Winning staff in the dazzling city of Singapore

Singapore is well-known for its high standard of living, top class business network infrastructure and hub of multinational companies that have based their regional revenue-generation and business support functions in the capital. These attributes make it very enticing for professionals to choose to work in the city.

Based on findings in the 2012/13 Michael Page Employee Intentions Report, white collar professionals are largely positive about the current employment market in Singapore. Of the survey respondents, some 39% consider the current employment market to be strong and 44% say it is very likely that they will change jobs over the next 12 months.

As a steady stream of job opportunities is anticipated over the next 12 months, employers will need to have a strong focus on attracting top talent, retaining their best performers and engaging staff. Attraction and retention is essential as professionals across Singapore’s white collar sectors become optimistic about working in the country.

Stay ahead of the competition

Cities across the broader Asia region are competing aggressively to secure the best individuals, so employers in Singapore will need to stay ahead of the competition. Employers need to offer a combination of structured career development opportunities and monetary incentives to be on top when it comes to attraction. According to the Employee Intentions Report, the primary factor encouraging 41% of job seekers to change companies is career progression and most (35%) are likely to request a pay rise of 16% or above on base salary to take on a new role.

Offer recognition and rewards

For the best chance of retaining top performers over the next six to 12 months, employers will need to offer competitive remuneration. The report revealed that being financially rewarded for achievements is the primary reason 32% of respondents will stay in their current role. More than half of these professionals (54%) plan to be proactive and ask their employer for a pay rise and most of them (31%) will be looking for a salary increase in the range of 10-12%.

Keep your staff happy

Once employers have acquired the best professionals for their business, they need to engage with staff regularly to boost productivity and morale. Financial incentives such as good healthcare, flexi-benefits, performance bonuses and long term share plans are some examples. Companies are also promoting non-financial incentives such as work-life balance schemes for their staff which could include flexible work arrangements (eg; negotiable working hours), sabbatical leave for long term employees and providing childcare facilities in office complexes for working parents. Many organisations will conduct team offsite work days to motivate people and improve staff culture. To better understand pertinent employee issues, employers can carry out an organisational culture survey and employee engagement survey to gauge where employee satisfaction lies.