What does an SME need to do to attract, develop and retain talent?

Clinton Ang
Managing Director
Cornerstone Wines

TO ATTRACT talent, generous remuneration is no longer enough. A company must have a decent brand and reputation. It must offer training opportunities, encourage creativity within job scope and provide local and overseas exposure. To retain staff, all SYSTEMS - Save Yourself Time, Effort, Money, and Stress - must be in place. And there must be constant innovation so a company is assured of scalability and growth. Attainable short, medium and long-term targets should be set so there is no doubt as to direction. And there must always be a target to strive for.

Jason Ng
Managing Director
Grand Team Technologies

CONTINUOUS learning and skills upgrading must be part of a company's policy to retain employees. Every person's demands and expectations are different and change over time. SMEs have an advantage that some MNCs cannot offer - a challenge and work experience that can motivate. Besides career advancement, staff welfare and the working environment must be priorities. SMEs should also try to offer a good lifestyle/work-life balance to retain talent on a long-term basis. Grand Team's strategy to keep talent includes a shareholding scheme. To make employees feel they are working for their own future and career development, we let them own a portion of the company.

Kenny Yap
Managing Director
Qian Hu

SMEs, just like any business, need to attract, develop and retain talent. Indeed, due to the lack of financial resources, SMEs can only differentiate themselves by the people they have, so they can provide niche products, good-quality service and be flexible. SMEs might not be able to pay as much as big companies, but what they can do is to have a clear and fair corporate culture and values, a compassionate working environment, good communication channels and direct interaction with everyone in the company to make people willing to work and happy to work.

Annie Yap
CEO
The GMP Group

HAVING served the recruitment needs of companies of all sizes, GMP has found that SMEs must develop solid HR strategies and policies to stay viable in the fight for the best talent. SMEs should, first and foremost, develop clear job descriptions and performance appraisal systems that are realistic, practical and sensitive to each individual. They should go the extra mile for employees by charting career paths. These things contribute critically to job satisfaction and performance. The lithe and streamlined structure of an SME gives it advantages that an MNC cannot easily afford. For a start, an SME is in a better position to tailor policies to suit the individual needs of staff. A smaller and more streamlined stature means it is logistically more possible for an SME to implement flexible working hours and work weeks and adjustable benefits packages. SMEs also have a flatter corporate structure which means there is a greater chance for staff to be involved in expansion and growth plans. However, good HR policies cannot be felt without creating strong first impressions. SMEs should recognise that branding can be a powerful tool in attracting, developing and retaining talent. If an SME has a clear corporate identity and culture, current and prospective staff can more strongly relate to the idea and concept the company represents.

Richard Hoon
CEO
I Search Worldwide Group of Companies

SMEs have many interesting propositions to offer potential candidates. The real challenge is to define targets and be creative in what they can offer. Being a pivotal member of a start-up team, the opportunity to create something uncharted and the autonomy to establish your destiny are compelling reasons that even the very best staff from MNCs are willing to consider. Add flexibility of benefits and rewards, a congenial and non-protocol work environment and the belief that the enterprise will be successful, and you may just tip the scale in an SME's favour. To attract talent, SMEs need to 'sell' themselves to the right talent group. Thereafter, talent development should be accorded on the job as people are trusted with bigger responsibilities and higher authority than what they would normally get with an MNC. Retaining them will require constant observation and analysis of their needs, and providing them with a strong sense of ownership of the organisation and achievement of goals. Attracting and developing talent can be outsourced, but retention should probably be developed in-house. So long as demand outstrips supply, SMEs should be comfortable knowing MNCs also face challenges in attracting and retaining talent. In good times, we need good people. In bad times, we need even better people.

Ron Sim
Founder & CEO
OSIM International

ATTRACTING, developing and retaining talent depends on the clarity of the business goals, leadership and management culture in aligning roles and responsibilities with reward and recognition. People don't just work for a company - they work for people. And fundamental relationships are built on respect and trust.

Wee Piew
CEO
HG Metal

SMEs should use their small size to take a more active interest in employee welfare, be it work-related or otherwise. Small size allows for ease of communication between employees and management, thereby reducing the miscommunication that is common in bigger organisations. More importantly, SMEs should pay attention to their employees' welfare, not only in good times but also in recessionary times.

Harish Ni
CEO
Emerio Corporation

SMEs need to realise that today's work force, comprising mainly generation Xers, is used to a work culture that's vastly different. Consequently, SMEs need to provide an atmosphere that is conducive to teamwork and an easy exchange of ideas, and that provides accelerated career paths for the deserving.

Liu Chunlin
CEO
K&C Protective Technologies

QUITE often, an SME cannot compete on, say, the institutional staff benefits of an MNC or government organisation. But an SME can offer the thrill of going into a new area of business, an IPO in some instances, and the opportunity for staff to be a part of some ground-breaking effort. With the greater risk, it is important that SMEs keep faith by valuing talent, engendering shared success and being fair in distributing the fruits of that success.

This article was first published in The Business Times on July 22, 2008.