Most employees start their first day on the job with a tour of the office, a meeting with their HR representatives, some type of meet-and-greet with their new colleagues, maybe even a quick lunch with their new manager.
Working in a physical office has its own benefits, particularly for younger workers or those new to a company who quickly pick up new skills relating to negotiation, time management, communication, professionalism, corporate culture and more.
However, workers from Gen Z, many of whom are now entering the workforce, are uniquely equipped to succeed in a primarily digital world. But what does it mean when so many new workers are logging into Teams instead of commuting on the MRT to work on a regular basis?
Flexi and remote work matters to younger Singaporean workers
Employers who want to attract younger Gen Z workers should take note that research shows those who offer remote or hybrid work positions will enjoy a recruiting advantage over their competitors.
According to a 2023 survey by research and advisory firm Universum. 73% of young talent in Singapore prefer remote over in-person work.
This backed up by research from Deloitte that found that most Gen Zers (69%) and millennials (70%) in Singapore would seek out job opportunities elsewhere if their current employer were to mandate full-time on-site work.
As it stands, on April 15 this year, the new Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests was unveiled by a tripartite workgroup comprised of representatives from the Government, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), and various union, employer, workplace fairness, and professional bodies.
In a nutshell, employers must fairly consider and be open to offering flexi-place, flexi-time, and flexi-load arrangements, explained below:
- Flexi-place arrangements allow employees to choose to work elsewhere from a designated workplace or have no designated workplace to begin with.
- Flexi-time arrangements entail staff working flexibly at different timings with no changes to total work hours and workload.
- Flexi-load arrangements generally are for workers to take up different workloads, with pay adjusted to match.
Of course, as the tripartite workgroup shared, “it must be the employers’ prerogative to decide if (an) FWA for a particular job is viable from a business point of view. That is a key principle that all tripartite partners subscribe to.”
If you’re onboarding new employees who will be working remotely, here are some best practices and recommendations for onboarding new remote team members from HR professionals at the Adecco Group:
- Virtual Onboarding: Consider setting up more structured and specific guidance around virtual onboarding. At The Adecco Group, they created a virtual onboarding e-learning so that everyone joining their organization onwards would have a good understanding of who they are, their values, their strategy, their leadership teams, and more. It helps provide the new joiner with that sense of belonging to something whilst being in a virtual space.
- Be clear on goals and deliverables: A 30-, 60-, and 90-day plan is a great way to set expectations. Start the first few weeks with clear tasks.
- One-on-one meetings: Especially when working remotely, set up frequent one-to-one and team touch points. This will help make sure communication flows, challenges are flagged, and the team’s wellbeing is checked on.
- A buddy system: Set up a system where you can connect a new joiner with a buddy who can support them with all the questions they may have around navigating a new environment.
- FAQ Documents: FAQ documents can help new team members understand how to utilize the virtual tools around them. For example, Teams support, Microsoft analytics to manage their time, using chat versus emails to support ongoing collaboration and connectivity, and more. In addition, links to IT security guidance and other resources can also help.
This article is contributed by Adecco.
