EDITOR’S NOTE
Dear HRM Magazine Asia readers,
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Paul Howell JOURNALIST
Yamini Chinnuswamy JOURNALIST
Melia Widjaja MEDIA & DATABASE EXECUTIVE
Ismail Abdul Rahman SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Muhamad Azlin Ismail ACCOUNT MANAGER
Edwin Lim SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER
Jenilyn Rabino EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER
Joanna Bush PHOTOGRAPHER
Ted Chen
tedchenphoto.com CARTOONIST
Gene Whitlock
up2speed.biz PRINTED BY
Times Printers Pte Ltd
PUBLISHED BY
HRM Asia Pte Ltd 60 Albert Street, Albert Complex #16-08 Singapore 189969 Tel: +65 6423 4631 Fax: +65 6423 4632 Email: info@hrmasia.com.sg
A
s this magazine reaches your electronic devices and/or desks, you are likely going into holiday season mode: people are starting to clear out their annual leave, organise end-of-the-year parties, and speculate about New Year’s bonuses. I wouldn’t quite say that the year went by in the blink of an eye – looking back at my journal, I can see that it’s been a rollercoaster of a year, packed full of events and deadlines. Here at HRM Magazine Asia, it was also a year of revamps and launches; including the Daily Dispatch newsletter, the HRM Asia Watch List, and the new-look hrmasia.com. Already, 2019 is looking to be just as jam-packed. Not least of all because the first-ever HR Festival Asia will be taking over the Suntec Singapore Conference and Exhibition Centre in May. Brought to you by the joint forces of HR Summit (Asia) and the HR Technology Conference & Exposition (US), HR Festival Asia will be the region’s largest gathering of HR and technology, bringing together more than 5,000 decision makers in these spaces for a packed two-day programme One of the headline speakers at the event is Josh Bersin, who is also the cover star for 2018’s final issue of HRM Magazine Asia. You’ve probably heard of Bersin, or at least of his eponymous research and consulting firm – he’s a renowned
industry analyst who has spent the last 20 years studying the best practices out there in the business world in the space of leadership, people management, and technology. Towards the end of our conversation with him, we discussed the outlook for 2019, and Bersin made a point that I think many HR leaders are grappling with: “What are we going to do about the growth in the economy? Are we going to be able to keep up with it all, and can we do it in a way that allows employees and workers to manage their lives successfully? “Some 40% of American workers work more than 50 hours a week. Employee engagement is not going up – instead, stress levels are going up. Hopefully, artificial inteligence and these emerging technologies will help, but some of this is culture. It’s about changing the way we think about organisations, and about putting the people agenda first,” he added. On that very wise note – thank you for your support over 2018; we look forward to bringing you more news and insights in 2019. Best wishes,
YAMINI CHINNUSWAMY Journalist, HRM Asia
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 Asia’s news, features, and contributions by emailing: info@hrmasia.com.sg
MEET THE TEAM
©HRM Asia Pte Ltd, 2018. All rights reserved. Republication permitted only with the approval of the Editorial Director.
PAUL HOWELL
MCI(P) 028/07/2017 ISSN 0219-6883
Editorial Director paul.howell@hrmasia.com.sg
YAMINI CHINNUSWAMY Journalist yamini.chinnuswamy @hrmasia.com.sg
DECEMBER 2018-JANUARY 2019
01 EDITOR'S NOTE_DEC-JAN 2019.indd 1
MELIA WIDJAJA
Journalist melia@hrmasia.com.sg
HRM ASIA.COM
01
3/12/2018 4:26:05 PM