The Top 4 Challenges HR Professionals Are Facing in Emerging Markets

Much has been written about the rise of emerging markets and what they can offer in terms of talent pool. But not one emerging market is the same and one HR strategy may not fill all markets. In a changing environment, the HR strategies used to manage people in one country are sometimes ineffective in another and what worked in a country might not in another.

That is the reality many companies are currently facing in emerging markets because of a lack of preparation, anticipation and adequate talent strategies.

Generally speaking, there is no right or wrong HR management strategy. However, as an HR professional, you should be mindful of cultural differences and varying HR issues arising in the targeted country before trying to implement anything. Needless to say that developing an inadequate talent strategy in a BRICs country can be one of a most expensive mistakes for a company? Not only in terms of money, but also in terms of real and potential talent losses.

In order to avoid such error, you need to know what are the hottest HR issues, topics and trends in emerging markets that could be an obstacle to your company's development? To help you in this task, below is a list of 4 critical HR challenges arising from some BRICs countries? Memorize them? You will gain time and efficiency?

HR challenge #1: Attracting and retaining talented workers

BRAZIL - One of Brazil's biggest problems is a shortage of qualified labor. Companies operating in Brazil are demanding more skilled workers than the labor market currently offers? The shortage is especially pronounced for companies in need of technicians, engineers and English speaking managers. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to retain talented workers with 5-10 years experience because they tend to switch companies in order to advance their careers and get higher pay.

RUSSIA - Russia has a considerable intellectual capital composed of engineers, scientists and many other well-qualified people. Nevertheless, many companies reported that it is more and more difficult to find great people as the quality of staff as well as the level of education are continually decreasing. In fact, job candidates from Russia are well educated but often by universities that fail to give them practical skills? Besides, an increasing number of talented Russians have left the country to go to Israel and the USA. As a result, only 20% of Russian professionals are currently considered employable by companies.

INDIA - In spite of the huge talent pool available in India, companies have trouble recruiting qualified workers because the quality of talent is not as good as it could be. By looking closer at the workforce available, it is estimated that only 25% of Indian professionals possess the skills required by companies. Regarding to the skilled candidates, they are highly attractive, mobile and willing to switch industries in order to play different roles and increase their salary. As a consequence, HR teams waste a lot of money as well as time because of this flow of people entering and exiting companies? What is more, foreign companies operating in India have to compete not only with Indian companies but also with companies from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong who are poaching the best Indian talent. As the population of these three countries is becoming old very fast, many of companies from there are turning their attention to Indian workforce.

CHINA - Despite China's population of more than 1.3 billion, companies are struggling to find and retain employees. Even though, million of university graduates enter China's job market each year, only a small number of them are capable of working in a multinational environment. Reasons include lack of strong English language skills and none previous work experience. Moreover, only one-quarter of these graduated candidates live in a city or region where companies are located. As labor mobility is restricted by the government, few young talents are currently living in urban areas? Foreign companies operating in China face an additional problem that explains talent shortage: more and more graduates and senior executives are willing to work for national Chinese companies rather than foreign companies.

SOUTH AFRICA - It is estimated than 10% of companies operating in South Africa have had difficulties filling job positions in 2011. In comparison to other BRICs countries, this number is low. However, there is a real shortage of talented people particularly engineers, legal workers, technicians, teachers and finance & accounting workers. The main reason is that the South African people who do have or acquire these skills tend to migrate to other countries who will offer them better job opportunities. This brain-drain has a high impact on companies' businesses and needs to be addressed now if the country does not want to face a bigger talent gap in the future.

HR challenge #2: Developing effective leaders

CHINA - Developing leaders is a tough task in any market, but in China HR teams have the difficulty to adapt their talent management strategies to the country's unique business culture and values. Besides, Chinese potential candidates for leadership positions often lack international experience, innovation and an ability to assimilate into a Western company culture.

Due to their cultural background, they are not accustomed to taking risks and managing change. As a result, about one-quarter of Chinese leaders are weak in the skills most critical for success in their roles and more than one-half are inadequately prepared for their roles? There is another issue to take into consideration: working for a Chinese company seems to become the preferred career choice for Chinese executives as well as expatriates steeped in the market.

SOUTH AFRICA - It's extremely difficult to fill senior and executive management positions with top quality leader. Many of the current leaders working in leading companies are close to retirement and there is a lack of suitable 40/50-year-old candidates with a strong managerial background to replace them. To overcome this critical situation, numerous companies promote young talent to positions of leadership and offer fast-tracking careers to keep the best of them. As these new young leaders do not have enough work experience and are not prepared to handle such responsibilities, the majority of them fails or underperforms. It is vital for the success of companies operating in South Africa to invest in leadership programs in order to develop a real talented generation of leaders.

HR challenge #3: Dealing with difficult Employment laws

BRAZIL - Brazilian labor code makes it hard to use expatriates in order to fill the shortage gap. The Ministery of Labor seeks to protect as much as possible the domestic labor market by limiting the hiring of foreign workers. As a result, trying to get work permits for foreign employees is a very difficult task for any HR team. When it is possible, the maximum duration granted for a temporary work permit is 1 to 2 years but the reality is that many foreign workers can only stay 90 days within the country? With regard to national Brazilian workers, the labor code is very pro-employee and provides extensive protection to the employee at the expense of the employer. Recently, President Dilma Rousseff approved a law ordering companies to pay overtime rates for after-hours work calls or emails. This regulation reflects an existing trend in Brazil's courts: employees suing their bosses over out-of-office work.

RUSSIA - Russian labor code is extremely employee friendly and it is almost impossible to terminate an employee. However, it allows any employee - regardless of seniority or nationality - quit a job after only 2 weeks' notice and go to work for a competitor immediately. Moreover, Russian labor laws apply to all nationalities, meaning foreign employees (including expatriates) have the same rights than Russian employees. This is a standard practice in some EU countries required by EU labour law.

HR challenge #4: Managing the career expectations of Gen Y

INDIA - The Gen Y is writing the new code in Indian workforce. Mature enough to play crucial roles in companies, they can, however, be a nightmare for HR teams as they are more inclined to leave companies than any previous generation. Apart from the attraction and retention of Indian Gen Y, the biggest challenges today are communicating with them and offering them a rapid career evolution. In fact, the typical Gen Y Indian worker wants success to come to him/her fast and money faster.

As most of India's high-potential workers (around 64%) and middle managers (around 55%) are Gen Y, the future of India - as well as companies operating there - rests on its ability to engage this generation.

CHINA - Chinese Gen Y makes up about 50% of the current China's workforce. Raised to succeed, they are more educated, talented and ambitious than the previous generations. As a result, their demands, values and behaviour at work are different from those of their parents. For example, their expectations for rapid advancement and career mobility are high and they place great emphasis on salary. If your company cannot offer them an exciting career path, they will move to another company in order to have a better career opportunity and increase their remuneration as well. Being promoted is the greatest motivational factor in their career. Unfortunately, it is not always possible. So it is imperative that HR teams find new ways to motivate them.

Of course, as a global HR professional, you will never be asked to resolve ALL these issues alone! However, your company deeply relies on your HR team to anticipate any people risks that can affect its development? By having a clear vision of the issues facing by other HR teams in emerging markets, you will not only improve your global HR knowledge but also be aware of the HR differences and similarities between these different countries in terms of HR challenges. As a result, you will be able to suggest better ideas and solutions to your HR team. Developing a global mindset will also help you become an integral part of the leadership team searching ways to reduce people risks in emerging markets.

Remember what Ulrich says "Modern HR must take on many roles to demonstrate competence and effectiveness". And I am quite sure that - like any HR professional - your goal is to be better at what you do and demonstrate people that you can be a strategic business partner.

Having staff attrition situations? Talk to our talent retention & HR advisory consultancy in Singapore. Click here. A marketing strategies effort for smes by Scotts Digital.

What Do Recruiters Look For In You?

There is not one magic key that can open all the doors to a job search. As job profiles keep changing, so do the job requirements. This does not mean that fundamental qualities such as integrity, self-motivation and trade skills have lost place in the list. Still, the present-day job scene requires a bank manager to possess lot more prior knowledge and qualities than it took some 10-15 years ago.

Your enthusiasm and upbeat personalities are paramount. This is the first core quality that recruiters will take notice of when interviewing you. Think about it from their point of view - job vacancies are announced only when the going gets tough and work pressure mounts up continuously. No one else other than the self-motivated and candidates that are always upbeat in mood make it to the shortlist.

There is another vital quality that recruiters are anxiously looking for in a candidate. Jonathan Holman, a top recruiter and an HR expert says, candidates must have the know- how to make money for the enterprise; all other skills are irrelevant if this one is lacking. Obviously he is referring to candidates for CEO postings. This is as good as it can get. If you really look at it, all other jobs contribute to the enterprise in one way or the other. So it is the ability to contribute, in real terms, to the overall growth of the company which matters.

Holman ranks both personal and business integrity next only to the ability to contribute. Regardless of what position you are seeking, there are professional matters of high importance and proprietary in nature, which you will come across in the normal course of your employment. Opinions about you are collected and analyzed by recruiters. It is important for everyone, especially management candidates. Recruiters are very clear about this; they can not put their reputation at stake by recommending someone who they can not trust, despite proven analytical abilities and business skills.

The next important thing recruiters look for is character and a strong sense of ethics. Strong character coupled with professionalism determines your interpersonal skills. Your past experiences and references of your former superiors are critical aspects which typically impress recruiters. Even recent graduates wanting to score on this count could think of apprenticeships in some very large corporations such as PepsiCo, General Electric Company, Rubbermaid, and P & G, among others. Recruiters call these organizations Academy Companies.

It is especially important to be presently employed - this adds a lot of weight to your candidacy. It is true that you can explain your reasons for being unemployed, so if this is true for you, then have your answer well-prepared beforehand, because recruiters will be interested in probing soon as they see that you are out of job.

The ability to adapt to a new situation, responsiveness, flexibility are some innate qualities that make anyone an indispensable employee whom every recruiter wants to hire. A senior HR consultant, Paige Lloyd, summarizes things as "We're looking for students who take the initiative to do things that are above and beyond what is required for graduation," she says. "That speaks to us of their ability to work on different tasks."

On-campus activities, networking abilities and participation in student or professional organizations can not be neglected. The next time around, you will know in advance what to expect in an interview. Good Luck!

Searching for headhunter or want to become a Singapore headhunter,  visit Recruitplus today.

Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees

Managing for Best Performance

In it's simplest form, performance management is a common sense set of discussions that make sure people are clear about what they need to do, have the support to do it and get open and honest feedback on their performance.

Any performance management process should answer 4 important questions for your employees:

· Direction: What do I need to do and how well?

· Feedback: How am I doing?

· Rewards: What happens when I do well?

· Support/Development: What happens when I need/want help?

Lets look more closely at each of these:

Direction

Employees are not mind readers. Just because it is clear to the manager exactly what is expected, doesn't mean the employee has the same understanding. Having a detailed discussion about exactly what the job requires and any specific priorities is the first step in good performance management. Key points to cover include:

- what needs to be achieved throughout the year

- what data or information (evidence) will be used to measure performance

- the key actions needed to achieve the desired outcomes

Both parties should have a written record of this discussion either in the form of a job description or a set of specific objectives for the next 6 or 12 months. Written documentation leaves little room for misunderstandings or confusion between manager and employee about the expectations of the job.

Feedback

Observing the performance of your employees and providing feedback about it should be a routine part of the performance management process. Feedback is most effective in making a difference in work performance when the employee has confidence in the basis of that feedback. And you as the manager will be more confident if your feedback is based on information that you can support.

For this reason the most useful feedback should be based on observed and/or verifiable work-related behaviors, actions, statements, and results. If you can provide specific examples of good and "not so good" performance, your employees will be confident that you have taken time to notice what they are doing and sincerely support them in improving. This kind of effective feedback helps the employee sustain good performance, to develop new skills and to improve performance when necessary. Feedback should be given as it is required - it loses effectiveness if not delivered at the time an event occurs.

Reward/Recognition

All employees need to have a clear understanding of how the reward and recognition system operates in your business. Most probably everyone gets paid a salary for doing their job to a certain level. What happens when an employee performs significantly above that level? How will they be rewarded, if at all? If there is no incentive for employees to be outstanding, then the likelihood is that they won't put in the extra effort. A well designed scheme will clearly identify the rewards and incentives available for strong or outstanding performance.

Support and Development

This aspect of managing performance focuses on current and future skills, behaviours and knowledge. Firstly, the discussion should focus on what training or other support the employee needs to be the best in their current job - identifying skills and behaviours that need to be improved. If you can support the employee in doing their job better, they will have reassurance that their contribution is valued by the business. The discussion should also focus on where the employee would like to go in the future and how you can help them achieve their longer term career goals. If they are being considered for other roles in the business then you will need to identify what new skills and behaviours they need and help them to develop those.

If you are managing people, then people management activities need to take up the majority of your time. Each business can only be as effective as the people that work in it. One of the best ways to ensure your employees are being effective is to monitor and provide feedback on their performance. Setting goals, making sure your expectations are clear, and having regular discussions will help people perform to their best. The payoff for the business is increased employee productivity, knowledge, loyalty and contribution.

Creating a performance management system for your business? Look for Recruitplus today, an award winning hr advisory, click here.

What is Executive Outplacement

In a world which is economically recovering but still in shock, the size and scale of the number of redundancies is still yet to be fully felt. This is particularly true of the Executive sector, where the number of Executive Outplacement services provided is still rising.

This will continue for a while, with different countries taking different long or short term priority economic views. While in the priority in the United States and parts of Europe is sustaining short term growth via the need to borrow, in the UK where growth is seen as long term is the priority will lead to some dramatic government spending cuts to avoid boom and bust.

Therefore, the question for the Executive faced with release or redundancy, is whether they need executive outplacement, and if so what?

Executive Outplacement services
Outplacement services address the needs of soon to be or former employees of a company, and aim to help them transition from one piece of their life/employment to a new stage, both personally and career wise. In theory, outplacement goes beyond just a careers service, but encompasses the whole person and gives you a hand on which to lean for guidance.

Outplacement services were originally developed in the 1960s, around providing an alternate office and facilities from which the ex-employee could undertake a job search. Today most outplacement services don't concentrate on the physical process of getting a job, but facilitate you doing that through offering: clarity (of what next); support (in getting through the adjustment of leaving to job search); and settlement (in your new life).

Executive Outplacement firms
Many blue and white collar outplacement services for cost reasons are hence generally always volume process driven and systems supported. However, most Executive outplacement services are personalised around you, with virtual-dedicated access to certain resources. Dedicated access to a senior consultant seems to be the most used phrase in the Executive outplacement field!

Operators in the present £4Bn field of outplacement services always have a dedicated Executive outplacement service, and include: Right Coutts, RMS and Penna. While the average cost of outplacement for non-executives costs £2500/$4000, Executive outplacement can cost between double and treble this to your former employer.

Senior Executive Outplacement
My own experience of senior executive outplacement was interesting, and like many who went through such outplacement services in both the post-2000 dot.com bust, and the more recent 2008 global financial meltdown, not a happy or fulfilling one.

Firstly, having chosen to exit my former corporate employer, I was introduced to an executive outplacement service provider before I left corporate employment. Our first meeting was in their offices, and I was given a guided tour which included being shown how to operate the coffee machine, and where the dedicated job seekers desks were placed. I was also given a four meeting programme, and then a menu of optional but paid for by my employer services, from which I could choose three options before having to pay for additional modules myself.

At our second meeting I was told that this was the second of our eight sessions. This surprised me, but is quite typical of all outplacement. While as a senior executive I got eight sessions with the outplacement service, junior members of staff got either four or six sessions. As all I learnt at the first was that my consultant was a pleasant lady and how to operate the coffee machine, I was disappointed! For the rest of the session as the programme dictated, I was run through a series of psychological assessment and analysis tools, and was told that I would get the feedback at our next session.

While driving away that day, I also concluded that I was being pushed through the process like a sausage, over being coached or talked to. In part on reflection I can understand why, in that my employer wanted a fixed cost solution, and the outplacement services provider wanted me happy, not necessarily employed. They had hence structured their programme like a treadmill to both give you momentum and keep you moving.

The instant sales pitch hence half way through session three didn't surprise me! I was told from the output of my psyche analysis that I needed counselling, and as I would need six sessions of counselling at minimum I would need to buy an extra three sessions. I told them that I would think about it, but wanted to get on with job seeking: how could they help me with that? OK, suddenly I needed to either read 20 books in my own time, or buy a CV Writing session with one of their people.

Outplacement service fail?
Whilst driving away from session three, I conclude that senior executive outplacement was not for me! Much of what I experienced was like a developed version of what I got when I left school and later university (twice). On all three occasions it involved too much navel gazing and personal psych assessment, and too little action.

As a recruiter I now know that HR professionals look at the last five years of work as a guide as to what you could do next, other wise you are into career transition. So really, either you want to do more of what you have done for the last five years, or do something completely different: psych testing over!

Unfortunately, the surveys of all types of job seekers made redundant from the corporate world in 2008 under various outplacement services, match my unfortunate experience. In a large part this problem was volume related: the world just stopped, and the dole queues tripled over night. But many executives want assistance in job seeking, not assessment of whether they should have been a CEO in the first place.

Executive CV Service
Most of the executives we talk to and help through career transition with our executive cv service, are at a stage in their career (not an age), where either they want to develop their career further, or step back from day-to-day operations and deploy their knowledge into others people and companies (ie, a consultant). So with a few select psych tools and getting them to read through some specifically written eBooks, we get them to clarify that future employment vision.

Secondly, we use our knowledge of the recruitment market place to give them a job application advantage. I see too many executive outplacement services offering CV distribution and recruiter meetings. When 90% of executive jobs are never advertised, and looking like a desperate job seeker will get you rejected, what's the point in those services? Through deploying our knowledge as recruiters in your executive job search, we hence delivered happy - and employed - executives.

Executive outplacement in theory should help you transition from one job and stage of your life to another. When too many concentrate on the "who are you" over the getting things done action of of executive job seeking - and don't accept the need for tactical change in executive job search - you can see why so many who have transitioned through executive outplacement feel dissatisfied.

If you know what you want to do next, and are offered executive outplacement, think about what the service provider paid for buy your former employer is offering you. If you know what you want, then a good Executive CV Writer should be able to help you transition quicker than Executive Outplacement.

Good Luck!

Headhunting for job consultancies in Singapore or executive search Singapore,visit this page. A marketing strategy blog article by Scotts DIGITAL

Employee Performance Appraisal - An Ideal System

In America's best-run and most-admired organizations, employee performance appraisal is a vital and vigorous management tool. No other management process has as much influence on individuals' careers and work lives.

Used well, employee performance appraisal is the most powerful instrument that organizations have to mobilize the energy of every employee in the enterprise toward the achievement of strategic goals. Employee performance appraisal can focus each person's attention on the company's mission, vision and values. And ideally, the process can answer the two fundamental questions that every single person in the organization wants the answers to: What do you expect of me? And How am I doing?

But most folks scoff at the idea that there might be a perfect system for doing employee performance appraisal. They think that since their organization is "unique," then their system for analyzing employee performance must be unique, too. How foolish.

Don't scoff -- there is an ideal method for the assessment process. In organizations that take employee performance appraisal seriously and use the process well, the system functions as an on-going process - not merely an annual event - by following a four-phase model.

Phase 1 -- Employee Performance Planning

At the beginning of the year, the manager meets with each person for discussion on the planning piece of the employee performance appraisal process. In this hour-long session they discuss the "how" and the "what" of the job:

o How the person will do the job (the behaviors and competencies expected of the company's members), and

o What results the person will achieve over the next twelve months (the key responsibilities of the person's job and the goals and projects the person will work on).

They also discuss the individual's development plans. This discussion immediately generates improved employee performance because people know exactly what's expected of them. And as the manager, you have just earned the right to hold people accountable at the end of the year by making your expectations of them clear from the start.

Phase 2 -- Employee Performance Execution

Over the course of the year, employee performance should be focused on achieving the goals, objectives and key responsibilities of the job. The manager provides coaching and feedback to the individual to increase the probability of success and creates the conditions that motivate and resolve any performance problems that arise.

Midway through the year -- perhaps even more frequently -- they meet to review the individual's progress toward the plans and goals discussed in the employee performance planning meeting. And the employee is responsible for certain elements of that progress - seeking out coaching and asking for feedback are two key examples.

Phase 3 -- Employee Performance Assessment

As the time for the formal employee performance appraisal approaches, the manager reflects on how well the subordinate has performed over the course of the year, assembles the various forms and paperwork that the organization provides to make this assessment, and fills them out. The manager may also recommend a change in the individual's compensation based on the quality of the individual's work.

Best practice calls for the appraiser's boss to review the completed assessment form before discussing it with the assessed employee. One key here is not falling victim to the "myth of quantifiability" -- the erroneous belief that in order to be objective you've got to have numerical data to prove your assessments. Nonsense! An employee performance appraisal is a record of a manager's opinion of an employee's quality of work, so don't shirk from candidly providing that opinion.

Phase 4 -- Employee Performance Review

The manager and the subordinate meet, usually for about an hour. The employee performance appraisal form is reviewed with the self-appraisal that the individual created assessing her own performance. The manager and employee talk honestly about how well she performed over the past twelve months: Strengths, weaknesses, successes and areas needing improvement. At the end of the review meeting they set a date to meet again to hold an employee performance planning discussion for the upcoming twelve months, starting the process anew.

This four-phase performance appraisal process not only transforms employee performance management from an annual event to an on-going cycle, it tightly links the performance of each organization member with the mission and values of the company as a whole. And that's the real purpose of employee performance appraisal in the organization. The real value is focusing everyone's attention on what is genuinely important -- the achievement of the organization's strategic goals through demonstration of the company's vision and values in each employee's day-to-day behavior.

Formulating a performance management process for your business? Look for Recruitplus today, an award winning HR consultancy in Singapore, click here. A b2b marketing blog for small business by Scotts digital.

Keys To Dealing With Recruiters

Your resume can get you an interview, but if you tackle the interview in the right way, it should get you the job. But not so fast - before you even get to the interview, you will probably have to get past the recruiter first.

Today, recruiters are usually the first ones to contact you for a particular job. They often decide on whether you are suitable for the job as soon as your resume reaches the hiring manager's desk. It is very important to understand how recruiters work if you want to get through the interview successfully.

There are some things that you should avoid and never ask a recruiter.

Don't Cross the Line

Recruiters are usually warm and friendly - but don't be over friendly with them, as it is their job to put you at ease and guide you through the hiring process. They are true professionals and not your colleagues or friends, and it is crucial that you don't forget this. Think of the recruiter as a respected person in the company and treat them accordingly.

You can be friendly with them, but never over friendly. It is always wise to keep some things confidential; therefore, don't disclose anything that is not applicable to the job at hand. Recruiters aren't really interested in what clubs you belong to or if you are a single mom - so keep these things to yourself.

Career Coaching

The recruiter's job is to guide you through the hiring process of specific companies. Recruiters are not career coaches, so it is inappropriate to ask them to guide you with writing a cover letter or resume. You have the freedom to ask them about the company in general, but keep your questions related to the specific job that you are discussing.

Save your more detailed questions for the hiring manager, as that's the person you will ultimately have to impress.

Insider Information

It is absolutely OK to ask the recruiter how many other candidates are being considered for the position that you are applying for. In fact, they are probably expecting you to ask. If you don't ask this question, you run the risk of looking uninterested or unambitious.

Recruiters are used to fielding questions from candidates about the competition they face - so don't disappoint them.
Don't Expect Too Much

Though you may wish to be treated as special, you are not probably the only candidate for the job. Many recruiters may treat you very well, but that's their job and they are quite happy to make you comfortable. Their aim is to project your good qualities to the hiring manager. Keep in mind, though, that they work for the employer and their objective is to fill the position - whether with you or someone else.

Looking for headhunter or want to become a Singapore headhunters,  visit Recruitplus today.

Why Does Employee Retention Matter?

Most companies these days realise the long term benefits of attracting and retaining high calibre employees although having done the hard work of recruiting industry top talent many suffer significant financial consequences from having high employee turnover rates.

According to a recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the costs of labour turnover per employee range from £20,000 for senior managers and directors to £2,750 for manual and craft workers which equates to an average of £5,800.

To put this into context, a call centre with 300 employees and a turnover rate of 25% would incur costs of £435,000 which are directly related to employee attrition. Reducing the turnover rate to 20% would result in a cost saving of £87,000 due to lower training and recruitment costs e.g. less advertising for vacancies, fewer interviews and assessment centres.

The company also benefits from the retained knowledge and experience of its employees which may otherwise be lost by companies with high levels of employee turnover. Employee morale and motivation can also be significantly damaged by high attrition rates as strong colleague relationships often take time to develop and grow.

Having a competitive benefits package and ensuring that your people feel valued are vital ingredients in the ongoing war for talent. Just as it makes good business sense to hold onto your existing customers due to the high cost of obtaining new ones, the same is just as true for your employees. Companies are relying on excellent customer service to differentiate themselves in competitive markets and organisations with employee retention problems will find it increasingly difficult to meet customer's rising expectations.

As 2009 draws to an end and the economy continues to improve companies will have to work even harder at retaining their most important assets as more and more job opportunities arise to tempt dissatisfied employees away.

Having staff attrition situations? Talk to our talent retention & HR advisory consultancy in Singapore. Click here.