S’pore executives lag behind global peers in managing hybrid work models

Global talent company KellyOCG recently released a survey titled ‘2021 Global Workforce Agility Report’ that unveils the unreadiness of Singapore business leaders to manage hybrid work models and support employees through the pandemic. Though 72% of executives in Singapore said that they will adopt hybrid work models post pandemic and 63% executives acknowledge the benefits of remote working, they lag behind their APAC and global counterparts in supporting their employees.

Of the 13 countries surveyed - Australia, China, US, Ireland, Singapore, Germany, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, India, Netherlands, Switzerland, and UK, Singapore boasted of having the highest proportion of business leaders who planned to provide permanent hybrid and remote work options to their employees even after the pandemic ends. However the statistics from the survey unveil a different reality -

Only 43% of Singapore executives are offering flexible work hours in addition to hybrid work arrangements, compared to 45% globally and 50% in APAC. 

<24% of business leaders in Singapore are re-evaluating employees personal targets to ensure their viability, in the pandemic hit workplace - that place them at the second lowest position globally

The survey also highlighted the worry of business leaders in Singapore when it came to technology adoption for workforce planning and management. While 82% believed that technology was essential for company growth and long term business success, 66% of them confessed their concerns over selection of technologies that would be appropriate for their business. 

The survey which interviewed over 1,000 senior executives across 13 countries and 10 industries identified ‘Vanguards’ - companies that reported improvement in their employees’ wellbeing and productivity through the pandemic and ‘Laggards’ - who reported declining employees’ wellbeing and productivity in the last 12 months. 

With there being a significant amount of overlap between the two types of companies, the clear differentiator came out to be how companies implemented technology not only for the growth of the company, but rather for the growth of their employees. 

The survey unveiled the four key dynamics of the Vanguards’ response to the pandemic that are enabling them to build an agile and resilient workforce - amplified workplace fluidity, better employee experience, improved Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and high adoption of leading-edge technologies.

Technology was one of critical key differentiators between Vanguards and Laggards with nearly half of the vanguards having started to use technology to gain visibility of workforce utilization and improve the recruiting process.

Summarising the definitive link between technology, employee management, and business experience, Peter Hamilton, Vice President and Regional Director, APAC, at KellyOCG said: “While it’s clear that leaders understand how their talent strategy links to tangible  business outcomes, they need to focus more on holistic talent management to address changing  demands of employees and they need to prioritise leading-edge technologies for a resilient and agile  workforce.”