Paving the way to the “new possible” in 2022

As Singapore’s economy shifts into endemic mode, the HR community faces a huge responsibility. HR leaders sit at the forefront of helping businesses adapt to an aggressive, shifting, digital world now trademarked with continuous disruption and change.

Mastering technology to improve standard HR processes and develop insights through advanced analytics is now a required skill. But to build organisational resilience and generate value, leaders must connect these insights to the business to enable faster decision making and continuous innovation.

Now is the time for Singapore’s HR leaders to implement more flexible, responsive policies, engage more directly and deeply with employees, and allow them to bring their whole selves to work.

Technology’s entire purpose is to help scale and enhance human experiences. Paving the way to the “new possible” means leveraging technology and data to help customise and track the needs of each individual on their employee journey, whether advancing educational efforts, helping customers and clients to solve problems, supporting the development of colleagues, or simply being part of a great team.

Talent. It’s all about the journey.

Contrary to stories reported on “The Great Reshuffle”, money is not the answer to all talent problems.

“Work is having a moment. Worker expectations have shifted​. Work is no longer just about where, but also when, how and why​,” said Peter Hadley, President, ADP Asia-Pacific. “And it’s not just about the pay. Re-evaluation of purpose has become a key trigger for job switching​.”

“Connection is everything,” said Hadley.

But connection is a complicated ball to unravel. Manager engagement is #1. Providing a variety of channels for cross-generational engagement is important. But it all ultimately comes down to one basic premise, “Know me. Understand me. Help me.”

For example, half of Singapore’s employees are concerned about lack of progression in their roles (four times the APAC average). Enabling individuals’ career journeys based on their own unique career stage is critical.

ADP found that while almost half of workers aged 25-34 reported a growth in opportunities to develop their skills since the pandemic, less than a third of those aged 45-54 saw similar opportunities. At the same time, HR cannot neglect workers at the start of their careers.

When hiring new talent, it is also time to look to those less optimistic about finding new employment and help them build the next stage of their career journey. Both older and younger candidates cite difficulties finding new jobs despite the advantages of a multigenerational workforce.

According to Yvonne Teo, ADP’s Vice President of HR, APAC, everyone needs training and development regardless of their age, stage or career or function. “We need to challenge the misconception that career development and goal-setting is something that stops at a certain age,” she said.

The benefits to employers of investing in skills development are clear. SkillsFuture Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry found that for every 10 percent of a company’s workforce offered training, that company’s revenue increased by 0.7 percent for up to three years. And productivity was at an average of 2.2 percent higher per year for two years.

Goals for 2022

This year, HR leaders’ key goals should include learning how best to gather and make sense of technology in planning and developing career journeys:

• Rely on data to identify and assess gaps to make decisions.
• Focus on the people behind the numbers​.
• Demand trusted insights and secure technology as a part of your business strategy and partner relationships​.
• Leverage innovative technology to scale and enhance the human experience​.
• Focus on digital upskilling​.
• Expand your hiring strategies​.
• Focus learning and development (L&D) on addressing the full career lifecycle for all workers at all stages of their career.

How? By building a unified view of your workforce that also allows you visibility into each individual employee’s journey. Bring your payroll and HR data together and you can find out what employees both want and need most.

You will have the data needed to match employees to training and development, spot skills gaps and allow them to see potential career paths. Managers gain greater insights into their team members, allowing them to engage more effectively with their teams. People will be less likely to leave (and more likely to join) if they can see a future with your company. Greater workforce visibility also makes it easier to tackle issues such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender pay equity.

Good things happen when you bring pay and HR together.