Commentary

How local firms will be hit by Singapore's new labour laws

With the announcement of Singapore Budget 2013, and the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) as its centerpiece, no doubt Singaporeans are going to feel the ripples differently depending on where you stand. In this article, I will be sharing my thoughts as a small Food & Beverage (F&B) entrepreneur, as well as a Singapore citizen.

How local firms will be hit by Singapore's new labour laws

With the announcement of Singapore Budget 2013, and the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) as its centerpiece, no doubt Singaporeans are going to feel the ripples differently depending on where you stand. In this article, I will be sharing my thoughts as a small Food & Beverage (F&B) entrepreneur, as well as a Singapore citizen.

How Chinese culture can convince Singapore staff to be team players

‘Teams’ has long been a popular concept in the workplace, as it’s common sense that “two heads are better than one” and “many hands make light the work”. However, people don’t always work together well, whether in their families, on sports teams or in the workplace. Thus, encouraging your people to function efficiently with colleagues presents an on-going conundrum for managers. This blog offers two concepts from Chinese culture that may help.

What sustainable business really needs in Singapore

In such a geographically constrained city-state, it’s hard not to notice and hear about the population growth planned for Singapore: from 4.5 million in 2007 when I arrived to 5.3 million by June 2012 with plans for 6.9 million within the next decade. This population level is what the Singapore government has determined the country needs to sustain its economy, bringing in the necessary skills and labor to support it.

How Singapore bosses should play catch-up with job-hopping employees

We’ve seen a recent array of articles bemoaning the short-term attitudes of staff in organisations across Singapore. The anecdotes of the recent years of a mobile workforce who are only interested in the next role have now materialised in hard data provided by JobsDB[i], and it’s not pretty reading for companies who want long-term commitment from their employees.

Is a design degree necessary in Singapore's marketplace today?

Contrary to what many designers and aspiring designers believe, some form of higher learning qualification is very important in today’s job market. Employers are looking for designers with good qualifications so the better the qualifications you have the more chance you have of landing your dream job.

5 ways to get Singapore's C-suite members to listen to you

Talking to members of the C-suite and senior management can be stressful, but it can be the difference between a successful career and a go-nowhere job. When face time is limited, how do you make the most of these conversations?

5 lessons in managing outsourcing or relocating for Singapore SMEs

Busineses, don’t do everything themselves - they outsource or relocate.

How Singapore HR should best resolve disputes in workplaces

Dispute resolution should not only be the responsibility of HR. Line managers should be well versed in handling difficult situations or else organisations risk being viewed by their employees as faceless.

What Singapore bosses must know to make themselves attractive

The well-known saying “Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus” is apt, especially when it comes to defining the most important factors when looking for a new work environment.

How Singapore businesses can really be responsible

Since the emergence of the modern corporation at the turn of last century, the debate on whether and how business can be responsible has never seem to end. Indeed, there is not even a consensus.

Why shale gas is Singapore's latest game changer

Singapore, like the rest of the world, faces a new paradigm for energy supply and even more important the energy supply chain – exploration, exploitation/extraction, transport, grid, pollution, carbon dioxide emissions. Shale gas is the game changer, but to a lesser extent than presumed and resulting in changes different from those original expected.

Why letting employees work from home is a big business gain

There has been more than a storm in a tea cup following Marissa Mayer’s directive for people to show up in the Yahoo offices and cut back on working from home.  Her decision needs to be viewed in the context of Yahoo’s stage in their journey as a business and more importantly as a new team that is trying to rally around a new strategy. Trying to generalise the decision will meaninglessly dilute both what Yahoo is attempting and the issue of flexible working conditions. The issue needs to be viewed and assessed in line with each individual business and also within the concerned societal framework.

Attracting and retaining mature-age workers in Singapore

Many of the mature-age job seekers Randstad speaks with express concern about the difficulty faced when they try to find a new job. Time and time again we hear them say the chances of recruitment are low and they are often expected to take a pay cut.

Living and breathing service innovation (productivity) in the hotel industry

2012 has been a good year for the Singapore hotel industry. Despite uncertainties in the global economy, visitor arrivals remained strong with an average occupancy rate of a respectable 86 percent.

Is Singapore ready for the 'Commoditization of Facts?'

Renowned physicist Michio Kaku predicts that by 2030, we will be wearing computing lens. Google is shipping its Glasses later this year. Search engines, combined with the knowledge repository called the Internet, have made knowledge ubiquitous to almost all.