The latest buzzword in the corporate world is the 4-Day work week. According to a survey conducted by Indeed, 88% of Singaporean employees supported the push of a 4-day work week with the same salary.

The 4-day work week has been touted as a solution to improve work-life balance without sacrificing productivity, but does it work for all organisations?

Click the video below to listen as our Chief People Officer, Stephen, shares his views on the 4-Day work week.

How do we keep our employees from joining the Great Resignation? Studies have shown that trust is key to attracting and retaining talent, key to building a sustainable business.

Addressing pay equity in one’s organisation is a process that starts with what fair pay means to your organisation, where you’re falling short, and what you have to do to address those issues. Even after the implementation of an equitable remuneration program, how then do you ensure that your organisation’s remuneration program stays competitive and relevant?

With more than thirty years of HR experience, Stephen Tjoa, BoardRoom’s Chief People Officer, shares with us his perspective on an equitable remuneration policy in this video.

Age-diverse teams have become commonplace in the corporate sphere, meaning organisations now have a variety of ideas, skills and perspectives at their disposal.

But leading a multigenerational workforce is not an easy task. Find out how your human resource (HR) teams can support management staff to create an inclusive workplace that benefits all.

“The objective here is to establish a strong feedback culture and demonstrate your commitment to listening to the employee voice,” Stephen says. “There must also be a commitment to sharing feedback with staff and explaining what management intends to do with it — and by when.”

This exercise will build trust, leading to greater participation, accountability and commitment among employees.

When generational differences are embraced and all employees feel safe, recognised and valued, organisations benefit from a united workforce that’s engaged, productive and motivated to achieve.

Flexible working is no longer a unique perk offered by trendy startups and technology giants. It is now a business imperative for any organisation and encompasses much more than just a remote work lifestyle. Companies that ignore people’s wishes for flexible working arrangements, including flexible leave and benefits, are missing out on retaining and engaging their current employees, boosting their employer brand and, ultimately, attracting top talent.

Flexible working environments are a chief concern across the Asia-Pacific region. A recent study by the Institute of Public Studies (IPS) found that 1 in 2 Singapore workers believe flexible work arrangements should be the new norm. But flexible work is now defined beyond a hybrid office environment. Employees are seeking flexibility to maintain better work-life balance, requesting flexible leave policies, benefits, and working hours.

Failing to implement flexible working arrangements may result in your top talent walking out the door. And replacing those people is becoming increasingly difficult. Over half of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) reported the shortage of critical talent as the No.1 trend impacting organisations. HR experts warn that businesses that refuse to offer flexible work options could be losing out on up to 70% of job seekers.

Changing your policies overnight to accommodate flexible work, however, isn’t easy. We’ve put together our top tips to help you identify how flexible benefits might work in your organisation and how to create a positive work-life balance for your employees.

Having a robust strategy and contingency plan for any flexible work arrangement is essential. It’s important to mitigate any risk to both employees and the company when any new framework is implemented.

Work with your leaders to ensure work can continue seamlessly. What processes do you need to put in place to minimise disruption?

Consider hiring an external expert who can advise on implementing flexible policies. They can help review the complexities with the leadership team and ensure executive alignment to advise on possible solutions.

As always, consistent communication about the purpose and practicalities of flexible work is key. Sometimes the biggest hurdle is the last hurdle, which is often communicating why you’re doing what you’re doing. Although with flexible working, and the many benefits it offers, this shouldn’t be too difficult, provided you’ve taken the time to really understand what flexibility means to your employees.

Flexible working isn’t just a pandemic-related side effect — it will fundamentally shape how we work in the future. And in many ways, it already has. Singaporean organisations that take notice of it and implement flexible working arrangements now, such as working hours and flexible leave policies, will benefit from better retention rates, more engaged and productive employees, and a stronger employer brand.

But don’t be tempted to implement a blanket policy or copy a model from another organisation.

It’s important to create the right type of flexibility for your organisation. Find out what flexibility means to your people, consider your business needs and find a solution that works for your company.

Remember, you can start small when introducing flexibility into your workplace.

It doesn’t have to be a bold shift. You can introduce flexibility in incremental phases or start with small initiatives. These initiatives might include closing the office at 4pm on a Friday or giving someone the day off on their birthday. Sometimes the smallest gestures can have the biggest impact on your people.

What does flexible working look like in your organisation now and where would you like to be?

To implement flexible working arrangements with minimal disruption to current operations, one approach is to improve the efficiency of existing workflows and reduce manual labor hours. BoardRoom’s team of experts help to take the stress off your HR team by optimising your payroll processing, which reduces payroll error and in turn employee dissatisfaction. Reach out to us to discuss how you can benefit from our experienced payroll specialists.

In the wake of COVID-19, companies around the world are scrambling to adapt to rapidly changing corporate landscapes. Traditional working models are no longer effective, forcing business leaders to make quick decisions amid widespread uncertainty.

But with major disruption comes major opportunities for business transformation and expansion.

This is especially true in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The perfect storm of aligned attitudes, economic promise, consumer engagement and technological advancement culminates in huge potential for businesses of all sizes to not only recover but flourish.

The climate emergency brings many risks for businesses, while climate adaptation provides opportunities. Business leaders will need to account for both if they are to secure growth and resilience for their organisation in the long term.

Five countries in Asia have proposed or passed legislation mandating net-zero emissions, which businesses will need to cater to in their operations and strategies.

Opportunities for climate innovation are more abundant than ever. With the costs of solar and land-based wind energy in China and India among the lowest in the world, both regions are positioned to dominate global growth in solar and wind.

In many ways, the proliferation of APAC’s economy now rests on the shoulders of its business leaders. To keep up with the region’s comparatively rapid pace of change, leaders must be bold and agile in their approach to business performance improvement.

Leaders’ focus areas need to shift. There needs to be greater attention given to corporate governance — which lags behind Western standards — working models and resource allocation, as well as digital innovation and consumer trends.

Throughout APAC, working environments are changing. Many businesses are implementing hybrid models, with the upshot being greater employee satisfaction and access to broader talent pools. Leaders are also taking action to speed up decision-making and productivity by removing silos and increasing employee autonomy.

If your work environment reflects a traditional model, you may need to identify modernisation opportunities as part of your expansion plans.

With the continued localisation of supply chains and increase in domestic trade, businesses will also likely benefit from following APAC’s regionalisation trend. Intraregional partnerships often impart valuable consumer insights, especially if the companies in question collect vast pools of data via their service provision. For example, grocery chain Freshippo allows Chinese enterprises, new and established, to share data in omni-channel supermarkets.

Strengthening your operations with corporate partnerships will give your growing organisation extra support and resources to thrive.

The opportunities for digital product and service innovation are virtually limitless. For example, DBS Bank experienced an incredible 400% increase in their customers’ use of digital tools.

Whether your business sells products or services, investment in digitisation improvements and opportunities may boost your revenue to a significant degree.

To achieve go-to-market success in APAC today, businesses need to intimately know their consumers — and themselves.

Asia’s new consumers are early adopters of new technology, so it is a good time to take risks with technological innovation. Consider how Grab and Didi quickly acquired ride-hailing giant Uber in South-East Asia and China respectively: despite direct competition from Uber from the outset, both of these start-ups found better ways to meet the needs of local rideshare users through tech.

Businesses will be wise to use the data they generate from sales to better service their target audiences. In contrast to Western attitudes, Asian customers are generally content to share their data with companies.

When it comes time to expand, maintaining consistency of brand identity and reputation becomes harder but also more vital. A 2017 Stewardship Asia Centre study showed that 80% of successful and long-standing family businesses had a clearly defined purpose.

Essentially, businesses need to reaffirm their core purpose and make sure it is communicated effectively to their internal teams and their audiences.

There is no doubt that expansion will provide many rewards for businesses that act now, but it is important to do it right. Each APAC country comes with its own cultural nuances and regulatory system, so business functions, strategies and go-to-market plans need to be customised to suit.

For example, payments platform Stripe has developed tailored products for each region in which it operates, with e-wallets and bank-based systems rolled out in Singapore and Malaysia respectively.

But regional differences should not cause businesses to hesitate, for the perfect solution may lie in engaging the services of a corporate services provider.

Innovative full-service providers like BoardRoom are able to handle a wide range of essential corporate functions. They manage everything from payroll to company secretarial while providing clients with one point of contact for fast and easy communication. With comprehensive local knowledge and commercial experience, they can advise companies on the best way to cater to customer preferences in each region.

It is important to choose a global firm that can grow with you, empower your team to make smart decisions and help you form critical partnerships locally.

To achieve success in post-pandemic APAC, businesses must traverse untrodden ground. Traditional strategies need to be rethought, and creativity must be employed to leverage fresh opportunities.

But as businesses collectively expand beyond borders and company incorporation rates rise, contributions to workforces, suppliers and households will increase, supporting a healthy economy as a result.

BoardRoom provides world-class service at a local level to help your business grow and prosper throughout APAC.

Contact us for a one-on-one discussion about your individual expansion plans and business goals.

Asia-Pacific organisations are taking a values-led approach to business operations in 2022, winning trust from customers, employees and business partners and gaining a clear competitive advantage.

Trust is a modern imperative for business success, but it’s notoriously hard to build, especially in times of uncertainty. In 2022, businesses worldwide entered a new era of unpredictability as they entered the third year of a global pandemic. During this time, they also had to navigate major economic changes, geopolitical instability and climate emergencies.

Amid this confluence of crises, trust matters more than ever.

People are looking to do business with companies they trust and whose purpose aligns with their own beliefs. An Accenture study found that 62% of consumers are looking for organisations to take a stand on issues such as sustainability, transparency or fair employment practices. The closer those values align to their own, the better.

Having a clear set of values and demonstrating those values in your day-to-day business operations can create a powerful competitive advantage for your business. Those who focus on strong values enjoy more engaged employees, stronger business partnerships and loyal customers.

Corporate values can seem like a vague or un-quantifiable concept, but they can be more powerful (and more measurable) than you may realise.

Research shows organisations that take a values-led approach to business operations gain a clear competitive advantage. According to Forrester, 23% of online adults in Singapore have tried a new brand because they believe in the values the brand stands for.

The reverse is true too. A recent study from Adobe found that 66% of APAC consumers refuse to purchase from brands that violate their trust. Trust, once broken, rarely leads to repeat customers.

Although the pandemic has had a profound impact, it’s also given us the chance to step back and gain a deeper understanding of what our stakeholders value.

• What do your customers value? Do they care about social justice, environmental causes, data protection or something else entirely? What type of brands do they want to support?
• What kind of company do your employees want to work for? What does working for your company say about them and their professional brand?
• What kind of company do your business partners want to align with? Will your values create a positive or negative reflection on their brand?

Alignment between different business functions is key to building trust within your organisation. When working on trust-building efforts, you’ll need efficient coordination between business units such as product development, HR, marketing and IT.

As with any company-wide endeavour, gaining support from the executive team is crucial to the success of projects like this. Involving them early and often can help bolster the success of your trust-building efforts.