HRM 14.2 Leadership Special

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HRM 14.2

Contents EDITOR Sumathi V Selvaretnam JOURNALIST Shalini Shukla-Pandey Sham Majid SUB-EDITOR Paul Howell TRAFFIC MANAGER Azimah Jasman SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amos Lee

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Leading into the future Rapidly evolving business environments require leaders who are able to think ahead, understand their strengths and limitations, whilst synergising their workforce and resources. HRM looks at how organisations are grooming their top talent to step up to the challenge

GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Paul Lozano SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Yogesh Chandiramani ACCOUNT MANAGERS Rebecca Ng Edwin Lim Jolene Ong GENERAL MANAGER Kaveri Ayahsamy MANAGING DIRECTOR Richard Curzon PHOTOGRAPHY BY David Teng (xcalibrephoto.com) Frank Pinckers (pinckers.com) PRINTED BY Times Printers Pte Ltd

“As fast as the world is changing, next generation leaders need to change even faster to stay ahead. Business leaders must be able to cope with multi-lateral macro-economies, and geopolitical social and environmental policies on a global scale”

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

- WILLIAM CHIN, STAFFING DIRECTOR, QUALCOMM ASIA-PACIFIC MICA (P) 206/07/2013 ISSUE 14.2

ISSN 0219-6883

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HRM 14.2

Contents

12

Check out HRM online:

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hrmasia.com

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FEATURES 12 | Live Great at work

Making life great is part of Great Eastern’s daily work: for its customers, business partners, and especially its employees. Dr Khoo Kah Siang, CEO of Great Eastern Life Assurance, shares how he is championing Great Eastern’s “GEvolution”

16 | At your service

In Singapore’s burgeoning retail industry, great customer service can be a game changer. HRM find out how Jurong Point, Singapore’s largest retail mall, has been working with its tenants to improve recruitment, training and talent retention

27 | Get your message across

How can leaders use effective communication to truly motive staff, engage them, and inspire them to achieve exceptional results? HRM discusses

32 | Moulding leaders

Leadership skills are paramount to the success of organisations. Yet many top executives bemoan the lack of leadership bench strength in their companies. HRM considers how leadership development programmes can truly improve the quality of leadership in organisations

36 | Corporate storytelling: An essential leadership capability

Corporate storytelling helping create engagement within organisations, as well

as with clients and stakeholders. Guest contributor Tanvi Gautam explores what makes stories such a powerful tool in a transformational leader’s kit

40 | Light up your brand

Attracting and retaining employees is an essential business process for all organisations, and a strong employer branding is a powerful tool to ensure you get the cream of the crop.

46 | Stepping up for change

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In this special Q&A, Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development explains why it is critical for HR to evolve, adapt and boost its capabilities. He says only this will ensure the function remains current and relevant in a changing business environment

REGULARS

49 | L’amour at work

4 | News

Love is in the air in the month of February.

However, an office romance can leave a bad taste in the mouth for some, including management. HRM speaks to experts on how managers can handle issues that can arise from employees engaging in an otherwise innocent fling at work.

52 | Celebrating in style

Organisations are developing more luxurious events and for their employees.

HRM looks at some bespoke and unique events that corporates have organised

3 | Analysis 11 | Leaders on Leadership 58 | In Person 58 | Twenty-four Seven 59 | Talent Ladder 60 | Talent Challenge 61 | Resources

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

Talent Management

Are we working less or more?

Employed residents in Singapore clocked 45.6 hours per week on average last year, a small decrease from the 47.4 hours per week worked ten years ago. Does this mean part-time and other forms of flexi-work schemes are gaining traction here?

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey Singapore workers are spending marginally less time at work now than they did 10 years ago, clocking in 45.6 hours per week on average in 2013. This is a small decrease from the 47.4 hours per week a decade back.

In a recent parliamentary reply, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin revealed that one reason for this is the country’s increasing appetite for part-time employment.

The Government has structured a series of initiatives to stimulate flexible work practices, including the WorkPro programme, which supports employers to foster progressive working environments, including formulating flexible work procedures.

For example, the Work-Life Grant offers up to $160,000 to employers to create supportive and family-friendly work environments.

“We are heartened to see a rising trend of employers offering flexible work arrangements to their employees,” Tan wrote. “In 2012, 41% of establishments offered at least

one form of work-life arrangement to their employees, up from 25% in 2007.”

Indeed, a survey conducted by recruitment firm Hays last year pointed out that eight out of 10 workers in Singapore found contract assignments an attractive option, particularly given the current global economic environment.

“Contract work is not limited to entry-level office support roles; professionals at all levels and various sectors are working on a temporary basis,” Chris Mead, Regional Director of Hays in Singapore and Malaysia, explains. “We are seeing employers engage contract workers as a long-term solution to their staffing needs and candidates are making the most of this trend as there are many advantages for them too.”

The government “will continue to work closely with tripartite partners to further endorse flexible work patterns and promote the adoption of flexible work arrangements and other progressive employment practices,” says Tan.

Benefits of contract work Candidates

Employers

Benefits

Remarks

Stretching skills

Contract workers have the chance to advance their skills and career on their own terms by choosing the employer and assignments they take on. They can also vary their tasks and workloads.

Work-life balance

Many people want or need greater flexibility in their working arrangements. Consequently there is a candidate pool only interested in contract work.

Earning potential

Employers can afford to pay elevated rates for some contract workers because they can save on other permanent staff benefits such as annual leave.

Expertise and engagement

Employers can hire particular expertise when needed for special projects, including during seasonal periods, peak production times and unforeseen workloads.

Support

Rather than continuously redistributing work between current permanent employees, which can reduce productivity, increase stress and negatively impact on health and safety, contract resources can instead support a permanent team and help business productivity.

Testing the talent

Many organisations use contract workers on a trial basis to test their ability to do the job and assess their compatibility with the organisation. This ‘try before you buy’ approach reduces the risks involved with any permanent hire, making contract workers an attractive option for some employers.

Source: Hays

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NEWS

Asia INDIA

ASIA

Top five talent trends in 2014 Last year was a difficult one for many businesses in India, according to Futurestep, a Korn Ferry company specialising in high-impact recruitment solutions. It says the national economy forced many organisations to reassess their spends in areas such as recruitment and talent management.

“It was a year that saw a focus on internal training – with the ageing workforce an issue that divided industry opinion, and globalisation a key aim,” says Byrne Mulrooney, CEO of Futurestep. “We expect innovation within recruitment to gain greater momentum this year, widening its remit to drive change, improvement and forward thinking.”

Table 1: Recruitment and talent management industry trends in 2014 Trend

Explanation

Businesses to start hiring for tomorrow – not just for today

Unless a sizeable investment is made in training, workers’ skills will be outdated within a year or so as each industry continues to evolve rapidly. Employers need to ensure they are hiring for tomorrow’s skills and future-proofing their workforces.

Mobile recruitment to finally take off

As mobile computing goes from strength to strength in 2014, this sector within recruitment will inevitably continue its own growth, with more and more applications and functionality related to talent management becoming available across a range of devices.

Big data will drive real decisionmaking

New services that can analyse and sort the mass of data held within the world’s biggest companies are now emerging. For 2014, the challenge and opportunity will be using this technology to inform strategic business decisions and demonstrate the ROI of recruitment activity.

Smarter sourcing will win the day

Companies are beginning to see the importance of investing in multichannel approaches to securing top candidates.

From the use of talent communities to educate and inspire potential candidates, to developing more compelling employer brands and adopting outreach programs, HR leaders will look to enhance and expand their recruiting strategies.

Expect more globalisation – but more localisation too

In 2014, globalisation will become increasingly important for businesses that recognise the benefits (and threats) that come from the connected world. With this, there is a move towards full service providers can be expected.

Where some organisations try to roll out a ubiquitous approach to all offices around the world, many are also seeing the benefits of tailoring processes to suit the diversity of each region they are present in.

One in three

finance workers intends to stay with their current employer for more than three years Source: ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Members Career Survey

Even though

69%

of companies regard social media as effective, most rate social media as the least important channel for executive level hiring Source: Bó Lè Associates’ Annual Regional Client Survey for 2013/14

MALAYSIA

New ID for foreign workers Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs will issue biometric identification cards to more than two million foreign workers, helping local authorities keep tabs on illegal immigrants.

The new “i-Kad” card, which will be color-coded according to an employee’s sector of work, will be embedded employment details and biometric thumbprint. The card will also feature a barcode that will allow enforcement officers to quickly access a worker’s details through their smartphones.

“These security elements are important to prevent fraud and forgery of the card. It will strengthen our enforcement,” Home Minister Zahid Hamidi said. The i-Kad is scheduled to be rolled out to all foreign workers by the end of this year.

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Employee benefits plans fail to meet needs Employees in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand consider “critical illness” coverage one of the most important elements of the benefits schemes offered by their employers. However, according to a survey by AIA less than 10% of employers offer such coverage.

The top concern, mentioned by four out of five employees surveyed, was the rising cost of medical care, followed by the uncertain financial position faced if they were suddenly unable to work. It was not surprising therefore that employees ranked critical illness coverage as the most appealing benefit after hospitalisation insurance.

The majority of employers surveyed were concerned about the benchmarking of their company against competitors. They believed employee benefits schemes played an important role in attracting and retaining talent. However when it came to adding critical illness coverage to their schemes, they saw cost as the most significant constraint - on average employers felt it would add 38% to their premiums.

However AIA says this is an overestimation, and critical illness coverage could add just 10% or less to the overall premium.

“Employers think highly of employee benefits schemes as an incentive to attract and retain talent but they over-estimate the actual cost-implication of this coverage,” said Ben Ng, CEO of AIA’s Group Corporate Solutions division. “Companies looking to offer critical illness coverage while staying within their budget constraints can consider restructuring their schemes to provide a different mix of benefits that enable them to offer critical illness cover while keeping the cost increase related to this new benefit to a minimum.”

NEWS

ASIA

Workers get itchy feet A survey by international job board, TipTopJob, has found that 95% of people included finding a new job as part of their New Years’ resolutions.

This is a common scenario, with January being the month when people are most determined to organise their lives and set themselves goals for the year.

“Putting off finding a new job is the easy option as it can be a difficult process, but in January when you are feeling motivated it is the best time to make things happen,” the website notes.

CHINA Only

8%

of Indonesian employees are engaged with their work Source: Gallup’s research on employee engagement

70%

of people aged 15 to 64 in Japan have a paid job Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index

Asia’s highest salary increases Average salary increases on the Chinese mainland were higher than those of other countries in Asia throughout 2013, with wages there driven by impressive economic growth and higher demand for talented workers.

According to a report by recruitment firm Hays, more than half (54%) of mainland employers had increased salaries by between six and 10 percent in 2013, while 12 percent gave raises of above 10%. The other regions and countries surveyed: Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, saw the majority of employers willing to raise salaries by less than six percent only.

Hays predicts the mainland will remain on top this year, as 58% of

participants intend to raise salaries by between six and 10 per cent again in 2014.

While a high salary is still a crucial way for mainland employers to win over top talent, cost control has lowered the ceiling for salary increases in many organisations. That has in turn increased the number of firms using benefits and bonuses to entice talent, said Simon Lance, regional director of Hays in China.

The report also noted that the booming digital marketing and e-commerce sectors in the country are in short of skilful candidates, who will obtain significant wage increases of between 25 and 35%.

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HR INSIGHT

Employee Engagement

LEADERSHIP:

What you want and what you get Preferred leadership style EMPOWERING Fosters/allows workers to have direct decision-making responsibilities

EMPATHETIC

Sets a tone so workers feel engaged, valued, and guided to succeed

VISIONARY

AUTHORITATIVE

Provides clear vision/foresight, allowing for cohesive progress towards a shared vision

Direct approach; expects that directives will be followed

DID YOU KNOW

%

s are preferr style ed by hip s r 81 e d a

f workers sa yt %o 29 a It’s lso t

pla k their wor

se

e in

least p he

al l

y

sw

hat they actu

the most com m

4%

dership style lea on

s is hi

erred ref

i th t on ly 43% say si

rs rke wo of

Bu

Thes e fo ur le

Favors team involvement/decisionmaking by the group; gives instruction after consulting the group

ce

DEMOCRATIC

Actual leadership style

THE PREFERRED LEADERSHIP STYLE BREAKDOWN Democratic (%) Empowering (%)

20

12

Empathetic (%)

20

7

Visionary (%)

24

16

of workers worldwide that reported they feel inspired by their manager to do their best work

of workers worldwide that said they either didn’t believe in their employer’s mission/purpose, or didn’t know it

of workers worldwide who speak highly of their employer – the most positive countries include Norway, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, United States and Italy

17

8

48% 38% 60%

Percent of workers who are dissatisfied with their management’s leadership style (Top 10 Countries) Eight out of 10 countries who experience the highest levels of leadership dissatisfaction are in Europe

Italy

36%

South Africa

35%

Germany

34%

Poland

33%

Source: Kelly Outsourcing & Consulting Group 6

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Denmark

32%

Hong Kong

31%

Sweden

29%

Hungary

29%

France

28%

Switzerland

28%

S I M 5 0 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y L E A R N I N G S E R I E S www.sim.edu.sg

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NEWS

International UK

More female directors in FTSE listed companies firms The ratio of female directors governing companies on the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange (FTSE) has reached 20 % for the first time, increasing the likelihood that the target of 25% may be hit next year.

The latest numbers from BoardWatch, which monitors female board appointments in FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 firms, reveal that women comprised 20.4 % of FTSE 100 directors in January 2014, an increase from 12.5 % three years ago.

Women also comprised 25% of non-executive directorships, an increase from 15.6% in 2011.

Since March 1 last year, 27% of all board appointments have been women. In order to achieve the goal of 25 % by 2015, a further 51 board seats have to be occupied by women.

Elin Hurvenes, chair and founder of the Professional Board Forum, hailed the strides made by women as “impressive and encouraging”.

“Germany is introducing quotas. The UK is succeeding without,” she was quoted as saying by the UK’s HR Magazine.

Only two FTSE 100 firms still have male-only boards: those of Antofagasta and Glencore Xstrata.

UK

Managers keen to tackle social media woes Almost four out of every five managers say sharpening their social media skills is an important business agenda for the future, a study has showed.

Out of the 750 leaders interviewed by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), 68% conceded that their social media skills were currently ineffective, while 79% claimed managers had to be more adept at social media to allow the UK economy to prosper and compete globally.

The most significant skills gaps highlighted by the study were forging partnerships (87%) and networking (78%). Respondents said they were weak in those aspects, with 40% of managers portraying themselves as ineffective at networking.

Thirty-four percent also said they were not skilled at decentralising decision making, 27% were insufficiently skilled at creating “agile” teams and 24% were not very capable at battling underperformance.

More than half (57%) said they were unable to fully utilise big data.

Claire McCartney, an adviser in resourcing and talent planning at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said the CMI’s research illustrated managers had “a clear 8

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understanding of the skills required of them to take their organisations forward” and “strong self-awareness of the gaps in their current skill sets”.

“The use of social media continues to rise rapidly and managers need to ensure they are able to get the most out of this valuable tool and engage with the new generations coming into their organisations to whom social media is second nature,” McCartney was quoted as saying in HR Magazine.

McCartney added that managers must be able to foster stronger relationships and earn the support of their teams in order to build forward thinking and agile teams.

Creating “agile” teams was mooted as a priority by 85% of the survey’s respondents while managing complexity was listed as 76%.

CMI chief executive Ann Francke said the findings showed that “no employer can afford to neglect their managers’ skills if they’re serious about success”.

“Management shortcomings are already part of the reason why the UK lags behind competitors like the US and Germany, and we could fall further behind if we don’t prepare now for the future,” she said.

Almost 60%

of employers in New Zealand found it difficult to attract suitable staff last year Source: Employment Survey by the Employers and Manufacturer Association

$63.2 billion worth of workplace productivity is lost a year in the US due to insomnia

Source: American Insomnia Study

1.1 million jobs were generated

by Brazilian employers in 2013

Source: Preliminary data released by Labor Industry

US

Education leads the way A quarter of adults in the US possess education qualifications besides an academic degree, the Census Bureau has reported.

In its maiden report of such nature, the bureau revealed that as of mid-2012, more than 50 million US adults, or one in four, was armed with a professional certification, license or educational certificate besides a postsecondary degree awarded by colleges and universities.

“Getting an academic degree is not the only way for people to develop skills that pay off in the labour market,” Stephanie Ewert, a demographer with the Census Bureau’s Education and Social Stratification Branch said.

“In this report, we’ve been able to measure for the first time how many people take another route to a productive career: holding an alternative educational credential independent of traditional college degrees. It turns out that millions of people have taken this path.”

The report illustrated that alternative qualifications pave the way for higher earnings.

“For people with at least a bachelor’s degree, earnings didn’t really differ between those with an alternative educational credential and those without,” said report co-author Robert Kominski, assistant chief for social characteristics at the Census Bureau.

“But at lower levels of regular education, there is routinely an earnings premium for a professional certification or license, or an educational certificate.”

NEWS

EUROPE

GREECE

Europe’s economic woes have “A gradual reduction of resulted in a “significant” increase in unemployment is unlikely to be poverty among people who are at a enough to reverse the increasing working age. Even a job may not be trend in poverty levels,” he said. able to drag them out of poverty, the While the Euro-zone fought its European Commission recently said. way out of recession last year, Finding jobs only enables people to unemployment rates are still alarmingly break out of poverty in 50% of cases, excessive, among young people in the European Union‘s executive found particular. The commission has claimed in its 2013 review of employment and that austerity measures will help social developments. stabilise the economy, but the European Those who do secure a job usually Federation of Public Service Unions work fewer hours or for lower salaries (EPSU) has rejected that notion. then before, resulting in more in-work Nearly a quarter of EU citizens are in poverty, the commission said. serious danger of poverty or exclusion, “Unfortunately we cannot say that according to commission statistics. The having a job necessarily equates with a definition extends to people battling decent standard of living,” EU to settle basic living expenses, or Employment Commissioner Laszlo whose disposable income is no more Andor toldGMPRS1045 Europe Online than 60% of the1national average.

GMP HRMagazine.

Magazine 186x119.5mm pa.pdf 14/1/13 11:13 AM

It takes more than nine months for the average unemployed Greek worker to find a new job, surpassing not just Spain but also South Africa, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has noted in its most recent annual report.

The rise in waiting time before securing a job has been a recurring theme of the global economic woes which started in 2008. Nevertheless, the issue in Greece has been even more alarming.

Average waiting times to find a job in Greece rose from eight to nine months over the last four years.

In the US, the average waiting time to land a job increased from 3.5 months to six in 2012.

Spain saw the average waiting period rise from five months in 2008 to eight in 2012.

Experts have predicted that worldwide unemployment rates will be high for the next five years.

Five million more people were unemployed globally in 2013 than in 2012. The total unemployed figure rose to 202 million.

Working poor continue to struggle

Nine month wait for Greeks to find work

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LEADERS ON LEADERSHIP

Talent Management

Retaining top talent What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

John Hines

Area Vice President – South Asia and India, Verizon

I see the biggest challenge facing leaders today as the need to drive return on investment through innovation. This will increasingly become a critical discussion for most Fortune 500 companies as enterprises experience numerous unprecedented changes in the marketplace.

The environment in which enterprises operate today is different from what we had five or ten years ago. It is increasingly connected and the amount of data available is growing exponentially. Organisations need to mine insights from this data and re-evaluate their business models in order to identify opportunities that they can leverage on.

To me, re-evaluating business models is not about understanding what the model is, but what the model is going to be. By doing this, and concentrating on their core competencies, organisations will be able to differentiate the role of innovation from standard research and product development.

I believe that the best return on investment comes from a strategic devotion to innovative research, development, and partnership. At Verizon, we endorse ‘collaborative innovation’ – involving the entire company in identifying new ideas and developing them by leveraging our resources and expertise.

My advice to solving the innovation challenge is to seek the right talent. A good start would be to re-evaluate skill sets and look at more leadership-oriented talent that’s not just passionate about what they do, but can also identify opportunities to move forward and enable business expansion.

John Lee

GM – Korea and Southeast Asia, Mundipharma

Rapid globalisation is both the biggest challenge, and the biggest opportunity for leaders today.

This is giving rise to a new generation of companies where leaders need to operate with a nimble structure, carefully adapting the business model to cater to the needs of individual markets, as well as effectively managing this diversity and change when navigating their multi-border operations.

These developments also present new complexities that leaders need to be mindful of. Firstly, leaders should be locally flexible and adaptable in each market to cope with the increasing diversity of customers and channels.

Mundipharma exercises a healthy talent mix by placing leaders with international experience in regional positions and creating movements, while also championing localisation, by placing local leaders in markets where knowledge of the operating landscape is essential.

For instance, I was offered the role of general manager in Malaysia, after serving as the commercial director in Korea.

Concurrently, the general managers for developing markets such as China and Brazil are both local experts.

Leaders also need to align a dispersed workforce across different markets with a single set of values and strategies. Leaders regularly conduct one-on-one coaching sessions with their teams so that everyone is on the same page.

Lastly, leaders must be able to deploy and nurture talent in emerging markets, especially since these are seen by many as major growth drivers.

Ferdinand de Bakker

Lecturer – Change Management & Communication, Nanyang Technological University

TJ and Sandar Larkin already pointed it out in their book ‘Communicating Change’ in 1994: leaders of organisations, be it in the private, public or social sector, have lost credibility.

It is not difficult to understand why.

Business literature has countless examples of leaders who didn’t walk the talk, or worse, lied to their employees and, as a result, failed.

Edelman’s 2014 Trust Barometer shows not much has changed in the last 20 years. CEOs don’t take ethical and moral decisions; they don’t tell the truth, regardless of how complex or unpopular it is; and they don’t solve social or societal issues, to name just a few of the many reasons why employees stopped listening.

It is quite amazing that so many of today’s leaders and those around them, including highly capable communication specialists, fail to recognise this. To make matters worse, the old concept of who an employee actually is does no longer exist.

Today and even more so in the future, employees work four days a week or less; they work from home; on a project basis; or have consultancy contracts. This doesn’t make leading any easier.

Employees trust what fellow workers say, they trust what their direct supervisor says, and they don’t trust what management says.

Many do not care about the organisation they work for, no matter how many blogs, videos, memos, speeches and other types of communication come from their leadership.

Yet it’s not so difficult for leaders to change this: honesty; integrity; and clear, concise and compelling communication will go a long way. So does the realisation that to lead well, one must serve well.

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LEADERS TALK HR

Great Eastern

Live Great at work Making life great is part of Great Eastern’s daily work: for its customers, business partners, and especially its employees. Dr Khoo Kah Siang, CEO of Great Eastern Life Assurance, shares how he is championing Great Eastern’s “GEvolution”

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey

“We are a LIFE company.” The organisation that makes such a bold statement about its role is also the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia.

The company, through its leadership team and staff, has embraced this simple yet powerful corporate purpose – to not just be a life insurance company, but to be a “life” company. “Not only do we endeavour to help our customers to live longer, healthier and better, we also make it a point to cascade this concept internally as well,” says Dr Khoo Kah Siang, CEO of Great Eastern Life Assurance.

With talent shortages being a key HR challenge in the financial services industry, having a clear focus on employee engagement and staff welfare truly helps retain precious talent.

“We have a shortage of talent, especially those with specialised skills such as underwriting, risk management and compliance,” Khoo explains. “There is also a lack of awareness about such roles – their attractiveness within the industry and the exciting challenges that people in the profession face. That creates gaps.

“There are also no dedicated university graduate or undergraduate programmes for insurance in most universities either,” he adds.

Besides grooming internal talent to fill those gaps, and recruiting both graduates and people with some relevant experience, Khoo says retention of staff is a daily priority.

Retaining scarce talent While people stay in a company for various reasons, it is very important to attract the right people to the organisation in the first place, says Khoo.

“When we recruit people, we ensure that those who join are the right fit for the organisation,” he explains. “If you recruit someone who doesn’t fit well, over time, there will be a higher likelihood that you will create unhappiness among your existing staff and also that the person who joined, no matter how talented he or she is, won’t be able to stay.”

Khoo personally gets involved in interview processes, even two or three levels down, to ensure candidates have the right attitudes, values and personalities for the organisation. Once a candidate is on-board, Khoo and his management team, along with HR, ensure that staff feel engaged in their jobs so that they can 12

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LEADERS TALK HR

BIOGRAPHY Dr Khoo Kah Siang

CEO, Great Eastern Life Assurance A well-respected figure in the insurance industry, Dr Khoo Kah Siang, 44, is also Chairman of Great Eastern Financial Advisers and President of the Life Insurance Association, Singapore.

He joined Great Eastern Life Assurance in 2006 as Head of Group Corporate Finance and has held several portfolios in the company since, including Head of Group Actuarial, Appointed Actuary, as well as Chief Financial Officer.

He has spent the last 17 years in the financial sector, including four years as Deputy Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

A Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, UK, Khoo also holds a Doctorate in Statistics from the University of Kent in the UK. ISSUE 14.2

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LEADERS TALK HR

Great Eastern contribute to the organisation to the best of their abilities.

“When we first hire an individual, we have an on-boarding programme for them to familiarise themselves with our corporate culture,” says Khoo. “I personally speak at these orientation programmes, to give them an overview of how things are going with the company, who we are, what our culture is like, why we’re successful, and what our values are.”

Each department also has its own “Making Life Great” programme, through which team building, CSR, and sharing activities are arranged.

“All this is part of culture building,” says Khoo. “For one, we want them to build teamwork, and secondly, we want them to share what they think about the organisation. We take all feedback into consideration and deliberate on the actions we need to take.”

As a lot of the action takes place within the different departments, local cultures are created, along with a broad company-wide one. “Many small things make a big difference – putting up a staff member for recognition within the department, for example,” Khoo explains. “However certain things may be escalated to the company level and action taken.”

Keeping relationships tight To ensure relationships are built and maintained, Great Eastern provides various platforms for staff to communicate with management, and vice versa. “In August 2011, we unveiled ‘GEvolution’, an internal programme aimed at aligning everyone in the Great Eastern family to our corporate strategies,” says Khoo.

GEvolution town hall meetings are conducted every six months, across different countries, to ensure that every employee understands where the organisation is heading and how they can contribute to achieving corporate goals.

• I love: To bring positive changes to the things I do.

• I dislike: Excuses.

• My inspiration is: God. • My biggest weakness is: Food.

• In five years’ time I’d like to be: A lot wiser.

• Favourite quote: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

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One of the key pillars of GEvolution is a commitment to “Best People”, a platform that centres on the unique Great Eastern culture, open and honest communication, engaged employees, talent development, strong work ethics, and great teamwork.

“Every two months, I have a town hall meeting with senior management executives (from senior vice president level and above),” says Khoo. “We share business challenges, on-going development of projects, and other such information so everyone knows where the company is headed and how much we’ve achieved. Everyone is on the same page.”

Apart from the communication platforms for large groups of people, there are also avenues that get smaller groups interacting with each other.

“Quite often, I’m involved in something called the ‘GEvolution Café’ with people from different departments, where we talk openly about a myriad of topics over coffee,” says Khoo. “It’s a no-holds-barred conversation about assignments, job challenges, and aspirations. We also bounce ideas off staff and see how they respond to them.”

Khoo also engages with some of his Generation Y employees on different short assignments through which they get to know the company direction and his leadership style. He says they are often able to deliver results within just two to three meetings.

“Gen Y workers want to experience different roles. They want an engaged boss who can add value to them. They are also quick learners who are very capable of taking on challenging tasks,” says Khoo. “It is therefore very important for an organisation to be able to engage young people to ensure they are given opportunities to stretch.”

Ultimately, Khoo aims to make Great Eastern an open organisation. “I make it known that every level of staff is important and that there’s no such thing as an employee being dispensable because they are at a lower level within the organisation structure,” he explains.

“People who are capable are able to add value, no matter what their rank,” he adds. “It is therefore very important

LEADERS TALK HR

for us, especially me from the top, to demonstrate that we are really an open organisation that’s receptive to new ideas, and where staff are empowered to go beyond their jobs to ‘wow’ customers.”

Happy campers ahead Great Eastern continues to rank among the best employers in Asia, according to Aon Hewitt’s employee engagement survey, with an employee engagement score which is consistently ahead of the industry.

Employee Engagement Score Great Eastern Group 2012

77%

Great Eastern Group 2011

71%

Global Financial Norms 2011-2012

57%

APAC Insurance Norms 2011-2012

62%

Source: Aon Hewitt

Turnover is also generally below industry average. Many employees stay on with the organisation for years. For instance, Khoo has been with Great Eastern for seven years and promoted several times within that time frame. Another senior staff who has grown with the company is its Chief Marketing Officer, Collin Chan, who has been with the company since Day One of his career, starting off as an acturial associate in 1994.

“Our communication and staff engagement efforts are indeed paying off,” says Khoo. “Many staff stay on in Great Eastern due to the career opportunities that are constantly presented to them.

“This truly speaks well for our talent pipeline and our ability to churn out talent within the company,” he adds.

Caring for staff welfare Great Eastern’s “LIFE” programme is a first-of-its-kind integrated employee health incentive benefits programme.

“The programme is inspired by our ‘life company’ purpose where we go beyond the traditional role of an insurance company to help our customers, including internal customers like our employees, live healthier, better and longer,” says Dr Khoo Kah Siang, CEO of Great Eastern Life Assurance. “The programme encourages employees to take charge of their health and wellness by incentivising them with ‘LIFE Points’.”

Each point is equivalent to a dollar in cash. To earn points, employees need to complete an annual biometric assessment and improve upon their health status, compared to the year before. Additional points are awarded to staff for completing other health-related activities.

Employees can then use their points to purchase treatments and products by medical, dental and optical practitioners. Staff can also buy products and services offered by any merchant under the Great Eastern Live Great Programme and fund premiums for insurance plans purchased from Great Eastern. Employees can also use their ‘LIFE Points’ to extend the benefits to their immediate family members.

Employees have the opportunity to personalise their benefits package, by converting up to two days of their annual leave as well as their dental and optical benefits to points.

“Participation rates are high and we see that many of our staff are more conscious about leading a healthier lifestyle,” says Khoo. “As an organisation, employees are aware of the need to be healthy and to live better – to Live Great!”

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HR INSIDER

service At your service

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HR INSIDER

Jurong Point

In Singapore’s burgeoning retail industry, great customer service can be a game changer. HRM find out how Jurong Point, Singapore’s largest retail mall, has been working with its tenants to improve recruitment, training and talent retention

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam

Singapore is seeing a growing number of mall projects as more foreign retailers enter the local market. Some 13 new malls are in the works and scheduled to open between now and 2017. As competition heats up, existing retailers are seeking new and innovative ways to engage and retain both their employees and customers.

Jurong Point Shopping Centre, the largest suburban mall in Singapore has launched a number of initiatives to attract the right talent into its fold.

One of the most effective means has been the organisation’s in-house staff referral programme, shares Sally Yap, Senior HR and Administration Manager, Jurong Point Shopping Centre. “They receive cash incentives if the employee is confirmed after three months.”

Recruitment efforts do not stop at in-house and operational roles. Jurong Point is also home to 450 tenants who host some 2,500 employees between them. The mall launched its own job portal in 2012 to help its tenants look for staff. It also runs regular

AT A GLANCE

recruitment fairs to attract suitable candidates. This additional help is especially appreciated by the mall’s smaller shops that have resource constraints, shares Yap.

Skills upgrade Jurong Point has been beefing up its service levels to keep its customers coming for more. One of the ways it achieves this is by conducting training programmes for its tenants. Employees from the mall’s various outlets are taken through bite-sized modules that focus on areas such as how to serve people better, personal grooming, and basic conversational English. The latter can be a barrier for the some staff so courses like these help them perform their daily tasks better, says Yap. “We treat our tenants like family. We won’t be strong if they are not strong.”

To support its training and development efforts, Jurong Point has been tapping on the CustomerCentric Initiative by SPRING Singapore. This

• Total number of Jurong Point employees: 160 in-house staff employed directly by Jurong Point. 2,500 employees working for the mall’s tenants • Size of HR team: 3 • Key HR focus areas: Learning and development programmes for all retail staff

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HR INSIDER

Jurong Point Good Service Club Jurong Point, Singapore’s largest suburban mall, is dedicated to improving customer service in each of its 450 tenant retailers. The Good Service Club is one of its most important initiatives in this regard. It consists of: • Service Coaches – 10 Jurong Point staff members were selected to kick start the club as Service Coaches. They walk around the mall to address service inadequacies, and reinforce aspects of positive service behaviour, such as maintaining an approachable demeanour. Each Service Coach is scheduled to visit about 40 shops through at least two mall walkabouts every month.

At your service

• Service Champions – Retail staff who are proactive, service-orientated, and pleasant are nominated by their employers to become Service Champions. As a form of recognition for their performance, Service Champions receive letters of commendation from the mall as well as incentives according to their employers’ respective schemes.

Jurong Point has implemented a “I don’t say ‘No’,” commitment under which service staff will be trained to assist shoppers, instead of declining their requests at the first instance

• Service Guardians – Residents in the western quadrant of Singapore have also been recruited as mystery shoppers to monitor the service levels demonstrated by each outlet in the mall.

programme provides funding support for projects and solutions that raise service standards in Singapore. It covers 70% of eligible costs for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and up to 50% for larger organisations.

The mall is also partnering with Singapore Polytechnic (SP) to offer a service training programme for its retail, and food and beverage staff in March this year. Under this, employees will

undergo 30 hours of training focusing on areas such as Retail Strategies and Operations, Visual Merchandising, Restaurant Management and Challenges, and Menu Design and Pricing. Upon completion, course participants will receive a joint certificate from SP and Jurong Point. “It’s a sweetener that will encourage them to stay at Jurong Point,” Yap says. “It adds value and enhances their employability,” shares Yap. Jurong Point is fully absorbing the cost of training and hopes to put 500 to 700 service staff through the programme’s two-year pilot phase. It plans to extend it to the mall’s full staff strength within the next five years.

According to Yap, the customised training will focus on improving the productivity, emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial mindset of in-house and tenant staff.

Room to collaborate and grow Employee empowerment is a strong part of the internal organisation culture at Jurong Point. The management team sets the direction by painting a broad picture of what needs to be done, but employees are given the freedom to work out the details with their teams. This makes decisions less hierarchical and employees are also happier as they are not micromanaged, says Yap. Employees are not limited to the roles that they initially signed up for. Jurong Point also supports the movement of staff across different departments.

If an employee in the operations department is interested in a marketing role, they can get a transfer when the right opportunity arises, says Yap. This flexibility is appreciated by the

WHO’S WHO IN HR

Sally Yap

Senior Manager, Human Resource

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Raakel Peter Senior Executive, Human Resource

Emily Tan

Executive, Human Resource

HR INSIDER

organisation’s younger employees in particular.

“They are more restless and don’t want to be stuck at the computer doing mundane things. We are very open to doing things differently. Our risk appetite is bigger and this is quite attractive for fresh school leavers,” says Yap. The HR team at Jurong Point follows this ethos and takes a non-traditional approach to its role. It works very closely with other departments to push out new ideas and programmes, share Yap. It also serves as the umbrella HR organisation for the mall’s tenants and is actively involved in ensuring a consistent culture across the property.

Interaction between departments is also encouraged through activities such as overseas trips. “Every department is represented by a team member and it allows employees to bond outside of work,” says Yap. Quarterly buffet lunches are organised to encourage employees to eat and mingle together while exchanging updates on the latest happenings. “We don’t work in silos and like to come together to support each other,” says Yap.

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Leadership Special

Leading into the future Get your message across: Leadership communication Moulding leaders Corporate storytelling: An essential leadership capability ISSUE 14.2

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Succession Planning

Rapidly expanding global markets, increasingly diverse workplaces, and the ongoing digital revolution – these are some of the challenging business realities facing the next generation of leaders.

The ability to adapt and innovate will differentiate truly exceptional leaders from the rest of the pack. “As fast as the world is changing, next generation leaders need to change even faster to stay ahead. Business leaders must be able to cope with multi-lateral macro-economies, and geopolitical social and environmental policies on a global scale,” says William Chin, Staffing Director of Qualcomm Asia-Pacific.

In addition to running the company’s core business, these leaders will be expected to build alliances with upstream and downstream suppliers, grow eco-system partners, and manage governmental stakeholders, adds Chin.

Some traditional modes of leadership are becoming increasingly outdated in this new sphere.

For example, a one-size-fits-all approach to management and development of employees is no longer relevant, says Patrick Bergstedt, President, Asia-Pacific, MSD. “Different people learn and develop differently.”

Directive leadership styles are also less favoured today. Managers and employees prefer a management style where they are allowed to determine how to serve customers and achieve business results within a set of operating guidelines consistent with the company’s core values, Bergstedt says.

Saikumar Shammana, Associate Vice President of HR, Infosys Technologies, concurs. “Leadership styles which are autocratic, hierarchical, coercive, democratic, transactional or more recently even charisma-based have taken a back seat.”

According to Saikumar, the leadership style that is evolving is one that addresses the requirements of total transparency, offers zero tolerance to unethical behavior, and allows employees greater say.

Changing business landscapes can also pose new challenges. For example, almost everything in China has a political factor involved, shares Beijing-based Chin. “Business leaders need to align business strategy to the government’s new ‘China Dream’ slogan to enable economic growth for the nation.

Everything is also personal in China. Attracting, hiring and retaining talent is a contact sport.

Leaders need to get involved in their employees to provide professional and personal support.”

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Rapidly evolving business environments require leaders who are able to think ahead, understand their strengths and limitations, and synergise their workforce and resources. HRM looks at how organisations are grooming their top talent to step up to the challenge

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam

he

t o t n i g n i d a Le

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Succession Planning Identifying leaders It is the responsibility of current managers to groom the next generation of leaders in an organisation. “The classic ‘Make’ versus ‘Buy’ decision swings heavily in favor of ‘Make’ in a successful high performing organisation,” says Saikumar, referring to how many companies prefer to grow their talent from within.

Identifying the next generation of leadership requires the organisation to invest significant amount of time, money, effort and energy, says Saikumar. “The organisation should have a focused strategy towards identifying a gene pool of individuals who have all or some of these attributes: great team playing ability, a vision for the future, demonstrated risk-taking ability, the proclivity to take on higher responsibilities, a willingness to venture into uncharted territories, mental toughness while dealing with crises, and involvement in societal activities beyond work.”

Insights around these areas could be garnered using multiple touch points such as performance appraisals, 360 degree assessments and exposure to the highest levels, says Saikumar. “Depending on the size or scale of the organisation and business complexity, a combination of these approaches could be used.”

HR can also kick start this process by using a succession planning and high potential (HiPo) employee assessment process, says Chin. Typically, this will develop a talent pipeline for critical skills as part of their workforce planning process. “However, while these steps are needed, it does not go deep enough. While HR is looking at the top layer it doesn’t solve the leadership needs for the rest of the organisation,” Chin says.

Only by developing an integrated organisation capability solution, from top to bottom and across, will HR enable next generation capabilities in their organisation, says Chin. “Next generational leadership isn’t about an inspirational individual – it takes a team of leaders to bring about greater impact of business growth in a growing complex global environment,” says Chin.

Identifying the right candidates is only the beginning of the leadership journey. Engaging them can often be a bigger challenge, says Saikumar.

“Giving them a broader vision of the company is the key. The next generation leaders being the high performers that they are, need to be moved out of their zone of comfort by giving unfamiliar jobs and risky assignments that they can challenge themselves against. This will not only keep them engaged but will also ensure that they elevate themselves above the normal day-to-day operations.”

Job rotation, job shadowing with on the job mentoring, and assignments with organisational veterans can also keep them highly engaged, explains Saikumar.

It takes a

team

of leaders to bring about greater impact of business growth in a growing complex global environment

Helping them cope Helping future leaders understand and anticipate the challenges that lie ahead is an important part of ensuring their success.

Sustained business growth requires leaders to seek out investment capital for new innovations. “They form strategic alliances to expand into new markets and go through mergers and acquisitions to attain new intellectual property and related assets. They might

Are you a next generation leader?

Leaders of tomorrow are ready to fill a mission critical role, while clearly knowing the way, showing the way, and walking the way. Saikumar Shamanna, Associate vice president of HR, Infosys Technologies shares some of the key qualities desired of such individuals: • Ability to rapidly move into action and make smart and quick decisions.

• Ability to embrace technology, leverage the power of diversity, and form high-performance teams • Active listening skills, promoting creative dissent and self-reflection • Courage to walking the talk and make meaningful changes which have significant impact • Ability to communicate effectively to a multigenerational workforce.

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Succession Planning “It is extremely important that the organisation conducts as many reviews as possible to check the readiness of the leadership pipeline” – WILLIAM CHIN, STAFFING DIRECTOR, QUALCOMM ASIA-PACIFIC

CASE STUDY

Emerging Markets Leadership Development Programme at MSD The business complexities in emerging markets, including diversity of language and regulations, urged pharmaceutical giant MSD to groom more local talent into leadership positions. While the company was able to fill middle management roles, it found that it was lacking talent who could take on senior leadership positions.

To accelerate the growth of such leaders, MSD developed the Emerging Markets Leadership Development Programme jointly with Harvard University and Harvard Business Publishing. It aims to help high potential employees from all countries, including emerging markets, to develop entrepreneurial and innovative mindsets so that they are able to execute decisions and calculate risk. The programme also aims to instil a sense of urgency, enabling the emerging markets business to move quickly. The 10-month programme fosters networking and collaboration among cross-regional and cross-divisional emerging market leaders.

Two in-person sessions are conducted at the beginning and end of the programme to help participants build relationships with their foreign peers. Participants also engage in seven virtual thematic learning modules. Action learning projects allow participants to get together and find solutions for key issues that they face.

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spin-off a division in order to let fledging organisation survive,” explains Chin.

To be able to implement these changes, they need to learn the business dynamics, finance, high impact communication, and different leadership styles that will apply to different situations, says Saikumar. “While such interventions can be planned and implemented, it is extremely important that the organisation conducts as many reviews as possible to check the readiness of the leadership pipeline.”

However, in most organisations, HR does not have a huge budget for leadership development, Chin warns.

HR can work around this by building internal and externally-linking programmes. “Taking a page from business, HR talent development teams can build alliances within the same industry for core or fundamental skills at a lower cost (as expenses are shared with the external partner).”

This gives participants the opportunity to learn from industry peers and gain greater business insight.”From a developmental approach, future leaders gain tremendous experience by taking training on the road with alliance partners. Partners begin to view them as industry leaders, forging relationships that will be beneficial to both organisations,” Chin explains.

Adopting such an approach might concern HR with issues such as divulging proprietary internal training and development programmes, admits Chin. “Some might be worried about their key talent being hired away by competitors. Businesses leaders have a history of partnering with ‘frenemies’ – HR should be doing the same,” he says.

HR’s role As HR takes on a more strategic role, it is required now more than ever to be a business leader that delivers to the organisation’s bottom line.

HR needs to be a collaborator that can seamlessly engage across levels within the organisation, says Saikumar. It needs to creates an agile structure which allows for flexibility – both from an organisational perspective and for employees, he explains. “HR needs to attain a place of pride in the management team as a trusted advisor, counsel and idea generator to solve business challenges and continuously challenge the status quo.”

According to Chin, another area of focus is big data.

HR professionals today are continuing to improve internal process efficiencies through HR information systems. “HR leading from the front now has the ability to extract data for even greater strategic insight,” he says. “Companies are already tapping into data for product research and development. HR will need to focus on the people aspect for integrated talent solutions.”

LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Leadership communication

Get your

message across

How can leaders use effective communication to truly motive staff, engage them, and inspire them to achieve exceptional results? HRM discusses

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey “Leadership communication is about inspiring others to achieve high performance and solid results,” says Kevin Murray, a strategic communication, reputation management, and leadership coaching specialist, in his book, The Language of Leaders.

Indeed, the idea of leadership communication is to get a message across to a team in the way they comprehend best, so they can clearly outline the actions they need to succeed, says Amit Oberoi, CEO of Coca Cola.

While being open, honest and transparent is almost a given for good leadership, it’s also important for a leader to know their audience and interpret the message accordingly.

“For example if you are addressing the commercial team, you need to customise your message to the language of ‘dollars and cents’ which they use daily and comprehend easily,” says Oberoi. “Personally for

me, I always like to close my leadership communication sessions with a few simple action points to summarise the discussions, so the team is clear about the expectations.”

Leaders should genuinely care about and be interested in what those they lead have to say, what they feel, and how they’re doing, says Ian Cook, International Speaker and author of Would They Call You Their Best Boss Ever? : Practical Tips and Insights for the Successful Manager. “This makes the listening part much easier.

“Also, leaders should be clear about what they are saying, whether it is about their strategic vision or performance expectations,” Cook adds. “Finally, all leaders should be approachable, even if it means carving out only select availability times from their busy schedule.”

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Leadership communication The most impactful communication, ultimately, is when a leader accurately and genuinely recognises better performance. “When people accomplish more, they deserve feedback that lets them know they’re doing well and are appreciated,” says Dan Silberman, Senior Director, Global Leadership Development, Cognizant. “Unfortunately, this aspect of communication is often neglected. Yet it’s the most powerful when correctly applied.

“Relatively frequent, specific, accurate, genuine recognition, offered up only when it’s earned, will be seen as credible and valued—and will drive higher levels of performance,” he adds.

Tough questions all leaders should ask themselves Are you an inspiring leader and communicator?

How well can you answer these questions?

• Can I say that I genuinely inspire our people by communicating with passion and integrity? Does my leadership team do the same?

• Am I confident that everyone (at all levels in the organisation) has a clear view of our overall values and our purpose so that all the decisions they make are aligned with these?

How to talk?

• Do all our people understand what each of them needs to do to help achieve our overall goal, and are they inspired by it?

• Is everyone in the organisation committed to constantly improving our key relationships – with each other, our suppliers, partners, stakeholders and, most importantly, our customers?

• Are we having enough meaningful conversations with our employees so they feel engaged, motivated and committed to what we are doing? Am I recognising good work when I have those conversations?

• Can I truly say that I understand what things are like for our people so that I can talk about issues that are important to them?

• Do I make it a priority to get feedback and input from our people across the organisation and respond to their concerns? Am I a good listener? Do I make it easy for people to bring me bad news?

• Can people in the organisation look at me and say that I speak out strongly and clearly on the issues that are important to me and to our organisation?

• Am I known as a leader who inspires and engages people by using stories to communicate the messages I want to convey, or do I only use charts with facts and figures?

• Am I confident that the way I act, and the signals I send, communicate the right messages to our people?

What signals are they receiving and how do those influence their behaviours?

• Am I and all of the leaders in the organisation properly prepared and trained for speaking publicly so we can ensure that every word we say counts?

• Is communication a fundamental leadership priority within the organisation, ensuring that we develop all of our leaders to become inspiring communicators?

Source: Questionnaire based on the “The Language of Leaders 12 Principles” by Kevin Murray, with help from Sinead Jefferies of Opinion Leader Research

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LISTENING is a critical skill in all aspects of leadership, including communication

The first step in becoming a more inspiring communicator is to have a clear vision for the part of the organisation that one is responsible for.

“This must be a goal or desired end-state about which you are passionate,” says Cook. “It has to matter to you, because if you are not inspired by it, it is certain that your employees won’t be either.”

There are many courses that can help leaders learn the basics of leadership communication, and also consistently develop such skills. Still, truly great leaders are self-aware and self-correcting, says Silberman.

“In this context, that’s about continuously examining whether the communication is having the desired effect on the person, team or organisation,” he explains.

Oberoi agrees, saying it is crucial for leaders to be flexible and adapt their communication delivery style to suit their audience, using examples that are relevant to the target group.

“Great leaders continuously improve by identifying more successful communication tactics and behaviours,” Silberman adds. “In reflection, a good leader asks themselves a range of questions: ‘What am I trying to accomplish?’; ‘What about my communication did I do that worked well, and why?’; and ‘What must I do differently?’.”

Remember to listen too Listening is a critical skill in all aspects of leadership, including communication. Without effective listening, a leader runs the risk of pushing out messages that fall flat or, in the worst case, are negatively received, says Silberman.

“Listening is about being in tune with the audience; it’s often the case that a leader is so consumed with the need to get the message out that the audience is neglected,” he explains. Leaders should ask themselves what things might be going on for the target person or group that might get in the way of understanding the

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message. They should also consider what might not be being said that they should be sensitive to.

Listening is also about respecting and valuing what others feel and say, and not dismissing or minimising those things. “The bottom line is that good listening enables leaders to be heard well,” says Silberman.

While many leaders believe they have their ears on the ground, they may not actually be active listeners. Part of what makes it hard to be an active listener is what’s called the ‘speed gap’, says Oberoi. This is the gap between the time that it takes someone to say something and the time it takes for you to process that message.

“We process information three to four times more quickly than people speak,” says Oberoi. “So, as someone is speaking, we could have a tendency to second guess or jump to conclusions.”

Leaders should use active listening skills to keep their minds focused on the conversation. “An active listener attempts to see things from the employee’s point of view and listens to what’s being said, the emotion behind it, and the intent of the message, apart from also focussing on what is not said,” he explains.

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A case of a broken telephone?

Many times, leadership communication can fail. At times, leaders may be too busy to communicate well or make the effort to determine whether messages are being received and understood, says Cook. Assumptions and locked-in perceptions about the leader and their point-of-view can also cause a communication breakdown.

Oberoi pins miscommunication or outright communication failure on a lack of transparency.

“Employees normally tune-off if they feel that the communication is not open and honest,” he explains.

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Inspired by his book, “Would They Call You Their Best Boss Ever?”, this thought-provoking session is applicable to C-Suite professionals and senior leaders.

Reach Us @

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Leadership communication To avoid such breakdowns, regular upward feedback is critical. This helps to track the effectiveness of leadership communication and create an understanding of where any challenges might lie. “Every year, we examine the performance of our managers through a company-wide survey, and share the results with them,” says Sarah Robb, Head of People Operations – Asia-Pacific, Google.

“Google staff thrive on information and use it to develop action plans. HR’s role in this is not just to gather and provide the data, but also to provide our managers with customised tips and resources based on the feedback results.”

Tough talk Having tough conversations with employees about performance can be among the most difficult things that leaders have to do, says Cook. At the same time, significant numbers of employees say they don’t know what their boss expects of them, or that they are not getting any feedback on how they are doing.

He says leaders can clearly lay out the specific performance they expect from staff by doing the following: • Get clear on expectations • Talk in terms of metrics and/or observable behaviour • Check with the employee on what they understands you are asking for Inquire how the employee feels about the performance standards and goals, in case they see them as unreasonable or too challenging. Either way, more conversation is needed.

Employees also look forward to receiving guidance on what’s important for the business and feedback on

CASE STUDY

Google

Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information to make it accessible and useful, and the internet giant applies the same principles when it comes to its employees.

A good example of how Google does this is a research project it undertook in 2009 to understand what actually makes a great manager. “It showed us that there are eight behaviours which our most inspiring managers have mastered — one of these is being a good communicator,” says Sarah Robb, Head of People Operations – AsiaPacific, Google.

“While this result might not be entirely surprising, the research results helped us to dig deeper and understand exactly what good communication entails and what sets our best leaders apart.”

Drilling down into the data, Google learned that being a good communicator means encouraging open dialogue, being accessible, and telling the truth, even when the news is bad. It means explaining the context: people want to know ‘why’, not just ‘what’. And importantly, being a good communicator also means listening and understanding what others are saying.

“Armed with a better understanding of some of the fundamentals of leadership communication, we have been able to provide Googlers (staff) with the right tools and opportunities to become more inspiring communicators,” says Robb.

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how they are performing. The approach varies across different levels within the organisation.

“Hence it becomes a mandate for leaders to assess the motivational need of their teams individually for providing effective guidance and feedback,” says Oberoi.

“These conversations are also good opportunities for the leaders to coach their employee for success or development according to the identified need.”

Coca-Cola follows the ‘STAR’ feedback mechanism, wherein leaders provide feedback based on their observations related to specific situations. “This approach helps to keep emotions and personal viewpoints out of the discussion as the feedback conversation relates to specific real-life situations, and associated actions taken by the employee.(This is) outlined by our leadership competencies, thereby making the process objective and non-threatening,” says Oberoi.

More than anything else, it’s the leader’s job to do everything reasonably possible to help employees succeed, says Silberman.

At a minimum, for employees to perform well they need a clear understanding of what needs to get done.

While focusing on goals is important, the employee also needs to have all of the skills and knowledge required to complete the work successfully.

“It’s therefore important for the leader to discuss where the skill and knowledge deficits lie, and to work with the employee to plan how to close the gap,” says Silberman. “In this case, the conversation is not only about what needs to get accomplished, but also how it needs to get done.

“On an on-going basis, leaders need to be aware of employee performance and provide support: course correction, coaching or training when performance is not adequate, and recognition when performance is worthy of it,” he adds.

Measuring communication effectiveness HR can employ several performance management techniques to track the effectiveness of leadership communication. A common method is conducting an employee survey that evaluates managers.

Questions could relate to how clear an employee thinks their supervisor is, and how present the supervisor is when in conversation, says Cook. Also, HR can observe the manager in an interaction with itself or with others. “This will be a soft measure at best, so you have to rely on observed behaviour of both parties during an interaction as well as the perceptions of those with whom the leader communicates,” he advises.

A strong leadership communication culture is also reflected in positive business results. “In my experience, I have seen that teams which produce results invariably have an effective leadership communication culture,” says Oberoi.

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Corporate Learning

MOULDING

LEADERS Leadership skills are paramount to the success of organisations. Yet many top executives bemoan the lack of leadership bench strength in their companies. HRM considers how leadership development programmes can truly improve the quality of leadership in organisations

By Shalini Shukla-Pandey

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Leadership development is critical at every stage of the leadership lifecycle – from first time leaders to seasoned C-level executives.

“According to several research studies, leaders that know and understand the business will be able to execute strategy more effectively and deliver faster results,” Darryl Parrant, managing director of the Align HR Group, explains. “However, it is vital talent can lead, influence, motivate, empower and guide others to a shared vision at all levels of the organisation.

“The level of impact increases more the further you move up the ladder, so it is important that organisations invest in leadership development to build a pipeline and succession plan for key leadership roles,” he adds.

Leadership development is indeed critical, especially in light of leadership succession and talent planning, as well as the new demands brought on by an increasingly globalised and complex business landscape.

“No longer can leaders depend on their traditional roles and functions as they are fast superseded by new demands brought on by technological changes and an increasingly well-informed consumer base,” says Peggy Lee, Director, SIM Professional Development.

“An example is that of the Chief Finance Officer (CFO), who is now expected to play the role of a business partner, and be comfortable in managing different business portfolios as well as the finance function,” she adds.

Leadership development is all the more crucial when an executive rises from junior levels. “Front loading the development cycle makes sense for two reasons,” says Fabrice Cavarretta, Assistant Professor – Management and Entrepreneurship, ESSEC Business School. “First, these are soft subjects that require long maturation, hence the need to inject that in them as early as possible in a career. Second, ‘imprinting” has been demonstrated, whereby the first position(s) one takes will have disproportionate consequences on the behaviour of managers subsequently.”

Therefore, whatever framing occurs in early leadership experiences is likely to influence the style and skills one puts into leadership activities throughout their careers.

Identifying needs Before embarking on any kind of leadership development programme, HR should identify the

specific development needs of its leaders.

First, there is a need to evolve traditional HR roles, says Lee. Like the CFO, the HR director needs to be keenly engaged in the organisation’s strategic business direction and mission.

With knowledge of the business plans, the HR director can then proceed to identify the future manpower needs and expectations, and at the same time review the organisation’s current manpower establishments.

“Any identified gaps can and should be addressed accordingly – either through training and developmental interventions, or a case of internal or external sourcing for new talents,” says Lee.

Steps to identify development needs STEP 1

Ensure that the leadership drivers and capability needs for the organisation are clearly articulated and in alignment with its Vision, Mission and Values.

STEP 2

Leadership competencies are then developed to ensure the knowledge, skills, and behaviours are defined with results in mind.

STEP 3

Develop assessment tools and an approach to measure and evaluate leadership performance against the competencies and business deliverables for each key role.

STEP 4

Once the above are in place, an Individual Development Plan can then be used to close the competency gaps based on a robust review process. Today, an integrated learning approach needs to be employed to develop the competencies and capabilities expected at each leadership level.

STEP 5

A leadership roadmap and matrix can then highlight the type of training and development needed for each competency (learning approaches could include: books, videos, coaching and mentoring, training programmes, and projects) based on individual leadership or team leadership needs.

Source: Darryl Parrant, MD, Align HR Group

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Corporate Learning Some tools to consider are classical assessments, such as annual performance reviews expressed by the supervisor as well the employee. “Careful reading of such performance reviews, particularly if they are of ‘360-degree’ type (including peers and reports), would yield the most interesting information,” Cavarretta explains.

Ultimately, Lee says it is HR’s prerogative to ensure that a formal talent development and management plan is developed and administered in accordance to the needs of the organisation.

Gap in leadership exposed Forty per cent of workers in Singapore have changed jobs in the last two years, and 71.4% are looking for a job at the moment, highlighting a possibly significant increase in intentions to change jobs.

The findings from Hudson’s annual Singapore remuneration report, Salary & Employment Insights 2014, demonstrate the importance that Singapore workers place on strong leadership.

It also reveals a gap in the quality of the managerial leadership in their organisations, a primary driver for Singaporeans to look for new jobs this year.

The importance of effective and inspiring leadership is clear.

The survey showed that 56.8% of employees rated the quality of their current manager as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, while 43.2% rated their current manager as being ‘average’, ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Over two-thirds (68.3%) of the professionals surveyed had left a job because of a poor manager, 63.3% are currently thinking about leaving their job because of their manager, and 46% of those that say they currently have a ‘poor’ manager are actively looking for a new job because of it.

Conversely, the report shows that strong leadership positively impacts engagement and productivity, and is a great retention tool in a climate where there is significant fluidity in the workforce. About 42% of employees plan to stay in their current role because of the quality of their manager, with 39.2% saying their productivity has increased as a result of having a manager they respected and trusted. Similarly, 70% felt motivated and engaged directly because of their manager.

“There is a potentially significant issue regarding the need for more effective leadership within Singaporean organisations,” says Andrew Tomich, Executive General Manager, Hudson Singapore. “It’s clear that strong leadership impacts engagement, driving productivity and increased employee retention. This is something that should not be ignored, particularly in a climate where there is increasingly high potential for movement within the workforce.

“Our findings clearly demonstrate that the workforce is willing to move, and move quickly. The impact to the business and cost of replacing, training and up-skilling new workers is likely to be much higher than retaining and developing staff that are already performing well; particularly when high performing individuals leave the business,” Tomich adds.

Table 1: Most important qualities required of a leader

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Quality

Percentage of respondents

Treats staff fairly

67.2%

Is supportive of staff

65.1%

Provides clear and transparent communication

57.5%

Has a clear vision of what to achieve

45.9%

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Bridging gaps

ONE-THIRD of employers don’t have any budget allocated towards their professional development Source: Hudson’s Salary & Employment Insights 2014

An integrated leadership development programme is the only way to effectively close competency gaps, says Parrant. However, leaders are busy and they need different modes and avenues to learn, reinforce, and, most importantly, apply their skills and knowledge.

“Executive coaching is a great way to ensure on-going challenges and reflection is present,” Parrant explains. “Leadership development is on-going because the environment is always changing, so leaders need to be agile, adaptive and ‘know what to do when they don’t know what to do’.”

Leadership development, especially through coaching and mentoring initiatives, has proven to be effective, though time consuming. Such initiatives provide a structured but intimate engagement between the coach and the staff being coached.

“Often, the coach (who may be a leader himself ) can seize opportunities to coach and mentor on real life business issues and challenges,” says Lee. “This makes the whole interaction a lot more meaningful and practical, yet at the same time allows the leader to manage and function optimally.”

Tracking success One way to measure the success of an organisation’s leadership development programmes is to measure the staff turnover rate, as well as to ensure that the employees’ performance management process is systematically administered and adhered to by supervisors, says Lee. It is also important for HR to have evaluation tools in place, as well as the metric to assess impact and return on investment.

“This is a weak area in Asia. Evaluation tools can range from simple feedback forms, culture climate surveys, 360-degree feedback assessments, focus groups to assess change in leadership capability or shifts in focus,” says Parrant. “Leadership development is one part of the equation but it is a critical part to bring key leaders together to share and collaborate to develop solutions.”

Align HR works with senior leaders to develop real case scenarios as part of the leadership development journey, linking the competencies and learning around a situation.

“This approach leads to action learning projects that can be cascaded through the organisation to really build leadership at all levels,” says Parrant.

“This is also another way to see the impact of what leadership programmes can do if done strategically and as part of a leadership journey.”

“The level of impact increases more the further you move up the ladder, so it is important that organisations invest in leadership development to build a pipeline and succession plan for key leadership roles” – DARRYL PARRANT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE ALIGN HR GROUP

Preventing failure Many leadership development programmes fail.

“They fail because they are neither developed strategically nor aligned to the leadership competencies and capabilities to deliver on organisational goals,” says Darryl Parrant, managing director of the Align HR Group.

Another reason these programmes don’t succeed is often a lack of clarity and transparency. Also, providing “lip service” will not carry development programmes far either. “HR has to ensure the proper execution of the initiative, and to ensure that senior management is committed to the cause as it has a financial cost to it,” says Peggy Lee, Director of SIM Professional Development.

Leadership development programmes can also be limited by the organisation’s willingness to allow people to truly behave as leaders, rather than as ‘simple employees’.

“A genuine motivation of the firm by its management, and subsequently by HR, to let a generation of ‘leaders’ emerge should be the first foundation stone to build a successful leadership development programme,” says Fabrice Cavarretta, Assistant Professor – Management and Entrepreneurship, ESSEC Business School.

Leaders today are extremely busy and can no longer have on-going retreats and leadership workshops in isolation. Often that learning is not applied back into the workplace.

“Programmes must be integrated and interwoven with learning ‘touch-points’ to reinforce learning and get leaders to think, plan, and apply,” says Parrant.

“Hence a mix of learning modes, both faceto-face and e-learning, helps ensure successful leadership development programmes are applied back to the workplace. Training programmes are just part of the leadership development process.”

Communicating the intent and implications of the organisation’s leadership development programmes to management and staff also helps to prevent the failure of such programmes.

“Closely monitor the initiative and processes involved, and constantly seek feedback from end-users as the business environment they are operating in does change quite quickly,” Lee advises.

Before accepting to test, select and train leaders, HR should spend significant time developing a shared understanding of what leadership actually means for the organisation, says Cavarretta. This might include whether the risks and traits of individuals behaving as leaders or entrepreneurs can actually be accommodated in the existing structure.

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Guest Contributor

Corporate storytelling:

An essential leadership capability Corporate storytelling helps create engagement within organisations, as well as with clients and stakeholders. Guest contributor Tanvi Gautam explores what makes stories such a powerful tool in a transformational leader’s kit

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If you are given the choice between watching a 60-slide presentation on the culture of a firm or listening to one story that captures the essence of the same culture, which one would you choose? The answer to this question is what makes storytelling powerful.

Storytelling is not a new phenomenon: it was at the heart of every ancient civilisation: the Chinese, Indian, Roman, Russian, and Irish all relied on stories to build relationships and common ground. Stories have lasted thousands of years and travelled across the globe with no help from any electronic databases, and stayed in the hearts and minds of the people who have heard them. Now, organisations are starting to tap into this power of storytelling for creating more engaged cultures and authentic connections with their workforces.

Stories are at once the collective memory of an organisation, as well as a map for their future. Stories that resonate with individuals will move them to action and become the rallying cry for creating a desired future.

The three most scarce resources for many organisations today are attention, engagement and involvement. Any company that can capture the attention of the market, get the commitment of an engaged employee, and the involvement of its clients will have an inimitable competitive advantage now and in the future.

Corporate storytelling is one of the most powerful tools available to leaders today to create engaged and involved relationships, both within the company as well as with external stakeholders.

Corporate storytelling is about creating a narrative so powerful that the one telling the story and the one listening to it are compelled to move to action and to embrace a common vision.

So, what are some of the reasons that forward thinking organisations are treating corporate storytelling as an essential leadership capability?

Influence in the networked economy The age of hierarchies is over. Organisations are fast-recognising that both innovation and execution move faster when tapping into the power of networks and communities. Leadership is not about a position as much as it is about an ability to influence and move people to action. While a designation may be a necessary condition in some cases, it is certainly not a sufficient condition for influence in all circumstances. The traditional tools that leaders relied on in the age of hierarchies to influence people are simply not that effective anymore.

For instance, in a multi-generational workforce, younger cohorts tend to look for opportunities to connect to a larger vision than simply executing orders. Therefore, leaders today must engage the stakeholder – internal and external – through mechanisms that go beyond authority and positionbased influencing. Stories can be a powerful tool in these circumstances. The power of story transcends the power of position-based authority to engage others. A powerful story, told effectively at the right time and right place will enable you to influence and engage people behind a vision more powerfully than any carefully-edited 300-slide Power Point presentation.

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Guest Contributor Five techniques for mastering storytelling Story skill

Key competency required

Story curation

Collect and examine stories to select the ones with maximum impact. Sensitivity to the context of the teller and listener with an eye on the intended outcome.

Storytelling

Context awareness and delivery competency required. The best story will not work if not delivered in a manner than is true to the teller and listener.

Story listening

Listen for the narrative driving the story. Enables leaders as a coach framework.

Story crafting

Ability to draw on experience of self or others to craft an effective story that helps immerse the listener into the message that the story hopes to convey. Story crafting is both an art and a science.

Narrative shaping

Using deep insights and predictive capability, a leader actively crafts the narrative that sets the direction for a group. Advanced skill.

Creating connections in a diverse and global world Another challenge of leadership today is the ability to connect with diverse constituencies which are at once cosmopolitan on some dimensions and highly localised on others. To be able to navigate across the multiple and often nested identities of stakeholders, leaders must be able to tell and create stories that connect at a deeper level beyond labels. In other words, the ability of a leader to be an effective boundary spanner can be heightened through the use of stories.

The best stories that connect us all speak to the commonality of the human experience despite our surface level differences. When navigating differences – be they cultural or functional – using stories that reframe the differences by reminding the listener of the common goals, visions and aspiration can have a lasting impact. When leaders share authentic stories, the trust created enables deeper connections and more open communication that

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Tanvi Gautam is the founder of Global People Tree, where she assists companies in creating innovative strategies related to talent management, leadership development as well as diversity and inclusion. She is Asia’s first certified story coach helping build storytelling as a leadership capability at all levels.

Gautam has been quoted and published in forums such as the Harvard Business Review and Forbes.com.

She is an invited member of the prestigious Leadership Transition Institute, a global think tank of the Corporate Executive Board. Gautam is a board member of the Asian Regional Training and Development Organisation.

She is also the founder and host of Asia’s first trending HR Twitter chat followed by C-suite and HR pros from across the globe.

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would likely take years, if not decades, to get created.

When someone can see themselves in the story you tell them, the differences become irrelevant. It therefore is imperative that those entrusted with the task of leading know how to create such trust through stories.

Narrative intelligence in the age of big data While we live in the age of big data and analytics, what moves people to action is never numbers by themselves. Data presented raw has very little ability to create engagement or convey meaning effectively. We need to frame numbers in the context of where they come from and the impact they will have on the recipient. Very often leaders get caught up in the technicality of their products or numbers to the extent that they are unable to convey with conviction the true impact of what they are selling. Data and numbers can provide information and some insight, but to get real value and wisdom from numbers, one needs to tell a story with them.

Numbers by themselves can never create the engagement of stories. Scientific evidence proves that the human mind is wired for stories through the phenomena of neuro-coupling.

Brain scans of people telling stories and listening to stories show that for both parties it is similar parts of the brain that are activated. However for the listener, there is one additional part which gets heightened – that feeling of anticipation for what comes next in the story. This keeps their attention focused and heightens engagement. In a world where organisations and individuals are suffering from information overload and multiple demands on their attention, to create such a coupling through stories is a powerful competency that no leader can afford to ignore. Next time, instead of throwing more numbers at your clients or employees try weaving in a story and a simple recall test a few weeks later. This will more than amply prove the point of what is more sticky. The leaders who are able to marry data with storytelling lead with both clarity and conviction.

Where does one begin?

While it may seem that anyone can get up and tell as story, the ability to harness the power of stories is both an art and a science. There are certain rules and roles of storytelling that enable the teller to truly get the most out of the corporate storytelling experience. The ability to undertake storytelling in organisations requires mastery of different types of skills, including: story curation, storytelling, story listening, story crafting, and narrative shaping. Each has its own subset and nuances that must be understood if you are to get the most from this powerful technique.

Corporate storytelling is one of the most powerful tools available to organisations today to create engaged and involved relationships within the company as well as with its external stakeholders.

Storytelling is not a communication strategy, it is a connection and execution strategy. One which leaders will do well to embrace.

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GLOBAL TALENT MOBILITY CONGRESS 18 & 19 March 2014 | Mandarin Orchard Singapore

Most multinationals expect their international assignments to increase through 2014 - despite cost pressures imposed by a sluggish global economy. Explosive growth in emerging markets has pushed mobility up the boardroom agenda; but this isn’t mobility as we know it - this is modern mobility and it brings its own unique set of challenges.

Join us at the 3rd Annual Global Talent Mobility Congress as we investigate emerging trends and what they mean for talent, international mobility, compliance strategies and the urgent need for alignment with wider business growth plans and strategy.

Hear from Thought Leaders:

Devyani Vaishampayan Director THE HR FUND

John Lackey Regional Lead - Employee Mobility CISCO SYSTEMS

Sheila Teyu Senior Advisor - Global Mobility and Immigration DELL

Geraldine Fraser Regional Director – HR DIAGEO

Norbert Modla Director - Human Resources PHILIP MORRIS

Ildiko Modla-Szalai Founder NEEDEED

SOCIAL PROGRAM Research proves that a lack of spouse or partner employment opportunities adversely affects global mobility of highly skilled international talent.

Appandairajan Krishnakumar Senior Business Partner – HR MASTERCARD

Alf Carlesater Regional Manager - Global Mobility Services, Asia Pacific and Sub-Sahara Africa GENERAL ELECTRIC

Brent Tignor Regional Manager - Human Resources, Asia-Pacific STEPAN COMPANY

Witness how NEEDeed supports various NGOs through a network of spouses and partners who form a highly educated and under-utilised talent pool, with diverse professional backgrounds and nationalities.

Learning Objectives: Hear insights to current Asian best practices in training and developing local and expat HiPos moving across the globe Learn flexible approaches to international assignment package for employees to tailor their needs and organisations to be more cost effective while attracting the right talents Grasp proven-successful strategies to strengthen the linkage between talent management and global mobility strategies Master the tricks behind managing assignees into difficult locations Create a culture that encourages career mobility with transparency on available positions and a structured internal mobility procedure in place

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FEATURE

HRM Employer Branding Congress

LIGHT up your BRAND

Attracting and retaining employees is an essential business process for all organisations, and a strong employer branding is a powerful tool to ensure you get the cream of the crop. HRM speaks to managers about their companies’ distinctive employer branding strategies

By Priya de Langen Apple has the ubiquitous apple logo, Twitter has its little blue bird, and Facebook has its iconic ‘like’ button. These organisations are competitors but they all have something in common – an identifiable image coupled with strong employer branding, which make them attractive employers to work for.

Companies realise that a strong employer branding is an essential tool in promoting themselves. It is not just an identifiable logo or a famous face – like Steve Jobs was for Apple – but also intangible factors such as a strong employee value proposition (EVP), the career prospects employees have, and the distinctive workplace culture.

Genuine employer branding For an organisation to get traction from its employer branding, there a few factors that HR experts say need to be taken into account – including transparency and clear objectives.

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Wan Ezrin Sazli Bin Wan Zahari, Head of Group People Strategy, AirAsia, emphasises on the need for an organisation to be genuine in its employer branding.

“Don’t be fake. Be honest about the company. If what you see on a website, a poster, or in the newspaper does not match the life in the company, then you need to ask why.

“You shouldn’t talk about flexi-hours if you wrap a whole book of rules to make it difficult to do flexi-hours, or don’t actually give them at all. You shouldn’t talk about work-life balance if everybody in the office leaves at 9pm or is afraid to leave at six. So it’s all about being honest and being transparent,” he adds.

Madhavi Tumkur, Head of Integrated Communications, IPG Mediabrands, says an organisation can do a lot to make the brand visible, including community efforts, public relations, CSR, social media, and even advertising.

Companies can choose their methods of promoting their

FEATURE

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FEATURE

HRM Employer Branding Congress employer brand but must identify their assets first, whether they are work-life balance, fancy offices, or perks and benefits, she says.

“Employer branding is a continual effort. It is never achieved overnight. And there is no final destination to fully achieving the ideal employer brand status. All HR teams know they are in it for the long haul.”

Distinct branding Organisations have various ways to ensure that their employer brand is unique. Ezrin states that AirAsia’s employer brand is first and foremost, the brand itself.

Putting a face to the organisation that people can identify is also an ongoing strategy at AirAsia.

“It has been a brand that was tough to build and it is amongst our most important assets. Our chief figure in promoting the employer brand is our Group CEO, Tony Fernandes. People get to know about him and about AirAsia at a conversational level via Twitter, and Tony is amongst the world’s most active Twitter users with a huge follower base,” he says.

Ezrin adds that AirAsia wants to ensure that people see it as a potential employer, and it always focuses on what is real. He says it is important for prospective employees to understand how the organisation works. “Many organisations out there come up with cheesy promos and advertisements to make them look good and hip, so prospective employees get excited. But when these people enter the company, they find the exact opposite.”

EMPLOYEES’ CHOICE Glassdoor, a free jobs and career community company, recently revealed its top 50 companies to work for in 2014. Surveyed employees had to rate the organisations with regards to their satisfaction with the company and workplace factors such as career prospects, compensation and benefits and culture.

Top 5 companies: • Bain & Company • Twitter • LinkedIn • Eastman Chemical • Facebook

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IPG Mediabrands is another organisation that takes its employer brand seriously. Tumkur says: “We build brands for global clients such as Coca Cola, Malaysia Airlines, Hershey’s, and MasterCard, but often, we have to remind ourselves that we must build a brand for ourselves – whether it is to attract talent or new clients.”

Tumkur says that the organisation has adopted two key words: “hybrid” and “happiness”. She explains that “hybrid” is about ensuring teams are able to work across both traditional and digital media. “An accelerated commitment to ‘hybrid’ is a commitment to the future of our talent, and preparing them to be future leaders.”

“Happiness”, meanwhile, is also essential to the organisation, says Tumkur. “Advertising is a very demanding industry and we at Mediabrands believe being happy in our jobs leads to more people wanting to own their careers. A lot of effort is made by senior leaders to drive happiness and deeper engagement with our employees.”

Given that IPG Mediabrands is a media company, it is a no-brainer that social media is part of promoting staff engagement. “Our employees are our strongest brand ambassadors and a culture of happiness leads to them reflecting the brand in a positive way in the social media sphere.”

She recalls that a Filipino colleague competed in the Agency Idol award (for amateur singers in the creative arts industry in Asia), and there was another “Best in Spirit” award for the best agency support and cheerleading. Tumkur says that the entire (company) network tweeted their support to the singer. She ended the competition as first runner up while the agency won Best in Team Spirit in the social media space.

Shared values The workplace culture and shared values within IPG Mediabrands and AirAsia play an important role in attracting and retaining employees.

Tumkur explains that IPG Mediabrands has an established niche for digital capabilities as well as having the best work-life balance. The company has a ‘Happy Wednesdays’ initiative that encourages employees to leave work at 3pm every Wednesday. “The senior leaders are the first ones to pack up and leave work as often in an Asian context, junior level employees are hesitant to leave if their boss is working.”

The organisation even has “Happiness Ambassadors” to uphold a positive employer brand. Tumkur says that these selected staff “brainstorm ideas to create happy teams and organise activities to promote unity and harmony and community initiatives, such as blood donation drives and running for charity events.

“For every company to project a positive image, it is important to be closely attuned to its employees’ needs, and the Happiness Ambassadors become the facilitators of dialogue between employees and the management,” she says.

CONGRESS SERIES

R E Y O EMPLNDING BRA GRESS CON

“Employer branding is a continual effort.

It is never achieved overnight. And there is no final destination to fully achieving the ideal employer brand status. All HR teams know, they are in it for the long haul”

ual

3rd Ann

25 February 2014 | Mandarin Orchard The Employer Branding Congress is a one-day event focusing on best practices and latest insights on developing and retaining a strong talent pool in Asia.

– MADHAVI TUMKUR, HEAD OF INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS, IPG MEDIABRANDS She adds that senior leaders put in effort to promote the company values to students in the ad industry, including through sponsoring scholarships and teaching at leading institutions around the region.

According to Ezrin, there are many pull factors for AirAsia. “Some just love the brand in and out; some love the entrepreneurial spirit; some love the unique concoction of the low-cost carrier spirit (that is) funky and unique; some love the fluid environment at work, multi-tasking; whilst some people simply love the fact that they get excited waking up every day, not knowing what to expect at work,” he explains.

Putting the word out about AirAsia is everyone’s responsibility and that the company’s employees are its ambassadors. “Every AirAsia ‘Allstar’ (employee) is responsible for this. Of course, the People Department (HR) gets involved in conferences, social media fronts for the exposure, but primarily, it’s our own staff that promote working at AirAsia.”

When it comes to retention, people come and go and for different reasons. However, Ezrin explains that high-performers and those of high-capacity to deliver typically want to stay long in AirAsia. “This is because those who outperform and have a massive capacity to deliver are highly recognised and given opportunities after opportunities to soar high and push the boundaries of their true professional capacities.”

From attracting highly skilled candidates to maintaining a robust talent pipeline, delegates can expect dynamic presentations and practical solutions from distinguished employer branding experts across major industries.

Featuring Expert Speakers:

Brindha Bal Senior Director - Talent Acquisition and Talent Management, Americas Hitachi Data Systems

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Sehr Ahmed Senior Director and Partner Human Resources McDonald’s

Gaurav Hirey Chief Talent Officer, South Asia GroupM

Madhavi Tumkur Head - Integrated Communications Mediabrands

Wan Ezrin Sazli Bin Wan Zahari Head - Group People Strategy AirAsia

Patria Hyndman Director - Human Resources DFS

Paul Daniels AVP - Employer Branding and Specialist - Marketing, APAC Deutsche Bank

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STJOBS HR SUMMIT 2014

Strategy

Stepping up for change In this special Q&A, Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) explains why it is critical for HR to evolve, adapt and boost its capabilities. He says only this will ensure the function remains current and relevant in a changing business environment

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STJOBS HR SUMMIT 2014

Q

What lies ahead for HR in the new year?

I think we are in a time of real change and opportunity for our profession. As we see the global financial crisis beginning to recede and a return to greater economic optimism, the business imperatives are moving to growth and innovation, but also agility and greater organisational capability to change and adapt to what is a much more uncertain world. Through that, the business debate has shifted to a much better recognition of the importance of understanding culture, behaviours, engagement, and capabilities – and with the skills gaps and challenges being faced by organisations everywhere in finding and developing the talent and skills they need, the agenda for HR has never been more important, strategic, and compelling.

We now need to ensure we are stepping up, developing the function, and building the skills within HR to address these issues and work more closely with the business and critical functions such as finance. In this way, we can better understand the value contribution we make and provide more insight on the people and organisational challenges and opportunities.

Q

How has the HR landscape evolved? What has HR done well and what could it be doing better?

So the HR landscape is evolving now more quickly than I have experienced in the past. With an increasing recognition of the importance of HR, there is a higher expectation about our ability to understand the business, the value drivers, and the strategy, and to make more sense of our world through better measures and insights.

With the context of more and more workforce diversity and diversity in where and how we work, together with the changing nature of jobs and skills, we also can see a function that has to have a better understanding of the ‘big picture’ and to be able to relate this to our own organisations – how to take advantage of these shifts, but also how to better manage the challenges and continually increasing pace of change.

HR has historically not been good enough at many of these things. It has often been too focused on processes and transactional and operational efficiency versus understanding the business impact, and the value and relevance of what we do. This is changing but we need to move faster. We need to be better at collaborating and sharing ideas across our profession, of sharing internationally on competencies and standards for HR, much as has been practiced in the world of finance for some time. Having a higher expectation of professional competencies and skills, recognising these, and then embracing continuous

professional development must be an important part of how we develop HR as a profession in the future.

Q

What are the top three challenges that HR will face in 2014?

Firstly, keeping up with the fast-changing context and agenda I have described, and meeting the expectations of stakeholders – be they business leaders, regulators or others. Secondly, supporting the acquisition and development of critical skills that are currently in short supply, particularly in Asian markets. These include many different technical competencies (including good HR skills) as well as good management and leadership experience and competence. Thirdly, maintaining and building staff engagement, trust in leadership, and retention of people. The workforce everywhere is becoming more mobile, and as economies improve, movement of staff accelerates and we have to work hard to ensure our best people are really engaged, and growing and developing as they expect.

Q

Why does HR need a new framework to keep up with new business realities?

HR needs new frameworks from a better and more consistent understanding of HR skills and competences, through to frameworks that define and describe the key measures we should all be using to understand our organisations and the connections between investments in our people and outcomes.

These are initiatives the CIPD is directly working on and we expect to launch a framework for human capital measurement in the UK during this year, in combination with the finance profession and a wide range of stakeholders.

Q

Why is it important to HR to be able to answer questions surrounding trust, employee engagement, and skills shortages?

How does this affect its position in the boardroom?

As already noted, these are issues now much more visible to boards and senior business leaders everywhere, and they are growing in scale and complexity. As a profession, we need to be able to understand these issues, provide insight to drive appropriate actions and outcomes, and bring senior leadership with us. Not only is their support important to maintain investment and focus on the people issues, but the tops of organisations are the start point for behaviours and culture, and for engagement and alignment – they need to better walk the talk, and we won’t rebuild trust or improve engagement without change at this level.

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STJOBS HR SUMMIT 2014

Strategy

Q

What is the link between employee engagement and trust? Is trust being eroded in organisations? What can HR do?

Trust is the most important underlying element of engagement. It starts with everyone’s direct line manager but then works up through to the top. If I don’t trust my immediate managers then I will not give of my best and I won’t be engaged. I am unlikely to feel valued and I probably also won’t respect their judgments or decisions.

Trust has also been found to be the most critical element in supporting change. If I trust my immediate managers and I trust the leadership from the top, then I will likely accept, seek to understand, and follow changes that they want to make. But if not, then it doesn’t matter how good the communications or support are during a change process, I will very likely resist it.

Trust has been eroded in general in recent years. Too many poor behaviours and hidden agendas from business leaders have made people much more skeptical, and when combined with the expectations and values of the new generation coming in to the workforce, this has created an environment where trust issues need to be talked about and confronted. HR has a big role to in clearly identifying where there are trust issues, the root causes, and then understanding and supporting the initiatives to address the issues. In many cases this will involve better training for managers at

e ‘live’ Catch Peter Chees at the it 2014 STJobs HR Summ 28-29 April 2014 Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre

Top three takeaways • Raise visibility and understanding of big contextual shifts and changes and HR’s role in understanding them.

• How HR can make progress in its organisations, where the barriers are, what initiatives have worked elsewhere, and what new thinking is emerging?

• Reflection on how should HR itself change and adapt

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all levels, open (and two way) communications, and alignment and consistency of messages.

Q

Top three takeaways from your HR Summit session?

Hopefully the HR Summit session will allow us to explore these important and wide-ranging issues, to understand their relevance and importance. That should be the first takeaway – to help raise visibility and understanding of these big contextual shifts and changes and our role in HR in understanding them. Secondly, we will discuss how we make progress in our organisations, where the barriers are, what initiatives have worked elsewhere, and what new thinking is emerging from the fields of analytics and, for example, behavioural and neuroscience research.

Thirdly, we will then reflect on how HR should itself change and adapt, where the biggest gaps are, and how we can step up our capabilities to better respond and add greater value.

Q

What are you looking forward to during your presentation in Singapore?

Firstly, engagement and interest. I think these are exciting times for our profession and there are great opportunities.

We all have something to share and we can also learn from each other. Secondly, I hope people can go away feeling they have learned something, but also that they can leave with a ‘spring in their step’, feeling more confident and inspired to make a difference.

Special Extended Session: A New Framework for the Future of HR Peter Cheese Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) In this rapidly changing business world, a new framework for HR and people development is needed to support and drive transformation.

Business leaders are constantly asking pertinent questions about how to restore trust, build employee engagement, and tackle skills shortages. If these answers are not provided by HR, other business functions will answer them for it.

Join Peter Cheese as he explores key elements of the new framework; a deep focus on the changing real world context in which HR operates; a real understanding of the science that shapes our inner behaviours, motivations, and learning; and better measurement and insight to understand value and how to improve performance and outcomes.

A previous Chairman of the Institute of Leadership and Management, Peter Cheese, joined CIPD as CEO in 2012. Prior to this, he spent 30 years working at Accenture, culminating in a seven-year spell as Global managing director for the firm’s Talent and Organisation Performance Consulting Practice. Peter is also an Executive Fellow at the London Business School, associated with the faculties of Strategic Management and Organisational Behaviour.

FEATURE

Performance Management

L’amour at work Love is in the air in the month of February. However, an office romance can leave a bad taste in the mouth for some, including management.

HRM speaks to experts on how managers can handle issues that can arise from employees engaging in an otherwise innocent fling at work

Recently, a friend told me that in one of her previous companies, she had witnessed two of her female colleagues brawling (not the loud argumentative type of fight, but one that included hair-pulling and slapping) in the middle of the office.

Both of them had found out that they were dating the same colleague, who was also a senior manager in the organisation. The whole embarrassing fiasco led to the Don Juan manager in question being fired.

Though the scenario above might tickle your senses, it is no laughing matter for the organisation.

The nightmarish situation is one all parties would have rather avoided, including management.

Let’s face it – canoodling in the office is not a new fad.

By Priya de Langen

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FEATURE

Performance Management “Workplace romances are not uncommon due to the long hours we spend at the office, where humans collide and feelings can develop” – MYLINH CHEUNG, CEO AND FOUNDER, EPIC PUBLIC RELATIONS

The annual UK-based Vault Office Romance Survey 2013 found that 56% of survey takers were involved in one or another type of relationship – from casual hook-ups to long-term relationships.

Three percent even got married after dating a co-worker at work. Another survey by Careerbuilder, taken last year, indicated that 39% of workers have dated a co-worker.

Though an employee’s personal life is strictly their own business, an office romance has the tendency to change a team or office dynamics. So, what can management do?

The annual UK-based Vault Office Romance Survey 2013 found that

56%

of survey takers were involved in one or another type of relationship – from casual hook-ups to long-term relationships

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The office: A hotbed for romance Acknowledging the issue is perhaps the first step.

Managers say that it is not surprising that employees are enjoying romance at work, given the amount of hours spent there (as well as the higher number of women entering the workforce). Mylinh Cheung, CEO and founder of Epic Public Relations, says: “Workplace romances are not uncommon due to the long hours we spend at the office, where humans collide and feelings can develop”. She also adds that with people spending more time with their colleagues and working longer hours often under stress, they often lean more on their colleagues for support. And as a result, romance can flourish quite naturally.

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Devyani Vaishampayan, Director of The HR Fund and former Global Head of HR with Rolls Royce, agrees that a higher number of staff are engaging in office relationships today when compared to 10 years ago. “This is primarily due to the larger number of women entering the workforce and the impact of technology,” she notes. “In Asia, there is increasing acceptability around having multiple relationships before marriage and given the long hours employees keep, the office becomes a natural ground for it.”

Are the love police necessary?

Though the issue of office romance many not be a top priority on a company’s checklist, it is essential to have a basic policy with regards to it. Different organisations pursue different rules when employees get “hands-on” with their colleagues. Some companies have a concrete rule that says office relationships are a strict “no-no”; while others go as far as issuing “love contracts” to employees. These are signed documents that confirm that two employees’ romantic relationship is voluntary – protecting the company from law suits if that relationship ever goes south. Other organisations have more fluid ways to handle the issue.

Cheung says that her organisation neither encourages nor discourages office relationships.

“People are free to fall in love with whomever they fall in love with, and as a company, who are we to stand in the way of l’amour?,” she notes. “However, it is expected that once a relationship is taking place, the professional thing to do is for the couple to inform management.”

She adds that though it is not written in Epic PR’s HR policies, the company expects to be informed if a relationship includes an employee and their manager. “We would then ensure the couple is not in a situation where one reports to another to ensure organisational comfort. Transparency is helpful in this regard.”

When no concrete policy is in place, managers say organisations follow the conflict of interest as a rule of thumb. Vaishampayan states “In most of my organisations the principle governing rule around office relationships was the ‘Conflict of Interest’ rule. If the two individuals were in positions where a personal relationship would create a conflict of interest then, it was not allowed.” She adds that this could refer to a manager-subordinate, vendorsupplier, or a wide range of other potential relationships. “So an office romance could technically be disallowed if the two individuals were in conflicting roles and admitted the relationship.”

FEATURE

Laurence Yap, formerly a senior manager of L&OD (Asia-Pacific) in First Solar, explains that employers are usually not very explicit about their ‘no-officeromance’ policies as they might not go well with the company’s branding. He says that conflicts of interest are usually the guiding principle. “If the manager is involved with the employee, one of them would be advised to transfer to another department or be required to resign from the company.”

Handle that sticky situation Whether an organisation has hard and fast rules with regards to office relationships, or a “conflict of interest” principle, it falls to managers to ensure that group dynamics in the office are not affected, especially if the relationship between two colleagues sours.

Vaishampayan says she personally handled a situation that was causing tension in office dynamics. “In one of my previous roles, two of my best performers were dating and it was creating some tension within the team as the combined power they then exercised was high. I used my ‘development’ discussions to understand their future plans and influenced one of them to look at an opportunity outside my team but still within the organisation.”

She says that she mentioned the mistrust forming within the team and co-opted them into working out how they could reduce it. “After around six months, the discussed move happened and things went back to normal.”

Experts also advise that managers should handle such situations with care. If they are unsure how to proceed, they could talk to their HR leaders for clarification. Yap explains that managers should always aim to keep it professional. “Managers should take time to explain the general practice of office romance to their employees. It is good to inform your team early. If the HR policy is not clear, managers should seek clarification from their HR leader.”

Cheung advises managers to tread with care as they are dealing with people’s deeply felt and personal feelings. “We train managers to be empathetic to their team members, so as to enable a constructive conversation so that issues can be resolved quickly for the good of those involved and for the company. “ Vaishampayan says managers should not confront their employees immediately, but rather take some time to ensure they get the facts right. “If you have a good relationship with your employee then an informal chat is always best. However, if you are not sure, discuss the situation with your HR leader who can advise you how to best tackle the situation.”

Power couples who met at work For some, canoodling in the office need not be a bad thing. A Careerbuilder office romance survey conducted last year among 4,000 US workers showed that 30% who had dated a co-worker ended marrying that colleague. So, who are some of the major power couples who met at work?

• Bill and Melinda Gates • Barack and Michele Obama • Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie • Harry and Kay Leibowitz

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MICE

Bespoke event venues

Celebrating in

style

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MICE

Organisations are developing more luxurious events and for their employees. HRM looks at some bespoke and unique events that corporates have organised

By Priya de Langen

There are a myriad of corporate events, conferences and meetings hosted around the globe on any given day. In order to stand out from the crowds, many organisations are now looking into bespoke events and conferences as well as incentives for their employees. Many event management providers are offering these lavish services – from personal pickup for business travel to unique company events.

So, what are the attractive factors of these bespoke corporate events and meetings, and what makes them distinct?

Bolder and better facilities Organisations are going out of the way to make their services and facilities distinct for their corporate clients.

Kim Quek, Marketing and Communications Manager, Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, says that the company boasts a standalone dedicated meetings facility known as “The MICE Block”. It is a two-storey glass building that houses seven function rooms and a ballroom with a luxurious reception area, she explains.

The Grand Ballroom is equipped with state-of-the-art sound and special effects, Gobo lighting systems, video conferencing and simultaneous translation technology.

The ballroom can accommodate up to 500 guests for a banquet, or up to 1,600 guests for a cocktail event.

Grand Ballroom with banquet roundtables – Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa ISSUE 14.2

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MICE

Bespoke event venues The St Regis Singapore also offers its facilities for corporate clients wishing to host events. Cheryl Ong, Director of Sales and Marketing, The St. Regis Singapore, says events spaces span almost 1,500 square metres, with individual meeting rooms that are sound proofed to offer maximum privacy for guests. “This is especially important for board of director meetings that are held here regularly by our corporate clients,” notes Ong. St. Regis also provides the luxurious and spacious John Jacob ballroom to host the city’s most influential business events.

Elegant service at your call Some companies are pulling out all the stops when it comes to their business events, achieving what can only be described as “bespoke” corporate parties.

Ong says this level of detail and creativity is synonymous with the St Regis brand. “At The St. Regis Singapore, most guests are C-level executives with a true appreciation for discreet elegance and bespoke services.”

One of the most distinct services that the hotel is renowned for is providing a personal butler for each guestroom. The hotel also has dedicated event butlers that will see to every need of organisers, from the planning stages to the event itself.

The hotel hosted the Hewlett Packard Industry Analysts Summit Asia-Pacific and Japan in August 2013.

The three-day conference featured 300 participants and the St Regis events team worked with the organisers to configure meeting rooms, facilities and arrange for lunches at the hotel’s award-winning restaurants. “We even converted our Italian restaurant, LaBrezza into an intimate cocktail event space,” explains Ong.

St Regis also provides bespoke catering services for corporate groups at an external venue of their choice. “Our bespoke catering team offers dedicated event butlers who exemplify exceptional service that will add a touch of elegance to any private event.” Recently, the hotel catered private receptions for Credit Suisse and Bentley.

Quek of Amara Sanctuary says all events are special to the boutique resort. “We believe all clients deserve equal dedication and depending on clients’ needs, our Meeting Concierge will cater to their requirements with equal precision.”

She adds that Amara Sanctuary also has an Event Concierge who can help plan everything to perfection, regardless of the size or scale of the event. “We have catered bespoke luxurious events where function rooms, the ballroom and the reception area were transformed into exhibitions halls, classrooms of workshops and talk, long-table and round-table meetings, and video conferences. Every event has its own special characteristics with specialised teams working on interior decoration, florist, audio and video aspects.”

Besides personalised events and meetings concierge services, the resort also provides the complimentary “Ice Breakers and Fun Workouts for Meetings and Conferences” for groups of 20 or more. This 30-minute workout session, conducted by professional trainers from the resort’s gym, is included as part of the event or meeting package.

“Its uniqueness lies in that clients are promised various types of fun workouts that improve concentration levels, mental alertness, and energy levels, which are the

Unique events for corporate groups

The John Jacob Ballroom – St. Regis Singapore 54

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Some companies are pulling out all the stops to cater to discerning corporate clients. Below is a list of unique and opulent events and teambuilding activities that are offered around the world.

• Poker – Unique Home Stays provides various bespoke corporate meetings and events around the UK in lavish accommodation. The company provides a full scale poker tournament inclusive of tables and croupiers to deal and announce the bets • In the Footsteps of James Bond – Executive Oasis International provides various activities and meetings for its corporate clients around the globe. In the Footsteps of James Bond is a programme set in Jamaica where participants can visit the locations of memorable scenes from the films Dr No and Live and Let Die • Cider Blending Competition – Eastnor Castle in the UK offers various opulent events and meeting rooms in its historic venue. It also runs a multitude of teambuilding programmes including the Cider Blending Competition – each team has to produce their own blend of cider, name, label and complete a marketing by-line for it.

MICE

prerequisites for any event, meeting, or conference to be effective and productive,” explains Quek.

Unique is another way to go Besides luxury corporate events and conferences, some companies are also offering smaller but equally interesting and unique events for their staff and corporate clients. Hard Rock Hotels Penang, for example, has decided to put its own distinct spin on the corporate events it offers.

The hotel has been offering “Foam Party” events since late 2011. Grace Chiam, Marketing and Communication Manager, Hard Rock Hotel Penang, says, “Hard Rock Hotel Penang is the only hotel in Malaysia to organise ‘Foam Parties’. Instead of having a party in a conventional ballroom or beachfront, a Foam Party is unique experience. Clients can expect to have a fun, wet and memorable night while enjoying music from our DJs.” The hotel has handled several corporate foam parties since its inception, with each event customised to the client’s needs. At any given time, the foam party can cater for up to 120 guests, says Chiam.

Foam Party at Hard Rock Hotel Penang

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VIEW POINT Professor Cedomir Nestorovic Teaching Professor at ESSEC Business School, ESSEC Asia-Pacific

ESSEC Asia-Pacific

Executive MBAs today – an evolution or a revolution?

In this special Q&A, Professor Cedomir Nestorovic, ESSEC Business School, ESSEC AsiaPacific shares his views on the new challenges facing the executive education landscape How has the Executive MBA landscape evolved over the years?

Once upon a time, Executive MBAs used to be very classical and predictable in their pattern. They provided fundamental and advanced knowledge to executives who did not have time to pursue a full time MBA. Business schools negotiated with companies and companies selected the happy few and supported the full cost of fees.

The chosen employees usually did not have a say in the process. They accepted with pleasure because after completing the programme, they were expected to climb the ladder in the organisation. Alas, these times are over.

Today, two challenges lie ahead. The first is linked to the market base and the second to the format of the EMBA.

Could you please elaborate on this?

While establishing the ESSEC Executive MBA Asia Pacific, we conducted meetings with companies and prospective participants. The outcome is that a significant number of potential participants today take the decision to embark on an EMBA with/without the consent of their employer, and more often than not, participants support the full cost of the fees and not their employer. If the participant is the main client today, the situation becomes more complex because the decision is made on a one-to-one basis and the participant will be extremely demanding in terms of the costs and benefits that arise from the programme.

The second challenge is about immediacy. With the internet, anyone can have access to anything at any time.

In an ideal world, participants would have access to `courses on demand`, like we have `video on demand`. In a typical EMBA programme the schedule is defined in order to respect the dynamics of acquisition of knowledge and skills. The programme is bordered and takes the form of a `take it or leave it` pattern. On the other hand, the demographic profile of EMBA students is extremely diverse and some participants say that they do not want to wait several months to learn about a certain topic. They would like to not only compose their own programme but also decide on the delivery

schedule. This is something that business schools may not be prepared for.

Even if they are not ready to stand up to this challenge now, the internet is a powerful medium that business schools will have to eventually embrace by offering more than just a few courses taped on video and posted on the net. They have to provide a real answer to a real problem.

How are participants of EMBA today different from the past?

Participants today ponder over many options, including offers from different business schools as well as free online courses. Access to the internet has changed everything. The abundance of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other content such as Ted Talks is seriously challenging traditional EMBA programmes.

From the participant’s point of view, the ideal is an à la carte programme where he or she can cherry pick the most suitable content.

In an EMBA course there would be up to 20 courses/ professors while a typical business school has more than 100 professors and hundreds of different courses. So the prospective candidate asks why he or she cannot have access to all professors and all courses like on MOOCs or with a consultant company offering an `open bar` policy.

At ESSEC business school, we have a tradition of offering wider choices. This allows our students to choose from an impressive list of courses. We constantly carry out a review of our curriculum according to market demands by introducing new courses, which address current business issues to keep our students at the forefront of business developments, and dropping courses that have become less relevant to the market.

In summary, simply evolving is not enough, we also have to revolutionise the concept of learning in the current ‘internet of things’ (ioT) era.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact execedasia@essec.edu or call +65 6884 9780 and visit www.emba-asia.essec.edu

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IN PERSON

HR talent Helene Vierya

Senior HR Director – International, FireEye

How many years of HR experience?

I’ve been in HR for about 10 years, all of which have been in international roles in the IT sector.

Why HR? My career in HR started as a lucky “accident”. I took a temporary HR assignment working for an incredibly inspirational HR leader whilst waiting for my place in a sales graduate programme to become available.

Under her guidance I quickly learnt that HR can offer real value to the organisation and can deliver tangible and commercially impactful results.

HR has long since moved on from its days as an administration function. The ability to help enhance FireEye’s competitive advantage by creating an extraordinary environment that attracts, engages and retains the top calibre talent we need is what continues to keep me passionate about what I do.

Why FireEye Singapore?

I’m able to work with an amazing leadership team, in a dynamic, fast paced and challenging environment

where the only barrier to what we can achieve is our own creativity and imagination.

Biggest achievement?

My biggest achievement is being part of the international HR team at FireEye. From being the first one in the department almost a year ago, we are now a team of 10 and continue to grow! I’m enormously proud of our partnership with the business and the work we’re achieving.

Biggest challenge?

I moved to Singapore as a single parent with a twoyear-old whilst balancing the demands of my career. It was a challenging first few months in particular but Singapore is a welcoming and diverse society which makes it much easier to settle in and make friends.

What happens after hours?

Family, friends, food and travel in that order!

Family?

A son, Henry, aged four.

TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN

HR at work

Juliana Ong

HR Director, Royal Plaza on Scotts

6:00am The first thing I do is log in into my personal Facebook account and get the latest updates about what my family and friends have been up to. I will also check my emails for any urgent matters to be handled. Before I set off for work, I always make sure that I give my two dogs a hug.

11:00am The HR team roll out delights for our associates every week. We surprise them in different ways such as by giving away thank you flowers during International Appreciation Week and delivering ice cream to the different departments.

7:45am I will grab some breakfast from S.E.R.V.I.C.E square, our canteen, and be at my desk logging into Royal Plaza on Scotts’ HR Facebook account. I keep a look out for Birthday babies of the day and for any interesting happenings. This helps us engage with associates on a more personal level when we see them in the hotel.

1:00pm Lunch will usually be at S.E.R.V.I.C.E Square where I can mingle with colleagues from other departments.

8:45am We have a daily meeting with the department heads of Royal Plaza on Scotts and 8 on Claymore Serviced Residences. Every Friday’s a Fun Friday, where the department head in charge will plan something interesting for the rest.

9:30am Back in the HR office, I will share with the team the updates from the morning briefing, how we can come in to support the operations colleagues and what we can do moving forward.

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2:00pm All associates and team members are welcome to walk into my room at any time, be it for personal or work matters. I will also take this time to plan for any upcoming engagement sessions.

6:00pm A typical day of work can end between 6pm to 7.30pm, depending on what happens that day. I will also head over to the yoga studio when I can to keep myself fit. This followed by dinner with my husband.

9:00pm I will usually do a quick check of emails on my tablet just to see if there are any urgent matters. I will also catch up on some TV programmes before bedtime.

TALENT LADDER

New Appointments Serene Quek

Training and Development Manager, Ogilvy & Mather Serene Quek has added the title of Training and Development Manager to her existing portfolio of Regional Talent Resources Manager. 2014 marks her fifth year with Ogilvy as Regional Talent Resources Manager.

Interestingly, Quek is now working back at Ogilvy for the fourth time.

She started out in client servicing, moved on to copy writing and is now a people-focused manager in Talent and Training.

“I love being able to choose which name-card to give out. Cheap thrill, I know,” says Quek, whose most recent appointment before her return to

Ogilvy was with Temasek Polytechnic as a lecturer.

Quek entered the working world at the age of 19. She recalls that Sue Olivier, now Chief talent Officer of Ogilvy AP, told her during the interview that she was not looking to hire someone so young.

“I simply smiled and said, ‘For the role, industry and job that you are hiring for, you want someone young and full of energy. Like me,” says Quek.

She says she got the job then, 16 years ago.

Among her varied accomplishments include designing and developing an

eAppraisal system for the Ogilvy offices in AP, developing regional training plans, helming the Ogilvy Fellowship Program and conducting AP wide employee acid tests.

“In my new role for Singapore, I’m looking forward to level up the training, and support Fiona Gordon, our Chairman on people initiatives for culture setting,” she says.

“If our people boasts about Ogilvy as an interested and caring employer - and talk about what a fun, energetic and exciting workplace this is - I would consider that to be a personal success.”

Kelly Ho

Director of Human Resources, The Westin Singapore The Westin Singapore opened in November 2013 at Asia Square Tower 2, marking the brand’s return to Singapore. Kelly Ho has been appointed Director of Human Resources at the new hotel.

Ho brings a wealth of knowledge and experience having spent more than 15 years in HR within the hospitality industry. Her role will see her leading overall HR function, ensuring the recruitment and development of talent.

Prior to joining The Westin Singapore, Ho led the HR team at Capella Singapore.

One of her first major projects was driving a successful two-day mass recruitment exercise in July 2013 which attracted over 800 applicants. This resulted in the appointment of nearly all of the hotel’s 300 associates, who have since been trained and are now functioning in their respective roles.

Sitting on The Westin Singapore’s senior leadership team, Ho will also

oversee the Starwood Careers Program, a holistic and integrated talent development system designed to proactively train and develop new skills. Her focus is to provide career development opportunities for associates across all levels by embracing a proactive, inclusive and structured talent development approach and to create a culture of continuous people development and organisational capability building.

Hemang Desai

Asst Vice President – Corporate HR, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Hemang Desai has joined Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) as Asst Vice President – Corporate HR. Prior to joining RIL, spent more than 16 years of his career managing strategic HR interventions with organisations such as ESSAR Group, Torrent Research Centre and GSPC Group.

In his current role, Desai provides strategic organisational build up support to RIL’s latest venture into 4G Telecom, the Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL). He oversees the talent management cycle, which

encompasses acquisition, career management and development of key personnel.

He is a Human Engineer as well as a Management Trainer with sound interpersonal skills and a strong background in Human dynamics. He has had several papers and articles published in HR journals as well as newspapers. He has presented papers at several international and national conferences, and conducted international symposiums.

Desai is a Life Member of the

National HRD Network, National Institute of Personal Management (NIPM), Associate Member of All India Management Association & a Member of the Indian Society of Training & Development (ISTD).

Desai has also been associated as a visiting faculty with CEPT University, Gujarat University, MS University of Baroda, Nirma University, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, DDIT University and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India.

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TALENT CHALLENGE

Strategy

Maximising employee potential Performance management, what has worked and what are you working on?

Laurence Smith

Managing Director, Group Head of Learning & Talent Development, DBS Bank

At DBS, we believe that people are at the heart of banking. We are committed to helping our people develop personally and professionally through a strong performance culture, which is underpinned by a robust and transparent performance management process.

Through ePM, our online performance management tool, DBS ensures that staff are engaged via three performance conversations every year. These are: goal setting, a mid-year performance review, and a final year-end performance review. All staff are held accountable for each conversation, and all documents and discussions are properly documented online and easily retrievable. Each conversation is vital to ensure that staff recognise action points they need to take to bring about increased performance and motivation. Managers also work closely with their staff on how they can improve, and recommend training and development based on these conversations. To further enable staff to better manage their performance at work, we also have a dedicated website which provides information and tool kits on performance management.

Throughout the performance management process, DBS places a strong emphasis on appraising both quantitative financial and process goals, and the competencies used to achieve these goals. In addition, to ensure that the bank’s senior employees are well-equipped to lead the bank to scale greater heights, all employees with the rank of Senior Vice President, Executive Director and Managing Director take part in an online 360 process.

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Lee Jin Hwui

Deputy Director, Human Resource Development, Land Transport Authority

At the start of the year, the Land Transport Authority(LTA) implements its Key Results Area (KRA), a process whereby individuals strive to ensure that their objectives and desired results are aligned to their respective departmental KRAs. Pertinently, the KRAs enable management to take stock of gaps in individual competencies in achieving set goals and look at ways to rectify this.

In addition, LTA has formulated development aspirations for individuals, setting targets and objectives for employees and different partners to attain.

A review will be conducted on a midyear basis to assess and check if the goals and targets are met as well to monitor the progress of various ongoing projects.

While there are mandatory midyear and year end reviews, the respective departmental supervisors will conduct assessments as regularly as possible to ensure all processes and systems are smooth sailing.

These cycles have been very effective to LTA’s overall operational and planning frameworks.

In the midst of operational procedures, we always remind our partners in operational aspects to give more attention to individual development.

We believe that people development is just as important as operational development and we encourage consistent and regular application of these practices and processes.

Saurabh Nigam

Vice President - Human Resources, Beroe Inc

Performance management is more than a concept. It is about having the philosophy to help companies align themselves with their organisational objectives and goals.

Beroe Inc is a procurement and consulting company focussing on procurement intelligence and supply chains. Hence, most of our employees are focussed on providing strategies and consultation services to different industries, domains and categories such as the oil and gas industries, and pharmaceutical sectors.

To gain a clearer understanding of business decisions and trends, it is imperative that our employees know everything about their sectors.

This is where the aspect of performance management is thoroughly applied.

Our key focus and perhaps only assets are the building of knowledge by our employees.

Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that our employees acquire the specialised knowledge and skillsets required to have an expert understanding of their respective fields and domains. This is done through core learning and the specialisation of people’s knowledge and information. Our research department monitors performance using analytic tools such as consumer feedback and data.

In addition, through leadership articles and white papers, we also showcase our expertise and niche knowledge to our clients to demonstrate that we possess the necessary qualities required to make informed decisions.

We firmly believe that performance management is all about attaining expert knowledge and that is what our employees have to build on.

RESOURCES

Book Reviews

Benchmarking and developing your star talent Ever struggled to replicate lessons learned elsewhere and tried to incorporate them into your own firm? Finding it tough to deal with benchmarking?

The book, Exemplary Performance: Driving Business Results by Benchmarking Your Star Performers examines more efficient alternatives to benchmarking exercises.

Authors Paul Elliott and Al Folsom explain what is required to prioritise performance efforts to handpick star performers, and structure plans of maximum

performance for important roles and functions within a company. They outline key characteristics of top employees and look at the types of leadership that promote a high performance work environment.

The first part of the book entails “defining the opportunity� and looks at areas such as leveraging on the insights of star performers, prioritising improvement opportunities, and selection of teams and individuals. In the second half, the authors explain how you can shift the performance curve and lead for excellent results through training, motivational tools, and rewards.

This book is a great read for those who want to improve their productivity and produce highperformance teams.

Title: Performers Exemplary Performance: Driving Business Results by Benchmarking Your Star Author: Paul Elliott / Alfred Folsom Publisher: Jossey-Bass Price: S$69.95

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Vice President, Corporate Planning, Human Resources

Regional Human Resources Director

Compensation & Benefits Manager, Asia Pacific

› International Financial Institution › Strategic and Challenging Role

› US Industrial MNC › Strategic and Operational Role

› Global Industrial Player › Centre of Excellence Function

Due to business expansion and growth, our client seeks a commercially‑attuned and experienced individual to play a pivotal role in the planning of frameworks and systems for Human Resources in the Asia Pacific region.

A leading industrial company, our client has an immediate need for a strategic and consummate Human Resources professional to lead its HR function in the ASEAN region.

A global industrial player, our client is seeking for an experienced Compensation & Benefits specialist to join and perform an integral role within its APAC Centre of Excellence team.

A people manager and member of the regional leadership team, you will develop and implement HR strategies and programs particularly in workforce planning, talent acquisition and development, to support attainment of business objectives.

As a strategic HR business partner to leadership team, you will participate in business strategy development, maximise organisational performance and take lead for M&A related organisational and people issues.

You will be involved in the review and development of C&B strategies, policies and programmes to ensure competitiveness for the APAC region. You will perform job evaluations and support compensation structuring through analysis and review of market data, provide benefits analysis services and contribute towards the development of solutions.

You are responsible for the manpower planning and budgeting for all human capital needs in line with business strategies. You will participate in business planning process to develop inputs to the annual goals‑setting, define performance accountability and deliverables for the organisation. You will initiate manpower planning processes, evaluate and review the human capital needs against business plans, partnering with stakeholders in the formalisation and implementation of the plans.

The successful candidate is degree qualified with at least 15 years’ relevant experience in a corporate planning function in multinational companies, particularly in financial services industry. You are highly process‑oriented, analytical, have a consultative approach, and possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Reference number: MH/JD43745/SL

You will provide direction and develop country HR teams with required competencies to support the business and lead all HR related projects in the region. You are a highly strategic and hands‑on HR practitioner with minimum 15 years of HR management experience including 8 years in senior HR leadership role in multinational companies. Possessing strong leadership, interpersonal, influence management, coaching and communications skills, you have demonstrated ability to operate in a highly matrix and demanding environment.

Reference number: MH/JD42731/SL

You will support implementation and coordination of regular C&B activities, coach on C&B skills and knowledge, and partner with HR in all areas relating to the improvement and contribution of C&B best practices. Degree qualified with relevant professional certification, you must have 10 years of C&B experience including 5 years regional exposure gained in MNC. A team player and highly hands‑on, you have strong analytical and presentation skills, competent in Excel and PowerPoint, and demonstrated ability in operating in a highly matrix and fast‑paced environment.

Reference number: MH/JD43936/SL

Your Human Resources recruitment specialists To apply, please go to talent2.com and search for respective reference number.

For a confidential discussion, you can contact Maureen Ho in our Singapore Office on +65 6511 8555  linkedin.com/company/talent2

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

Senior HR Business Partner

Regional C&B Manager

L&D Manager

› Global leader in industry

› Renowned US multinational

› Pharmaceutical multinational

› Attractive remuneration package

› Newly created APAC role

› Regional APAC role

Our client, a European multinational in the medical equipment industry is expanding within Asia and are looking for a hands-on HR Leader to join their regional management team. Reporting to the Head of HR based in London, you will be in charge of the full spectrum of HR for the APAC business. Leading a small team, you will be a key member of the senior management team and play an advisory role on all human capital matters. You will have a tertiary degree in HRM with at least 10 years of relevant experience.

Our client is a US listed multinational in the technology consulting business and are looking for a Regional C&B Manager to design, develop and implement compensation strategies that are aligned with corporate needs. Key to your success will be your ability to engage with business stakeholders and external consultancy firms. You will have a tertiary degree in HRM and at least 5 years of relevant experience. Strong communication and interpersonal skills will be highly advantageous to this role.

Our client is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide with billion dollar brands across diverse businesses. This is a newly created role in the L&D team to design and implement talent management and leadership development programs. Key to your success will be your ability to engage the business leaders and manage vendor relationships. The successful candidate will have a tertiary degree with at least 5 years of relevant experience. Strong communication skills are required for success in this role.

Please contact Sean Tong (Reg no: R1110029) quoting ref: H2070740 or visit our website.

Please contact Eugene Wong (Reg no: R1331128) quoting ref: H2015190 or visit our website.

Please contact Lucia Deng (Reg no: R1109119) quoting ref: H2084430 or visit our website.

To apply for any of the above positions, please go to www.michaelpage.com.sg and search for the reference number, or contact the relevant consultant on +65 6533 2777 for a confidential discussion.

Human Resources

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

#14541 Licence No.: 98C5473 Business Registration No: 199804751N

{

Talent2 Singapore Pte Ltd. Company Reg. No. 200511940M EA Licence No. 11C4535

Your career in HR starts here.

Manager, Training & HR

Fast-paced training role in a sales-focused environment You will report to the global HR VP based in London and work closely with the local management team on contact centre recruitment, training, management of the quality assurance programme and employee relations issues. Responsibilities will include delivering new hire system, sales and customer service training to call centre staff, identifying training needs and addressing needs by designing and delivering effective training and coaching solutions. You will also coach and mentor the supervisory team to optimize team performance and assist to develop a culture of continuous improvement and development. The successful candidate must be fully accredited by the SHRI to the Human Resource Professional level (HRP). In addition you must have a passion for recruitment and able to demonstrate success in relation to staff retention. Strong training and coaching skills are essential, along with solid local Employment Act knowledge. Candidates should be able to demonstrate the ability to work in a fast-paced, sales focused environment and be able to adapt to changing priorities.

Contact us at +65 6632 0040 / hrmg@capitagrp.com for a confidential discussion.

Senior Human Resources Manager

HR Business Partner role with focus on L&D in a large manufacturing firm You will provide a consultative role and partner with stakeholders to deliver HR service excellence; guide and lead a team of HR Business Partners from different Strategic Business Units in key areas in manpower planning and recruitment, compensation & benefits, performance management and employee engagement. You will work with the Corporate HR team to align to company-wide HR strategies for overall organization growth. We desire candidates with a HR degree and about 5 years of managerial experience in Human Resource specialization. You should possess strong knowledge of the local Employment Act and other related acts.

Candidates with coaching / mentoring skills and strong L&D and talent management experience will be preferred.

Contact us at +65 6632 0048 / hrmg@capitagrp.com for a confidential discussion.

Compensation & Benefits Manager C&B specialist role in the medical and healthcare sector

Working closely with the various HR business partners, you will participate in salary surveys and analyse data, and review existing salary structure to ensure competitiveness of salaries against the market. You will also keep abreast of changes and trends in legislation relating to C&B and review the existing benefits suite to recommend improvements. You will collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure consistent implementation of C&B programmes and the company’s long-term incentive plans. You have a degree with 6 years’ post-qualification experience in the HRM function within a large organization, with at least 4 years in a specialist C&B role.

Candidates with C&B specialist experience in HR consulting firms, conversant in job evaluations and salary benchmarking, will have an added advantage.

Contact us at +65 6632 0056 / hrmg@capitagrp.com for a confidential discussion.

Professional. Personalised. Passionate.

THE HALLMARK OF OUR TALENT SOLUTIONS

CAPITA PTE LTD

EA Licence No. 08C2893 An ISO 9001:2008 certified company

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South East Asia HR Team lead

HR Local Payment Deputy Manager/Manager

Senior Manager for Human Capital

Renowned Consulting Firm

Regional Bank

One of The Leading Asian Retailers

HR Operations

Newly Created Position

Management Role

Salary Circa Up To S$78K

Salary Circa Up To S$120K

Salary Circa Up To S$110K

One of the most prestigious management consulting firms to work for, is seeking a South East Asia HR Team Lead to report to the South East Asia Manager. The firm provides advisory services to many of the world's largest businesses, nonprofit organizations, and governments with presence in over 30 countries.

A major regional bank with an established presence in Asia Pacific and with a global network spanning more than 40 countries. Due to continued growth and migration of key global support functions into the Singapore, there is now an exciting new position for an experienced payment specialist to lead the team.

A major Asian retailer involved in the processing and wholesaling of FMCG products is seeking a Head of HR for one of the key business unit to provide HR leadership. In this high level business partnering role, he/she is expected to play an advisory role to the management and provide tactical & strategic oversight on people issues. The Manager will have a team of three direct reports and reporting directly to HR director.

As a deputy to the HR Manager, you will handle daily operation of the HR department smoothly and act as a trusted consulting partner to line managers regarding employee’s issues.

Degree holder with an accredited university, preferably in HR with least 5 years’ experience as a Generalist, ideally in the consulting field.

You demonstrate strategic thinking about people initiatives and possess good understanding of HR principles and best practices. You are resilient and able to work in a fast pace environment. You have excellent oral and written communication skills, and able to connect well with people. You are a self-starter, energetic, meticulous, possess eye for details and positive learning attitude.

To apply, please submit your resume to Priscilla Chen at pc@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number PC6476\HRM, or call (65) 63338530 for more details.

You will ensure timely and accurate execution of all HR related expenses payments and posting of entries (including local and expatriate payroll related expenses). You are responsible to review and compile periodic reports/surveys and involved in preparation for financial audits.

You will ensure financial records are maintained in compliance with accepted policies and procedures, collect and analyze financial information to recommend and develop efficient use of resources and procedures. In addition, you will provide continuous support on budget and forecast activities.

As a successful candidate you will manage full spectrum of HR operations and requires you to be hands on. You will craft talent acquisition and resourcing strategies in accordance to the growth requirement of the manpower plan. You will develop and drive retention strategies to support the achievement of business targets.

This will includes managing employee engagement and relations.

You possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Accounting/Finance or its equivalent, with at least 6 years’ experience in finance related area. Previous experiences in Accounts Payables, especially in handling HR-related expenses. You are proficient in MS Excel and have strong analytical skills. You have good interpersonal and communication skills, and is well-organized, resourceful and numerate.

You are a senior HR professional preferably in retail, F&B or hospitality with at least 10 years of experience. You will play an advisory role and possess an influential leadership that is essential to his/her team and business partners. Ideally, you have experience in supporting a large workforce of at least 1,000 people, with good career tenure in current/previous company. Willingness to work in the East is also required.

To apply, please submit your resume to Priscilla Chen at pc@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number PC6478\HRM, or call (65) 63338530 for more details.

To apply, please submit your resume to Priscilla Chen at pc@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number PC6479\HRM, or call (65) 63338530 for more details.

Financial Services I Commerce I Engineering I Human Resources I Legal I Sales & Marketing I Technology 64

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

Returning the Human to Resourcing

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

Training Manager - LEAN

Organizational Development/ Talent Management Manager

Senior HR Director

Global Scope

Leading Global MNC

Prominent Organisation

Newly Created Role

Exciting Initiatives

Leadership Role

S$150k to S$180k Plus Bonus

S$100k to S$150k Plus Bonus

Salary Circa Up To S$250K

This global organisation is one of the world's most recognized and respected organisation.

Due to continued growth, there is now an exciting opportunity for a dynamic individual to design, develop and deploy an effective and efficient training program for LEAN.

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

The organisation is expanding and undergoing an exciting change. There is now an opportunity for a high calibre HR professional to join them in this leadership role.

You will be responsible for designing, developing and deploying a global training program, providing employees with relevant skills in order to embed best practices and capabilities for long-term sustainability of efficiency measures. You need to share best practices and drive the vision of lean culture by communicating initiatives and progress reports to encourage LEAN adoption amongst key stakeholders.

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

We are looking for individuals with strong LEAN skills set with relevant background as a LEAN trainer and practitioner. You need to have good people management and communication skills.

Having prior experience in change management in advantageous. Traveling up to 30% is expected for this role.

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

You are a progressive HR professional with more than 20 years commercial work experience from global MNC environment.

You are strategic in mindset and tactical in delivery. You thrive in a dynamic and fast paced environment and have demonstrated resilience, especially in change management.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills as well as a team mindset will be critical success factors for this role. International candidates who may not necessarily have the Asia experience are welcome to apply.

To apply, please submit your resume to Finian Toh at ft@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number FT6454\HRM, or call (65) 63338530 for more details.

To apply, please submit your resume to Finian Toh at ft@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number FT6320\HRM, or call (65) 63338530 for more details.

To apply, please submit your resume to Finian Toh at ft@kerryconsulting.com, quoting the job title and reference number FT6448\HRM, or call (65) 63338530 for more details.

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

Working closely with the CEO and his management team, you will be instrumental in driving people issues and initiatives to support the growth of the business in the region. This is a generalist business partnering role where you will be leading a team towards bringing the organization and its people philosophies to the next level as well as to spear head tactical initiatives e.g. rollout of HR Information Systems, working with the C&B COE towards developing remuneration structures that are aligned with business growth objectives.

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HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS SPEAK TO THE EXPERTS HR Operations Partner APAC Key HR strategist

Regional HR Business Partner Provide strategic input

This expanding IT software multinational is expanding rapidly and is looking for a HR Operations Business Partner to oversee the HR function across a number of countries within APAC. Reporting to the APAC HR Director, you will be responsible for all matters pertaining to Human Resources across Singapore and the Philippines, leveraging off the centres of excellence based in Australia. With more than eight years relevant experience as an HR generalist, you will have worked within a fast paced environment, ideally within the IT/Technology industry, and have the ability to manage multiple deliverables.

This expanding energy solutions distributor has major growth plans set for 2014 and is looking for a HR Business Partner to take care of 1200 employees across APJ and East Asia within their IT sector. Due to promotion, an opportunity exists for a senior HR specialist to lead the business. You will provide advice on all matters of workforce management, organisational development and succession planning strategies. This will suit a strategic HR business partner with over 6-8 years relevant experience within a global MNC, ideally in the energy or IT/data centre space.

Senior Payroll Manager APAC SVP/VP international bank

Regional Sales Training Manager Up skill the sales force across APAC

This is a high visibility role with excellent prospects for internal promotion within a well regarded international bank. You must have substantial experience of payroll systems and processes, as well as excellent project management experience. Highly organised and an effective communicator, you will lead others in managing payroll from end-to-end, as well as handling external vendors on implementing strategic projects. You will be a highly organised individual with a drive for excellence and have at least 7-10 years relevant experience.

Due to a global transformation and change management project, this multinational and well known FMCG brand is looking for a Regional Sales Training Manager for their Asia Pacific headquarters. Following the global program, your main responsibility will be to help strengthen skills within the organisation’s sales force and roll out the new curriculum across all levels. With excellent skills in delivering stand up training to the sales teams, you must have a strong and proven sales background with more than ten years relevant experience in this area, having moved into a training role in recent years.

Please contact Tamara Sigerhall , Ash Russell, Mamta Shukla or Chris Lui at hr.singapore@hays.com.sg or +65 6303 0721.

hays.com.sg

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HELPING YOU BUILD A STRONG PEOPLE TREE WITH OUR INTEGRATED HUMAN CAPITAL CONSULTING SERVICES

Leadership & Coaching & Assessment

Talent Management

Compensation & Benefits

Executive Coaching Team Coaching Customised Corporate Training Strategic Planning Sessions Corporate Retreats Leadership Development Team Development Management Mentoring Leadership Assessment & Feedback Tools Leadership Programme Design

Strategic Succession Planning Talent Management Framework Organisation Development Change Management Vision-Mission-Values Competency Framework Performance Appraisal System Selection & Recruitment System Career Management Training & Development + Skills Matrix

Executive Compensation Job Evaluation, Grade & Salary Structure Short-Term & Long-Term Cash Incentive Plans Share-Based Incentive Plans Total Compensation Structuring Benefits Design Strategy Mapping (Performance Scorecard) Non-Executive Director Fees Sales Compensation Remuneration Committee Advisory

www.alignhrconsulting.com Tel+65 6538 0280

www.carrotsconsulting.com Tel+65 6842 2131

We are proud to be SSAE 16 certified

Payroll Outsourcing Why deal with the risks of incorrect payroll calculations, lack of legal compliance and internal control issues, when you can simply outsource the entire process to a company that specializes in nothing else?

Training & Assessments We proactively stay ahead of changes, and are constantly working to ensure that our organisation is ready and available to share our deep market knowledge with you.

Global Leave We operate a flexible policy engine that can manage all your different leave policy processes across multiple countries. Gone are the trails of paperwork, confusion on leave balances, errors due to miscalculations and missing request forms.

Payroll Systems Our payroll systems are designed to address the full spectrum of modern payroll needs, combining flexibility, control and compliance to support the unique aspects of your organization’s specific requirements. Employees can check online payslips from the same application on a browser.

PayrollServe is the Payroll and HR Administration Services division of Chio Lim Stone Forest group, a leading accounting and business advisory group that focuses on growing businesses. We are supported by a team of more than 1,000 professionals in Singapore, China and Malaysia specialising in Payroll, HR, Corporate Secretarial, Accounting, Taxation and Management Information Systems.

www.PayrollServe.com.sg Hotline: (65) 6336 0600