3 HR practices carried out by retailers which are unique in Singapore:
(1) Retraining employees
Successful Asian economies have concentrated on retraining employees and providing new job skills to enhance long-term employability rather than life-time employment.To provide competitiveness in their staff so as to compete with other companies, they send their employees for courses to enhance and upgrade their skills.
By retraining employees, companies are not sacking their staff. Instead, they are giving a chance to their staff to learn something new that will be of importance to them, especially in this highly competitive retail environment. Everyone has to know and be updated on the latest retail information and be IT-savvy at the same time. They also have to know what the current consumers are like so that they can serve their customers better.
Characteristics of the new & current consumers:
- Sophisticated
- Informed
- Want a variety of choices and options
- Pressed for time
- Value
- Convenience
Thus, by retraining their employees and staff, they understand the current consumers better and will therefore be more aware and serve their customers better.
(2) Hiring temporary workers
Due to the nature of our business and the long production cycle which requires head count flexibility, the hiring of temporary workers is seen as the most creative, cost effective
method to increase efficiencies around the flow of the production cycle.
Pros: Temporary workers can be a win / win situation. They come in handy when you need them, their work (ideally) is based on specific deliverables, they may be paid a lot more than other staff in exchange for their short term work schedule but they do not become eligible for benefits and therefore do not contribute to claims or rewards.
Cons: Temporary workers are denied benefits, training and other perks under this status when actually they should probably be considered for a more full time position after a certain number of months (six was the suggestion) or be deemed no longer temporary. It is not considered ethical to deny them benefits and other perks as temp
workers after a certain period of time has passed and they are clearly no longer temporary. Most temporary staff might not want to commit fully to the job and therefore do it half-heartedly. Other than that, they might not have the enough knowledge required for the job. All these reasons might affect the customers' perception about the service provided by that company.
(3) Bonuses, incentives & encouragement
Paying our bonuses or having any kind of variable compensation plan can be either
an incentive or a distraction, depending on how it is administered and communicated. Bonuses
must be designed in such a way that people understand that there is no payout unless the
company hits a certain level of profitability. Then, additional criteria can be the team’s success
and the individual’s success.
Pros: It is based on performance andcriteria is consistent for everyone, it
motivates employees to do the best of their ability and makes people more team focused.
Cons: If not communicated well, the success of one team and therefore larger payout, can be
perceived as unfair treatment. People can feel that they are not in control of the external factors that may impact the bonus in a given year (e.g. the economy).
Companies in Singapore have been known largely to provide their staff with incentives as a form of encouragement and motivation for better work rate and efficiency. Incentives can be in the form of monetary or non-monetary. Monetary incentives could include bonuses, holidays (vacation), hotel stays, etc. Non-monetary incentives could include praises that are given to their staff for their commendable effort at work, not forgetting their hardwork in which their staff has put in. Highlight those who have performed well in their work through Reward Ceremonies or during company's Dinner & Dance.
With these incentives, for example giving their staff a 3 days 2 nights stay at a hotel or giving them a free accomodation for a vacation, the company is actually helping their staff to de-stress themselves. When they return from their vacation, they will be all freshened up and relaxed and will start work with a fresh mind and body. In this way, they can work better and have a happier and relaxing mood. This helps their staff emotionally and physically (state of their body and mind).
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