By Emilyn Yap

Standard Chartered will continue to hire talent even as it navigates the financial storm, says group chief executive Peter Sands.

Speaking at the Singapore Human Capital Summit yesterday, he advised: 'This is not the time to be cutting back on fundamental investments in people - in recruiting, training, development.'

According to Mr Sands, Standard Chartered had learnt this the hard way in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis some 10 years ago. Back then, the bank had scaled back on recruitment only to find a gap in its talent pipeline later on which took years to recover.

'The thing about building talent is that you're investing in people, skills and capabilities that you'll get returns from five, ten years from now. So it's always tempting in a more difficult and challenging environment to pull back on recruitment or training,' he told reporters at the sidelines of the conference.

But the consequences of doing that will affect companies several years down the road and it could be difficult to resolve the situation later, he said. Therefore, in spite of the fallout hitting financial institutions, Stanchart will continue to recruit and train talent.

In fact, 'we actually see this as a really good opportunity to hire exceptional talent, because many of our competitors are in some disarray or distress', he added.

Bank of America's takeover of Merrill Lynch, for instance, could lead to thousands of job losses amid efforts to cut costs. Reuters also reported earlier this month that several traders from the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers had joined Standard Chartered in Singapore.

And tough times also offer opportunities for real leaders to stand out, said Mr Burns. These are the individuals who display determination, courage to make difficult decisions and visible leadership.

Mr Burns also touched on the issue of salary at the conference. While inappropriate reward structures contributed to the financial mess today, they were not the primary culprit, he said. Nonetheless, there could be greater regulatory scrutiny of compensation structures going forward.

This article was first published in The Business Times on October 24, 2008.