Flexible work a key draw for talent

Singapore

COMPANIES that offer flexible work arrangements in a post-pandemic world could have an edge over their competitors in attracting talent, recruiters said.

Other factors such as pay, culture and career progression are still key deciding factors for jobseekers, but observers note that a hybrid workplace is becoming increasingly attractive.

Companies, forced to adopt remote working for a year, could now be at a crossroads as the world inches back to normalcy. The Singapore government last week said it will allow up to 75 per cent of employees back in the office, with work-from-home no longer the default.

While some companies are considering reverting to traditional ways of working, human resource (HR) consultants said jobseekers expectations' of their employers have shifted.

Most employees have recognised how flexible working can alleviate the pressure of travel and caring for their dependents, but still allow them to effectively deliver their work, said Jaya Dass, managing director at recruitment firm Randstad Singapore and Malaysia.

"Can you take all of these options away overnight? I think you can't push society to go backwards," she said.

A November 2020 study by enterprise software company Lark and consumer research firm Milieu Insight found that 94 per cent out of 1,000 professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) polled in Singapore want flexible work to stay.

Toby Koh, managing director of security group Ademco, said the company intends to continue with a flexible work arrangement even after the pandemic. "Many of our colleagues have expressed their desire to work in the office 60 per cent to full time," he said.

Organisations that refuse to offer flexibility without a clear reason could spark questions about their practices, said Ms Dass. "If it stems from a culture of distrust or a sense of needing to control the employee. . . then that could be a systemic issue and employee retention is going to be tough."

Moving to a hybrid work model will take more than just providing a laptop and allowing the employee to work from home. It also means rethinking how employees are evaluated, said HR specialists.

Performance-based metrics instead of set working hours could be more conducive for flexible work, Adrian Tan, a strategist at the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, noted.

Kim Teo, chief executive of corporate services provider Boardroom, agreed. He said having quantifiable measurables that tie in with the goals of the company can encourage employees to be more creative and take better ownership of their time and work.

This puts more focus on achieving a particular result rather than clocking a number of working hours, he said.

Tech companies have largely led the evolution of the modern workplace. Twitter was one of the first companies to adopt a work-from-home model and later gave the option to make it permanent.

Now, these tech firms are searching for a way to offer flexible work without sacrificing workplace interactions and company culture.

"Our campuses are designed to enable collaboration and community - in fact, some of our greatest innovations were the result of chance encounters in the office - and it's clear this is something many of us don't want to lose," said Google chief Sundar Pichai in an e-mail to employees last year.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company has pulled together in-house researchers, engineers, and real estate and facilities experts to prototype hybrid meeting spaces at its campuses in the US and UK.

The group is reviewing meeting configurations and technologies such as multiple screens, cameras and mixed-reality scenarios to test the most effective set-up for hybrid work.

"Looking ahead, we know that hybrid work requires a new operating model and strategy that encompasses flexible work policy, inclusive space design and innovative technology solutions," the spokesperson said.

The pandemic has provided an ultimatum to companies to digitally transform to survive, and business owners, HR departments and managers have had to adapt their mindset, said Andrew Tan, country manager of recruitment tech platform Wantedly in Singapore.

"No longer is it acceptable to equate productivity with 'bum on seats'."

• Garage is BT's startup vertical. Read more news, analyses and opinions at bt.sg/garage