TECH companies, by nature fast-paced and innovative, have always been an attractive target for new graduates. At Lenovo, we believe there are a number of other factors which graduates also look at beyond the usual compensation and benefits package.
New grads today have an increasingly global focus. Lenovo has operations all over the world and we believe in sourcing for the best candidates for the best role, no matter where they are from. Walking along the office corridor to my desk, you'll hear accents from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Australia, India, the US. Also, there are strong international development opportunities; we have Singaporean employees currently working at our marketing hub in India, and with the consumer marketing team in the US, as well as our design team in Beijing.
Also, graduates want to know they can make an impact. Lenovo is a US$14 billion start-up. Our employees - even recent grads - are helping us build our brand and culture practically from scratch - a once-in-a-lifetime challenge.
While focusing heavily on recruitment, in our ever-changing and dynamic industry, companies also need to focus on talent retention and growth.
Empowering the employee to own and create change is key, as is providing a clear development path, making sure employee successes are publicly recognised, and providing feedback so employees can grow.
- David Miller
President of Asia Pacific & Senior Vice-President
Lenovo
THE biggest draw of the banking and finance industry lies in its attractive remuneration. The perceived prestige of the private financial institutions also appeals to graduates today, hence attracting talent is not a major challenge for that industry. The downside of this industry is the enormous amount of personal stress that is associated with the work, impacting individuals so much that their personal lives are difficult to balance with their professional careers.
Attracting talent is only one aspect of successful talent management. Retaining talent is equally important, if not more so. A positive working environment that ensures higher job satisfaction not only helps to achieve this - it is also a quality that is highly sought after by employees today.
As a global company in the hospitality technology sector, interTouch actively promotes open communication across the organisation. We firmly believe in adopting best practices in employee welfare and promoting greater understanding between employees and managers. Providing opportunities for staff to advance in their careers can also promote greater job involvement and satisfaction.
Within our ability, we also try to relate bonuses to performance. Through these practices, we can attract and retain talent that will help us grow and strengthen our business globally. Careers nowadays often span national boundaries and the new generation of people look for opportunities everywhere. interTouch, with operations in 45 countries, has the ability to offer those opportunities.
- Charles Reed
CEO
interTouch
IT IS well known that many fresh graduates hope to enter the banking and finance sector in which Rabobank operates, so we have no problems in attracting talent. However, banks generally face challenges in staff retention and if we take short-term measures to address this problem, Singapore could end up with a pernicious threat to our cost competitiveness.
On the micro level, most banks attempt to stem talent outflow - and accelerate staff inflow - by raising salaries.
They might also spend additional time, resources and money on staff recruitment efforts. These measures invariably lead to rising costs and, if earnings do not keep pace with expenditure,falling profits. Dangling bigger carrots could be ineffective over the long term anyway, since workers might still leave if another company tempts them with turnips instead. Thus, raising salaries is at best a short-term remedy and may be unsustainable over the long run. On the macro (and more serious) level, if the local economy does not register productivity gains that match the rising wage bills, we might become less cost-competitive. This is where the pernicious threat could surface. Singapore must never let this happen because we are already facing intense competition from low-cost countries like China and India!
Thus, the government must tackle the issue of staff attrition at the micro level, so that we do not face the bigger issue of declining cost-competitiveness at the macro level. It is unwise to retard the pace of economic growth or the rate of job creation, and workers will be reluctant to accept smaller pay packets. Therefore, the best way forward is to encourage employers to provide more intangible rewards to foster staff loyalty. Examples of such rewards include a better work-life balance, flexi-work schedules or greater emphasis on employee welfare.
Employers should also implement policies designed for higher staff retention and a deeper level of employee engagement. For example, Rabobank has a two-pronged approach - namely, a Retention Strategy and a Management Development Model - to retain and groom employees for leadership positions in future.
Companies should not rely solely on carrots or turnips to retain or attract talent. Rather, they should do so by offering a balanced, nutritious diet comprising a sensible remuneration package, opportunities for personal growth and other elements, for developing well-rounded employees.
- Goh Chong Theng
General Manager, Singapore
Rabobank International
BAXTER does not have a problem in attracting local talent from the three universities in Singapore, given our reputation as a leading medical technology and healthcare provider. The bigger challenge in our industry - in fact, in many other industries - lies in retaining talented staff, especially at the junior levels.
Thanks to the buoyant Singapore economy and widespread job creation, largely due to sound government policies, graduates have multiple career options nowadays. Many of them are applying for jobs that are totally unrelated to their tertiary-level studies, and this has led to a talent shortage for certain sectors. Due to this intense competition for talent among employers, wages are rising and this provides further impetus for employees to job-hop. It is imperative for employers to treat the new talent pool with a lot more maturity, and provide an enriching work environment that fosters learning and a good work-life balance. It is of paramount importance to provide opportunities for them to learn and develop, and to engage them on a deeper level beyond simply offering generous remuneration packages. Corporations must also remember that a company's corporate values and its commitment to corporate social responsibility are also key considerations for this group of job-seekers.
It is better for job-seekers to stick with their choice of employer once that decision has been made, instead of frequently switching jobs for marginal salary increments. Working for the same company over an extended period allows employees to build a strong foundation, and eventually assume positions of greater responsibility throughout a highly sustainable career path.
On a micro level, the high manpower turnover rates disrupt business productivity for employers because it takes resources to hire and train new staff. Losing the existing, trained staff is a double whammy because their replacements may cost more to hire and require time to familiarise themselves with the company's operations.
On a macro level, the government needs to keep rising business costs in check, because many MNCs such as Baxter coordinate their regional business operations out of Singapore. It is critical for Singapore to stay cost-competitive vis-a-vis its neighbours so that it continues to attract sizeable investments from large corporations around the world and top talent.
- Sanjay Prabhakaran
Director, South East Asia
Baxter Healthcare (Asia) Pte Ltd
THE strong interest in the banking and financial sector even among engineering graduates is not unexpected, given the efforts by our government to promote Singapore as a financial hub and a wealth management centre in the region.
Our fresh graduates tend to go with the flavour of the day, in response to what our government is promoting as has been shown in the past with biotechnology and IT. This has invariably made it harder for other industries to attract the talent they want from our local universities.
The bigger issue is not so much the availability of fresh graduates; but a shortage of experienced manpower needed urgently today by companies to support business expansion and growth in a buoyant economy. Local companies also face increasing competition from overseas companies sourcing for talent from Singapore.
Industries which are facing difficulties in attracting talent and experienced human capital will need to go beyond promoting themselves; they have to enhance benefits and compensation to keep up with the changing times.
Companies will do well to offer better work-life harmony, which would appeal to the younger workforce, be more pro-family, and to tap the talent pool of our senior citizens. The setting up of the fourth university is a step in the right direction which will ease the manpower shortage over the longer term.
- Lim Soon Hock
Managing Director
Plan-B Icag Pte Ltd
THE recent years have seen a steady rise of entry-level graduates in hot pursuit of jobs in banking and finance. The perceived prestige and financial rewards in this sector do wield a lot of power. We need to learn from this sector how they manage to consistently attract top talent. But it would be smart to also address root causes of such trends in order to effect lasting change in the way our young people view career development.
Talented graduates often have a fairly clear idea of their career destination. Therefore, to get the best talent to drive our company, we in business must also embody the same dynamic potential to meet the demands of today's job seekers.
We are happy to note that at Best World, we have an excellent pool of talent to support us in both our local operations and global expansion efforts. We have hired young graduates as management trainees in order to introduce them to our industry. We integrate hands-on, action-oriented approaches that enable them to get to know the organisation and then involve them in our overseas operations for further immersion and greater responsibilities.
Most of them have stayed on with us and now enjoy rewarding careers in various work assignments. We submit therefore: Run a strong efficient business as company stability is always a selling point, and ensure well-defined job criteria for careers with a clear path and good growth prospects. But more importantly, kindle workforce commitment to the heart of your organisation's mission. From our experience, it pays to build strong teams towards a retention-rich organisation by nurturing a culture that attracts, engages and builds lasting loyalty among today's best and brightest.
- Dora Hoan
Group CEO
Best World International Ltd
IF AN industry is able to attract talent into its business, it is actually a great moment. Beyond this, companies need to be serious about people management as a strategic business issue and manage retention.
Replacement costs are just the tip of the iceberg. They do not include the many indirect costs ? lost customers, lost opportunities, especially in development of new technologies and products/services and a decrease in ? talent strength?, especially those required for succession planning.
Then there is the advantage competitors have, if job leavers join them, as well as the problem of lower morale and increased stress of those who remain.
Perhaps the most detrimental of all is the loss of brainpower on which the company runs.
Organisations must never take people for granted. In other words, when it comes to employee retention, money is not necessarily the deciding factor. Employee expectations change over time so it is critical to be sensitive to changing needs, especially that of star performers.
Treating people fairly, with uniform performance standards, regardless of the culture they are from, would help. Giving employees enough resources, the ?true information? they need to do the job, timely recognition and financial rewards to enable them to succeed is crucial. My bias is for organisations not to outsource coaching for new hires and star performers. The existing leadership must have the ability to coach and counsel those identified under succession planning.
Only when senior management spends significant time with key employees will they know how to evaluate their values, skills, and business practices.
- David Choo KT
Senior Partner / Vice-President, Consumer Products
Kepner Tregoe Asia Ltd
IN THE IT services industry, human talent is our most important asset and attracting and retaining talent is pivotal to our success. Singapore is Satyam's regional headquarters and from here, we service clients across Asean, North and South Asia, Middle East and Africa. We believe that engineering talent from most universities, colleges and technical schools is almost uniformly trained as far as academic training is concerned.
What is more important is ensuring the readiness of this raw talent to meet the challenges and demands of an actual working environment. Many IT services companies like Satyam are concentrating on training fresh recruits towards this goal through extensive training programmes where fresh recruits are imparted on-the-ground orientation of project execution, project management and client servicing which enables them to tie in their academic training to actual practice so that they become 'truly employable'.
In some countries, Satyam is working with the local universities to align IT curricula towards changing global corporate needs. Hence, we believe that sourcing talent is no longer the primary problem because alternative avenues for talent are opening fast within the same and across diverse geographies. The need of the hour is to ensure that the talent pool can be quickly and effectively absorbed into the workforce. To ensure this, both universities and employers must work together to align course curricula to bridge the gulf between theory and practice.
- Virender Aggarwal
Director & Senior Vice-President,
Head of Asia Pacific,
Middle East, India and Africa
Satyam Computer Services Ltd
Varsities' competition pays off
LIKE many firms in Singapore, Bain & Company has been increasing its rate of local recruitment quite substantially over the last five years - both at the undergraduate and graduate MBA levels. Our experience is that the quality ofthe talent pool available in the local market has improved, and we are moving to take advantage of this.
Undoubtedly our relatively high incoming pay scale and brand name contribute to the strong demand for positions, but we also see a number of positive trends.
First, with the growth of the top-tier consulting firms in Singapore there is greater awareness of the attractiveness of a career in management consulting. The students recognise that the key factors driving management consulting to be a 'top choice' among US MBA schools apply to Singapore as well: the global nature of our work, the challenge of working in multiple industries, the benefit of taking a CEO perspective to problems, broad exposure to strategy, operations, mergers and acquisitions and organisation issues and finally, a collegial environment with a heavy training/personal development programme. Bain & Company hires 3-5 per cent of the graduating classes of several top business schools.
Second, we are benefiting from the impact of SMU (Singapore Management University), Insead and the Chicago Executive programme. The schools are turning out a large pool of business graduates with the kind of diverse, internationally focused backgrounds we are looking for. In addition, we believe there is significant benefit to competition between different education institutions - there is no doubt that NUS and NTU needed some 'local
competition' to continue to innovate and adapt to the evolving needs of students.
Third, we find fresh graduates are very attracted to working in a diverse environment where no one nationality or culture defines the work environment.
This is more challenging than it may first appear, as each new employee must grapple with supervisors who may differ quite significantly in their background, style of communications, work habits and expectations.
But today's students appear quite prepared for this 'New World' of business, and seem to both value and enjoy the diverse atmosphere of management consulting.
Finally, I believe some of the changes that are percolating through the pre-university system are beginning to pay off - the students we are seeing now are more willing to challenge their supervisors, ask for international assignments, work in teams and tackle open-ended problems than was the case in the eighties and nineties.
What more needs to be done? We're impressed by SMU's efforts to place students in internships, and hope that local companies step up to service this need for both SMU and other schools. This will give students exposure to a broad range of industries.
Second, business executives at non-financial institutions need to commit to marketing themselves and their companies; an average partner in Bain & Company spends a day a month in recruiting, and many business executives will need to step up their personal efforts (not just hire human resource managers).
Third, we are enthusiastic about the government's efforts to steadily expand the capacity in local universities. The key is getting the pace right - slow and steady to maintain quality.
Finally, continue to push to diversify the student bodies at all local universities, which will benefit Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike. While this may feel like non-Singaporeans filling spots for 'local talent', internationalisation is so critical that the principle should be maintained.
Based on the salaries quoted in your article ($30,000-$36,000 per year expectations for a starting job), graduates in Singapore are still underpaid compared to their counterparts in other advanced economies. No doubt we will
continue to increase our level of hiring of this increasingly talented pool.
- Charles M Ormiston
Director
Bain & Company
Spread talent equally
GENERALLY, Fujitsu Asia has no problems in attracting talented graduates to join us. I believe that our fellow technology MNCs do not experience difficulties in their recruitment efforts as well.
I think that the current interest in the banking and finance sector among job-seekers stems from reasons such as generous compensation packages, perceived glamour or high media profile. And we cannot fault prospective employees for gravitating to that sector. However, it is vital for the government to highlight the importance of other pillars of the economy.
Let's not forget that the banking and finance sector is just one of Singapore's several key economic drivers. It is well known that the government has identified new engines of economic growth, in areas such as information and communication technology, healthcare, biotechnology and tourism. If the banking and finance sector attracts the cream of the crop, then there could be excess talent in that sector and a dire shortage of talent in other key sectors.
And if that happens, then the local economy might not experience broad-based growth across all sectors as desired.
Thus, the government must take measures to prevent unequal talent distribution across various sectors of the economy. While we cannot - and should not - regulate compensation packages for skilled white-collared professionals, Singapore can position individual sectors as career options that are desirable in their individual, unique ways. Examples of such methods include enhanced collaboration with private-sector companies, greater recognition for professionals from certain industries, or increased public education on the importance of certain industries.
Companies can also portray themselves as desirable employers through HR policies designed to improve employees' remuneration, provide opportunities for career growth or encourage a healthy work-life balance.
- Oi Noboru
CEO
Fujitsu Asia
Companies should work together
AS AN SME, it is definitely more difficult to attract talent from local universities compared to banks and financial institutions. Financial institutions, especially global ones, have the market branding to attract local graduates. They are also able to offer remuneration packages which SMEs might not be able to match. Such big financial institutions are also able to participate in job fairs at universities to attract undergraduates even before they have graduated.
One way for SMEs to compete for local graduates is for associations for SMEs like the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) or Spring to band SMEs together to conduct job fairs at the local universities. These will help undergraduates understand that there is also a career path available for them in local SMEs.
- Wee Piew
CEO
HG Metal Manufacturing Ltd
HUMAN resources, like many niche industries, face the challenge of not being well-understood by students with no work experience. That is where smaller industries lose out in appeal to more prominent sectors.
With companies clamouring for the best talent they can find in a bullish employment market, prospective employees can be more more selective, no longer feeling the compulsion to pounce on the first offer that comes along. However, fresh graduates are often not well-informed about the nature and demands of each industry.
Getting something out of this talent war not only requires competitive remuneration, it is about educating and marketing industries as a whole.
Companies and regulatory bodies should band together to figure out innovative ways to promote their industries. Then our graduates will benefit too. Rather than simply heading to the next ?in? industry, they can possibly make better choices with a clearer understanding of what each career entails.
- Annie Yap
CEO
The GMP Group
Others
THE results of the JobsFactory survey are indeed heartening for financial institutions, though many continue to face talent shortages in view of the strong growth in the financial industry. As evidenced by a taskforce study undertaken by the Institute of Banking and Finance between August 2006 and April 2007, comprising representatives from the financial sector and institutions of higher learning, fresh graduates do not have a clear enough understanding of the skills and competencies required in specific roles in the financial sector.
While well-trained intellectually, graduates need to enhance their practical skills as well as gain a better understanding of the different roles available in the sector. For example, most graduates, when considering a job in banking and finance, think of investment or private banking. In reality, there are many other career choices within the industry, such as in insurance or reinsurance, middle-office support and fund management.
In this regard, the Financial Industry Competency Standards (FICS) serves as a roadmap to guide graduates on the suite of roles within the financial sector, as well as the skills and competencies required. Using FICS, a graduate can aim to find a better job fit, as well as understand the training and development opportunities that are available.
- Loo Siew Yee
CEO
Institute of Banking & Finance
THE media industry is undergoing innovative, spectacular changes. Technology has opened up new vistas.
However, with the government harping on financial and related business sectors as the way forward in keeping Singapore relevant and competitive, more and more young Singaporeans are jumping onto that bandwagon as their first choice in careers.
Thus, the competition for talent is brutal. To attract more talent, the following needs to be done:
- a mindset change;
- media promotion of the industry;
- government leaders voicing support; and
- consideration of grants for talent sourcing and appointments.
Our universities, however, are on the right track. For many courses, attachment and internship with business corporations is now a requirement for graduation.
This symbiotic relationship with industry could be further deepened. We are also constantly reviewing our incentive and remuneration packages. We provide additional and postgraduate training. We are more interested in how much the talent would be worth to the company in three to five years.
- R Theyvendran, PBM
Chairman / Managing Director
Stamford Media International Group
