Recognition / Awards

Awards can be a good form of recognition that works as a double-edged sword to showcase our in-house best practices and be one of the leading industry players. Such recognition serves as a good report card for HR practitioners.

This is the latest nomination results from HRM Awards 2014 by Key Media..not promoting this Award...there are many other awards upcoming in 2014 but to cite this as example as my company is listed as finalists in the following categories:

Best HR Mgr;

·      Best Mature & Re-employment Practices;

·      Best Training, Learning & Development.

 HRM website: http://www.hrmasia.com/news/latest-news/celebrating-great-hr-2014-hrm-awards-finalists-announced/182627/

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is an integral to any business, a key strategy for maximizing human capital. Statistics from Gall-up shows that an engaged employee work with passion and felt connected to their company. 

When employees “clearly know their role, have what they need to fulfill their role, and can see the connection between their role and the overall organizational purpose that’s the recipe for creating greater levels of engagement - Jim Harter Ph.D., a chief scientist at Gallup Research

Some interesting articles that I have come across:

http://www.halogensoftware.com/resources/reference-library/ways-drive-up-employee-retention.php

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/07/employee-engagement-does-more/

http://go.globoforce.com/rs/globoforce/images/SHRM_Spring2013_web.pdf

Sharing from personal experience based on the focus groups that I have conducted in a manufacturing environment, some of the key take-away to improve employee engagement:

·     

•      Building Trust

It is not an easy task but management ought to be the key drivers to drive employee engagement, it should be a shared responsibility.

• ·   Regular feedback sessions

I have come across the term ‘crowdsourcing’, meaning to gather resources from a crowd. Bi-monthly or quarterly meet-up sessions with employees, not only improve communication but harness trust.

• ·   Supervisory skills

Sometimes, employees just wanna hear a simple ‘thank you’ as an acknowledgement for job well-done.  If it is accompanied with a thank you card or a meal voucher, it can be even better!

          

In short, people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care…

Talent Retention

Singapore's hiring for this quarter remains positive according to Hudson's report. With hindsight, as restriction on labor force further constrict the labour market, retaining talent becomes the top HR priority. Depending on business strategy, companies focusing on product innovation should place more emphasis on empowering employees while companies that stress on employee productivity should focus on building trust as part of employee engagement to retain talent.

 Overview - Report by Hudson, a global talent solution company


 

Happy reading: http://hudson.sg/KnowledgeCentre/HudsonReportQ42013
 
A quick overview of the changes in 2014 that will impact talent retention in Singapore:

  · Amendment to Employment Act

  · Fair Consideration Framework

Seven Steps to Building a High Impact Culture

I have read this article and find it interesting to share. The benefits of a learning culture is definitely rewarding, it not only spurs an individual to grow but the whole organization grows together in performance and knowledge.

 

Make work educational by using embedded learning approaches to maximize experiential and reflective learning (cited from Workforce Tools, Seven Steps to Building a High Impact Culture). 

 

Happy reading...Seven Steps to Building a High Impact Culture 

 

My key take-away, adopting a reflective practice in whatever we learnt...."The capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning"..Donald Schon