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Speech at 2012 Asian Human Capital Award Presentation Ceremony

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for National Development, Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa

Skills, training and development

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

  1. Good evening. I am sure it has been a very long day, but I think we have left the best for last – the Awards. As you have heard from the speeches this morning, we are living in a world that is clearly changing. That is something that is constant. So in this ever-changing world, as with everything, there will always be a place for new tactics, techniques, procedures, innovatively coined strategies and philosophies. I am sure they are all useful to apply in the way we manage and lead. I am a little old fashioned in that I always find it useful to get back to basics, and to remind ourselves why we do what we do in the first place - for example, giving awards like this. At the heart of every successful organisation, whatever changes in the external world, is its people. It is about how we lead, how we inspire, how we care for, how we develop and how we ultimately engage our people. It is really about winning hearts and minds. When that is achieved, all other things can follow. It is not rocket science. It is really about treating people decently and with respect. So how do we then translate that into the realities that we handle on a day-to-day basis?
  2. From my perspective, our focus certainly is on making things better for our people and society. We aim to provide jobs, to make sure that there are meaningful wages, safe and progressive workplaces and a positive experience for everyone in the places that they work at. These are our areas of emphasis. Enlightened leadership and management will provide an engaging work experience for our people. This will also impact them emotively. I am not sure how you can legislate that, but I welcome suggestions. For now, I think efforts like setting up establishments such as the Human Capital Leadership Institute, which is aimed at nurturing such abilities, is a concrete step ahead. We encourage companies big and small to participate and to learn some of these techniques and philosophies so they can apply it in their work spaces as well. Celebrating positive role models also serve to inspire others and to show what is possible, even while meeting the bottom line.
  3. It is with this in mind that the Asian Human Capital Award was created – to give due recognition to companies in Asia which are at the frontier of human capital development. Such recognition would hopefully spur other companies to adopt similar practices or adapt such practices to suit their needs.
  4. The winners of the annual Asian Human Capital Award have always served as role models beyond their specific industry, and to Asia as a whole. Since its inception in 2009, the Award has grown from strength to strength. It has gained recognition across the region as the premier award in human capital excellence. This year alone, 45 organisations in 7 countries across Asia submitted a total of 63 notable people practices for the Award – the highest number since we started the Award. I am heartened to hear that companies are doing more to groom and nurture their people.
  5. This evening, we are here to honour and celebrate these winners and hope that they not only inspire more to do the same, but to demonstrate, in very real and concrete terms, how it can be done.

    Impactful People Practices
  6. Several years ago, Olam International was confronted with evolving trends in the agricultural industry. They realised the need to review the business strategy and address the inadequacies that they faced. Olam then embarked on a range of intensive talent initiatives aligned to their new business imperatives, recognising the importance of building a new organisational structure with innovative people strategies, and effectively addressing complex business issues. Such critical practices include building capability in new business areas; putting in place an accelerated process in grooming global leaders internally; and having in place a comprehensive culture-building process to ensure that new businesses acquired and inculcated the ‘Olam DNA’. The processes employed were inclusive and participative, with employees being central to the practices adopted.

    Innovative Leadership
  7. Leadership and succession planning is another process which should not be seen in isolation. Instead, it forms a crucial vein to a company’s organisational development. Creating a pipeline of leadership talent is key to an organisation’s growth and expansion.
  8. Gemalto Pte Ltd, which specialises in digital security, did just this. They created new human capital programmes for their Asian offices, tailored to the workforce dynamics and cultures of the region, instead of importing programmes from their head office in Europe. The strategy employed by Gemalto is well-integrated within the entire organisation, and its programmes have received widespread support from employees of various levels and disciplines. The structured initiative boasts a good mix of programmes targeted at developing leaders and people managers, as well as helping employees self-develop. Gemalto openly encouraged its people to embrace “non-obvious” career moves across business units, functions and geographies. Employees, who were posted to different countries and across frontiers and functions, have benefitted greatly from the experience. Importantly, employees felt good that the company was making the effort to harness their talent and groom them to assume greater responsibilities. In many senses, they felt cared for. In turn, there is greater desire to progress further within the organisation, resulting in a “win-win” for employees and the organisation.

    Instilling a Culture of Learning
  9. Leadership development is, in my book, the critical component in building a great organisation and in building an organisational learning infrastructure. Leaders are levers who ultimately ensure that a capacity to learn is developed and nurtured among staff.
  10. Hong Kong’s rail operator MTR Corporation needed to accelerate the learning and development of its workforce as a large number of their staff was due for retirement. So, to effectively engage its new generation of employees, MTR crafted a structured framework centred upon that of a learning organisation. The operator utilised multiple platforms and technologies in appealing to different businesses and functions, as well as the cross-generational workforce.
  11. Whilst technological advancements have offered platforms for many companies to successfully share knowledge and instil a culture of learning amongst their staff, the receptiveness of the people is central to the equation, and the part played by leaders and people in the organisation is critical. I am certain many of you have faced challenges such as breakdowns in communication and interpersonal relationships between superiors and subordinates within your company as well. Integration is key here.
  12. Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation implemented a comprehensive programme addressing these challenges through a direct and people-centric approach, emphasising trust, transparency and sincerity. Unique to this practice is the successful integration of two distinct Asian cultures, that of the Japanese and of the Filipino. Without losing its strong Japanese corporate culture, the initiative successfully adapted the cultural nuances of the local workforce. Through multi-pronged innovative approaches, the programme successfully transformed the culture within the automotive manufacturing company to one that promotes open communication and transparency.
  13. Companies are increasingly imbuing their staff with a sense of corporate social responsibility, teaching them that they have a duty to others beyond the organisation and themselves. When individuals begin to care for others and reach out to others, things will be able to change. One such company has gone further in empowering the less fortunate segments of India’s society. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd adopted an unorthodox approach in responding to a compelling business need for employable talent – they train the underprivileged so that they may be equipped with employable skill sets, and possibly gain employment in the large global conglomerate. This innovative programme has not only opened up an alternative talent supply pipeline for the company, it has also helped alleviate poverty in certain communities.
  14. Companies today really face wide-ranging challenges in attracting and managing talent. There is no quick-fix silver bullet to tackle these issues. However, I believe that people are drawn to great organisations. If we focus on doing the right things by focusing on our people, there is much that we can achieve in terms of sustainable business growth, competitive workforce performance and organisational stability. Importantly, we do it because this is the right thing to do for our people.

    Conclusion
  15. Over the years, the Award has helped us uncover outstanding people practices which have successfully addressed specific challenges faced by organisations.
  16. Many of your companies would have employed different strategies in drawing the best from your people to address unique business challenges. I urge you to come forward and share with us these strategies so that together, we can galvanise more companies in this movement and steer them towards achieving success.
  17. At the end of the day, I would not only like to see good employment opportunities for Singaporeans in Singapore, but good working experience as well. Thank you to all our Award winners and Special Commendation Prize recipients for showing us all how to better look after our people. I wish every one of you continued success in the years ahead. Thank you.