watson towers - singapore report

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012 Gobl Wrkforce StudySingapore report


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Singapore executive summary:

2012 Global Workforce Study

Table o contents

Global Workorce Study overview 4

Key Issues

Issue 1 Sustainable engagement 5

Issue 2 Employee retention risk 5

Issue 3 Issues o leadership and management 6

Issue 4 Issues o career advancement 6

opportunities

Issue 5 Understanding total rewards and EVP 7

Recommendations or Employees 8

Tips: Engaging and Enabling Middle Managers 8

The importance o sustainable engagement 9

Key terms 10

About the survey 10

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The Towers Watson 2012 Global Workorce Study (GWS) reveals that one-third (35%) o workers across 28 countries

are highly engaged in their work while others are struggling to cope with work situations that do not provide sucient

support or emotional connection. At a time when employers need to count on employees more than ever to meet their

growth objectives, this nding poses a disturbing risk. Workers may be reaching a tipping point in maintaining the

connection to their companies that yields consistent productivity.

While there are variations in employee attitudes across the regions, infuenced by local economic conditions, the GWS

shows that many employees are working more hours, eeling more stress and are worried about their nancial uture.

In some countries, they are also risk-averse. The result or employers is heightened perormance risk rom lower

productivity and higher rates o absenteeism and turnover to increased costs or chronic illnesses.

Global Workforce Study overview

Less than onethird of Singaporeworkers are highlyengaged

Only 28% o employees in Singapore are highly

engaged at work. Nearly three quarters o them

(72%) either eel unsupported, detached or are

disengaged. Many employees lack the rational and

emotional connection to their companies needed

to spur them to be consistently productive and to

go the extra mile.

The proportion o highly engaged employees in

Singapore is also lower than in the Asia Pacic

region (39%) and globally (35%). Moreover, the

percentage o disengaged employees in Singapore

(35%) is highest compared with the regional

(27%) and global (26%) workorce. While these

ndings could be due to cultural dierences in

the way people respond to questions about work

engagement, we nevertheless eel that they

warrant attention.

Out o the overall workorce in Singapore, the

middle managers are among the least engaged.

Only 23% o Singapore middle managers are highlyengaged, lower than or the workorce as a whole

and about hal the global average o 44%.

It is heartening however to see that high potential

employees are more engaged. In Singapore, 38%

o high potential employees are highly engaged,

whereas only 28% o workers in the country are

highly engaged.

The GWS points to a low level o sustainable

engagement in the Singapore workorce. An

equally signicant nding is the threat o high

employee turnover.

One in three employees in Singapore (34%) is likely

to leave his/her current employer within the next

two years.

The main reason appears to be the search or

better career prospects. Almost hal (46%) o

Singapore employees eel they have to join another

organisation in order to advance to a job at a

higher level.

A perceived lack o career advancement

opportunities, dissatisaction with immediate

managers, and poor perception o pay and benets

are some o the reasons why employees do not

eel sustainably engaged in their jobs.


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Given the importance o a highly engaged

workorce in achieving good corporate

perormance, the GWS serves to inorm employers

in Singapore o the attitudes and concerns o

employees that impact their engagement at

work. The study also provides important insights

into the work environment that can be used toenable employees, enhance employer-employee

connection and raise perormance.

Key issue analysis

Issue 1 Sustainable engagement

Sustainable engagement is the intensity o

employees connection to their organisations,

marked by a committed eort to achieve workgoals (being engaged) in environments that

support productivity (being enabled) and energised

perormance (being energized).

Sustainable engagement is the sum o all

three elements traditional engagement,

dened as employees commitment to the

organisation and willingness to give eort to

their employer, enablement, dened as having

the tools, resources, and support to get work

done eciently, and energy, dened as a work

environment that actively supports physical,

emotional and interpersonal well-being. Eectiveemployee perormance depends on all three

elements and will only hold over time with all three

in place.

Studies have shown a clear relationship

between high levels o employee engagement

and improved nancial and operational results.

When sustainable engagement is low companies

become vulnerable to a drop in productivity, poorer

customer service and higher rates o absenteeism

and turnover.

In Singapore, where nearly three quarters o the

workorce are not highly engaged, this is cause

or concern. One in ve workers in Singapore

(20%) eels unsupported, that is, while they are

willing to work harder, they are not given the tools,

the resources or the support to do their jobs

eectively. A urther 17% are detached and lack

the willingness to go the extra mile at work even

though they receive the support they need. About

a third o the workorce (35%) is disengaged.

Highly engaged middle managers are well

positioned to infuence employee engagement

positively within an organisation. However, in

Singapore, ewer than one out o our middle

managers are highly engaged and this certainly

calls or attention.

Issue 2 Employee retention risk

With one in three employees likely to leave

their current employers within two years, worker

retention is a critical issue in Singapore.

Employers expend much time and eort to

select and recruit the right employees or their

organisation, and urther invest in employee

training. When employees do not stay long in

their jobs employers costs o talent attraction,

retention and management increases.

Furthermore, a high employee turnover is

disruptive to the business.

The GWS reveals that 34% o Singapore employees

wish to leave their current organisations but three

groups in particular pose a higher risk. Younger

employees (under the age o 30 years) (51%),

middle managers (44%) top perorming and high

potential employees (40%).

Employers should be especially concerned about

losing middle managers. A high turnover among

middle managers whom they have invested

signicant amount o training in, is particularly

detrimental to an organisation. When middlemanagers leave, they impact the organisations

succession planning as they are oten the

very people in line or promotion to leadership

positions. Most importantly, middle managers are

the conduit between senior leadership and the

people on the ground. When they themselves are

not highly engaged and choose not to stay, the

morale o other employees can be aected.

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Issue 3 Issues o leadership andmanagement

Singapore employees do not rate their senior

management well. Less than a third (31%) o

employees agree that their senior management

does a good job o developing uture leaders. Only

39% believe that senior leadership has a sincere

interest in employees well-being. Only 42% agree

that senior management does a good job o

managing costs.

Employees are also critical o their immediate

managers. They do not think their managers spend

enough time handling the people aspects o the

job nor provide requent recognition or work done

well. However, they think that their immediate

managers are good in certain aspects: task-

oriented, assign tasks suited to the subordinates

skills and abilities, able to communicate goals and

assignments clearly and treat their subordinates

with respect.

The middle manager in Singapore is caught in-

between not receiving sucient input rom the top

or sel-development and at the same time viewed

critically by subordinates. This may account or

why middle managers register low retention and

engagement levels.

Only hal o Singapore workers (52%) agree that

their immediate manager is eective in his/

her job. A closer look at the data reveals that at

every level manager eectiveness is not ratedhighly. Only 43% o rst-line supervisors view

their managers as eective. Similarly, only 51% o

middle managers who are themselves managed by

senior leaders in the organisation agree that their

leaders are eective.

Issue 4 Issues o careeradvancement opportunities

Singapore employees eel they lack career

advancement opportunities within their

organisation. Almost hal (46%) o the employees

believe they have to join another organisation in

order to advance to a higher level. This perception

is stronger among workers in three groups: middle

managers (54%), high potential employees (51%)

and those that are under 40 years old (51%).

When asked about career advancement,

employees rated their organisations lower on

a ew aspects, that then inorms employers on

things to ocus on. Firstly, organisations could do

better at providing coaching to improve employee

perormance and provide career planning

tools and resources. Secondly, employees

expect more clarity on opportunities or career

advancement as well as promotion or the most

qualied employees. Thirdly, organisations need

to communicate clearly how the perormance

management process works.

Employees have indicated a willingness to take

responsibility or their careers. The large majority

o employees (82%) agree that they should take

ownership o their own careers or that they have

joint ownership with their managers.

The GWS nds that Singapore employees are

career-driven and are willing to seize opportunities

that come their way, even i the careeradvancement opportunity necessitates a re-

location to workplaces outside o the country.

Four out o ve workers (83%) are willing to

re-locate or career advancement but they are

selective about their destinations. The proportion

o workers who are willing to move to certain

locations (61%) is nearly three times as high as

the proportion o workers willing to move anywhere

(22%).


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In summary

Three quarters o the entire Singapore workorce are not highly

engaged and one third is likely to leave their current organisations

within two years. Employees eel that their immediate managers are

lacking in eectiveness and they do not rate their senior managementhighly either. The majority o workers still give a lot o importance to

monetary rewards and this coupled with a poor perception o pay

equity and benets aects their engagement with their organisations.

Issue 5 Understanding total rewardsand EVP

Singapore employees show a very strong

preerence or monetary rewards, consistently

choosing larger base pay increases over more

paid time-o, more bonus opportunity and more

guaranteed retirement benet, even over more

career advancement opportunity.

However, they have a poor perception o pay equity

and benets and this aects their engagement.

On average, about one third o employees eel that

they are paid airly compared with people in other

companies who hold similar jobs (32%) and that

they are paid airly compared with people in their

own companies who hold similar jobs (36%).

At the same time, employees are increasingly

concerned about retirement benets. Only one in

ve agrees their organisations retirement benetsmeet their needs.

A closer analysis o the GWS data reveals

that employees may be highly ocused on pay

and monetised rewards because they may not

recognise that they have a bigger employment

deal. The reason is likely to be that their

organisations have not communicated clearly to

their employees about their total rewards and the

Employee Value Proposition (EVP).

Total rewards include nancial rewards given

or perorming a work role, such as base pay

and allowances, perormance-based rewards

such as bonuses and incentives, plus career

and environmental rewards such as career

development experience and training.

The EVP, also called the employment deal, is

the give and the get between the employer

and the employee. It is the tangible and non-

tangible rewards that an employee expects to get

in exchange or his commitment, discretionary

eort and perormance or the organisation. An

EVP could include the purpose and values o an

organisation, the job, the culture and the people

aspects, and total rewards.

The GWS shows that employees in companies that

have communicated the EVP eectively eel better

about their pay. For instance, 55% o employees

in companies with high EVP eectiveness think

they are paid airly compared with others who hold

similar jobs; 48% think their base salary compares

avourably to that oered in other companies;

48% think their bonus opportunity compares

avourably. Conversely, in companies with low EVP

eectiveness, only 17% o employees think they

are paid airly compared with others; 17% think

their base salary compares avourably with others;

and 20% think their bonus opportunity compares

avourably.

Even when organisations use technology tocommunicate the value o their total rewards

programme, only about one third o employees

(34%) agree that they do a good job.


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Tips: Engaging and Enabling Middle Managers

Employers should pay special attention to the middle managers

because they play a pivotal role in the organisation. Their engagement

and enablement can have a big impact on the overall employee

engagement. Here are some tips on how to address the challenge o

the middle manager.

1. Select the right person or the job. It is important who you select to

be the manager o a group o employees. Are you selecting the person

with managerial skills or only the best individual perormer?

2. Dene the role and responsibility o the manager. Dene the

managers role and responsibilities so that it is clear to the middle

manager what has to be done to deliver eective perormance. Dene

a role or success, not a role or ailure. The goals and objectives mustbe achievable

3. Train and coach the manager. Help the manager to succeed. Give

the necessary and right training so that the manager can manage

his/her own perormance and help subordinates to improve on their

perormance. Ensure that senior management are good role models

and are coaching and mentoring the middle managers.

4. Empower the manager to be eective. Once you have dened the

role and coached the manager, empower him/her to do the job well.

Do not let individuals and processes get in the way.

Recommendation for Employers

Engage and enable middle managers

The middle manager in Singapore is less engaged

and is at higher risk o leaving the organisation

within two years. He/she eels poorly on

many aspects including lack o advancement

opportunities, and having to ace substantial

obstacles at work.

Companies can help their middle managers to

improve their own perormance management and

help them set and progressively achieve their own

career progression goals. Senior leadership can

increase their interaction with middle managers

to provide greater guidance and coaching. They

need to communicate more clearly to middlemanagers on promotions, career advancement and

perormance management.

Companies also need to remove obstacles

that hamper the work o middle managers. This

will enable them to spend more time on the

people aspects o the job, such as guiding their

subordinates and building relationships.

In addition, companies can equip their middle

managers with the skills to coach their

subordinates to raise their perormance.

Communicate, communicate,communicate

Clear communication is inherent in good

management. GWS shows that Singapore

employees are critical o their organisations or

ailing to communicate eectively. This includes

communication on various aspects such as total

rewards, career advancement and perormance

management.

Companies should communicate how employees

can advance in their career, what are the

available tools and resources to help themimprove perormance, and how the perormance

management process works.

Explain total rewards more eectively

Employees in Singapore are highly ocused on

base pay and bonuses. In a tight labour market

especially, pay and monetary compensation are

oten used to weigh competitive job oers.

Simply communicating to employees about pay

and monetary rewards is not good enough. The

ocus should be on the right pay. Employers need

to optimise their total rewards programme that

is based on a better understanding o employee

needs, including healthcare programmes or

retirement benets.

While companies need to pay competitively and

oer the right pay, it is even more important or

them to communicate eectively to employees

about total rewards and the Employee Value

Proposition (EVP).

Dene, communicate and execute theEVP

The EVP can serve to retain, engage and motivate

employees to drive business success. The more

aligned employees are with the EVP, the more

they will raise their level o discretionary eort

and their ability to deliver superior perormance.

Used wisely, an EVP can lead to direct business

benets.

Employers need to articulate the EVP clearly

so that it is well understood by employees. We

recommend that employers use the EVP as a

strategic talent management tool.


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Towers Watson research conducted over the

last decade has demonstrated unequivocally

the value o employee engagement as a

driver o improved business perormance. Our

unique Sustainable Engagement Framework

was developed and validated rom extensive

analysis o our organisational survey and Global

Workorce Study data, coupled with current

theories in organisational science.

Sustainable Engagement is the sum o

three distinct elements. One is traditional

engagement, dened as employees

commitment to the organisation and willingness

to give eort to their employer. The second

is enablement, dened as having the tools,

resources, and support to get work done

eciently. The third is energy, dened as a work

environment that actively supports physical,emotional and interpersonal well-being.

Enablement and energy are critical. In the

last ew years, with employers struggling to

manage costs and remain competitive globally,

the importance o enablement and energy has

become really clear. Eective perormance

depends on all three elements o sustainable

engagement. Companies that do not take

steps to improve on-the-job support or

employees and create a sense o attachment

to the organisation will have lower levels o

sustainable engagement and productivity,directly aecting their ability to grow their

business.

The importance ofsustainable engagement

Companies

with low

engagement

Companies

with high

engagement

Companies

with high

sustainableengagement

9.9

14.3

27.4

Operatingmargin

3x higher

Source: Towers Watsons global normative database.

Figure 02. Sustainable engagement and business

results


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Figure 03. From engagement to sustainable engagement

FeelEmotional/affective

attachment to the

organisation

ThinkRational/cognitive

understanding of the

organisations strategic

goals, values, and how

employees t

ActMotivation and

willingness to invest

discretionary effort

to go aboveand beyond

Engaged

Enabled

Energised

A local work

environment

that supports

productivity

and

performance

Individual

physical

interpersonal

and emotional

well-being

at work

Engagement

Rational

Motivational

Emotional

Participatingmarkets or thestudy

Asia PacifcAustralia, China,Hong Kong, India,Indonesia, Japan,Malaysia, Philippines,Singapore, SouthKorea, Taiwan

Europe andthe Middle EastBelgium, France,Germany, Ireland,

Italy, Netherlands,Russia, Spain,Sweden, Switzerland,Turkey, United ArabEmirates, UnitedKingdom

Latin AmericaArgentina, Brazil,Mexico

North AmericaCanada, UnitedStates

Key termsEmployee Value Proposition (EVP)

An Employee Value Proposition is the experience

oered by an employer in exchange or the

perormance and productivity o an employee.

From the employer perspective, a strategically

designed EVP attracts, retains, engages and

motivates employees to drive business success.

From the employee perspective, employees

connection with the EVP determines their level

o discretionary eort in bringing the company

mission, vision and values to lie.

About the survey

The Towers Watson 2012 Global Workorce

Study provides a comprehensive snapshot o

the attitudes and moods o employees globally

in a period marked by dramatic and continuing

economic swings, deep-rooted nancial concerns,

political turmoil and regulatory change.

The Global Workorce Study covers more than

32,000 employees selected to represent the

populations o ull-time employees working in large

and mid-sized organisations across a range o

industries in 29 markets around the world. The

GWS surveyed 1,002 respondents in Singapore.

The study is designed to help companies better

understand their diverse employee segments and

the actors that infuence employee perormance

on the job by gauging changing attitudes that

aect attraction, retention, engagement and

productivity.

Contact

For urther inormation, please contact your Towers

Watson consultant, or

Amrita Prasad+65 6389 7443

[email protected]

Jell Espinosa+65 6389 7439

[email protected]


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Copyright 2012 Towers Watson. All rights reserved.

TW-AP-13-30280

towerswatson.com

About Towers WatsonTowers Watson is a leading global proessional services

company that helps organisations improve perormance

through eective people, risk and fnancial management.

With 14,000 associates around the world, we oer

solutions in the areas o employee benefts, talent

management, rewards, and risk and capital management.

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