HRM 12.11

hrm ISSUE 12.11

Reeling in talent at Cathay Organisation L&D from an accountant’s perspective Maxis: Keeping talent at home

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The

Performance &Productivity Special Winning strategies for raising the bar at work

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HRM 12.11

Contents EDITOR Sumathi V Selvaretnam JOURNALISTS Shalini Shukla-Pandey Priya de Langen EDITORIAL RESEARCHER Vivien Shiao Shufen TRAFFIC MANAGER Azimah Jasman SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amos Lee GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Paul Lozano

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REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Evelyn Lim

Reaching the peak Improving employee productivity is one of today’s major HR imperatives. In this special issue, HRM looks at a number of initiatives that are adding to the bottom lines of organisations in Singapore and beyond.

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Yogesh Chandiramani ACCOUNT MANAGERS Natasha Vincent Charlene Lim GENERAL MANAGER Kaveri Ayahsamy REGIONAL MANAGING EDITOR George Walmsley MANAGING DIRECTOR Richard Curzon PHOTOGRAPHY BY Frank Pinckers Photography PRINTED BY Times Printers Pte Ltd

IN THIS COVER STORY

“At the end of the day though, it all boils down to employee engagement – the willingness of an employee to go the extra mile for the business”

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

– JOANNA YEO, HEAD OF HR, BAYER HEALTHCARE IN ASIA-PACIFIC MICA (P) 137/07/2012 ISSUE 12.11

ISSN 0219-6883

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HRM 12.11

Contents

Check out HRM online:

12 FEATURES 12 | The reel deal

Home-grown leisure and entertainment company, Cathay Organisation Holdings was founded 77 years ago and has grown from a couple of theatres in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to investments in film distribution and even hotels. CEO Suhaimi Rafdi, tells us more

17 | Innovation in HR

Organisations want a collaborative working culture, but not all walk the talk. US company Dyn has taken collaborative culture a bit further with even the CTO working on tasks such as answering midnight phone calls

18 | Maxis: Keeping talent at home

According to the World Bank, the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the past two decades. Kala Kularajah Sundram, Head of Talent and Organisation Development with Maxis Berhad’s Talent Office, shares the telecommunication giant’s unique emphasis on nurturing local talent to build a sustainable talent pipeline, furthering the country’s economic transformation in the process

32 | Creating buzz at the workplace Engaging employees is essential for organisations to maintain a productive workplace. Experts tell HRM that organisations need to take a holistic approach, from giving staff a platform for their say to engaging activities to motivate workers

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18 37 | Spicing up your Comp & Ben for all tastes Cloves, cardamoms, turmeric, fennel – all these spices and more come together to lend different dishes their unique flavours. In the same way, should HR proactively consider generational differences when designing the perfect rewards programme for an employee?

42 | Hooking results

High-performance coaching allows employees to take their skill sets to the next-level by empowering them to diagnose business situations, propose solutions and motivate others. HRM weighs in on its relevance to new managers and how HR can measure its effectiveness.

47 | Boosting service

The service sector is constantly evolving its procedures to maintain and improve productivity levels. HRM speaks to some of the sector’s leading organisations on some of the innovations they have taken

54 | Courting safety

Good workplace safety procedures are critical for creating a safe, happy, and effective workplace. HRM talks to organisations that are now stepping up their efforts to create a safety culture among their staff.

58 | HR from the other side of the fence: An accountant’s perspective With HR increasingly expected to speak ‘the language of business’, how effective are your budget and ROI conversations with the CFO? Adrian Smith – an accountant himself – provides some insights into how to measure the ROI of your L&D initiatives

37 REGULARS 4 | Analysis 6 | News 10 | Leaders on Leadership 63 | Viewpoint: British Council 64 | Twenty-four Seven 65 | In Person 66 | Talent Challenge 67 | Viewpoint: hSenid 68 | Talent Feature 69 | Resources 70 | Viewpoint: Unit4 Asia Pacific 71 | Talent Ladder 72 | 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

Social media

Protecting your employer brand The implications of social media on employer branding was recently thrown into the spotlight when a labour movement employee was fired for making a racist post on Facebook

“We will not accept and have zero tolerance towards any words used or actions taken by our staff that are racially offensive” – THE NATIONAL TRADE UNION CONGRESS (NTUC) IN A PRESS STATEMENT

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The National Trade Union Congress wasted no time in terminating the services of Amy Cheong, formerly an assistant director at its membership department, barely days after she posted a profanity-laden Facebook rant about a Malay wedding under her void deck. In a statement release to the press, NTUC said that it takes a serious view on racial harmony in Singapore. “We will not accept and have zero tolerance towards any words used or actions taken by our staff that are racially offensive.”

NTUC also offered an apology in its statement, “Regrettably and rightly so, her comments have upset members of the public, including many union members. We are sorry that this has happened.”

The episode opened up a lively discussion on the pitfalls of social media and how companies can better manage their employees’ use of this powerful and increasingly popular medium of communication.

HR practitioners should realise that social media is all pervasive in the modern workplace and may be leveraged by companies to increase their brand profile and reach to its customers, says Lionel Tan, Partner, Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment, Rajah and Tann. However, he added that in this day and age, there is a blurring of lines between an employee’s private life and his professional life and it is difficult to draw the line.

“There is no avoiding the fact that if an employee is closely identified with a company then whatever the employee does on social media, will in the eyes of the public, be a reflection of the values, principles and ethos of the company,” Tan says. If questionable content is posted, the company’s reputation could take a hit.

The public is aware that she was talking in her own capacity, however, it is the brand association with the

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employer that got her into trouble. NTUC is about equity and it is essential for NTUC to lead by example,” says Andrew Chow, a brand strategist with IdeaMart.

The issue is compounded if the person in question is a senior-level executive, Tan says. “They are perceived by the public as being in a position to influence the manner of how the company operates, then whatever they may post on social media, will inevitably be ascribed to the company.

Experts that HRM spoke to said that while it was impossible to monitor your employees’ every action on social media, such situations could be avoided if HR communicated clear social media guidelines.

Chow suggests that staff orientation programmes should include a social media briefing and HR could provide regular updates on the social media hiccups experienced by others via the company newsletter.

“HR can also provide an internal social enterprise network, to allow better internal communication.”

Controversial postings can also have legal implications where the company could be held vicariously liable for the employee’s actions, says Tan. “For example, if an employee defames a competitor on social media, the competitor may seek to claim against the employer. The competitor may take the position that the employee represents the company and therefore, the defamatory postings were made for and on behalf of the company.”

Employers should advise employees to also insert a disclaimer in their social media site that their views do not necessarily reflect the company’s position as this may assist to mitigate some of the problems, says Tan. “However, if the postings are extremely sensational and if the employee is in a senior position, unfortunately, a disclaimer may prove of little use.”

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NEWS

Asia TAIWAN

PHILIPPINES

Indonesia has one of the most active job seeker markets with nearly

Over 40% of young Taiwanese workers are uncertain about their future career path.

According to a poll of people aged 15 to 29, conducted by Talent Bank consultancy and the Rotary Club, 44% of that age bracket are at a loss over what to do with their future.

Some 31% of the respondents said they were unsure about their direction, while 13% said they did not even “have a clue” over what their future could hold.

Reasons for their uncertainty included not knowing what job suits them (67%), not knowing how to choose a profession (53%), and lacking self-confidence (47%).

81% of the respondents were worried about their future, with 51.3% citing concerns over stagnating wages, 49% worried about inadequate savings, and 46.1% questioning changing government policies.

Filipinos are finding more jobs and putting in more hours at work. According to the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), about two-thirds of employed Filipinos have been clocking in more than the usual 40-hour work week.

As of July 2012, the average work week was 42.2 hours. Of the 37.6 million employed Filipinos, 24.6 million logged in up to 48 hours or more each week.

This was more than the 20.8 million who did so as of April, and the 24.1 million who did so in July 2011.

In April 2012 and July 2011, jobholders numbered 37.8 million and 37.1 million respectively. The economywide employment rates were 93.1% and 92.9%, respectively.

BLES data also showed that about one-third of those with jobs as of July this year were labourers and unskilled workers. The two next biggest groups by occupation were officials, managers, and supervisors in both the public and private sectors (13.8%), and farmers, fishermen and forestry workers (13.6%).

constantly on the look out for a job switch

HONG KONG

SINGAPORE

Singapore workers say ‘maybe’ to babies More than

2 million

Employees in Singapore say that they would consider having children if workplaces here were more familyfriendly. And they have a key supporter in Singapore’s Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Halimah Yacob.

During the ‘Maybe Baby?’ dialogue held by voluntary welfare organisation I Love Children (ILC) in October, Halimah said firms needed to show flexibility in work arrangements and staff assessments in order to make it easier for people to start or expand their families.

“We have to start looking at how we can do things differently. People have to spend an unimaginable number of hours at the workplace... that is really not family-friendly,” Halimah was quoted as saying.

She explained that companies should evaluate the performance of staff based on their output and not number of hours spent at their desks.

Co-workers should also be more supportive of those with families.

“The most critical part is to show that even when people are working on flexible work options or part-time, it does not affect their productivity or efficiency,” added Halimah.

A parenthood survey by ILC last year showed that money is a key concern when it comes to deciding whether to start a family.

Other reasons cited for not having children included not being mentally prepared, placing more importance on career goals, and the lack of quality or affordable childcare. More than 600 people, aged between 21 and 39, took part in the survey.

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factory workers went on a one-day strike across Indonesia on October 3 to demand better benefits and protest the hiring of contract workers Source: Confederation of Indonesian Workers’ Union

54%

of the brain drain from Malaysia is to Singapore Source: World Bank

Young workers uncertain about their future

Jobs and overtime hours up

74%

Source: Kelly Services

91%

of Singapore’s public sector employees have the opportunity to work from home Source: Robert Half Singapore

93.2%

of Singapore employers say they will increase or maintain headcount in the remaining months of 2012 Source: Hudson Report: Employment Trends

Employees work longest hours in Asia-Pacific Employees in Hong Kong are working longer hours than those in other Asia-Pacific markets, according to the latest Hudson Report: Employment Trends. Almost half (47.6%) reported working more than 51 hours per week.

They cited increasing numbers of projects (75.3%) and greater demands from customers (43.2%) as the key drivers behind those longer hours.

More than a quarter of employers across Asia-Pacific reported increased employee burnout, although Hong Kong with its long hours and increasing workload, recorded the second lowest levels of increasing employee burnout among the Asia-Pacific countries surveyed. Only Australia had lower levels.

“Longer hours don’t always equal greater productivity. Success in managing a demanding workload comes down to an employee’s cognitive ability and behavioural traits,” said Tony Pownall, General Manager, Hudson Hong Kong.

“The ability to analyse information quickly, prioritise and manage tasks effectively, and communicate required actions plus desired outcomes are all important.”

NEWS

MALAYSIA

Employees are unhappy at work The majority of workers in Malaysia are unhappy with their current jobs. According to a recent JobStreet.com survey on Employee Job Satisfaction in Malaysia, 78% of workers there are not happy at work.

While it is often perceived that the main reason many young talents leave a company is due to the low salary, only 17% of respondents quoted salary as the main reason for influencing their unhappiness at their current job.

Dissatisfaction with their scope of work was the top reason many felt unhappy at work. Most of these unhappy employees said they felt they had too much work, or that their work was predictable and boring.

Another factor was also poor relationships with immediate supervisors.

The remaining 22% of the respondents who are currently happy at work revealed the top three factors that influenced their satisfaction: • 50% are enjoying their working experiences and working challenges • 21% are happy with their bosses who appreciate and value their input • 19% cite friendships with their colleagues as influencial Overall, employees agreed that the ultimate change in order to determine their wellbeing at work needed to include opportunities for career development as well as increased work-life balance. If those needs are not met, the majority (62%) said they would find another job to restore their happiness at work.

One respondent said, “A company with strong management workflow that meets customer’s demands, good colleagues who can help one another with office politics at its minimum, and a good career opportunity is a pull factor for me to enjoy my job.”

What is the main factor influencing your unhappiness?

17%

Salary Relationship with immediate supervisor/boss

21%

Relationship with colleagues

8% 34%

Scope of work

9%

Working hours Company policies & benefits

11% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

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25%

30%

35%

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NEWS

International US

UAE

Jobseekers pick their social media poison More jobseekers are choosing Facebook over LinkedIn and Twitter in their hunt for jobs, according to a survey by Jobvite.

Some 52% of jobseekers use Facebook to find work, up from 48% a year ago.

LinkedIn is used by 38% of job seekers, up from 30% last year. Over the same time period, Twitter usage rose from 26% to 34%. While both saw big leaps in terms of usage among the workforce, Facebook held steady as the top social network for job seekers.

However, LinkedIn is not taking this lying down. It just edged out Facebook as the place to tweak one’s resume. A quarter of job seekers added professional information to their Facebook account in the last year, but

26% did the same to their LinkedIn profile.

According to the survey, one in five respondents said they had been sent a lead for a potential new job through Facebook. One in six recipients of a new job credited at least one of the networks for the lead.

The survey also revealed that dissatisfaction is rampant in the workplace. Three quarters of the US workforce are actively interested in another job, even if they already have one.

IRELAND

No country for young men Ireland is suffering from its worst case of brain drain in 25 years as the latest immigration data reveal startling statistics.

A record 87,000 people left the country in the 12 months to April this year, up from 80,600 a year earlier. Young people aged between 15 and 29 are worst affected, with 182,900 in this age group having left to live abroad since 2008.

“Virtually all my friends have left to find work. Some are in New York, Toronto, Australia and London,” Tommy Flynn, a jobless 24-year-old civil engineering graduate, told The Financial Times.

“I sent out about 60 CVs in Ireland and got very few replies. I may try Canada,” he said.

Experts have said that Ireland was “no country for young men”, pointing to the government’s refusal to cut pensions and tackle high public sector wages, while it continues to target people entering the workforce.

Dublin implemented a recruitment embargo in 2010 covering most parts of the public sector in an effort to tackle a budget deficit. It plans to cut the number of people working in the public sector by 37,500 to 282,500 by 2015.

“Almost no new graduate will land a permanent teaching job this year. The average wait for a permanent job after qualifying is eight or more years,” said Art McCarrick, a 25-year-old graduate who qualified as a teacher in June.

“The current crop of teachers are the best trained in the history of the state yet we will be paid 30% less than others who are older doing the exact same job down the hallway,” he added. McCarrick is now considering moving to the UK to find work as a teacher.

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UAE employees less loyal

A global survey found that the

top five

countries providing today’s leaders are Hong Kong, Germany, UK, Australia and the US Source: SHL Global Leadership study

46%

of new executives reported that their KPIs were not set and agreed to by the end of their first month Source: research by the UK-arm of recruitment and executive search firm Harvey Nash

35%

of Australian employers indicated they were unlikely to employ a person with a mental illness

A third

of UK companies indicated that workers “often experience excessive pressure levels in their job” Source: Global Talent Management and Rewards Study by Towers Watson

Employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are less loyal to their employers, but still more engaged at work, according to a new study from Hay Group.

Staff loyalty is a concern for UAE employers as the average worker is eight per cent less likely to remain with their current employer when compared with the global average. Nearly half of UAE employees are looking to leave their current employer within the next three to four years.

“With 3.8 million expatriate workers in the UAE, it is not a surprise that loyalty is a challenge within the workforce. However, we also see UAE nationals becoming increasingly mobile and shopping for opportunities elsewhere,” Jan Marsli, head of Hay Group’s employee research division, said.

Conversely however, Middle East employees are more committed and willing to go the extra mile compared with the global average.

When it comes to commitment in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the UAE is in second place falling only behind Qatar.

Marsli said the key for UAE employers was to understand the unique drivers within their organisations before deciding in which areas to invest in their people.

“Engagement, and specifically loyalty, is typically driven through the provision of career opportunities, championing fair and equitable performance management,” he advised.

NEWS

UK

GLOBAL

The majority of HR professionals in the UK (66%) draw a connection between employee engagement and well-being, but only 33% follow through with a specific well-being strategy.

According to research by Edenred and EnergiseYou, 47% of senior HR professionals consider the health and wellbeing of their staff as “good” or “excellent”.

However, less than half (46%) of respondents reported that they felt their health and well-being activities actually met their objectives. Some 11% said they did not, and more than a third (39%) said they did not know.

The majority of HR professionals (76%) said that a lack of financial investment and organisational buy-in was a hindrance to achieving well-being objectives.

Oliver Gray, managing director at EnergiseYou, said: “With sickness absence and stress levels rising in UK workplaces, employee health and wellbeing can no longer be left off the agenda; it needs to be prioritised.

“By getting backing from those at the top, HR has a huge opportunity to improve the health and well-being of staff and increase the profits of the business.”

A global survey has found Australian women to be the most economically advanced in the world, beating traditionally strong Scandinavian countries to reach the top spot.

According to the Third Billion Index, Australian women were the most empowered in terms of access to education, market participation and anti-discrimination policies.

Australia was followed by Norway, Sweden, and Finland, with New Zealand in fifth place.

At the bottom of the list were Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan and Chad.

Across the globe, the survey found up to one billion women will enter the world’s workforce over the next decade.

The research also found several common challenges that all women

Employee engagement linked to well-being

Australian women most economically empowered face, regardless of how well the country performed in “empowering women”.

“Around the world, women are the primary caregivers for children, the elderly and the sick, and this responsibility hampers their economic development,” said DeAnne Aguirre, a partner with Booz & Company.

She said several elements were critical in increasing access to work for women: widespread and affordable care for children, the elderly and the sick; cultural changes aimed at dividing care work more equitably between men and women; and recognition by the private sector of the importance of care work for all employees.

GLOBAL

HR not keeping pace with business demands GREECE

More than a quarter of Greeks face unemployment Unemployment in debt-ridden Greece reached a record high of 25.1% in July, as the country continued to endure its worst financial crisis to date.

The figure was 0.3% higher than in June. According to experts, this figure is likely to rise further as the economy has shrunk by around one fifth since the recession started in 2008. The economy is expected to enter a sixth year of recession in 2013.

Official figures showed that 1.26 million Greeks were out of work in July, with more than 1,000 jobs lost every day over the past year. In the worst-affected 15-24 age group, unemployment was 54.2%.

To continue receiving international bailouts, Athens has imposed tough austerity measures such as slashing incomes and increasing taxes, causing plenty of pain for both working and unemployed Greeks.

Another country in Europe that is not faring much better is Spain, which is expected to have an unemployment rate of 24.8% in August. The two countries have the highest unemployment rates among the 17 that use the Euro regional currency.

Senior executives say that leaders will continue to view HR as a non-essential function unless it takes steps to make itself relevant to the business.

According to a worldwide study by the Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by KPMG, respondents felt that HR was “ineffective” and consistently failed to add value to their organisations. Less than one-fifth (17%) of the C-suite executives surveyed believed their HR teams were ‘doing a good job’.

Only a quarter of respondents said that HR departments excelled at sourcing and retaining international talent.

Some 24% also said HR teams were unable to support their firm’s globalisation strategies even though ‘hiring international talent’ remained a key concern for leaders.

The majority of business leaders (76%) were also critical about their HR departments when it came to

supporting an increasingly virtual and flexible workforce.

Researchers say that this means that HR teams need to determine which roles are appropriate for remote working and develop a support mechanism for them.

Survey respondents also said many HR functions were trying to make better use of mobile apps and social media to provide employees and their managers with the data the HR teams believed was useful.

Robert Bolton, partner in KPMG Management Consulting and global lead of the firm’s HR Centre of Excellence, said: “This survey shows that, at the very least, HR has a perception problem, though in some cases it may have actually failed to deliver real value… With employee engagement levels an increasing concern, more effort must be put into understanding staff needs before today’s employees become tomorrow’s alumni.”

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LEADERS ON LEADERSHIP

Management style

Charismatic leaders How important is it for leaders to be extroverted and charismatic?

Soo Kam Tatt

Director, Hypertherm Asia

Charisma and extroversion are good traits for leaders to possess. A charismatic leader has the ability to draw people into what they are sharing. In the process, he can motivate and steer them in the desired direction.

While being charismatic is great, it is an innate characteristic rather than something that can be nurtured. To a certain extent, an engaging leader tends to be one that’s outgoing as well.

As long as this does not come across as aggressive or arrogant, extroversion is a good trait. Being extroverted complements charisma in that: in the absence of the latter, an outgoing leader can reach out to his people in order to understand them better.

This is another way the leader will be able to motivate the employees in the right direction to meet the corporate vision and goals.

If a leader does not exhibit either of these characteristics, it is not the end of the world as there are quiet leaders who perform very well too. However, these are more of the exception rather than the norm.

An engaging leader is one that will make a difference with his team and these qualities, although not must-haves, are very good characteristics to possess as staff will be more inclined to follow the leader and this will in turn drive the success of the organisation.

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Logan Velaitham CEO, AirAsia Singapore

Extroverted leadership is about leaders with an open mindset- those who have no physical and mental blockage. Someone who can communicate with people from all walks of life freely and casually falls under this category. Fostering two-way communication and removing hierarchies to achieve a fun and homely work environment are some of the other attributes of extroverted leaders.

Getting to know people at a personal level and ensuring that their voices are heard will certainly make them feel important.

Maintaining professionalism at work is good but getting to know your employees at a more personal level is better. This expectation is on the rise as Gen Y are entering the work force. Being extroverted allows a leader to understand, engage and manage Gen Y as they themselves are getting more extroverted with the rise of social media. They care and feel for others and how others treat them in return.

Social media indirectly gets introverted leaders into an extroverted mode. Leaders on the same social media platforms as employees can quickly find out how they are feeling at work, information can be shared, and feedback can be received promptly.

When a leader is engaged via social media, it can elevate one to become a charismatic leader as you are a leader who listens. Taking the effort to engage, listen and understand are qualities of a good charismatic leader.

Siew Yim Cheng

Chief Information Officer, JTC Corporation

Looking back at the great leaders I had worked for and worked with, I would say that great leaders are people who can inspire trust, connect well with their followers and can paint a clear and passionate vision of the better place that they are all aiming towards.

Charisma is not as important a factor as one may think as there are many other traits that make a great leader.

A great leader is only successful if he or she is supported by a great team. A team that is prepared to follow him or her and go over and beyond the call of duty to give their best and more.

Such great teams don’t happen overnight as they need to be built.

There are no shortcuts to achieving this – charisma and being extroverted are advantageous attributes but not quite enough.

For authentic leadership, you have to be yourself, create a lasting impact that is reinforced by actions that demonstrate that you walk the talk, and build trust by ensuring follow through on all commitments.

This would ultimately be the mark and legacy of a great leader – a genuine person who has the capability to make people feel so important and valued that they are prepared to continually give their best and more.

LEADING FROM ASIA

LEADERS TALK HR

Cathay Organisation Holdings

the

REEL DEAL

Home-grown leisure and entertainment company, Cathay Organisation Holdings was founded 77 years ago and has grown from a couple of theatres in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to investments in film distribution and even hotels. Suhaimi Rafdi, CEO of Cathay Organisation Holdings, tell us more

By Priya de Langen

In 1939, The Cathay Cinema, housed in the Cathay Building, was the first air-conditioned theatre and, at close to 80 metres, Singapore’s first skyscraper. Rumour has it that up to 1955, pilots flying into the Kallang Airport often used the building as a landmark for their final approach.

This cinema was operated by Associated Theatres (founded in 1936), the predecessor to the iconic leisure and entertainment company, Cathay Organisation Holdings.

Fast-forward 77 years, and Cathay Organisation has expanded its reach beyond Singapore and Malaysia to the Middle East.

The iconic brand is now headed by Suhaimi Rafdi, CEO of Cathay Organisation Holdings. A veteran of 17 years with the company, Suhaimi started off as an assistant general manager of Cathay Cineplexes, to work his way up to the top job in January 2008.

“I am very much a people person because I am operations CEO and I make a point to know my employees and their spouses and families,” he says. Apart from his work, Suhaimi is known to cook for his employees for Hari Raya, when he invites up to 150 people to enjoy a good home-cooked meal. “This is the other side of me 12

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that lower ranking employees don’t know about and there is no reason why they should be overly worried around me.”

Reeling in the talent With a 77-year history, Suhaimi says the organisation is a “household name” in Singapore. “I have to admit that getting people to work with us is not too difficult as we need people to start work with us as casual labour,” he says.

Cathay Organisation Holdings has a two-pronged approach to getting talent into the company. It seeks out people who are recommended by friends and also works with head hunters. At the operational level, the company gets casual labour and some enjoy the work so much that they stay to take up full-time employment, says Suhaimi.

He points out that Cathay Organisation is not just about movies. “We have revamped to say that we are more than just movies – we are a multi-faceted organisation that has mall management, cinemas, film distribution, and even hotels to our name.” This, he says, makes the company more attractive to talent as there are more areas for a person to specialise in.

Bio brief Born in Singapore in 1967, Suhaimi has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment, leisure, hospitality and F&B industries, as well as extensive experience in F&B management, cinema operations and event organisation.

In 1996, Suhaimi joined Cathay Organisation Holdings, a leading organisation engaged in the businesses of entertainment, leisure, lifestyle and property management services. Suhaimi was then an Assistant General Manager of Cathay Cineplexes, a subsidiary of Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited.

In 2006, Suhaimi was promoted to President of Business Operations where he was responsible for 21 of Cathay Organisation’s subsidiary companies in Singapore and Malaysia. Later in the same year, he was assigned to oversee the Corporate Service functions of the Organisation, including HR, Finance, Legal, Group Communications, Information Technology, Internal Audit and Property & Projects Division.

Also in the same year, Suhaimi was involved in the formation of Cathay Organisation’s joint venture partnership with a leading corporation in Dubai.

The joint venture partnership involves an extensive project in the development, management and operations of cineplexes and megaplexes in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia.

Suhaimi was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Group in 2008 overseeing all the business functions, which has an annual turnover of S$200 million.

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LEADERS TALK HR

Cathay Organisation Holdings

Me-myself-I • I love: To work under pressure • I dislike: Unreasonable customers who take things for granted • My inspiration is: To see Cathay make a strong footing in its services

beyond the boundaries of the Middle East • My biggest strength: I am dynamic self-motivater, and a people-person • My weakness is: I empathise too much with my employees, though the job needs to get done • In five years’ time, I’d like to be: A mentor to young and aspiring entrepreneurial people

Workers are needed for simple tasks such as ushering to more complicated roles such as buying a film to suit local markets.

Suhaimi adds that the organisation never stops recruiting.

“If someone writes in about their capabilities we tend to make positions for them, as it is not easy to get good people these days and if one comes along the way, we will create a position,” he says. One of the roles that Cathay has increased is that of operations management.

However, he says that the organisation has difficulty recruiting front-line staff, such as for selling tickets and ushering guests.

“These positions are usually filled by part-timers and they tend come to work for us seasonally because of school commitments.

We have difficulty filling these positions throughout the year.”

Giving room to grow Cathay has a track record of retaining veterans in the organisation, and Suhaimi says that the average tenure of employees is at least five years. In fact, the organisation has an employee affectionately known as the “Storeman” who has worked with Cathay for over 47 years. “He is over 62 years of age and he is still working with us,” Suhaimi says.

Moreover, the company also has other veterans who have worked in the organisation for 20 to 30 years.

Employees in Cathay are given room to grow within the organisation and their concerns are addressed as much as possible. Suhaimi says that when the company hires a person, based on their abilities, they will have a career development plan 14

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mapped out for them. “Once we see the person has the capability to grow, we will work with the person to groom them further to improve on their strengths and work on their weaknesses.”

He says that Cathay discusses with an employee a three to five years career plan and how they will grow after one year in the organisation. “We would give the person further education and enrichment programmes to put them in the position to run the business better. We also allow the person to upgrade themselves and the company sponsors the person for a part-time degree course with a small bond required at the end of the period.”

Cross-lateral training is also provided to sharpen employees’ skills and engage them at work. Suhaimi says that employees work in an environment where they need to multi-task and if employees find their roles boring, the business seeks to engage them by cross-training them in another division, or giving them the opportunity for lateral movement. “For example, if you a marketing manager we could post you to the central division where we operate malls and we will be happy to give adequate training as marketing of malls is different from marketing of cinemas.”

Employees have their say Cathay Organisation has its fair share of HR challenges, including having to cater to the needs of its multigeneration workforce. Suhaimi says that the company has a good mix of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and the latest generation of working age – “Linksters” but Cathay has to constantly change its standard operating procedures (SOPs) to suit its staff.

“Our SOPs have to be changed continuously to suit employees’ needs and wants so that they can join Cathay and build a career with us.” Suhaimi says that Baby Boomers and Generation X employees are prepared to multi-task, and are willing to “stretch” themselves beyond their roles but Generation Y and Linksters are skilled towards one assignment and sometimes are not prepared to take on multi-tasking roles.

In order to address employees’ concerns, the organisation gives them a platform for feedback. Annually, 100 employees are selected to have dialogue sessions with HR to openly provide feedback on what they feel that the company can improve on.

Moreover, Suhaimi says that he and other heads of departments practice an open-door policy so that employees can approach them to share their ideas openly. “My office door is never closed and I believe an open management concept is very important. We like to hear from the people on the ground.”

Suhaimi adds that he meets all the business units once a month or once every quarter in order to listen to their concerns.

Cathay Organisation also gives incentives for employees to come up with innovative ideas that could help improve workplace processes, as well as the bottom-line of the company.

“In the Employee Recognition Programme, when employees put a programme on the table, they receive an X amount (bonus) and when it improves the bottom line, they get a Z amount.”

One of the recent proposals was to help make beds faster with technology for a hotel under the organisation’s holdings.

LEADERS TALK HR

Beyond borders Over recent years, the brand has crossed national borders into the Middle East. In 2007, Cathay Organisation clinched a joint venture deal with Emaar Malls Group LLC in Dubai for a company, Reel Entertainment LLC. The joint venture company opened Dubai’s largest cinema complex at The Dubai Mall and another cineplex at the Dubai Marina Mall.

Though it is an ongoing success story, Suhaimi reflects that at first, when the organisation ventured into the United Arab Emirates, it was mistaken as the national air carrier of Hong Kong. “In Asia, people recognise the name but others might think that we are part of the aviation industry.” Currently, Cathay is operating cinemas on behalf of building owners and developers.

When he took over as CEO, the organisation had just ventured into the Middle East. He says that he was not chosen for the top job because of being a male Muslim but being one “has helped a lot as business people in the Middle East tend to communicate better with me.”

Interestingly, Middle Eastern people look up to Singapore companies as having high productivity and no-nonsense management styles, he adds.

This expansion beyond borders has given opportunities for the organisation to not only extend its brand’s reach but also

help engage employees. Staff at Cathay’s head office are given the opportunity to be based in Dubai from two months to three years, while theatre managers and operations employees can be based there for between two and three months.

The exchange programme was started in the first year of the joint venture deal in Dubai. However, even if there are similarities in the business, there are huge differences in terms of culture, language and climate, says Suhaimi.

“Employees are educated about the culture, language, and dress etiquette, and are also taught to be tolerant of cultural differences. You can’t go in shorts and sleeveless tops and women cannot shake hands with men unless they offer it first. Women should serve women and men serve men,” he explains.

Cathay Organisation still has a bright road ahead, and Suhaimi says that he wants to keep the brand youthful. As such, the organisation has ventured into social media engagement over the past 24 months, enhancing the company’s Facebook, Twitter and online interactive site.

“It is important that Cathay is not seen as an old company but a mature company that is also young, hip and trendy. Youths find us interactive and a good 70% of our audience are aged between 17 to 35.”

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FEATURE

Innovation in HR

CASE STUDY:

Fostering a collaborative workplace Organisations want a collaborative working culture, but not all walk the talk. US company Dyn has taken collaborative culture a bit further with even the CTO working on tasks such as answering midnight phone calls

By Priya de Langen

Infrastructure Almost all organisations try to aim for and developer promote a collaborative working culture, but Dyn has won not all hit the right combination of factors that numerous lead them to achieve it. US based organisation, accolades Dyn (pronounced as ‘dine’) has managed to hit including The all the right notes when it comes to a 2011 Top Small Company collaborative working culture.

Workplaces The Infrastructure-as-a-Service

by Winning organisation’s core philosophy revolves Workplaces and around a collaborative working culture, Inc. Magazine. something that is promoted on a daily basis from the top down. Chris Widner, Director of Culture and Talent Development, Dyn, says: “When you come into our office, one of the first things you’ll notice is the open concept design. Only five employees have offices, due to the nature of their jobs, and the rest of the rooms are conference rooms for groups to use”.

Widner adds that the CEO, Jeremy Hitchcock, gave up his office so that employees could have a company library and a team meeting room. “The rest of the employees have desks instead of cubicles, so our space lends itself to collaboration,” he says.

The organisation also adopts an open and transparent management style. A member of the management team takes six employees from various departments for lunch every Monday. Widner says that this “is an opportunity for employees to ask any question they’d like or to share their own ideas”.

The company also has monthly company meetings and town halls focused on various aspects of the business such as technology and its customers, and information is shared with employees. “When you allow all employees to have this much access to information they naturally ask questions and offer suggestions to projects and ideas outside their departments,” says Widner.

A collaborative working culture was also the way the company started out, as everyone in the organisation wore multiple hats, which required all employees to be involved in different projects, he adds.

The organisation’s culture has helped in retaining and engaging its employees with turnover rates below the industry average. “Employees understand they play a big role in the success of the company, which leads to a sense of shared ownership and pride. By truly being part of the happenings at Dyn, employees are less likely to leave.”

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HR INSIDER

Maxis

Keeping talent at home Maxis has heart Founded on a principle of service to the Malaysian community, telecommunications provider Maxis has been active in helping the country bridge the digital divide between the haves and havenots. Cyberkids, its flagship community programme providing ICT training to more than 8,500 students and teachers in over 1,500 schools, is now entering its 10th year.

Given its effectiveness, the Maxis Cyberkids Camp has been showcased at the Southeast Asia level. In conjunction with the 10th Anniversary of the programme this year, Maxis will be extending its reach to a special needs school for hearingchallenged children, SPKK Selangor.

Maxis has also been expanding network coverage and access to underserved communities in geographically remote areas and through the community broadband centres that have been set up.

Underscoring all these initiatives is a structured employee volunteerism programme which allows employees to participate in related activities, to make a meaningful contribution to the communities around them.

“Employee volunteerism is very much part of the talent development programme at Maxis. (It aims) to instil a caring spirit within our employees and to encourage a sense of responsibility and teamwork,” says Kala Kularajah Sundram, Head of Talent and Organisation Development – Talent Office, Maxis Berhad.

According to the World Bank, the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad has tripled in the past two decades.

Kala Kularajah Sundram, Head of Talent and Organisation Development with Maxis Berhad’s Talent Office, shares the telecommunication giant’s unique emphasis on nurturing local talent to build a sustainable talent pipeline, furthering the country’s economic transformation in the process

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey Business leaders around the world continue to be challenged by trade-off decisions between investing in the business and investing in the organisation. As business volatility and uncertainty trickles into Southeast Asian markets like Malaysia – the bias is trending towards the former.

“Businesses need to deliver quick results – so the focus is on hiring people for the immediate need (rather than) promoting from within and working with the talent to close the learning gap,” says Kala Kularajah Sundram, Head of Talent and Organisation Development – Talent Office, Maxis Berhad.

“Industries like ours are experiencing tremendous change – the need for specialised skills forces us to hire external resources as much as we would like to build from within,” says Kala. “Interestingly we are seeing an emergence of a pool of senior resources with these specialised skills who prefer short-term contract roles versus any form of a career.”

“They are also less concerned with reporting lines and titles. This allows for less displacement of the local and home-grown talent,” she adds.

Corporate and employee culture High performance and a service focus form part of the corporate culture at Maxis. Employee engagement is emphasised to ensure high commitment to the success of the organisation and a positive work environment.

The telecommunications giant takes corporate culture seriously, having recently set up a dedicated department for its development. “We appointed Halimah Abdullah as our new head of corporate culture in January this year,” says Kala.

“She is tasked with working together with executives and the senior leadership team to reinforce a consistent corporate culture throughout the ISSUE 12.11

At a glance Maxis • Total number of staff: 3,500 (approx.)

• Size of HR & talent team: 29 HR + 26 Talent = 55 • Key HR focus areas: Dual priorities – institutional building and being opportunistic

HRMASIA.COM 19

HR INSIDER

Maxis Who’s who in HR Kala Kularajah Sundram Head of Talent and Organisation, Maxis

Malaysia has been gauged the

second

most competitive economy in the ASEAN region Source: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report (2011 – 2012)

Susan Gleave

Head of Maxis Academy & Talent Management

Halimah Bt Abdullah

Head of Corporate Culture

All senior leaders at Maxis have a

dedicated external executive coach that works with them on a personal executive development plan

Hybrid talent management model Create a talent competitive advantage

Institutional building

Balance trade offs

• Corporate culture – nurting & engaging • Succession pipeline – significant proportion homegrown • HR/Talent – team, systems and policies of global standards • HR/Talent metrics – vigilant monitoring & pre-emptive actions

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• Corporate culture – performance & review bias • Sustain Maxis permium employer brand • Preserve the international/local talent mix • Acquire specialized skils not readily acailble locally • Differentiate on career development prospects

organisation, aligned with the company’s vision, brand and values,” she adds.

A variety of programmes have been put in place to support these objectives and make them sustainable.

Cross-functional initiatives and ‘going-beyond-thescope-of-work’ are encouraged for better collaboration across Maxis’ businesses. As part of this philosophy, the Corporate Culture department recently organised an employee flash mob in various parts of Kuala Lumpur, helping to promote the new Hotlink SIM Pack. Over 100 staff participated in the lunchtime event.

“This activity was a way to create public awareness about the new product and for employees to be involved in business plans, ultimately supporting and contributing to business success,” says Kala. “It was aired on national TV and was very well received by the employees.”

Other ways to support the business include engaging employees in customer-related programs such as product testing and mystery shopping.

Further initiatives this year have included Town Hall sessions, the Maxis “Make a Difference” recognition programme, coffee sessions with senior leadership team members, a Family Day event, and employee recreation physical space revamps, says Kala.

Overcoming talent issues Corporations in Malaysia constantly need quality talent to drive the country’s national economic transformation programme (ETP). “We have to compete with national projects for specialised skills, especially in the field of engineering and project management,” says Kala.

In this respect, the formation of TalentCorp Malaysia is testament to the close partnership between industry and government. The body’s mandate includes providing incentives to bring skilled Malaysians back from overseas and also building other channels to create a smooth supply of deployable talent in specific vocational areas.

One of the programmes Maxis participates in is the Scholarship Talent and Retention scheme (STAR). This programme enables Public Service Department scholars to serve their scholarship bond in the private sector.

Maxis was selected as one of the STAR employers, as the organisation and the telecommunications industry at large contribute directly to the Malaysia ETP. TalentCorp also makes it easier to procure employment and resident passes for expatriate talent.

The Residence Pass – Talent (RP-T) was introduced in April 2011. With Malaysia aiming to be a high income economy by 2020, it envisages the creation of three million jobs across the 12 national key economic areas (including the oil and gas, financial services, education, communications, and tourism sectors. This initiative thus selectively targets qualified foreign talents to repatriate to Malaysia.

HR INSIDER

To strengthen “Through close collaboration with business and Talent Corp and Malaysian management Immigration, we have endeavoured skills in the on a speedy process of Permanent senior leadership Resident and Resident Pass team succession applications for foreign talents in the pool, Maxis runs cohorts of leaders Maxis Group,” says Kala. through a five-day The Career Fair Incentive (CFI) is yet Telecom minianother TalentCorp initiative that has MBA programme helped to bridge the gap between local employers and talents abroad. With many Targeted senior attractive career opportunities to offer staff who are talents, Maxis is able to participate in leading critical business overseas and local career fairs at a functions are minimum cost. The organisation is sent for advanced entitled to double tax deductions on management expenses incurred (including travelprogrammes such related, and printing costs) when as those at participating in TalentCorp-endorsed Stanford and Harvard career fairs.

Maxis is also able to tap on graduate talent through TalentCorp’s Structured Internship Programme (SIP). The SIP is a collaborative effort that encourages companies to provide a highquality, practical learning experience through internships to students from local public and private institutions of higher education. It aims to prepare local graduates for relevant work in specific industries, making them job-ready on graduation.

“We received TalentCorp’s endorsement of the Maxis Internship Programme, which renders Maxis eligible for double tax deduction on monthly allowances paid to our Malaysian interns from local universities,” says Kala.

Since its official start in 2006, Maxis has nurtured more than 400 interns.

“Companies such as ours and others have indeed greatly benefited from working with TalentCorp,” says Kala.

Counselling careers Career maps have been built for most of the functions within Malaysian telecommunications provider Maxis. However, the company felt the deeper need to provide for specific career counselling and conversations with staff.

“With this in mind, we started the year with the first cohort of career guides, nominated and trained through a 10-day intensive skills training course in career counselling skills,” says Kala Kularajah Sundram, Head of Talent & Organisation Development – Talent Office, Maxis Berhad.

“We have had an overwhelming number of people signing up for the sessions,” she adds.

The pioneer batch of career counsellors have since completed their clinics with a pilot group and will now formally provide their services, managed through a web portal.

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Performance & Productivity Special • Reaching the peak • Creating buzz at the workplace • Spicing it up with comp & ben • Hooking results through high-performance coaching • Raising productivity in the service sector

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COVER STORY

Performance and Productivity Special

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COVER STORY

Reaching

THE PEAK Improving employee productivity is one of today’s major HR imperatives.

In this special issue, HRM looks at a number of initiatives that are adding to the bottom lines of organisations in Singapore and beyond

By Priya de Langen

Organisations understand the need to keep their employees performing at their maximum in order to achieve good business results. However, maintaining high levels of productivity is no easy feat. The rights tools, as well as optimal working environments, are necessary for this to happen.

Employers say these are essential components for raising productivity levels, in order to achieve healthy bottom lines. Gloria Chin, director of HR for the National Environment Agency (NEA), says that “it is critical for NEA to continually seek ways to improve its work processes to achieve higher productivity, quality service and operational excellence, so that all Singaporeans continue to enjoy clean air, land and water, as well as a high standard of public health”.

Agoda, an online hotel reservations company has been seeing a great deal of growth recently, starting from a small company to having over 1,000 employees and operating in over 20 countries today. Peter Allen, Vice President, HR and Organisation Development, Agoda, says: success like this generates very high

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COVER STORY

Performance and Productivity Special “At Bayer, we believe that open and candid feedback is the basis for building trust between a manager and their employee, and right across the teams” – JOANNA YEO, HEAD OF HR, BAYER HEALTHCARE, ASIA-PACIFIC expectations of performance. “Our targets are extremely ambitious,” he notes. “We also know that there’s a lot of room to grow in our markets. In addition, our industry is extremely competitive.”

Keeping productive every day Employers are improving workplace practices in all aspects of the business so that employees can perform at their maximum in their different functions. Chin of NEA says that the organisation has different functional committees to promote productivity initiatives NEA-wide and on day-today operational levels.

The organisation also has platforms that allow employees to give suggestions to improve work processes. “The (NEA’s) MyiDeas (staff suggestion scheme) and Work Improvement Teams (WITs) systems are in place to encourage staff to submit and implement innovative ideas and projects that improve work processes and thereby increase productivity,” says Chin.

NEA has also introduced a few projects to improve performance and productivity levels company-wide. The “Mobile Mozzie Microscope”, for example, has helped to reduce the time taken for NEA professionals to identify mosquito larva through a mobile microscope. It has resulted in an estimated productivity gain of 46%, says Chin.

Another improvement is in the external recruitment process area – NEA has introduced the use of iPads for interviews. This has resulted in a

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50% saving in processing time, automating the computation in the Interview Assessment Form (32% saving in processing time) and improving the Hiring Report format (50% saving in processing time).

Agoda too has improved its work processes alongside introducing new ways for improved performance with positive results in its productivity levels. A good orientation programme is critical for any business and a new orientation programme was rolled out to staff in the Bangkok headquarters recently. It has received great feedback, so much so that the company will be introducing it to other offices in the near future.

“Even though the programme is new, surveys give over 90% agreement to such statements as ‘the programme increased my enthusiasm for working at Agoda’ and ‘the programme increased my sense of connection with departments, people, and offices across the company,” says Allen.

Technical learning and development are also critical in Agoda and the organisation puts in a lot of thought to developing its own educational software. “The Hotels team does a lot of technical learning and development. We teach both interpersonal skills (the Hotels team is in large part a sales function) and technical skills – we have a lot of proprietary systems we have developed to manage our inventory. Team members need to be expert at using these themselves and help our hotels to use them, too,” he adds.

Another global organisation that is fostering a high performance culture is Bayer HealthCare. Joanna Yeo, Head of HR, Bayer HealthCare in Asia-Pacific, says the leadership is focused on building an open and honest feedback culture, and driving stronger performance differentiation and recognition.

The organisation also conducts yearly performance calibration sessions across all businesses each year, with the aim of differentiating employee performance. Yeo says that through this process, top performers have been given due recognition – both in terms of monetary and non-monetary rewards. Development plans have also been put in place to support employees with need for performance improvement.

Bayer HealthCare operates four divisions – Animal Care, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals – and this has also presented opportunities to better leverage organisational resources through driving cross-divisional synergies. To ensure that the organisation remains current and is adaptive to industry trends, the Pharmaceuticals division, for instance, also uses Organisational Excellence principles such as span of

COVER STORY

control, number of layers and back to front office ratios to ensure that the workforce is optimally organised and resourced.

“At the end of the day though, it all boils down to employee engagement – the willingness of an employee to go the extra mile for the business,” says Yeo. The organisation tracks engagement levels through its annual employee survey, which covers different categories including engagement, company culture, management, workload and resources and retention and overall satisfaction. The results are a useful gauge of how our employees are doing and there is strong focus on survey follow-up led by top management. “By improving engagement levels, we have more productive employees and this also helps our attrition rates to stay at a healthy level,” Yeo concludes.

Leaders make a difference Improvement in workplace processes are not the ‘be all and end all’ solution to increasing performance and productivity in organisations.

Leaders have to play their part and help spearhead (positive) changes in order to make a significant impact.

NEA managers ensure they lead the productivity in a top-down manner. “In NEA, senior management is actively involved in leading the various productivity-related committees. Our CEO chairs a Productivity Steering Committee which oversees resource optimisation, sets overall productivity goals, and acts as a platform to review and endorse initiatives,” says Chin.

Nudge for productivity The Singapore government announced in its 2012 Budget that it is allocating S$2 billion to the National Productivity Fund. The Fund’s budget will be distributed to various initiatives such as the enhancement of the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) Scheme, enhanced training support for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and grants to support SME training and productivity.

Under the PIC Scheme, businesses will be given more cash upfront for their investments, through a 60% cash payout enhancement of up to S$100,000 of firms’ productivity and innovation expenditures. Companies can claim PIC benefits on their in-house training not certified by Singapore Workforce Development Agency or Institute of Technical Education, of up to S$10,000 a year.

Under the enhanced training support for SMEs, a 90% course subsidy will be given for SMEs who upgrade their workers through courses certified by WDA and academic Continuing Education and Training programmes, covering almost the full cost of training. The Government will also increase the absentee payroll cap from S$4.50 to S$7.50 an hour. In addition, similar training benefits will be provided to self-employed persons such as taxi drivers and freelancers.

The grants to support SME Training and Productivity allows an increased subsidy rate for capability development in SMEs from 50% to 70% for the next three years under schemes managed by Spring Singapore and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

COVER STORY

Performance and Productivity Special At the operational level, the director of the Corporate Services and Development division chairs the quarterly Productivity Working Committee, which focuses on day-to-day operational productivity improvement projects across NEA,” she adds.

Management at Agoda ensures that it is the one to spearhead a performance culture, and ultimately productivity. The organisation’s senior management is highly enthusiastic and deeply involved. The CEO and his direct reports have recently developed the ‘Agoda Leadership Characteristics’ and articulated the qualities that make up the ‘Agoda DNA’. “These are serving as the basis of our recruiting, our evaluations, our talent mapping, and our other people processes,” explains Allen. “Our goal is to create a scalable, integrated, self-reinforcing, self-healing people system that propels the company forward.”

“At Bayer, we believe that open and candid feedback is the basis for building trust between a manager and their employee, and right across the teams,” says Yeo. “And trust is the critical element in building a high performance culture.” All people managers at Bayer are measured, as part of their performance appraisal, on their ability to provide clear, candid and timely feedback to their direct reports. The company takes this very seriously and has even developed a training programme for managers called “Enhancing Performance and Feedback Culture” to help hone their skills in this regard.

Recognising efforts Recognising and rewarding contributions of employees can help businesses over the long-term, improving performance levels throughout the organisation. In the NEA, workers are given a chance to contribute their ideas for the organisation, and they are recognised and even rewarded for their efforts.

The organisation gives out three main awards for innovation and productivity-related Recognising work; projects are also and rewarding nominated for international contributions of employees can awards. One of the projects help businesses that was nominated and won over the longawards was Operation term, improving Monster Annihilation, performance Control and Enforcement levels throughout (MACE), an anime online the organisation

Redesigning jobs at NEA The National Environment Agency (NEA) has various initiatives to improve performance and productivity; one of the most effective strategies is job redesigning.

“Job redesign is one of our key HR strategies to enhance workforce effectiveness and create opportunities for career growth and upgrading for our staff,” says Gloria Chin, director of HR for the NEA. She says that 19% of the NEA workforce is formed by daily-rated employees (DREs) who have only primary or no education, with more than half from this group within the age range of 51 to 60 years old.

In 2010, the organisation completed a job redesign project (with the support of the Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers and e2i Singapore) for 600 sanitation and vector control employees within the NEA. This resulted in “better career advancement, upgraded skills and improved productivity,” Chin said. “Additionally, customised courses were drawn up to help upgrade the skills of these employees who underwent more than 100 hours of training on literacy, personal effectiveness and communication to help them be effective in their new role.”

The 600 staff were re-designated as Environment Support Assistants (ESAs). In addition, a supervisory position, Higher Environment Support Assistant (HESA) was introduced to enhance the ESAs career progression.

In 2011, the NEA conducted another job redesign project for clerical support officers (CSOs). About 90% of the CSOs have ‘O-Level education and below, and almost half of this group are more than 51 years of age. “Under the project, CSOs receive full sponsorship for part-time diploma studies or the Career Readiness Certificate qualification and could opt into the NEA Management Support (NMS) scheme to enjoy better salaries and career advancement,” says Chin.

role-playing gaming platform on anti-dengue efforts. It won the Silver award for Best PS21 Project for its creative use of video games to engage students and youth, as well as the Distinguished Silver Award at the International Convention on Quality Control Circles in 2011.

The campaign design and storyline were conceptualised in-house, resulting in significant cost savings of S$80,000 to S$100,000, says Chin.

“To further inculcate the importance of innovations and productivity to staff, individual contributions to MyiDeas and WITs are also taken into account in staff performance appraisals and cash rewards are given to employees for contributing.”

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Z Z U B CREATING

E C A L P K R O W AT THE

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Engaging employees is essential for organisations to maintain a productive workplace. Experts tell HRM that organisations need to take a holistic approach, from giving staff a platform for their say to engaging activities to motivate workers

By Priya de Langen

The book The Enemy of Engagement – Put an End to Workplace Frustration – and Get the Most from Your Employees, says that “engagement involves performing above and beyond what’s expected. In that sense, engagement holds out to organisational leaders the prospect of increasing productivity.”

As the management bible highlights, businesses understand the need to engage their employees, and are looking to introduce effective workplace processes that actively allows their inputs. Mercer’s What’s Working Survey, revealed that non-financial factors play a prominent role in influencing employee motivation and engagement. Workers worldwide say that being treated with respect is the most important factor, followed by work-life balance, type of work, quality of co-workers, and the quality of leadership.

“Employee engagement reflects the total work experience, and a big part of it is how you are treated, what kind of work you do and how you feel about your co-workers, bosses and the general work environment,” said Colleen O’Neill, a Senior Partner at Mercer and the firm’s Talent Leader in the US and Canada.

She added that financial factors such as pay and benefits are a vital part of the employment deal but other factors also need to be considered. “When financial resources are limited, organisations can leverage these non-financial factors to effectively boost employee commitment and productivity.”

hoping that employees will become motivated – it is about a holistic approach from workplace processes to engaging activities that motivate employees.

Shweta Shukla, HR lead for India, Facebook, says that her organisation considers this holistic approach towards employee engagement a vital part of business. “It’s a combination of great work, freedom to take risks, ability to focus on strengths, career and coaching support, a creative workspace, and engagement activities where people can bond with each other and engage their personal interests,” she says.

Many organisations have put in specific workplace processes to promote workplace engagement that will motivate employees at work and annual engagement surveys are conducted to keep track of these levels in the company as well as find out if there is more room for improvement in certain areas of the business.

“As a fast growing business, employee retention is crucial, and employee engagement is the best way to

Engagement Companies understand this need to keep their employees motivated and engaged in order to be productive. Engagement for organisations is far from throwing a team building activity once a month and ISSUE 12.11

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Performance and Productivity Special reduce staff turnover – even more so when the majority of the team is made up of restless Generation Ys,” says Amy Wright, partner at PR firm AKA Asia.

Wright says that the firm engages its team in various ways through on-the-job coaching and more formal training, team building activities, by creating an inspiring working environment, and perks such as an extra day off for a team member’s birthday.

The organisation also provides staff with objectives so staff ’s personal goals and ambitions can be tracked and that the company can help them succeed. Also, “we carry out ‘disc’ analysis for each employee to assess their working style – this tool helps the team to understand their personality traits and those of the team around them in relation to specific tasks.”

Engage your employees One size does not fit all and businesses know that different types of workers need different ways of handling and motivating. Here are some tips to find out which category your employees fall under • The Engaged – a group of employees who are fully engaged and have their personal and organisational interests aligned. They contribute to the success of the organisation and derive great satisfaction from work.

• Almost Engaged – a critical group that are among high performing employees in the organisation and are reasonably satisfied with their work. Organisations need to invest in them as they are highly employable and more likely to be lured away, and they have the shortest distance to travel to reach full engagement • Honeymooners and Hamsters – Honeymooners are new to the organisation and have yet to find their stride and understand how they can best contribute.

It should be a priority to move them out of this area so that they can reach their full potential and productivity. Hamsters may be working hard but are just spinning the wheels, working on non-essential tasks and contributing little to the organisation. If organisations do not deal with them, other employees will have to work harder and may grow resentful • Crash and Burners – Disillusioned and potentially exhausted, these employees aren’t achieving their personal definition of success and satisfaction. They can be vocal about executives making bad decisions or colleagues not pulling their weight. They may leave or take a breather and work less hard • The Disengaged – This group of employees are the most disconnected from organisational priorities, feel underutilised and clearly not getting what they want from work. They are likely to be sceptical and can indulge in contagious negativity. If they can’t be coached or aligned to higher levels of engagement, their exit benefits everyone, including them Source: Employee Engagement Report 2011, BlessingWhite Inc.

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Wright adds that besides reviewing these goals every six months, the partners have “a general chat to check that (each staff member) is happy, engaged and motivated – any problems are addressed and we work together to look for solutions.”

Involve employees Besides improving workplace practices, businesses are hosting corporate activities, from black-tie events to teambuilding programmes, as ways to motivate their employees and promote teamwork.

Shukla says: “At Facebook we let our culture lead the way for open dialogue and feedback. We create an environment where great ideas are respected and employees have freedom to innovate. The opportunity to learn and grow while having fun is intrinsic to how we work.”

The organisation has a wide variety of activities planned such as an Annual Game day, problem-solving ‘Hackathons’ that to generate ideas in a fun environment (rumour has it that Facebook’s ‘Like’ tool was conceived during one of these), industry leader discussions, and several other interest activities.

Shukla however explains that introducing activities alone is not enough, as engagement needs to be built into the organisation. “A plain programmatic approach towards creating a buzz is not sustainable; it has to be built into how we function as an organisation and has to mirror our company values of being bold, being open and building trust. We like to call these our ‘culture building tools’,” she says.

Facebook India’s diversity team also ran a “Women in Timeline” event. Employees were requested to invite a woman who had had a significant impact on their lives to this event and do a mini-story session.

“This event was aimed at celebrating the women in our lives and how they have impacted our personal and professional journey. Some truly inspirational stories and great learnings were shared,” says Shukla.

Engagement levels for some organisations start from the basics and even seating arrangement play a part in this. AKA Asia definitely takes this into account. “Our office is deliberately open-plan to promote a lively and bustling atmosphere. We want the team to feel confident and comfortable with each other whether they’re selling-in to media on the phones, negotiating with suppliers or taking part in office banter,” says Wright.

The organisation also has a “Milkshake Monday” tradition; milkshakes for every staff on the last Monday of every month. According to Wright, “it helps prevent the Monday blues while waiting for your pay cheque.” The company also has a social committee that arranges for a monthly social event in addition to ad-hoc celebrations. Employees in the

FEATURE

Performance and Productivity Special team go for dinners, cocktail nights, musicals and even played laser tag at East Coast Park (“nothing like a good game of capture the flag to blow off steam” says Wright).

However, engagement and motivation does not end with the team activities that the company organises.

Wright says that “we make a point of securing work that our team is interested in and will be passionate about.” She explains that it is not just about the brands but about the clients and if the opportunity is not suited for the team, they are not afraid to turn it down.

“It’s about retention and long-term growth of our business with happiness at the core.”

Give a say Engaging employees is not just about throwing the occasional team activity and hoping that employees become motivated after a single session of beach volleyball – companies need to know if the various avenues of motivation are working. Experts say that an increasing number of employers are giving their workers a platform to say what can be improved about the business.

Shukla, of Facebook India, says that employees in the company drive most of the engagement activities.

“Many of our events are conceptualised by our employees and we make sure that whatever we do is inclusive and in line with the company values.” She adds that the organisation is a proponent of “crowdsourcing” and actively uses the Facebook platform to solicit thoughts, ideas and suggestions. “The power of sharing and staying connected through Facebook is a big leverage for us.”

Similarly in AKA Asia, events are planned, managed and executed by the team and all employees actively take part in the discussions. The firm also has an annual planning day, says Wright, during which the team shares the business successes and challenges that it had over the previous year as well as discusses targets that involve the entire team for the business to move forward.

“This is not simply lip-service – we take on board feedback and requests and do our best to realise them, so long as they’re within reason. We also carve up responsibilities after to ensure the various action streams are implemented,” says Wright.

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SPICING

UP

your Comp & Ben for all tastes

Cloves, cardamoms, turmeric, fennel – all these spices and more come together to lend different dishes their unique flavours.

In the same way, should HR proactively consider generational differences when designing the perfect rewards programme for an employee? HRM finds out if ‘generational rewards’ are the way to go

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey

Differences in the perception of work and rewards amongst different generations of employees may have significant implications on base salaries, pay increases, incentives and benefits. To retain and motivate their top performers, organisations need to engage their employees via more methods than just providing a base salary, annual increments and some flexi-benefits.

In essence, people’s expectations and aspirations are a continuum – from modest to those right out in the stratosphere, says Kamal Kant, part-time lecturer in Management and Employment Relations at Nanyang Technological University and SIM Global Education.

“Designing compensation and benefits packages needs to take cognisance of the employee profile you seek and your organisation to absorb them into its culture,” he says.

“There is where interviews, orientation and acculturation to the organisation matters.”

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Performance and Productivity Special also link it to the type of traits and characteristics from employees they seek in their business.

“If you are a large organisation, you need the full spectrum, but if you are small company limited by budget or focusing on a niche market, you cannot have it all,” says Kant. “Be selective according to your business.”

CASE STUDY

ANZ Direct ANZ Direct is a business unit of the ANZ Banking Group which provides the channels for all of its customer contact, from inbound customer service and new product sales all the way through to online support.

In 2009, ANZ Direct selected Power2Motivate to provide its employee reward and recognition programme. The transition to Power2Motivate’s solution presented several challenges, the biggest being the existence of an established service and the length of time it had been in place.

Key drivers of programme • Tiered awards – A programme which allowed management to reward team members on a tiered system.

These awards range in value from $25 to $300 and all encompass ANZ values, ensuring easy interpretation by team members.

• Empowerment – The ability for team leaders to recognise employees easily and timely; ensuring that the moment an employee demonstrates required behaviours they are rewarded.

Program structure • Enhanced product offering – Employees are not rewarded with just movie tickets and gift vouchers, but with points they can redeem on thousands of reward items, giving freedom of choice.

• Keeping the programme alive – ANZ Direct employees are taken through the recognition programme during induction, followed by yearly refresher training courses on reward and recognition conducted by Power2Motivate.

The regular circulation of screens, posters and newsletters are also used to effectively promote the programme.

Results: • 73% of employees have received an award • 88% of employees have used the system since the launch • 40,671,444 points have been issued through the ANZ Direct programme • 5,724 awards have been issued

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Demands of different generations

The majority of employers have at least four generations of workers, and yet

71%

do not consider generational differences when making reward design decisions

Source: 2008 WorldatWork survey

Different people want different things. Some of this is generational, while other variances are linked to factors such as years of service, gender and nationality (though increasingly less so).

“For instance, Generation X employees may have a stronger preference for fixed pay versus variable pay, as compared to Generation Y staff,” says Paul Simons, Global Head of Rewards – Consumer Bank, Standard Chartered.

Generation Y workers might be prepared to work for an organisation for less money if they were to receive regular reward and recognition for the work they have undertaken, or are given the opportunity to work more flexible hours and provided a training schedule for the coming 12 months,” says Mark Robinson, General Manager, Power2Motivate Asia-Pacific.

While he’s cautious about generalising, Simons finds that Generation Y workers want more immediacy of feedback on performance as well as rewards. “They also want more frequent and rapid career development,” he says.

“Generation X staff may have families, so they might require more comprehensive health insurance, extra time off to look after school-going children during holiday periods, and regular rewards and recognition, showing that they are valuable to the organisation,” he adds. “A base salary no longer provides the total benefits that an employee wants to receive from employment.”

The different eras and environments employees grew up in also influence their behavioural patterns and attitudes.

In general, older employees who grew up in the ‘poorer’ post mid-20th century are willing to make adjustments and adaptations more readily.

“The older group brings more maturity, discipline and, increasingly, an attitude to keep up with the times through retraining and learning,” says Kant.

On the other hand, the younger cohort who are a product of the affluent 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century have bigger expectations and aspirations. This is expected as they have fresh aspirations for ‘dream-jobs’ and ‘dream remuneration’, sometimes created by rhetoric or media hype, or employers themselves by enticinglycrafted job advertisements.

Also, they are better-educated, more technology-savvy and on the ball – hitting the road running at ‘high-speed’, adds Kant.

Ultimately, HR needs to understand the unique needs of each generation and reward them accordingly. “I think the end point has to be more flexibility in what we offer employees,” says Simons.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Tailored rewards Rewards for Generation Y staff are best geared towards technology and gadgets. “They like to redeem items that can be utilised in a digital environment – mobile phones, tablets, MP3 devices, music downloads, and movie tickets,” says Robinson.

Generation X employees are also looking for items that are relevant to their day-to-day lives. Home appliances, baby products and children’s toys are most highly redeemed through Power2Motivate’s incentive programmes; although TVs and computer products also get regularly redeemed by this group of workers.

“This group has the highest expectations, especially of family-friendly intangibles such as childcare support and time-off for family ‘emergencies’,” says Kant. “Also do not discount the singles. Some are saving to get married and start a home while others have the burden of elderly parents with medical issues – treatment and medication are not cheap.”

Baby Boomers tend to save their reward points for large purchases such fridges and washing machines, or travelrelated products.

As they grew up in a time of fast population growth and tough competition for plumb roles, Baby Boomers prefer (or more readily accept) performance differentiation and equity-based rewards.

“They want to share in the success they helped create,” says Simons. “As they get older, sabbaticals become important – this is, of course, the generation that changed the world.”

Compensation and benefits managers and directors therefore have a tough job balancing people needs and organisational needs. Having the right people at the right price to maintain company competitiveness is important, says Kant.

“Good sound compensation and benefits professionals can offer global advice and guidance, both local and international,” he adds. “This is one area in HR where if you can afford it, you should try not to use the do-ityourself method but rather, get good experienced folk on board or as advisors.”

Designing rewards programmes While a few years ago, WorldatWork found most companies weren’t thinking about generational differences in the workforce as an important factor when designing total rewards programmes and plans, things are now changing.

Standard Chartered, for instance, is very aware of the importance of considering the needs of a multigenerational workforce when designing, administering and communicating total rewards programmes.

“Our internal research and collaboration on programmes such as Future of Work become lenses through which to look at reward proposals and plans,” says Simons.

Multinational corporations generally have had high exposure to the overall concept of Total Rewards. This enables them to understand the processes involved in developing and implementing a Total Rewards plan into the working environment.

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Performance and Productivity Special CASESTUDY

Standard Chartered Standard Chartered has broadened its approach to what it delivers as well as how it does so, in response to the diverse needs of its multigenerational workforce.

“We’ve introduced flexible working policies (such as working from home, part time working and flexible hours) across our top markets,” says Paul Simons, Global Head of Reward – Consumer Bank, Standard Chartered.

“We also have a much stronger emphasis on well-being in the broadest sense and we think this will become even more important in the future,” he adds.

Organisationally, the Bank is spending more time building insights into its different groups of employees so that HR can know what they really want. Simons personally predicts the bank will be offering more flexible rewards in the future.

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“Yes, there are local idiosyncrasies, but generally, regardless of the nationality of the people involved, the overall understanding of what determines a Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y (worker) is still relevant,” says Robinson.

Progressive local organisations, on the other hand, have studied what the international businesses have been undertaking and implementing the same strategies with success.

“They realise that to compete on a level playing field, they also need to recognise that catering to the differing generations of their workers determines the success of their organisation and the retention of high-valued employees,” Robinson explains.

Traditional local organisations, whilst still successful, are starting to find it harder to compete for and retain high performers. This is because there is an underlying mentality in certain circumstances that suggests; “I am giving them a job and paying them a good salary, why do I need to then reward them for doing their job?”

“While many organisations do deem it to be important to look at generational differences when developing a total rewards programme, there are many organisations that do not fully understand the future importance of implementing a comprehensive total rewards offer,” says Robinson.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Performance and Productivity Special

Hooking High-performance coaching allows employees to take their skill sets to the next-level, by empowering them to diagnose business situations, propose solutions and motivate others.

HRM weighs in on its relevance to new managers and how HR can measure its effectiveness

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam

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RESULT S Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day but teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime, goes the old proverb. This is the main premise of high-performance coaching, where instead of providing new knowledge and skills to employees, the coach helps them use their established skills more effectively.

“High-performance coaching is aimed at improving the coachee’s ability to achieve work-related goals such as specific metric-based organisational outcomes,” says Wade Azmy, CEO of Pharos Coaching. It involves the articulation of desired levels of performance and pathways to achieve those goals, he says.

A high-performance work culture grows from employees feeling satisfaction and growth in their roles, says Amanda Moody, Assistant Director, Professional Development Centre, British Council, Singapore.

“Solid relationships between managers and their employees help promote motivation, feelings of well-being and connection. Coaching is an excellent tool to develop these qualities.”

According to Moody, coaching encourages managers to work in a closer and more connected way with employees and to engage in conversations with their staff about the specific aspects of their work. For example, it enables managers to find out what their employees want to learn in their current roles, what issues or difficulties they are experiencing, and what areas they would like to grow and develop in, she explains.

Professor Richard Arvey, Head of the Department of Management and Organisation, NUS Business School, concurs. “A coach can also provide feedback in terms of the kinds of priorities that are involved, including the time management skills of an employee, the communication skills of the employee, and also the kinds of attitudes held by the employee that might hinder work performance.”

Core coaching skills • Goal setting and alignment • Understanding and handling change • Ability to apply cognitive and behavioural approaches to facilitate performance enhancements • Self-regulation and development of will power • Solution-focused approach • Reflective skills Source: Pharos Coaching

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Performance and Productivity Special New managers Training in high-performance coaching is particularly useful for new managers trying to find their bearings in an organisation. It starts them off with the correct tools and methods to develop and extend their interpersonal skills, and their ability to work with others, says Moody.

At coaching courses offered by the British Council, new managers practice questioning skills to help their employees define their goals, clarify their current reality, generate options, as well as identify barriers to their goals. “We encourage participants to practice their coaching technique with managers from other companies.”

High-performance coaching also enables managers to pick up a host of other skills, like learning how to react to difficult situations, change management, and risk assessment. Overall, they improve their strategic thinking skills in relation to business issues, says Wade from Pharos Coaching, which conducts joint programmes on coaching and leadership with SIM Professional Development.

Once a new manager becomes an effective coach, he or she can help employees become empowered by respecting their knowledge and capacity, as well as reminding them of their strengths and affirming their ability to think for themselves. “It is important that the coach resists the urge to prescribe what or how to do something, but rather draws upon the thinking of the employee to generate solutions and understand their choices and the consequences of their behaviour,” says Moody.

Measuring effectiveness As with any learning and development initiative, HR needs to be able to show the return on investment (ROI) of its coaching programmes.

Coaching involves a personal relationship between the coach and the employee and therefore it is important that the employee feels empowered and supported in their work, says Moody. “The employee should also respect their coach and want to learn from their coach.”

According to Moody, regular informal dialogue with the employee and the coach is a useful method to gauge the effectiveness and satisfaction of the relationship. “In addition, collecting some written feedback from both the coach and the employee with specific focus questions is an opportunity for the coach and the employee to reflect on the quality and success of their relationship and the completion of agreed goals.”

HR can also conduct skills and competencies assessments, observe behavioural changes, use organisational metrics and trend analyses, and conduct benefit-cost analysis to measure results, says Wade.

Barriers to successful coaching Coaches should avoid the following pitfalls: • Fixing problems for employees • Micro-coaching experienced employees • Not monitoring the coaching goals of new employees • Not explaining what coaching is, how it works and clarifying roles with the employee • Doing the work for the employee • Not providing positive and critical feedback • Agreeing on coaching goals which are not stretched enough – too easy or too far • Instructing the coachee what to do, rather than involving them in the solution and process • Ignoring incomplete goals • Confusing the roles of mentor, counsellor and coach • Not listening to the employee for understanding • Asking only closed questions • Talking more than the employee during the coaching conversation • Not allowing time for the coaching process • Confusing coaching, counselling and mentoring methods Source: British Council Singapore

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Performance and Productivity Special

Boosting service The service sector is constantly evolving its procedures to maintain and improve productivity levels. HRM speaks to some of the sector’s leading organisations on some of the innovations they have taken

By Priya de Langen

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Performance and Productivity Special Organisations across the economy are constantly looking for ways to improve their performance and productivity. Among the strategies currently most in favour are improving their workflow processes, and providing specialist training to employees.

For businesses in the service sector, productivity is a particularly important goal. With rising wages, and greater competition among the mostly small to medium enterprises that make it up, getting more output from both physical and human resources is likely to be a vital challenge going into the 2013. It’s little wonder then that many organisations in this sector are taking the time now to update their processes and invest in their existing talent.

The Singapore government is also playing its part.

It is providing funds to help with employee training and innovation schemes, such as through the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme and the National Productivity Fund. But employers in this sector still need to invest their own time and money into developing their staff and processes.

Training in-progress at Crowne Plaza Changi

Improving processes The Science Centre Singapore is one business that is making improvements to its processes, in order to increase both productivity and performance. Wendy Cheong, the Science Centre Singapore’s director of HR, says the organisation constantly reviews its processes to ensure productivity improvements and a happy workforce. Its latest developments have centered on making common HR tasks more efficient, leaving staff the time and space to do what they do best – top of the line customer service.

“Our HR has had computerised processes on claims, performance appraisals, and training administration since 2010,” she said. “This has helped the Centre cut down the effort and time spent in manual submission and processing, thereby improving productivity as staff can now be involved in more strategic than tactical and operational work, such as the checking of claims.”

Another organisation that is also making use of technology to improve its workplace processes is InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Singapore.

The organisation’s hotels, for example, have a passport scanner that helps speed up the check-in process and minimises potential errors.

At IHG’s Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore, there is also a Access Integrated Keyboard that further reduces the check-in time taken, while the Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre makes use of a Table Management System for its Food and Beverage department, helping to capture customer information and preferences so that service staff are

able to best assist those guests on future visits.

Training for productivity Employee training is essential for improving productivity in any organisation and companies will often set aside generous budgets and ambitious goals to train their workforce. That can often be difficult in the “always-on-call” service sector, but organisations that are able to commit to these goals are earning big rewards down the line.

The Science Centre Singapore currently sets aside a target of 65 training hours per employee per year.

“Annually, we organise corporate developmental training alongside work-related courses,” says Cheong. “We also encourage staff to upgrade themselves by providing sponsorship and scholarship programmes whereby good performers can apply for Diploma, Degree and Masters courses. This helps staff perform their roles more efficiently and effectively with the new skills and knowledge gained.”

The organisation is also working with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) on a corporate service training programme that will be launched in early 2013. WDA is subsidising the course fees including contextualising costs, and this has afforded the Centre substantial savings, adds Cheong.

Training is also critical for hotel staff to keep updated on their skills sets. Hotels under the IHG umbrella train their employees across divisions as

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The Science Centre Singapore currently sets aside a target of

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Performance and Productivity Special “Best practices in the market indicate a move towards flexi-work hours and telecommuting. For the service sector industry however, these practices are limited by the fact that the job nature requires onsite physical presence” – WENDY CHEONG, DIRECTOR, HR, SINGAPORE SCIENCE CENTRE

well as in multi-skilling. Tash Tobias, General Manager, InterContinental Singapore, says: “Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore has successfully integrated the job functions of concierges, bellmen and security officers into one role. Prior to implementing this, to prepare them for the new role, training was provided. For example, Security employees had to complete a 40-hour training in concierge and bellman (duties), and colleagues from concierge and bellman roles had to complete the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) Security course and be certified competent before they could perform the security responsibilities.”

Tobias adds that the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport has completed the first phase of its own cross deployment project. “A pool of colleagues has been trained and certified competent to be deployed in all sections of the food and beverage (F&B) and front office (departments). The team is moving into phase two, whereby the F&B team has moved to the reception to be trained in Guest Services, whilst the front office team has moved to F&B,” he says.

IHG Singapore is also utilising government funding to send employees for outside training. “All our hotels are certified as approved training organisations and 50

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we conduct in-house WSQ training programmes. This government funding support has helped our hotels tremendously, especially in supporting our learning and development expenses,” Tobias adds.

Rewarding for higher performance Incentivising work is another strategy that serviceoriented organisations are using to improve the performance of their staff. Courier and logistics company DHL Express is just one of many businesses taking on this path.

Herbert Vongpusanachai, Managing Director, DHL Express Singapore, says: “We empower our employees to share their own ideas, skills, experience and opinions to help shape the development and innovativeness of our company.

Idea management and the Employee Opinion Survey are two valuable tools in this process.”

The organisation presents a quarterly Managing Director’s award during regular employee townhall meetings. Staff who have made significant achievements that result in positive customer experiences or productivity improvements are specifically rewarded. There is also the Annual Employee of the Year Award for Overall and Sales Excellence, which offers winners a three-day incentive trip. Those top-of-the-range staff get the chance to network with fellow DHL colleagues from other countries, says Vongpusanachai.

The Science Centre Singapore has also created an incentive scheme to motivate its employees. “We have implemented a service incentive scheme to motivate frontline service staff to achieve higher service quality. Since the implementation, we have received feedback that the staff view this positively, and it motivates them to go the extra mile to delight customers. This has led to increased morale and higher productivity which are crucial for the service industry,” says Cheong.

Challenges ahead As much as organisations want to improve their productivity, businesses in the service industry have plenty of other challenges that can distract them from that goal. One such issue is the ability to attract right type of employees, and the current labour crunch across the industry in Singapore. With stricter guidelines on foreign labour, organisations in the service sector have been feeling the pinch in recent years.

Tobias says that with the stricter guidelines and the increase in the Foreign Workers Levy, it has become very costly to hire foreign workers, and ultimately unsustainable for the business.

“To overcome this challenge, our hotels actively

SPECIAL FEATURE

Performance and Productivity Special support inclusive workforce initiatives such as improving productivity levels either through multi-skilling (or) using technology to enhance the process.” The organisation is also outsourcing some functions, such as public area cleaning, stewarding and laundry, to cope with the challenges.

Cheong of Science Centre Singapore says attracting and retaining passionate staff, especially in frontline roles, is the greatest challenge.

“Most companies in the services sector operate 24/7 to remain competitive, but employees are looking for work-life balance. Hence organisations have to employ more staff which translates to higher costs for the organisation,” she says.

“Best practices in the market indicate a move towards flexi-work hours

and telecommuting. For the service sector industry however, these practices are limited by the fact that the job nature requires onsite physical presence.”

Cheong adds that foreign labour guidelines have also affected the Science Centre’s recruitment of frontline staff. “We have had to relook at our employment strategies and now work closely with WDA, the Ministry of Manpower and tertiary institutions, as well as building on our staff referral scheme and internships.”

Vongpusanachai of DHL Express Singapore says E-commerce is a fast-developing sector for that organisation. “We need to constantly improve the efficiency of the logistics infrastructure and processes, as well as develop customised transport solutions that not only simplify (processes) but suit the needs of differing retail industries,” he says.

“While employee strength is crucial in our business, key factors in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the company is dependent on the competencies, commitment and motivation of our employees.”

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FEATURE

Corporate Health

Courting safety Good workplace safety procedures are critical for creating a safe, happy, and effective workplace. HRM talks to organisations that are now stepping up their efforts to create a safety culture among their staff

By Priya de Langen

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FEATURE

In the first half of 2012, Singapore’s construction sector saw nine workplace deaths and 5,273 reportable workplace injuries. Some of the tragic incidents made headlines including the collapse of the formwork structure at the Bugis Downtown Line station, which led to the deaths of two workers, both Chinese nationals.

As a result, the government is stepping up its efforts in workplace safety checks (see side box), especially in the construction sector. Experts say organisations are following the Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSH) guidelines on providing safe working environments but management bodies also need to take a personal hand in reinforcing safety at work.

James Foo, Director of HR, Mövenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa, says: “A well-designed and wellmanaged workplace safety (plan) is paramount to any organisation. Not only do we need to ensure our employees are safe at work, we also need to ensure our hotel’s guests, patrons and visitors are equally safe when they visit our hotel.”

Incorporating a safety culture Employers in all sectors of the economy need to ensure safe working environments. Though heavy industries such as construction and marine and shipping have a higher share of workplace accidents and incidents, office incidents too have come under the spotlight.

According to the Workplace Safety and Health Report Jan-Jun 2012, the top three incident types that accounted for 56.3% of all minor workplace injuries were “slips, trips and falls” (22.8%), “being struck by moving objects” (20.8%), and “being struck by falling objects” (12.7%).

Experts realise that educating employees and employers, as well as setting up safety councils, are two key strategies when it comes to ensuring a safe working environment. Workplace safety and health (WSH) should be the responsibility of all stakeholders, say experts.

“While employers are a crucial component in the WSH equation, workplace safety is the responsibility of each and every person. Increasing WSH awareness should be a continual effort at all levels,” says Seet Choh San, President, Singapore Institution of Safety Officers (SISO).

He adds that WSH awareness should start from the top, and a personal touch from senior management often goes a long way. “Employers can take greater personal interest in the safety culture of their teams,” Seet said. “Make effort to find out who did well in safety and compliment them when you walk the site.

More inspections at construction sector The Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate (OSHI) recently announced that it will be stepping up surprise inspections at all worksites in the country.

These inspections will focus on three main work activities, namely demolition, formwork, and working at heights, but will also cover other workplace safety and health measures.

This is aimed at addressing the recent spate of six serious constructionrelated accidents over the past month, which have resulted in five fatalities and several injuries. The accidents include a fire at the East Village Hotel worksite that resulted in 11 injured workers, and the collapse of the formwork structure at the Bugis Downtown Line station, which led to the deaths of two workers, both Chinese nationals.

Preliminary investigations by MOM have shown that both accidents were due to failures to implement control measures, as well as inadequate supervision of work.

Kevin Teoh, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate said the accidents could have been prevented if each stakeholder had made greater effort to assess the risks as well as check and review procedures before carrying out work.

“Employer’s WSH attitudes are also important. If an employer’s belief is that WSH is just as important as getting the job done, it will show in the attitude.”

Many companies have set up in-house WSH committees to monitor and track workplace safety.

Foo of Mövenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa, says: “Organisations not only need to educate their employees, but a WSH committee needs to be set up to ensure the WSH guidelines are followed and enforce policies to target zero accidents.”

The hotel has a WSH committee, comprised of employees from various departments, that monitors WSH policies. Foo adds that the hotel developed safety policies alongside its hotel guidelines and WSH standards. Also, there is an employee handbook to indicate the importance of WSH during the orientation programme for all new hires.

The hotel’s HR team also works with the WSH committee and security department to keep all safety records on every incident, and action plans to ensure there is appropriate follow-through for all incidents. Foo says possible preventive measures are then discussed and staff involved are briefed, counselled and educated. The hotel also ensures that information on safety issues is disseminated to all stuff, through meetings, notice boards and briefings.

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FEATURE

Corporate Health

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Workplace safety is particularly essential in the healthcare sector, something the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) recognises through all of its HR practices. “The SingHealth Quality Priorities or SPREE - Safety, Professionalism, Respect, Experience and Efficiency - serve as signposts to guide all staff in putting our patients at the heart of all we do,” says Soh Kit Chew, Director, Projects and Alternate Chairperson, Safety Network Committee, SGH. “Safety is the first point, and ‘safety’ refers to all parties in the hospital – staff, patients, and visitors”.

Soh says that training and communication are essential in building a positive WSH culture within the hospital’s community. Its programmes target different groups of staff based on their workplace risk and legal responsibilities. The issue of safety is highlighted to employees from the beginning – new workers are briefed on WSH during general orientation and are individually briefed by their managers and supervisors on the WSH hazards and risk control measures at their specific workplace, explains Soh. Also, the organisation emphasises safety in various ways – safety charts are customised to specific activities and are placed at locations were those risks are highest. Moreover, WSH messages are reinforced though safety surveys and WSH incident investigations visits by the hospital’s Safety Network.

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FEATURE

understand standards, Seet of SISO, says. That group has worked with more than 300 organisations from a wide range of industries that include bio-medical, retail and construction sectors on safety training.

Seet recommends two courses in particular.

“SISO’s Risk Management Course and the Safety Committee Member’s Course are two courses that employers should consider for their organisations,” he says. “(The) Risk Management Course has recently been rewritten to align with the Code of Practice for WSH Risk Management,” he adds.

He says that SISO also conducts specialist courses, such as the Accident Investigation and Safety Inspection programme which is useful for helping in-house talent become WSH coordinators. “On successful completion, the in-house talents will graduate with the Advanced Certificate in WSH and the Specialist Diploma in WSH respectively.”

SGH conducts in-house WSH courses, including a five-minute video on staff responsibilities with respect to WSH that is shown at general orientation, says Soh. The hospital also has a training roadmap that identifies programmes for different groups of employees, including staff from departments such as laboratories. There are also specific courses for employees on working with biological agents, chemicals and radiation.

Foo of Mövenpick says training is necessary for key management staff, department supervisors, and members of the WSH committee. It helps “to equip employees with better knowledge and ensure they are able to assist during emergencies and crises,” he says.

“Employers can take greater personal interest in the safety culture of their teams.

Make the effort to find out who did well in safety and compliment them when you walk the site – make your presence felt!”

– SEET CHOH SAN, PRESIDENT, SINGAPORE INSTITUTION OF SAFETY OFFICERS (SISO)

The safety officer’s role “A Workplace Safety and Health Officer (WSHO) is the catalyst that helps organisations build strong Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) systems and guides the organisation to maintain them. Being conversant in WSH, they support, coach, and direct an organisation’s staff in strengthening the organisation’s WSH culture,” explains Seet Choh San, President, Singapore Institution of Safety Officers (SISO).

He adds that a WSHO is trained to identify hazards and risks at the workplace, and put in place a comprehensive WSH programme to manage and mitigate them. The WSHO also helps educate employees on the importance of WSH and promote the adoption of good WSH practices.

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FEATURE

Learning & Development

HR from the other side of the fence

An accountant’s perspective With HR increasingly expected to speak ‘the language of business’, how effective are your budget and ROI conversations with the CFO? Adrian Smith – an accountant himself – provides some insights into how to measure the ROI of your L&D initiatives

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How many times have you wrestled with how to justify to yourself and the accountants of the world your L&D spend or even why individual programmes have merit and justify the investment in them? If you are like us, the answer is probably a lot!

Well, we thought it was time to work with the enemy and sat down with our CFO to nut out how best to establish a method of calculating ROI on L&D that could assist a client in managing their considerable spend for a leadership programme. The result looks like this: (See table 1) This model was specifically developed to apply to a formal training programme, but equally with some minor changes can apply to any other learning intervention, including blended learning, special projects and coaching, and formal external academic education. Also, with some

FEATURE

variations to input data the model can be used when considering new programmes, and when measuring and monitoring existing programmes.

It looks quite simple, which for an accountant and a spreadsheet is a novelty, but let’s look at the components.

Base data This information needs to be collected prior to the commencement of the programme as it is the baseline data from which changes and improvements are measured. It is quite straight forward and should be immediately available from any reasonable HR system. If not, then careful estimates should suffice.

Programme costs Again these are quite straight forward, particularly development and programme delivery costs; however, in most instances administrative support seems to get forgotten, so it may require some work by the accountants to calculate these.

Table 1 BASE DATA Attendees Average salary Annual turnover of this cohort PROGRAMME COSTS Development costs Delivery and facilitation costs Administration costs Total costs/investment

A

PROGRAMME BENEFITS Employment costs - Savings from increased retention

Programme benefits

Behaviour change/Improved performance in the role

It’s no surprise that this area is harder to define and measure than programme costs; however, our CFO is comfortable that benefits should accrue in two distinct areas – employment costs, and some type of bottom line impact.

We are of the opinion that whilst there are a number of employee benefits – including improved attraction strategies and Employer of Choice opportunities, improved performance management and training efficiencies – the main measurable benefit in employment costs are generated from greater employee engagement and therefore retention. This can be measured in the longer term through statistical data from staff attending these types of programmes. However, when looking at

Total programme benefits

B

ROI

B/A (as a %)

specific programmes in the short term then using employee opinion surveys and asking specific questions about intention to stay will provide useful insights and the data to inform these calculations.

In relation to behaviour change/improved performance in the role, the opportunity exists to track this by measurable performance changes against relevant KPIs.

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2013

1 March 2013, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore

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FEATURE

Learning & Development Just like hard statistics on retention data, it may take some time for these benefits to work through into hard results, but if behaviour changes are measured through some survey mechanisms (360-degree survey, manager’s report, etc.) it is possible to very quickly identify quantifiable benefits as the average behaviour change measured should drive equivalent value gains from each person’s salary.

Now let’s plug in some hypothetical data (which broadly reflects work we have been doing with our client). (See table 2) Whilst this is a reasonably significant programme which means that development costs are amortised over a large cohort of participants, the impact of the programme is to show a very positive ROI that easily meets the investment criteria of most organisations, particularly as the return takes place in months rather than years. Also, the ROI would be even higher if subsequent years’ productivity improvements were also accounted for in the calculation.

How do I apply this to a planning document?

The obvious easiest way of running these calculations is to allow time for longer term benefits to accrue and be measured through actual retention rates, and KPI improvements. In the more immediate period after the programme, say 2-3 months, we are confident that well constructed and targeted surveys will also give great insights into the measurable benefits of the programme – the ROI. It is not appropriate to seek significant L&D funds without this type of calculation and validation; however, it is not so easy to do any ROI calculations before the event as they require a number of informed assumptions.

When looking at the employee costs calculation when considering new programmes it would not be

Table 2 BASE DATA Attendees

240

3 day programme with 20 attendees per programme.

Average salary

$145,000

Including on costs.

Annual turnover

17%

Based on last 12 months’ (estimated) data.

PROGRAMME COSTS Development costs

$48,000

Delivery, facilities and facilitation costs

$355,000

Administration costs

$70,000

Total costs/Investment

$503,000

PROGRAMME BENEFITS Employment costs – savings from increased retention

$354,000

Based on 20% reduction in annual turnover and replacement costs of 30% on annual salary.

Behaviour change/Improved performance in the role

$418,00

1.2% - based on the anticipated average behaviour change measured from post programme surveys which drives equivalent value gains from a persons overall salary.

Total programme benefits

$772,000

ROI

53.38%

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FEATURE

Learning & Development

About the author Adrian Smith is a principal of Talent Mondial Australia (and an accountant) and can be contacted at adriansmith@ talentmondial.com.au

unreasonable to anticipate even a modest 20% reduction in annual turnover. This can then be applied to the number of people in the cohort, historical turnover rates, and a calculated (by the accountants again) cost of replacement based on annual salary. If this cost of replacement is not available or easily attained then general research data may be required.

This often comes in at about 30% of annual salary costs, and for senior staff – as in the example above – the figure could be much higher than this.

When estimating productivity improvements it is best, if possible, to refer to similar programmes run within the organisation – or if this is not available then again general research data may have to be used. It is worth noting, however, that as shown in the example above a small improvement in productivity or outputs does go a long way towards generating a very positive ROI for L&D that should satisfy even the toughest accountants!

A word of warning!

The calculations in the model are really very simple.

The very basis of the model and therefore its accuracy, usability and credibility is the inputs to the benefits section. It will be critical to work with key stakeholders, including education providers, organisational leaders and finance staff to ensure that actual data is used wherever possible.

On those occasions when market data or estimates are used, these must be carefully worked through so as to be totally transparent and agreed by all stakeholders.

In reality, the first few times the model is run you may well have to rely on estimates and general market research; however, as you build up an internal database of results achieved, the accuracy and reliability of input figures will grow exponentially – again, satisfying even the most hard nosed accountants!

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VIEW POINT Stephen Jenner Director, Professional and Teacher Development, British Council Singapore Email: stephen.jenner@britishcouncil.org.sg • LinkedIn & Twitter: @sdjenner

British Council

The secrets to team work Gaining a good understanding of how individuals in a team prefer to work can help determine its effectiveness and overall success, says Stephen Jenner, Director, Professional and Teacher Development, British Council Singapore.

Team working is at the heart of what we do and most of us are evaluated on our team skills. But what do we really know about how and why teams work well or badly? This was the question academic Charles Margerison and management consultant Dick McCann, set out to answer in the mid 1980’s. The result of their research was the Team Management System (TMS).

TMS is a tool which describes how individuals in a team prefer to work – based on their personal preferences in four areas: • How we relate to, and communicate with, others – introverted or extroverted?

• How we gather and use information – more creative or more practical?

• How we make decisions – based more on beliefs or analysis?

• How we organise ourselves and others – more structured or flexible?

The combination and extent of these preferences are mapped to eight essential team roles, ‘The Team Management Wheel’, which McCann and Margerison formulated after studying hundreds of teams in top performing companies. For example, someone who is extroverted and creative will be good at selling ideas and getting people behind a cause or project. Captain Kirk, star of the long-running US sci-fi series Star Trek was never afraid ‘to boldly go…’ and was a classic ‘Explorer-Promoter’ in TMS terms.

Look at these descriptions of the eight roles: where do you think your preference/s might lie?

• Advising – Gathering and reporting information • Innovating – Creating and experimenting with ideas • Promoting – Exploring and presenting opportunities • Developing – Assessing and testing the applicability of new approaches • Organising – Establishing and implementing ways of making things work • Producing – Concluding and delivering outputs • Inspecting – Controlling and auditing the working of systems • Maintaining – Upholding and safeguarding standards and procedures

The most efficient team would be made up of members who together represent all eight sections. Of course this rarely happens; team members are thrown together for many different reasons. It’s also important to stress that there is no ‘right’, ‘wrong’ or ‘best’ role; they are just differences.

TMS shows us how difference is a vital ingredient for completing tasks together. The ‘linker’ at the centre of the wheel is in many ways the most important section of the wheel, because this is where members with different preferences can work together by ‘pacing’ each other.

At the British Council Professional Development Centre we employ Team Management Profiling in several of our courses, and we have delivered training on how to use the Profiles for hundreds of organisations and teams throughout Asia. We also use the Profiles internally to identify and align our own team strengths. We have found that although there are several psycho-metric profiling tools already in use in the workplace, TMS is unique because it focuses purely on what we do at work. Our work preferences are based on the combination of what we enjoy doing and what we’re good at, which can change over time if we are aware of them. So TMS can be a tool for self-development and actualisation as well as aligning teams. As Margerison and McCann wrote: “It’s all about ‘choice’. If you give people the knowledge and the understanding of who they are then they can choose to do something about it”.

Find out more: Professional Development Centre www.britishcouncil.org.sg/en/corporate-training Team Management System www.TMSworldwide.com

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TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN

HR at work 7.30am I always start my day by changing the water of my two pots of green plants. I then enjoy a cup of coffee with breakfast.

11.00am Beside HR, I am also responsible for operations. I follow up on the key focus areas in our daily operations.

8.00am I head to production and warehouse to understand the latest working situation. The onsite visit provides me with a good platform for information sharing.

12.30pm Lunch normally takes place at Telok Blangah Food Centre or Depot Heights Shopping Centre.

1.30pm I respond to emails and clear pending work.

8.30am Review and approve all pending workflows before commencement of Chorei – a platform when everyone assembles to read the company’s seven corporate beliefs followed by a key message.

Irene Goh

Senior HR Manager, SATO Asia Pacific

2.00pm I follow up on production orders and deliver the status to the production team.

3.30pm I review the status and update the follow-up list.

9.00am After the company Chorei, I will attend my department’s Chorei for information sharing and updates.

5.00pm I respond to emails and clear in-tray documents.

9.30am I go for a weekly discussion on HR operations challenges that need to be addressed and find out what can be done to achieve our target.

6.00pm Time to knock-off to enjoy home cooked food and change into my second shift of being a mum at home.

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IN PERSON

HR talent Kayla Foo

HR Business Partner, Officer, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ(BTMU)

Years in HR? Professionally about a year now.

Why HR? There are different aspects encompassing what HR entails, and what really attracted me to HR is the day-to-day people interactions and managing the complexities of people relationships.

Why Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ? BTMU is an esteemed organisation that is a firm believer in teamwork and people development, where we drive initiatives and create opportunities for employees in support of their pursuit for continuous improvements.

Our global network of branches provides opportunities for staff to live and work overseas. With my role in the Resourcing & Business Partnering team in BTMU, I love the vibrancy and the learning curve in my daily work where there is never a dull moment.

Biggest achievement?

The road in learning is never-ending, where I endeavour to continually reach new heights. I get a sense of fulfilment and work satisfaction in building strong rapport and relationships with my stakeholders and seeing how our consulting and advisory functions facilitate them in their business decisions.

Family?

I’m really blessed to have accommodating siblings for times where I have to reschedule movie dates, and supportive parents whom I can look up to for advice in life. My mum’s boiled herbal soup for dinner is something that I look forward to each day after work.

What happens after hours?

Outside of work, I always spend time with my family, have catch-up sessions with friends and do my favourite sports and hobbies such as squash, tennis, scrapbooking and guitar.

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TALENT CHALLENGE

Talent management

Managing under performers What can HR do about employees who underperform?

Jayesh Menon

Regional HR Director, APAC, Itron

Here are a few tips for HR in managing underperformers: • Understanding the root cause of underperformance is vital. Very often that when we go into a root cause analysis, we realise that the issue was never with performance itself, but in the way expectations were set or communicated.

• Coach in: Help employees understand what their key strengths and weaknesses are and what they need to do to improve their performance. The first step is to make sure that the employee accepts and recognises that there is an issue with performance.

• Create an action plan: Once the employee understands his or her underperformance, then HR can facilitate the discussion between the manager and the employee in terms of creating a performance improvement plan (PIP). Specific care should be taken to clearly find solutions to the problems.

• Follow up: Follow up on the timelines, deliverables and resources determined in the PIP and make sure that they are fair and equitable.

• Coach out: In spite of all the above steps being followed, if we still have a problem in performance, HR should help facilitate a discussion to make sure that that exit is smooth and that the employee understands that this is a win-win situation for both parties.

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Adele Andrews

HR Leader, Global Talent Acquisition, MasterCard Worldwide

The first point around this issue is to find out why. Is it because they were placed in the wrong role? Is it because of personality differences or personal issues? There are so many reasons as to why a person is underperforming in their position – none of which are usually due to intention.

Once the cause is identified, then the action can occur. If they are genuinely over their head in terms of their abilities and the role requirements, close coaching and monitoring would be required to ensure they have the tools required to perform the job successfully. Guidance around this process would need to be driven by HR. If it is more of a personal issue, HR can be there to listen as well as to educate the direct manager on the best way to manage things and encourage positive behaviour.

If it is purely due to bad attitude, a conversation needs to be had as to why and what is driving the attitude. At the end of the day, the employee needs to be the one taking ownership for their decision and responsibilities, to ensure that the right behaviors are demonstrated moving forward. By asking them the questions and driving the responses in the right direction, it will help to develop the measuring tools against which the employee can be held accountable, should performance measurement practices need to occur.

Jennifer Chan

Regional HR Manager, SEA, Konecranes Group of Companies

The first step I take is to identify this group of workers, followed by a discussion with them on their strengths and weaknesses.

During the talk, we examine what is the cause for their performance and check if there is any underlying issue that is preventing them from reaching their maximum potential. It is also a good time to find out if these underperformers know how they are doing and if they agree that their work is below par.

After which, we monitor them over a period three to six months, depending on their position and seniority in the organisation. To ensure that they get up to speed, we will send them for upgrading and training to equip them with the tools and knowledge needed to improve their performance. We also practise job rotations by placing them in a different department and environment.

Throughout this entire period, it is important that we motivate, guide and coach this group of workers. Positive reinforcement is more effective in changing behaviour than a negative approach. It is also important that we follow up with them frequently through small discussions and feedback sessions with their line manager or the department that the underperformers might be working with at that time. From there, companies can take appropriate action and create a strategic plan for this group of employees.

VIEW POINT Dinesh Saparamadu Founder & CEO, hSenid Business Solutions (Pvt) Ltd Email: dinesh@hSenid.com

PeoplesHR

Manage Talent for Better Business Results with PeoplesHR

A cloud-based HRIS system provides organisations with a bird’s eye view of their workforce. It enables HR to drive the business forward by channelling the right talent to the right place says, Dinesh Saparamadu, Founder and CEO, hSenid Business Solutions In an ever changing world, organisations thrive to continuously achieve superior results. One of the key factors that enables an organisation to achieve the desired results is its workforce. The importance of human resource is sky rocketing and managing it effectively and efficiently is of paramount importance to an organisation.

Talent recognition and management is one of the areas that helps an organisation to achieve high performance. Superior talent need to be managed using appropriate techniques that involve identifying them, motivating them and retaining them. PeoplesHR is a cloudbased HRIS solution that helps a business achieve superior talent by offering the tools and techniques that this requires.

Talent Identification Isolating superior talent from the rest is the beginning of superior talent management.

Performance appraisals and assessments are widely used for this purpose and PeoplesHR offers the most modern tools in benchmarking, identifying and clubbing talent into quadrants.

Organisations should be cautious about doing ad hoc, manual, performance appraisals for talent identification. Incorrectly analysing the performance of employees may significantly de-motivate them and induce dysfunctional behaviour.

Performance Management Performance management tools must continue to be used even after talent

has been identified. High-performing individuals must be constantly monitored to see if they are performing to their full potential. If their performance levels are low, then reasons for that could be identified and solved. Some of the issues that cause an employee to perform poorly can also cause that specific employee to leave in the future.

PeoplesHR offers continuous performance analysis, which helps to identify new changes in employee performance levels. Subsequently, new or emerging talent can also be identified.

Succession Planning Superior talent must be constantly provided with the potential for future development in the organisation. A clear unambiguous promotion plan will motivate high-performing individuals and keep them from looking elsewhere for opportunities. It will also help the organisation plan for unexpected events like key people leaving, and help it develop a roadmap for the future.

Maintaining such a plan is easy when the organisational structure is maintained by an HR system that is offered by PeoplesHR. This will ensure that there is only one succession plan and that there is no miscommunication between the HR department and employees.

Using Analytics Analytics is another useful tool that can be used not only to identify high-performers, but also to understand the factors and

influences that make them perform in that way. Analytics helps to find out the relationship between any two factors.

Sometimes by using analytics it can be found that it is commuting distances that discourage employees. This factor can then be controlled so that employee performance is maximised and potential high performers are not missed.

Rewarding and Recognising Every manager knows that employees who perform exceptionally well must be rewarded and recognised far more than the rest of their colleagues.

However, exceptional performers will not be happy with being classed with other high-performers. They will want higher rewards and recognition.

To solve this issue, a reward structure based on employee performance must be utilised. All aspects of an employee must be considered, from compliance of organisational policy to timeliness of objective delivery. This standardised holistic approach, only implementable using an HRIS system, will make employees feel that they are all treated the same, and ensures that highperformers are fairly rewarded.

PeoplesHR is a cloud-based HR system that contains all tools required to manage superior talent. It is Asia’s fastest growing cloud based HR system and has a reputation for being able to be deployed and localised in several distinct legislatures whilst still providing a global administrative perspective.

For more information: www.PeoplesHR.sg

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TALENT FEATURE

Michael Page

Winning staff

in the dazzling city of Singapore Proving to professionals that you are the best employer for them can be tricky — but it can be done, says Diana Low, Director, Michael Page, Singapore

Offer recognition and rewards

Diana Low

Director, Michael Page, Singapore

Singapore is well-known for its high standard of living, top class business network infrastructure and hub of multinational companies that have based their regional revenue-generation and business support functions in the capital. These attributes make it very enticing for professionals to choose to work in the city.

Based on findings in the 2012/13 Michael Page Employee Intentions Report, white collar professionals are largely positive about the current employment market in Singapore.

Of the survey respondents, some 39% consider the current employment market to be strong and 44% say it is very likely that they will change jobs over the next 12 months.

As a steady stream of job opportunities is anticipated over the next 12 months, employers will need to have a strong focus on attracting top talent, retaining their best performers and engaging staff. Attraction and retention is essential as professionals across Singapore’s white collar sectors become optimistic about working in the country.

Stay ahead of the competition Cities across the broader Asia region are competing aggressively to secure the best individuals, so employers in Singapore will need to stay ahead of the competition.

Employers need to offer a combination of structured career development opportunities and monetary incentives to be on top when it comes to attraction. According to the Employee Intentions Report, the primary factor encouraging 41% of job seekers to change companies is career progression and most (35%) are likely to request a pay rise of 16% or above on base salary to take on a new role.

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For the best chance of retaining top performers over the next six to 12 months, employers will need to offer competitive remuneration. The report revealed that being financially rewarded for achievements is the primary reason 32% of respondents will stay in their current role. More than half of these professionals (54%) plan to be proactive and ask their employer for a pay rise and most of them (31%) will be looking for a salary increase in the range of 10-12%.

Keep your staff happy Once employers have acquired the best professionals for their business, they need to engage with staff regularly to boost productivity and morale. Financial incentives such as good healthcare, flexi-benefits, performance bonuses and long term share plans are some examples. Companies are also promoting non-financial incentives such as work-life balance schemes for their staff which could include flexible work arrangements (eg; negotiable working hours), sabbatical leave for long term employees and providing childcare facilities in office complexes for working parents. Many organisations will conduct team offsite work days to motivate people and improve staff culture.

To better understand pertinent employee issues, employers can carry out an organisational culture survey and employee engagement survey to gauge where employee satisfaction lies.

Michael Page, Singapore One Raffles Place Office Tower 2, #09-61, Singapore 048616 Tel: +65 6533 2777 Fax: +65 6533 7227 Email: enquiries@michaelpage.com.sg

RESOURCES

Book Reviews

Dealing with people you can’t stand As every HR leader knows, managing people conflict is part and parcel of the job. This includes dealing with people you can’t stand, which is the central focus of the latest book by Dr Rick Brinkman and Dr Rick Kirschner.

In the book, the authors tackle the touchy topic on how to bring out the best in people at their worst. HR professionals all know that for a business to function well, employees need to perform at their optimum. Conflict is disruptive and creates a toxic environment for workers, making it the task of HR to manage the situation.

The book starts with categories of the different types of toxic people around you – are they the snipers who identify weaknesses of others and use it against them? Or are they the know-it-alls who tell you what they know for hours, and have no time for other people’s clearly inferior ideas? Getting to know the people you can’t stand is the first step to changing things.

In Dealing with people you can’t stand, the authors direct readers towards five key areas for solving people problems. Firstly, managers

need to examine the forces that compel people to be difficult in a variety of ways.

These differences are indicators of differing behavioural intentions. Secondly, the book examines essential communication skills that can turn conflict into cooperation. The authors also go through some specific strategies for dealing with the 10 most difficult behaviours of the people they can’t stand. The authors also touch on how emails and phones can be used to build relationships.

Lastly, the book also helps readers who recognise that they have toxic behaviour.

This book is extremely pertinent for HR managers as workplaces get more diverse and conflict is sometimes inevitable. It is a very engaging read that will appeal to readers looking for a step-by-step guide to managing difficult workers.

Title: Dealing with people you can’t stand Authors: Dr Rick Brinkman and Dr Rick Kirshchner Published by: McGraw-Hill Cost: $28.36

General manaGement

SEED to BLOSSOM Executive Programmes Directory 2013 Email us at exec@sim.edu.sg to request for a copy.

Crossing the Generational Divide

Nov 1 & 2

Corporate Transformation: Increasing Productivity Innovatively

Nov 15 & 16

Continuous Performance Management

Nov 19 & 20

Passionate Teams – Inspired Action, Meaningful Results

Nov 19 & 20

The Job of the Manager (JOMAN) II

Nov 19 – 21

JOMAN – Essential Leadership Skills

Nov 20 – 22

The Art of Managing People (Version 2012)

Nov 21 – 23

Managing Employee Performance

Nov 22 & 23

Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats Method®

Nov 26 & 27 / Dec 10 & 11

The Job of the Manager (JOMAN) I

Nov 28 – 30

Appreciative Inquiry for Strengths-based Leadership

Dec 4 & 5

Foundations of Systems Thinking for Managers

Dec 6 & 7

For more information, call 6248 9417 or email kellyko@sim.edu.sg Register online at www.sim.edu.sg/pd Other Programme Categories: Advanced Management Programmes | Senior Management | General Management | Communication | Creativity & Innovation | Finance | Marketing & Business Development | HR Management & Development | Negotiation & Legal | Office & Administrative | Operations Management | Personal Effectiveness & Productivity | Project Management | Sales & Customer Relationship | Supervisory Management | Team Leadership & Interpersonal Skills

members of the SIm Group

Companies may apply for tax benefits under the Productivity and Innovation Credit Scheme. For details, visit www.iras.gov.sg or email picredit@iras.gov.sg

For customised learning and development solutions, call 6248 9409 or email ict@sim.edu.sg

Enjoy Special Rates as an SIM Member.

Call 6248 9451 or email yvonneteo@sim.edu.sg for details.

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VIEW POINT Ho Chee Tiong Sales & Operations Director

UNIT4 Asia Pacific

Drawing top talent through smart recruitment Intelligent recruitment software allows HR to sieve through hundreds of potential resumes, identify top talent and keep them engaged throughout the hiring process says, Ho Chee Tiong, Sales & Operations Director, UNIT4 Asia Pacific, Prosoft HRMS I shared a story at our recent user conference on October 9, 2012. The moral of that story was how smart and effective recruitment can pull talent away from other employers towards you. The audience agreed with me that with a low unemployment rate and other factors, most if not all of the businesses in Singapore are facing a talent crunch. As a result, employers are finding it very hard to get people to advance their business.

As HR, we need to remind ourselves that recruitment is not just about posting job ads and doing hiring administration. Recruitment is about generating a pool of suitably qualified candidates for a job and making it attractive for potential employees to want to join your organisation.

Hiring managers must think and act like a marketer. Just like marketing a product, every step of the hiring process (yes even the way the job posting was constructed!) will be examined by the candidates, affecting their perceptions, feelings, opinions, how they perceive your organisation and what it stands for, and ultimately whether they would click on the ‘Apply’ button.

Some organisations have key performance indicator (KPI) for hiring managers on how fast they fill up a vacancy, also commonly known as ‘Time-to-Hire’. I would like to suggest that this KPI be supplemented by another KPI – ‘How satisfied was the organisation (new hire’s supervisor, co-workers) with this new hire?’ We should find out and measure how the new hire contributed to the culture and performance amongst + Tel: 6333 6133 + Email: prosoft.sales.sgp@unit4.com + Web: www.myprosoft.com

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other measures. The reason is simply because if HR wants to be more than an administrative expert, and be a strategic partner to the business, all activities in HR should revolve on fundamental questions such as: • How can I as HR contribute to the business?

• How do we create a powerful linkage between business strategies to HR strategies?

• How can we develop the organisation, its people and culture to deliver high performance?

And in the whole HR delivery process, getting recruitment (the very first step) right will be of paramount importance. HR should use tools and technology to support your recruitment strategies.

Besides using social media such as Facebook and Linked In to recruit and maintain organisational branding, HR should also consider leveraging on technology to make the recruitment process more effective and efficient. For example, many recruitment systems allow you to filter the thousands of resumes into ‘qualified lists’ based on user definable queries (asking salary, education level, years of experience etc.) saving the hiring manager many hours of manually filtering through email resumes. Some other time-saving functionalities include integration with job-boards, online assessment tools, and transfer of successful candidates directly into your existing HR database. But more importantly, recruitment systems can also help you to manage your talent pool by sending them automated yet personalised emails. Constant updates through newsletters also allow you to keep ‘warm’ with those candidates that you wish to hire but have no immediate suitable vacancy for.

So start planning your recruitment strategy now!

TALENT LADDER

New appointments Sally Woo

Senior Vice President, Head of Regional Talent Development, Fleishman-Hillard Sally Woo is the new senior vice president and head of regional talent development at Fleishman-Hillard.

A 15-year HR veteran, Woo embarked on her early career as a recruitment consultant with top-tier search firm, Heidrick & Struggles. She then moved on to regional HR leadership positions in various industry sectors including BASF, a German-based chemical company, and Hudson, a US-based consulting services company.

She is a HR generalist with experience covering the full spectrum of HR functions. Woo has a proven track record of working as a business partner with a leadership team of diverse nationalities. Her expertise includes employer branding, executive recruitment, training and development, employee communication and engagement, change management, executive coaching and performance management.

She is also an accredited trainer of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, an accredited user of psychometric tests and a certified global mobility specialist.

“I am excited with this promising opportunity to lead and further develop our Talent Development function in the region. I look forward to working closely with the regional leadership team to advance our talent strategies in the Asia Pacific.”

Ken Hoskin

Regional Chief Talent Officer, McCann Worldgroup Ken Hoskin joined McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific in the newly created position of chief talent officer in August 2012.

Originally from the United States, Hoskin relocated to Singapore from his base in Hong Kong, where he was previously regional talent director for Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific, having spent almost eight of the last 14 years of his experience with Ogilvy.

Hoskin originally started in the area of talent acquisition and, as

in his most previous role, now has responsibility across all areas of talent management across McCann Worldgroup’s Asia Pacific network. He has specific expertise in talent development and retention plans, recruitment, compensation and benefits strategies, labour law and regulations, global mobility and salary budget management.

“McCann is undergoing a very exciting transformation across the entire organisation, it’s a

network whose staff respect the power of collaboration and teamwork, and a network that views talent management as a business priority. I’m excited to have joined an incredibly strong regional team at McCann, where I look forward to spearheading the growth of McCann WorldGroup as the agency of choice for talent in our industry and introducing some very exciting new programmes for our teams across the Asia Pacific.”

He has over 13 years of experience in managing various responsibilities under the HR gamut with multi-national companies. Wong is both a specialist and generalist HR practitioner spanning different sectors such as real estate, agribusiness, finance, travel, retail and IT. Prior to joining Metso, he was working with Mapletree Investments as Manager- Group

HR, Talent Management.

“It is an exciting time to join Metso as the company is growing organically as well as through acquisitions across the region. With such opportunities, I will be able to put my skills to practice for developing a robust HR service delivery platform and harmonise the integration process to cultivate an environment where we work as one to be number one.”

Anand Wong

Regional HR Manager, Metso Automation Anand Wong was recently appointed as Regional HR Manager at Metso, where he will function as a strategic HR partner in driving organisational alignment, HR policies and initiatives for the automation business segment across the Asia Pacific region (excluding China).

Wong is also the Country HR Manager for Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

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Fiona Nesbitt Singapore

frazerjones.com

HR Roles Head of HR (Hi-Tech) SEA Coverage Our client has an excellent brand within the Hi-Tec space, boasting a diverse global presence with offices in Europe, North and South America and Asia-Pacific. It is now looking for a HR Business Partner/Head of HR for SE Asia to work closely within its fast paced, dynamic and highly driven business. Working together with a talented group of individuals, you will be creating, implementing and driving though the HR business strategy. The company is moving into an exciting growth period and therefore requires a candidate with experience in driving through innovative HR solutions, in addition to being well versed with change leadership, business planning and organisational design. Ref: FN/188301.

SG$200,000 + bonus

VP HRBP, Corporate Banking SEA Coverage This banking institution is vigorously growing its presence in the Asia Pacific region while continuing to develop its business strength in its own home market. An opportunity has arisen for a seasoned HR business partner to support the front-office businesses and play a major part in the transformation of its HR function. The HR Business Partner will manage the delivery of professional HR consulting services that contribute to the growth and profitability of the business. Working closely with senior stakeholders you will provide consultative business support and focus on advising and guiding the business on cultural, business and HR transformation. Ref: TH/187210.

SG$230,000 + bonus

To discuss HR roles across Asia, please contact Theresa Hall on +65 6420 0516 or Fiona Nesbitt on +65 6420 0515.

Alternatively, email theresahall@frazerjones.com or fionanesbitt@frazerjones.com | EA Licence No: 10C4100.

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

Searching for HR professionals?

Look no further than HRM Singapore

Number 1 Media for Reaching HR Audited at 15,235 copies per month - HRM Singapore’s HR job listings reach more HR professionals each month than any other media. And with our competitive pricing you can increase the number of quality responses - whilst saving money!

Please contact us on (65) 6423 4631 for full details

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Global Network.

Local Expertise.

www.michaelpage.com.sg

With 164 offices in 34 countries, we have the resources and expertise to help you take the next step in your HR career.

Change Management Reputable local listed MNC Our client is a highly successful business with aggressive expansion plans. They are in the midst of transforming their corporate functions and have a position for a senior HR professional to be part of this exciting adventure.

The key focus is to transform HR into a business partnering function by putting in place best practices while remaining business oriented.

You will project, manage, and lead the HR transformation initiatives, including performance scorecards, organization structure design and competencies modeling.

You must possess 10 to 15 years of experiences, with exposure to change management. A resilient and energetic individual, you should possess excellent influencing skills as well as stakeholder management skills.

HR Manager Fortune 500 company Business advisory role Our client is a multi-billion dollar organisation and a recognised leader in the FMCG industry With continual growth in the Asian markets, they are presently seeking a HR Manager to provide business partnering support to 14 countries.

You will focus on directing and executing all HR matters related to talent management, employee development, performance management, compensation, employee engagement and HRIS system. As a business partner, you will also formulate and manage development budgets to ensure the organisation meets financial objectives.

A degree in HR Management combined with a minimum of 6 to 7 years experience in broad HR management areas will be essential for success in this role.

Please contact Ng Lay Hoon quoting ref: H1482170

Please contact Cherry Wu quoting ref: H1477370

HR Director – Asia Pacific

Compensation & Benefits Specialist

US listed multinational

Brand name European multinational

High visibility and exposure to the business

Local focused role

A prominent global leader in its field, our client is a Fortune 500, US listed MNC in the Engineering sector. Their continued interest and rapid growth in Asia Pacific has resulted in the need for a strategic HR leader to join them.

Our client is a renowned multinational with diverse businesses employing over 300,000 employees globally. They are looking for a Compensation and Benefits Specialist to come on board to support their Singapore workforce of about 2,000 employees.

You will be responsible for supporting the business leaders in executing the strategy and building organizational capability by developing and implementing appropriate people and organizational strategies. The ability to engage senior leaders on a strategic level is essential to this role.

Reporting to the VP of HR and working closely with the Regional Compensation & Benefits Manager, you will be responsible for the execution of all C&B related matters for the Singapore headcount.

Please contact Teo Peiwen quoting ref: H1469330

#13463

You must possess a tertiary degree in HRM with at least 15 years of experience, with some exposure gained in the Engineering/ Manufacturing sector.

You must possess a minimum of 5 to 7 years of C&B focused experience in an MNC environment and familiarity with working in a matrix environment.

Licence No: 98C5473 Business Registration No: 199804751N

HR Director

Please contact Sean Tong quoting ref: H1478480

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

Specialists in HR Recruitment

164 offices in 34 countries | www.michaelpage.com.sg

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www.achievegroup.asia Singapore | Malaysia | Hong Kong

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

EA Licence No.: 05C3451

1. Assistant Human Resource Manager

2. Human Resource Manager

Attractive remuneration North, 5 days

Attractive remuneration Town area

Our client is a very established gaming company. They are currently looking for an Assistant HR Manager to join them in the expanding business.

Our Client, located in Town area, is seeking for suitable candidates to join them as HR Manager.

Responsibilities • Manpower Planning, Succession Planning and Recruitment, including

Responsibilities

Expatriate Recruitment • Familiar with the preparation of Job Descriptions and Specifications • Initiate and Deliver Programmes for Employee Engagement and Well Being • Prepare and Manage the Manpower Budget for the organization • Able to play the Advisory Role to the Line Managers on HR matters • Spearhead assigned HR projects • Cover/Assist the HR Manager on her absence

Requirements • Suitable if you are already in a Senior HR Executive or Assistant HR Management role

• Degree in HRM /or related discipline from a recognised University (Candidates with Part-Time Degree must have at least a Full Time Diploma from Polytechnic) • Minimum 4 to 5 year(s) of solid HR generalist role: - Some Comp and Ben experience would be beneficial - Involved in recruitment of Executives & above, ie. Conduct Interviews, Proposal Salary, etc - Manage HR Projects • Experience working in large organisations would be preferred • Matured attitude • Highly self-motivated, committed and resourceful with strong interpersonal skill • Good writing and communication skills • Singaporean/PR

The incumbent will head the Human Resource & Administration branch of the company, reporting directly to the Managing Director and works closely with management, line managers and the union.

Other responsibilities will include: • Take on leadership role for all HR and Admin activities and functions such as recruitment and selection, learning and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, budgeting, tenders and contracts to ensure compliance with procurement guidelines, logistics and admin support for the company • Maintain good union-management relations • Strategic HR partnering and implementation of HR strategies • Provide advice to line managers in managing staff disciplinary issues, counseling, grievance handling and employee relations

Requirements • At least a Degree preferably in Human Resource from a recognized university • At least 10 years of relevant Human Resources experience, of which 4 years were in a managerial position

• Knowledgeable about the Employment Act and other employment related legislation and regulations

• Good exposure partnering with the senior management team and the union • Strong operational and strategic HR Management skills • Strong interpersonal and leadership skills Interested candidate please submit your updated resume in MS Word format to: Position 1: aspire5@achievegroup.asia Position 2: blessing8@achievegroup.asia We regret only shortlisted candidate will be notified.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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Returning the Human to Resourcing

Senior Associate, Asset Management

Director, HRIS

VP HR, Asia Pacific

Global Presence

Global Transformation Role

Leading European Services Organization

Renowned Asset Management

Strong Business Partnering

Strategic HR Business Partnering

Exposure to Strategic HR Activities

Salary Circa S$200k + Bonus

Salary Circa S$250k + Bonus

Our client is an Asian investment house with presence mainly in Asia, US and UK. There is an opportunity for a senior associate in the HR team to support the top talents within the organisation. You will work closely with each HR business partner in various HR activities.

Our client is a globally respected leader within the transportation and logistics industry.

Due to continuous process improvements and senior management initiatives, there now exists an opportunity for a high caliber, self-driven HR professional to join them and lead their HRIS initiatives.

Headquartered in Europe with deep operations in more than 30 countries, our client is currently looking for an experienced HR professional to tide the organization through a major HR transformation.

You are degree qualified from a recognised institution with 3 to 5 years’ working experience in a similar function. Prior experience in HR resourcing function would be an advantage.

You have good IT skills, and conversant with the use of search engines. You possess excellent verbal and written communication, and good analytical skills, demonstrated initiative and persistence in probing and researching information. You are a strong coordinator and have good organization skills.

You have the ability to work well with people across the organizational hierarchy.

To apply, please submit your resume to Priscilla Chen at pc@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number PC4658\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Reporting to the Global Head of HR, and working closely with the senior management team, you will drive global HRIS projects, some involving green field initiatives. You will drive strategic change management initiatives e.g.

ERP systems migration to new/enhanced platforms. You will also lead special projects possibly in the areas of HR shared services.

You are HR qualified and have worked a minimum of 15 years in a progressive multinational. You have the bandwidth to operate at the strategic levels and yet have the capacity to be operationally hands-on.

You thrive on challenges and are a driver with high levels of initiative. You are excellent in building relationships and a strong business partner.

To apply, please submit your resume to Cecelia Koh at ck@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number CK4726\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

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Leading the APAC region comprising of more than 20 countries and headcount of more than 25,000, you will partner the Regional President, and develop and manage the HR strategy for the region including talent management and organizational development. This business partnering role will also have you working with all country HR leaders, particularly in the areas of effective employee engagement, whilst enabling the achievement of overall business objectives. As the organization is undergoing a major transformation, you can also be expected to work on a significant number of OD initiatives in bringing the organization to the next level.

You are a senior HR professional with a track record gained in progressive multinationals.

Generalist experience or those with specialist OD expertise will be preferred. Ideally, you have been in national and regional roles, preferably within the services industry.

International candidates with deep Asia experience are welcome to apply.

To apply, please submit your resume to Cecelia Koh at ck@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number CK4728\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Licence No: 03C4828

As a successful candidate, you support in building up talent pipeline to meet each department’s objectives. You will be actively involved in system upgrade and enhancement projects. You will plan and manage company’s engagement events including networking events. This role requires you to support executive recruitment function and involved in the team’s annual budget exercise.

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

Head of Talent & Learning Operations

Head of Employee Relations

Talent Manager

Global Bank

Global Bank

Major Global Bank

Competitive Remuneration

High Growth Potential

Excellent Career Prospects

Excellent Career Progression

Excellent Career Progression

International Platform

This premier global bank promotes talent and learning development through its well-established talent management practices and programs.

It is recruiting a dynamic and high caliber Head of Talent and Learning Operations.

Our client is a leading global bank with significant business interest globally. It is now recruiting a dynamic Head of Employee Relations.

Our client is a leading global bank with strong footprint in the region. The bank promotes talent development and retention through proactive and talent development programs.

As a result of an internal mobility, it is recruiting a senior Talent Manager for Singapore.

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

Reporting to Singapore Head of HR, you will provide advice and support to business on strategic people management issues and Industrial Relations environment in the country.

You will align ER structure and processes to support business model and deliver business performance, and ensure compliance with regulations and corporate governance.

You will support Global Head of ER to deliver key deliverables and implement strategy in fostering healthy employer-employee relationships, with particular emphasis on relations with unions.

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

Degree qualified, you will have at least 10 to 12 years of relevant experience gained in a progressive bank or MNC. With strong leadership and communication skills, you possess strong union management experience and high sensitivity to the social, economic and political environment.

Degree qualified, you will have significant years of talent management and development experience gained in a major bank or MNC. You possess strong relationship building, influencing and communication skills. You are driven, commercial, self-motivated, independent and also a strong team player.

You will thrive in a matrix and fast paced environment.

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

To apply, please submit your resume to Adnan Atan at aa@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number AA4486\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

To apply, please submit your resume to Yolanda Yu at yy@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number YY4715\HRM, or call (65) 6333 8530 for more details.

Licence No: 03C4828

Reporting to Singapore Head of Talent & Learning, you will play a critical role in supporting the Bank’s strategic people agenda and massively multiplying the Bank’s leadership capability. You will be responsible for talent strategy, planning, assessing talent development needs, developing and implementing global and local customized talent programs to develop high-potentials, future leaders, successors, international graduates and management associates.

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Human resources professionals speak to tHe experts regional learning & Development manager setting l&D agendas across multicultural businesses

compensation & Benefits manager reward your peers.

A superb opportunity has arisen in this fast paced global MNC for an Asia Pacific Regional Learning & Development Manager to develop a strategy to drive initiatives regionally and locally through the HR organisation and the business to contribute towards the attainment of the overall business goals. Your main responsibility will be to define the learning and development strategy and implement and manage processes, expectations and measurements that build employee competencies. Your role will be to create a learning environment that provides a platform for employee development that is tied to driving business performance.

As the Compensation & Benefits Manager, reporting to the HRD, you will sit in the human capital team and implement compensation and benefits and recognition strategies to attract, motivate and retain talent to support business strategies including the review of compensation and benefits policies and manage the annual compensation review process. Part of your responsibilities will be to assist in the review of compensation schemes as well as annual promotion increment and performance bonus exercises. You will prepare new salary computations for approval and conduct job evaluations along with providing statistics for monthly head count reports. A suitable candidate would be degree educated with six years+ compensation and benefits experience.

country Hr Director ensure operations run smoothly within Hr A unique opportunity exists for a country HR Director to run the HR and functions for this prestigious international law firm. The position will be for a hands on, HR professional responsible for operations within the Singapore office. Along with a team, you will look after the full spectrum of HR including talent and performance management, recruitment, compensation and benefits and global mobility as well as overseeing the administration function. Ideally you will have at least eight years of HR experience within a growing organisation along with strong negotiation and communication skills which will be key to successfully running a smooth department and ensuring the partners are on board.

senior regional Hr Business partner advise business leaders on their strategy With substantial growth plans for continued expansion throughout APAC, this global financial MNC is looking for a Senior Regional HRBP. Reporting to the HRD, you will play a key role in enabling the organisation to achieve its business strategy coupled with overall accountability for employee relations across Asia. You will be part of the senior HR team globally and will encompass talent management, leadership development, succession planning, talent acquisitions as well as facilitating change and change management.

please contact ash russell, thomas Girling, Vargin Yeke or lorna somerville 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.

HR Director

Regional Director, Compensation & Bene�its

A world class leader and an award winning company in the technology industry, this prestigious organisation is looking for a strategic HR Director to lead its regional activities and strategies spanning across Hong Kong and Greater China.

Our client, one of the global leaders in Technology, is looking for a Regional Director, Compensation & Bene�its to spearhead the C&B initiatives in APAC and Greater China for strategic growth of the company.

Responsibilities:

• develop and implement HR systems and strategies relating to talent management • oversee all HR activities and processes to ensure smooth and effective operations • lead and drive strategic projects pertaining to HR policies, processes, plans and programs

Requirements:

• degree holder, with at least 10 years’ of leadership experience • membership with the Institute of Training Professionals would be advantageous • self-starter, team player, collaborative and diplomatic with strong leadership business partnering, in�luential • able to lead, collaborate and work in a team setting • exposed to a sizeable multinational setting with strong business partnership skills

To apply, please email your CV to hr@charterhouse.com.sg

Responsibilities:

• lead and drive multiple local, regional and international C&B projects/programs • ensure internal equity and external competitiveness through competitive benchmarking for the regions • drive focal planning and lead the C&B Team for APAC and greater China • drive alignment between the business partners and leaders • lead market intelligence via survey vendors and staying abreast with latest trends across regions

Requirements:

• minimum Business/HR degree quali�ied with 6 years’ of experience in C&B and people management in MNCs • experience in designing, implementing and managing C&B programs across regions • creative, analytical and collaborative with strong business partnering, stakeholder management and leadership skills To apply, please email your CV to hr@charterhouse.com.sg

HR Specialist, Organisational Development

HR Specialist, Learning & Development

Our client, a notable MNC in the �inancial services sector, is looking for a HR Specialist, Organisational Development to drive its internal capabilities within its organisation.

Responsibilities:

Our client is a reputable organisation in the �inancial sector with great presence in both local and foreign market. They are looking for a HR Specialist, Learning & Development to drive its internal capabilities.

Requirements:

• to design and organise a menu of organisational development programs with relevance in the area of fund management • develop training programs by working with business units in identifying and meeting staff learning and development needs • reinforce or in�luence the development culture through targeted strategic initiatives and programs • manage the organisation programs in internal of�ices which include overseas programs coordination and implementation

Requirements:

To apply, please email your CV to hr@charterhouse.com.sg

To apply, please email your CV to hr@charterhouse.com.sg

• work in consultation with HR BPs and senior management team to improve the organisation’s performance and effectiveness • enabling future growth of key employees through the management of sponsorship of professional and technical development programs • govern all aspects of learning, planning and delivery - content development, administration, budgetary control, external funding • deliver organisation development services through the management of partnerships with external organisations • broad spectrum of knowledge on HR capabilities • strong leadership skills to lead people through organisational change process • effective communicator across different levels • good understanding of the general business environment and labour market

Responsibilities:

• minimum Business/HR degree quali�ied • relevant working experience in curriculum design and program development • possess strong analytical and interpersonal skills and organisational ability • required to do stand-up delivery, plus putting together new courses based on requirements

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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