success in showing how HR can add value to the organisation.

Our client is one of the world’s most reputable corporations globally and is looking for a Senior Compensation and Benefits Manager to join their organisation. You will be the key focal point to lead annual salary reviews and develop compensation plans that are both equitable and competitive, You will be degree qualified with at least 10 years of experience in compensation and have strong communication and influencing skills. Ideally, you should have a strong foundation in compensation practices and trends.

Our client is a leader in the medical equipment industry with a strong presence in 30 countries and staff strength of 10,000 globally. This is a newly created role to spearhead the designing and implementation of development and training programs. Key to your success will be your ability to engage business leaders and manage vendor relationships. The succesful applicant will have a tertiary degree and at least 6 years of relevant experience. Being able to work independently and having strong business acumen is desirable for this role.

Please contact Cherry Wu quoting ref: H1777930 or visit our website.

Please contact Sean Tong quoting ref: H1646580 or visit our website.

Please contact Lucia Deng quoting ref: H1749020 or visit our website.

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 a confidential discussion.

Human Resources

Specialists in human resources recruitment www.michaelpage.com.sg

ISSUE 13.7

#14109 Licence No.: 98C5473 Business Registration No: 199804751N

Comprised of the combined operations of Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Executive, Page Group is a worldwide leader in specialist recruitment. The Group operates through 164 offices in 34 countries worldwide. First established in London in 1976, we’ve been bringing job seekers and employers together for more than 30 years. Our presence in the Asia Pacific region extends across Singapore, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.

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MAKE A QUANTUM LEAP Towards unparalleled career advancement with Kelly Professional and Technical division

Senior L&D Manager Sound L&D knowledge

Dynamic environment

Our client is a UK MNC and a global leader in their industry. They are currently seeking a dynamic Senior Manager to join the L&D team.

In this challenging role, you will be required to be a trusted advisor and internal consultant. This role will be responsible for formulating plans and training needs of the company to achieve maximum performance improvement and ROI impact. As the subject matter expert for L&D, you will drive all learning programs/projects/initiatives, performance management and change management with the view to creating a competency-based learning culture and a motivated workforce. You will also continually evaluate training effectiveness and make recommendations for the improvement of training quality.

To be successful in this position, you will be an experienced HR professional from a matrix, MNC environment, preferably within professional services/consultancy companies. You will be a graduate in HRM and have at least 12 years of L&D experience and sound knowledge of learning strategies. You should be familiar with design and delivery of training programs, excellent in presentation, coaching and have strong communications skills.

To submit your application, please email your resume in word format to lili_kang@kellyservices.com.sg or contact Li Li Kang at (65) 6227 2251 for a confidential discussion.

EA Personnel License No. R1108467

HR Manager Global Asian Bank

HR Advisor to Business Leaders

Our client, a global Asian bank, is expanding, and looking to recruit a dynamic HR Manager to join their team.

This role reports to the Head of HR and will provide HR advisory and functional services to business units. You will partner and engage with Senior Management in providing consultancy in the areas of talent acquisition, talent management, training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, and employee relations. You will also be involved in ad hoc HR projects.

The successful candidate will be a graduate in HR management with at least 6 to 12 years of HR generalist experience. You are analytical, meticulous and service-oriented with the ability to meet tight deadlines. Prior experience in HR business partnering and learning & development functions in the banking industry is highly preferred.

To submit your application, please email your resume in word format to lili_kang@kellyservices.com.sg or contact Li Li Kang at (65) 6227 2251 for a confidential discussion.

EA Personnel License No. R1108467

Kelly Services, Inc. is a leader in providing workforce solutions. For more than 34 illustrious years, Kelly has been partnering Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading companies to deliver the best talent in the market. Today, Kelly Singapore operates from over 10 strategic locations island-wide. Complementing our Technology and Science, as well as functional specialities for Finance, HR, Sales & Marketing, Procurement and Banking.

kellyservices.com.sg

Kelly Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd | EA License No. 01C4394 | RCB No. 200007268E

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HR Business Partner, Singapore

C&B Manager/Senior Manager

Regional C&B Business Partner

Global Engergy MNC

European MNC

Multinational E-commerce Corporation

Great career advancement

International Platform

Newly Created Position supporting APAC

Business Partnering

Competitive Salary

Attractive Salary Package

One of the world largest energy companies is looking for a high caliber HR Business Partner for its transportation arm.

Our client is an established energy company with a strong global footprint. There is now an excellent opportunity to join the organization as a C&B Manager/Senior Manager.

Reporting to HR Manager, you will provide HR advice and support to a few business entities, to ensure the team leaders are aligned with the people plan. You will work with line managers to undertake appropriate reward, recruiting, performance management, organization effectiveness, compliance and disciplinary matters. You will play a critical team role in delivering a cohesive HR agenda maximizing the effectiveness of talent in key roles.

Reporting into the Senior C&B Manager, you will work as an advisor to business units and regional HR managers. You will analyze the job markets, benchmark job positions and align current benefits with the market data, and align job grades with the various Business Segments. You will also be required to design job evaluation instruments and guides and to set company pay philosophy, review and evaluate group medical insurance and business travel plans, and design incentive programs and sales commission with the respective business units. You will take on project responsibility as and when acquisition happens. You are responsible for planning and budget for HR team in Asia Pacific and will ensure compensation structure and benefit program are in line with budget.

Our client is a multinational E-commerce corporation, headquartered in the US. It has a multi-billion dollar business with operations presence in more than 30 countries. There is a new and exciting opportunity to be part of the global C&B team supporting Asia Pacific.

You will have experience working in a complex organization structure, with a strong track record of HR generalist delivery in a business partner role. You demonstrate ability to understand the needs of the business and identify solutions. You are able to manage projects whilst delivering day-to-day support to the client group. You take a proactive approach to performance management and employee engagement issues. Strong verbal and written communication skills are required.

To apply, please submit your resume to Yolanda Yu at yy@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number YY5494\HRM, or call at (65) 63338530 for more details.

You will be a strategic adviser to regional partners by providing detailed analysis, expertise and innovative solutions to ensure appropriate understanding of C&B programs.

This includes identifying gaps and applying effective actions by shaping the decision-making process and influencing stakeholders whenever appropriate. You will work with the global C&B teams to balance local, regional and industry norms to ensure a consistent global C&B framework. This role will lead C&B change projects to support strategic business plans and strategies including M&A when needed throughout the region.

Ideally you are degree qualified with strong C&B background of at least 8 years or more.

You have good understanding of various countries C&B benefit structures. You have good communications skills. A good team player as well as one who is able to work with minimum supervision, will succeed in this role.

You have a minimum of 10 years relevant work experience with strong knowledge of C&B practices and a Bachelor's Degree preferably in Business or HR-related. You have strong initiative, and are a motivator and self-starter to deliver high quality C&B initiatives with significant C&B work experience gained within a progressive organization. APAC experience is a must and willingness to travel up to 30%.

To apply, please submit your resume to Yolanda Yu at yy@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number YY5498\HRM, or call at (65) 63338530 for more details.

To apply, please submit your resume to Priscilla Chen at pc@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number PC5531\HRM, or call at (65) 63338530 for more details.

Financial Services I Commerce I Human Resources I Technology I Legal I Sales & Marketing 66

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Business Registration No: 200307397W I Licence No: 03C4828

Returning the Human to Resourcing

HR Business Partner

HR Business Partner, Senior Manager

HR Business Partner

Real Estate Management

Premier Global Bank

Premier Global Bank

HR Business Partner

Singapore Role

Senior Manager

Excellent Career Progression

Excellent Career Progression

Excellent Career Progression

This client is a global and professional services firm specializing in real estate services. The business is global with offices in more than 10 countries across the region.

This premier bank offers a broad range of banking products and services to a global network of clients. It is seeking a dynamic and seasoned Regional HR Business Partner, Director to support its growing business in the region.

This premier bank has a strong global franchise and has recorded impressive business growth in the region.

In this role, you will provide support in operational advice to employees of all levels especially to Middle and Senior managers independently. As a business partner, you will play a proactive role in offering strong knowledge and subject matter expertise on Human Resource related topics. This will includes advising Middle management and Senior Leaders in medium to higher complexity of Employee Relations activity. You will actively contribute to HR related projects to drive business initiatives. You may be an individual contributor or manage a team, with the responsibility to direct and coach HR junior colleagues in their development and knowledge within the HR function.

Degree qualified, you have at least 8 years in a HR generalist/business partnering role with excellent in depth knowledge of the full range of HR policies and procedures. You are confident in supporting business independently. You have the ability to conduct projects and work across the organization. You have an inquisitive, curious mind and a natural ability to question when relevant. You are creative, proactive and possess the ability to engage with all levels.

To apply, please submit your resume to Priscilla Chen at pc@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number PC5558\HRM, or call at (65) 63338530 for more details.

Reporting to the Head of HR, you will work closely with senior business leaders in aligning 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, talent acquisition, rewards and talent management. You will play an integral role in business transformation programs and support the achievement of their overall strategic objectives.

Reporting to the Head of HR for Support Functions Group, you will provide HR advice and services to a portfolio of Support Functions (Risk, Legal, Compliance, Audit and/or Finance units). Working closely with the global HR team and HR product specialists, you will support the assigned units on diverse matters including performance management, reward and talent management so as to achieve people objectives with business strategies. You will also participate in strategic HR projects.

Degree qualified, you have more than 12 - 15 years of relevant experience working in a global bank or MNC. 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.

Degree qualified, you will have at least 10 years of experience gained in a major MNC or bank ideally with a few years of experience covering Support Functions. You are proactive, mature, credible and tenacious. You are able to influence priorities and build relationships at all levels.

To apply, please submit your resume to Adnan Atan at aa@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number AA5312\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

To apply, please submit your resume to Adnan Atan at aa@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number AA5355\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Business Registration No: 200307397W I Licence No: 03C4828

6 Best Headhunting awards in Asiamoney Headhunters Poll for Asia since 2009 Multi-award winning recruitment firm with specialist practices in: Banking, Finance - Commerce, Human Resources, Legal, Sales & Marketing and Technology

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Human resources professionals speak to tHe experts Group Hr Director oversee the Hr function for the entire group

training manager â&#x20AC;&#x201C; asia pacific six month renewable contract

This organisation has a new and unique opportunity for a top HR professional to join them as a Group HR Director. You will support the Group CEO and oversee the entire HR function for the Group and be a member of the senior management team. This role will contribute to the strategic direction of the organisation and people management to provide solutions to address critical HR issues and enhance the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people capability. You will have a degree with at least 15 years of HR experience, ideally in the healthcare sector.

This leading manufacturing company has a highly regarded brand for their premium products and are experiencing continued success. They are seeking a Training Academy Manager to join their Singapore team on a contract basis. In this autonomous role, you will manage the academy and promote it throughout the business. Your key duties will include conducting training needs analysis, developing training materials and facilitating training. In this high profile role, you will work with the senior leadership team and all new hires and to engage them in training.

regional Hr Director lead operational and strategic Hr for the region

Head of talent acquisition - apac Define, set, implement & roll out the strategy

A leader in the market and trusted name in the oil and gas industry, this organisation has experienced significant and consistent growth globally and specifically in Asia, which is set to continue. They are looking for a Senior HR Business Partner who will be a key player in helping the organisation meet its aggressive growth, profit and expansion plans through the provision of HR excellence. In this exciting and challenging role, you will partner with divisional General Managers across Asia to provide a full spectrum of HR services, and encompass change and transformation, with OD being a strong company driver.

This European technology organisation is looking for a Head of Talent Acquisition (APAC) to set the recruitment and staffing strategy for Asia Pacific and harmonise it across eleven countries.

You will identify strategic opportunities and drive initiatives to attract and develop talented employees. You will also partner closely with the global talent team to build a talent culture, and drive integrated strategies across talent attraction. This role will also develop, review, design and implement best practice solutions that align to the overall recruitment, talent and business strategies.

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

hays.com.sg

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Great people are at the heart of every successful business. It is this belief to invest in our team at Charterhouse that makes it possible for us to provide our clients with professional, specialised and tailored executive search services and the best possible talent for each company.

People are our business

Our client list spans across multi-national companies and global enterprises with a vested interest in people and talent development. These companies are currently searching for HR professionals to develop a rewarding professional career for and to value add to the following professional and executive roles.

Assistant Director

Head of HR APAC

One of the world’s largest and most prestigious graduate business schools in Europe, this reputable institution is looking for an Assistant Director to support its career development activities in the region.

A global player in the logistics industry, this established MNC is looking for a Head of HR APAC to drive organisational growth in the company.

Responsibilities:

• manage and deliver a portfolio of career development activities • provide career counseling, cv reviews, recruitment campaigns, career fairs and career skills workshops through close partnership with the global leaders • participate in business development activities in the APAC region

Requirements:

• minimum Master’s degree with at least 6 years of experience in career coaching/advisory in graduate level education, professional services or executive search industry • client-oriented, proactive and driven with strong analytical, collaboration, communication and interpersonal skills To apply, please email your CV to shereenf@charterhouse.com.sg and anniel@charterhouse.com.sg or call Annie Lim at +65 6435 5600.

Responsibilities:

• ensure the region’s HR strategies and operational excellences are aligned with business strategies and priorities in talent acquisition, talent management, talent development, retention, rewards, recognition and organisational development • collaborate with regional and global business leaders as a true business partner to deliver pro�itable client objectives with solutions, tools and processes that meet mutual needs • design and deliver an ongoing culture and model effective leadership skills of the senior management team

Requirements:

• Degree quali�ied, minimum 5 years of full spectrum HRM experience in relevant industries • sharp, proactive and driven, with strong cross-cultural awareness, commercial acumen and stakeholder management skills To apply, please email your CV to shereenf@charterhouse.com.sg and katherineq@charterhouse.com.sg or call Katherine Qu at +65 6435 5628.

Regional Business Partner

HR Business Partner

A leading technology company, this global MNC is looking for a Regional Business Partner to lead strategic initiatives in the region.

A global leader in advance manufacturing technology is looking for a dynamic HR Business Partner to support the strategic growth of the company.

Responsibilities:

• understand business context, priorities, issues and challenges to provide people strategy • partner with regional team to understand key performance issues, objectives, drivers and implications • drive global HR solutions and change, championing and engaging stakeholders to gain buy-in • balance global and local frameworks, share best practices and �lexibility to meet local needs • drive people plans, resource, talent, succession and workforce plans, structures and costs

Requirements:

• minimum 8 years of regional HR manager experience in talent management and organisation development • proactive and sharp with strong business acumen and the ability to work with diversity across levels locally and globally and think out of the box

To apply, please email your CV to shereenf@charterhouse.com.sg and katherineq@charterhouse.com.sg or call Katherine Qu at +65 6435 5628.

Responsibilities:

• provide strategic input on all HR related matters • develop HR initiatives, policies and programs to attract, develop and retain key talents • instil innovation, creativity and teamwork into the work culture • manage cost-effective, productivity and quality improvement programs for the vitality of business • develop effective strategies to build a forward-looking organisation in accordance to changing environment in the industry

Requirements:

• minimum Business or HR degree quali�ied with strong global/regional generalist and business partnering experience in large Engineering/Manufacturing/Technology MNCS preferred • proactive, creative and collaborative • strong business acumen, analytical, problem-solving, negotiation, in�luential and communication skills To apply, please email your CV to shereenf@charterhouse.com.sg and anniel@charterhouse.com.sg or call Annie Lim at +65 6435 5600.

For more information on your career and recruitment needs, please visit www.charterhouse.com.sg Charterhouse believes in investing in people. If you want to join a company that provides more than a job but a rewarding career call Gary Lai at +65 6435 5601 or email garyl@charterhouse.com.sg.

EA Licence Number: 06C3997

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