The Hudson report, Q1 2007, Singapore – Employment and HR Trends.

“Employment expectations are rising and companies express a high level of optimism about future performance. But the other side of the coin is severe competition for staff. Companies recognise they must be prepared to look at the ackages they offer which would now include significant increases in salaries and bonuses in order to attract appropriately talented individuals.” Mark Sparrow, Country Manager, Hudson, Singapore.

The Hudson Report (January-March 2007) is a quarterly survey on the hiring expectations across the industry in Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore). These surveys are conducted by Hudson consultants amongst the executives from multi-national firms. Some of the key findings within the IT and Telecommunications industry in Singapore is given below:

• Permanent employment expectations: 56% of respondents are expecting to hire more staff in Q1 but an imminent surge is expected as usual in Q2, after detailed planning for the year during the 1st quarter.
• Permanent employment expectations by job roles: Demand for IT professionals is high at 17%, second to Sales jobs which is at 23%. Banking IT specialists are much sought after as more banks are setting up new operations or upgrading existing operations.
• Pay increases to attract managerial staff: 57% say they will pay more than 10%, compared to 35% in Q1 2006. Banks however are expected to pay by far the highest increase, with 78% saying the salaries will rise by ore than 10%.
• Year-end bonus payments: 51% of respondents plan to pay bonuses of more than 10%. Steep rise from 32% in Q1 2006. Banking sector again is making by far the highest bonus payments, with 76% planning to pay more than 10%.
• Staff turnover: 37% of IT&T companies are experiencing turnover of more than 10%.
• Reasons for staff turnover: Poaching is the most significant cause for staff turnover with 30% of the respondents attributing the turnover due to poaching. 10% of the respondents in IT&T, which is significantly higher than any other sector agree that ‘Low staff morale’ is also a very significant reason for staff turnover.

The year 2007 from staffing perspective is expected to be as buoyant as the Singapore economy outlook. Banking and IT are two sectors which will see a significant increase in resource augmentation and this is no surprise considering the number of banking institutions that are already/in-process/on the verge of setting up new/refurbishments/upgrade of operations and data centers.

As competition for quality resources heats up amongst the banks here, a major resource crunch is expected and banks and their recruiting partners will have to progressively look at ways to source and import talent from outside Singapore.

This means that further improvement in salary payouts will have to be implemented in order to attract, recruit and retain quality talents from location such as India and Hong Kong.

Of late, we are seeing a reversal in recruiting trend as far as India is concern – companies in India are looking to recruit from outside India. One of India’s largest Software Development company is in the process of luring back Non-resident-Indian IT pros for middle and senior roles for their projects in India and so are most of the MNC banks in India who are facing stiff challenges in recruiting senior level consultants. We are also seeing specialist recruitment firm such as Job options which is founded and managed by Mr. Achyut Menon. In his own words - “I am pretty convinced that 'global migration' of professionals will be a reality soon, and so it is better to dig ones wells..before one is thirsty!!”. He is of course referring to returning Indian professionals.

This obviously means that companies in India are prepared to match the consultant earnings abroad - dollars to dollars. This will also mean that they are willing to pay the talents within in India which will match their potential earning abroad in order to retain them. This trend is especially prevalent in the banking sector; with so many banks moving their back office support offshore to India this seems to be the obvious.

It therefore, does become necessary for IT&T and banking companies in Singapore to pro-actively look into their existing salary standards and make necessary changes and sacrifices to remain competitive in the fight for quality talents in this part of the world.

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***Happy hunting folks!***

53% of Singaporeans happy in their jobs.

More than half of Singaporean employees are happy in their work and they believe the quality of their bosses is getting better. (Source: HRM Issue 6.12)

Why do I get this feeling that this statistic could be attributed to the better than expected performance of Singapore economy and the higher bonus payouts thereof?

The survey was conducted by Kelly Services and those Singaporeans most happy in their jobs were in Education (62%), Business Services (57%), Financial Services (56%), Engineering (53%) and IT (50%).

This result also means that half the IT crowds are not happy with their job and the rest are happy. It might actually be more worst than what is actually being indicated here because IT industry as compared to any other industry is more dynamic, with more job opportunities, and attrition rates are therefore higher than other sectors.

And for the IT pros under such challenging circumstances chances are that you will have more IT pros that are not happy with their current jobs than those who are happy.

*** Happy Hunting Folks!***

A passionate recruiter

Passion is a source of unlimited energy from your soul that enables you to produce extraordinary results! – Charles Kovess, Australia’s Passion Provocateur.

Ben Gotkin, …from the trenches defines that passion is the drive, the internal motivation, and often most undervalued factor in someone's ability to be successful. He came up with a formula for success which is Passion + Talent = Success.

Passion could be different and unique for each one of us which means we all have passion inside of us. It takes an effort to identify our passion, a greater effort to nurture and pursue it. If you are successful in finding and flourishing your passion with the required skills and talent then you are truly on your way to a life full of excitement and success.

I am passionate about football. I love to play football, watch, and talk and promote the game. But I am not a good footballer; I do not possess the desired skill to be a successful footballer. I am also passionate about recruitment and I belief I have the necessary skills to excel in recruitment and therefore I am a successful recruiter or at least on the path to becoming a successful recruiter.

Some of the renowned personalities that I admire for their passion include –
- Steve Jobs : A living legend, the original innovator. Passionate about new technology and ‘cared deeply about making something wonderful’.
- Sir Alex Ferguson : At 65, he still exudes so much enthusiasm for the game and his team, a sheer joy to watch him celebrate a goal.
- Lee Kuan Yew : A world class statesmen, a master strategist, to hear him deliberate on any issue related to Singapore is an experience to treasure.

Passion is everything in the business of recruiting. Passionate recruiter evolves from being a good recruiter to a great recruiter.

For a recruiter who is just starting out on a recruiting career she might be loaded with ambition, drive and passion but might not have the necessary skills due to lack of experience. This can limit her level of success and performance, at least for the moment. The same can also be said of someone with good qualification and required skills but if she lacks the passion she would likely not have a successful carreer in recruitment.

I belief that passion like attitude cannot be taught or train but skills can be taught definitely. Therefore in due course with improved skills and knowledge gained out of experience and coupled with a continued burning passion one can become a successful passionate recruiter.

A passionate recruiter loves what she does and performs her duty with ease and produce excellent results. She would be well equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills and would be happy to share it with the others. A passionate recruiter will spread positive vibes and good cheers around and would be very committed to her job and the organization. She would be one of those top performers who consistently meet her target.

A passionate recruiter –
• is proactive, energetic and has stamina to last the long run
• learns to motivate and inspire themselves and they in turn inspire the people around them
• transcends any visible or imaginary limitations and consistently achieve
• always has a burning desire or hunger to achieve
• has abundant enthusiasm and a clear conviction about themselves
• operates on different plane/level

• learns from her past mistakes and always endeavors to improve and better herself

For any recruiter it does become very important to be passionate in order to succeed and be recognized.

Be passionate about your clients – keeping their interest in mind at all times while hiring potential candidates.
Be passionate about your candidates - be prepared to fight for them for the best possible deal while representing them.
Be passionate about the requirements you have in hand, be passionate about your recruitment process, the way you conduct your daily business and be passionate about your organization.

Without passion everything becomes mundane, monotonous and ordinary.

Passion is like a flame that needs to be constantly fueled; else it will die. But like a burning flame it also needs constant watch; else it will burn uncontrollably. It might end up doing more harm than good.

*** happy hunting folks***