Commentary

The same period two years ago Singapore was on the cliff edge of a technical recession. By Sep 2009, it became a reality. Companies were cutting staffs and budgets. One cannot pass by a day without hearing of some retrenchment or downsizing.

The effects of mobile are everywhere. With Singapore's mobile penetration rate at 144 percent, among the highest in the world, almost every person you pass on the street has a mobile phone. Mobile devices are quickly becoming the preferred platform on which people access information as well as engage online services. This isn’t limited to just goods and services offered by private companies.

The in-demand careers of the future will be very different from those of the not so recent past – a shift that could help liberate women in the workplace.

Traditionally

Organisations produce a lot of content. The average office employee gets numerous emails every day including email responses, reports and other types of content. For a multinational corporation with thousands of employees, it is enough to fill server farms all over the world, particularly as you add in rich media like images and audio-video files.

Today, many Singapore businesses are starting to acknowledge the growing impact Social Media has on its bottom line especially in a Crisis. Information has become as valuable as prime real estate where top search engine rankings and positive (or negative) reviews on influential blogs can have tremendous impact on a business' fortune. Unfortunately, many Singapore businesses today continue to use Social Media as an ancillary communication channel.

The global business climate has shifted markedly in recent years. Global financial crisis (GFC) aside, the rise of the Asia-Pacific region, new communications and media technologies, and an increasingly mobile workforce have forced companies worldwide to rethink how they conduct business.

In the highly competitive new world of work, employers must bridge the leadership gap to retain the volume and quality of talent required to be competitive.

What do you do when you are driving down a street and suddenly a brick wall looms in front of you? You try to go around it if you can, right? No point driving straight into the brick wall unless you happen to be in a 70-tonne Sherman tank.

Our latest Hays Quarterly Report, for the July – September quarter, shows that hiring activity is strong again in Singapore, with employers acutely aware of the deep shortage of skilled candidates in the market.

In recent months there has been much speculation about the long term viability of daily deal sites (also called group buying sites) like Groupon. Group buying has long been a popular means for consumers to pool cash together and create greater bargaining power. According to Needham & Company LLC, by 2015, the daily deals market will generate US$10.3bn revenue per year globally.

There are some times when being big, or at least looking big, can be an advantage when you’re in business. Some of your customers and suppliers may think that big means more reliability, a better price and higher quality. While that may not be necessarily true, however if making your company look bigger brings in more profits, you may want to consider doing the things that will provide that image.

Last week, I got a cost request from an agency to quote for conducting fieldwork on affluent people. I found the main specs rather odd; people who earn $20,000 a month and spend $1000 over three years on jewelry. (Well, it wasn’t jewelry, actually but I can’t say what it is so for the sake of illustration, jewelry it is)

In today’s volatile economic climate, smaller PR agencies could be an option to take your business to the next level at a fraction of the cost. Never mind the size; it’s the quality of work that counts.

When social media and digital giants set up regional offices in Asia, Singapore is often their first port of call. Most prefer to first set up sales and administration operations over engineering or technical support, although that is slowly changing. Indeed, Singapore is a popular regional business development base for global social networking businesses. Not only is the island state technologically advanced and its consumers tech savvy, but there is also a deep pool of multicultural talent. Plus, we have top-notch advertising agency talent based in Singapore; creative and experienced executives who are familiar with tailoring online solutions for different market segments across Asia Pacific. Singaporeans seem to have social networking under their skin, not just in a social, but also business context. A 2011 global survey from Regus found that the majority of small to medium sized businesses in Singapore (74%) say that social networking has evolved from a nice-to-have to a necessity. Over half (59%) of firms encourage their employees to join social networks such as LinkedIn, Xing and Video. Nearly half in Singapore (44%) devote up to 20% of their marketing budget to business social networking activity. As such, Singapore is well positioned to develop as an online talent ecosystem for the region. In just the last few years, companies such as Google (2007), Tripadvisor (2010) and LinkedIn (2011) have all set up regional Asian headquarters in Singapore. The executives that are most in demand are business development and sales professionals, with candidates coming from the advertising, media, broadcast and telecommunications sectors - though Google also recruits a lot of former management consultants for the sheer intellectual horsepower. There is more good news for Singapore, as the establishment of these global digital and social media giants helps lead to the development of local talent and opportunities. Managing online and social media businesses calls for a very new set of capabilities that is centered on consumers, content and advertising. I’ve observed more entrepreneurial and independent-minded professionals under one roof in these social media companies, than I've ever seen assembled in other businesses. This may seed future local start-ups or allow local social networks to expand their reach by partnering with their global counterparts in interesting ways, like how hungrygowhere is now providing content for the likes of Bing or Google.

There is intense competition for talented employees, as strong economic growth across Asia builds demand among businesses of all shapes and sizes. According to Randstad’s World of Work 2011 survey, 84 percent of employers believe the global talent war is set to worsen as these markets continue their rapid growth. With such intense competition for securing talent, it can be easy to cut corners in the recruitment process. While skipping critical reference checks may not seem important for your potential star candidate, it could place your organisation in a vulnerable position. Research carried out by Randstad in Asia Pacific found that 26% of businesses in Singapore have suffered an incident with an employee because they had not checked their references properly. Finding the ‘right now fit’ is a tempting option when you are facing the strain of a growing business. But beware – it can cause far more strain and potential damage in the long term. Focus on the ‘true fit’ rather than the ‘right now’ and never let the day-to-day strains of your organisation affect your decision. Here are the essential steps you can take to ensure you are hiring for ‘true fit’: Understand a candidate’s background People providing incorrect or false information in their CVs and in interviews is more common than you think. While some are innocent mistakes that do not detract from the candidate’s ability to do the job, other ‘mistakes’ included incorrect employment and academic dates or fictitious professional qualifications. Despite many organisations in the Asia Pacific region failing to take adequate steps to check the backgrounds of potential candidates, employers seem to be clear on what would have helped them avoid this incident.