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Why is this topic important?  The compelling business case for addressing it

One of the perennial economic constraints that Singapore faces is it’s small population size. In the midst

of a booming economy, the fierce competition for talent may find businesses having great difficulty

holding on to their best employees.

The topic of talent acquisition, talent management and development has thus emerged as top issues in

management circles.

Organisations, including government agencies and, in particular, SMEs, face an unenviable position in

this race to attract and retain talent. Large organisations like MNCs benefit from having greater financial

resources to remunerate for talent, and have more recognizable brand names. They further provide more

opportunities for advancement within an organization.

Faced with this, how can government agencies and SMEs remain competitive in a bid to attract and

retain the right talent?

A high turnover rate reduces the ability of a business to plan for succession. Organisations seriously need

to look at their remuneration policy to attract and retain talent  along with other hygiene factors like work

environment, recognition, feedback, team involvement, welfare and core values among others.

Line of Sight - Outcome we are trying to achieve

The primary outcome we are trying to achieve is to ensure that organisations are able to attract, reward,

motivate, develop and retain talent through robust and fair remuneration policies and procedures.

Sharing of Top Issues and Best Practices

 - The difficulty of SMEs to compete for talent with large corporations and MNCs. With wider access to funds, resources and technology, it was felt that MNCs had a bigger advantage in attracting talent given its' brand attraction, larger possible career tracks within the organisation, usually better pay and overall benefits, perks, bonuses and incentives.

- There was discussion on whether remuneration was one of the most important reasons why people work for organisations. It was shared that whilst pay was important, other non-monetary rewards were just as if not more important. The Gallup Q12 study was shared which highlighted 12 area that are important to employees. It was agreed that given fair compensation, the issue of money will be off the table and people can then focus on work. Whe there is unfair compensation, when people are not being paid according to industry and when they are unable to pay their biills, lack of money and unfair compensation become very serious issues and can be huge demotivators.

- There was sharing on fexible working arrangements and flexi-benefits to attact and retain staff who needed such flexibility in their work arrangement due to family or personal reasons. Whilst it was agreed that it is often difficult for organisations to incorporate flexi-work schemes, nevertheless the need for such arrangements are ever increasingly important to many groups of workers.

- Certain group members shared performance-based pay initiatives undertaken within their own organisations and how such schemes have been successful to drive desired behaviour.