Manpower Minister Tan See Leng has admitted that it can be a challenge to get Singapore workers on board the career health bus. That, and to embrace the fact that upskilling and reskilling is necessary, along with long-term planning for their career health for themselves as employees and for the companies to remain competitive.
He admitted previously that the “ignorance is bliss” mentality , and convincing folks to make efforts to change can be a real challenge. This is true for both the Government with its programmes, and for employers trying to pivot their workforce towards what marketplaces require in this fast-shifting technology-driven era.
Kritvi Kedia, an associate partner at global management consultants McKinsey & Company, agreed in a recent podcast that this is challenging for Singaporean employers, with “resistance to change” being higher here than regional counterparts.
“This is something we have a lot of work to do as HR professionals,” she shared.
Minister Tan added his belief for Singapore-based businesses and their workforce is that neither can afford to wait until problems arise. He said: “If we want our people and businesses to thrive, we need to be proactive and pre-emptive about career health and the entire journey that comes with it.”
Don’t worry, here are solutions for Singapore employers
We spoke to Frank Koo, founder of Nextplay, which supports organisations in developing leaders and employees with the right mindset, skills and commitment to excel in their job and career.
He shared how employers and employees can work together to kick-start real change when it comes to improving career health at their workplace for win-win outcomes.
Frank was previously Head of Asia at LinkedIn, where he was responsible for LinkedIn’s Talent and Learning business.
On understanding the Singapore employee
Do you agree with the sentiments Minister Tan mentioned above, that Singaporean employers can find it a challenge to get their workers motivated, and also comprehend the need for career health initiatives that are win-win for both the company and worker? Are there any aspects of Asian or Singaporean mentality that you think contribute to this behaviour?
Frank: Yes. There are two key impediments:
- Many workers see training and development as the company’s responsibility. While this is partially true, it also leads to a lack of inherent motivation over their own learning and development needs.
- Many workers also prioritise short-term job security over longer-term career development. Likewise, some employers prioritise short-term profitability over long-term growth through talent development.
In Singapore, workers tend to be risk averse and prize stability over change.
Learning new things usually requires us to stretch outside our comfort zone, which many are not willing to take on.
Ironically, this is the exact muscle that we need to develop in the midst of constant environmental disruption.
However, I am also seeing a shift in workers’ mindset towards more agency over their learning and career development.
I believe public education and career health initiatives by MOM and WSG are having positive effect. This augurs well for our workforce and for Singapore.
On why career health matters for both employers and employees
How important is it that career health becomes a key pillar of how companies plan for the hiring and development of their workers, and why?
Frank: Extremely important. Talent has always been a key contributor to the growth of companies.
Especially in our high-cost environment, companies need workers who are progressive and adaptable, as they continuously refine their business model to improve top and bottom line.
Career health naturally becomes a key supporting pillar to drive companies’ strategies and success.
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On building a growth mindset at a company level for individuals
In your personal experience over the years, both as a worker and as an employee, what can you anecdotally share when it comes to personal upskilling and reskilling endeavours that have worked? On hindsight, what would you say tipped the balance towards meaningful results?
Frank: For workers, having a growth mindset and a sense of ownership over their work are key to successful upskilling and reskilling.
Personally, the reasons why I have been successful in moving from technology to education to social media, and now to a portfolio career, is because of my learner mindset and having agency over what I do and deliver.
At the company level, building a psychologically safe environment — where employees feel safe to learn, experiment and take risks — is critical to its ability to build an agile workforce through continuous upskilling.
For example, I was once involved in integrating two departments in my company where individual responsibilities were expanded. Upskilling became key to successful integration.
We started by explaining the “why” of upskilling, the “how” it will be implemented and the outcome we plan to achieve. We then integrated open employee feedback and “learner support group” meetings into the entire learning journey.
By giving employees the ability to share learnings, mistakes and suggestions for improvement, motivation increased and the programme became extremely successful.
On understanding career switchers
You took a pay cut to move from technology to the education sector. Can you share more about that, and the psychology of that decision? Can you also share how employers can better design and incentivise career pathways when it comes to shifting employees to more productive departments, or hiring mid-careerists making a career switch?
Frank: That move was a deliberate decision to align my work with my purpose of helping people progress in their lives through education.
It happened after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 when I had to retrench people in my company and subsequently went through my personal journey of discovering my purpose in life.
This experience makes me realise that people want to find meaning in their work, and goes beyond dollars and cents.
I subsequently built the S.P.I.C.E framework to help both employers and employees align meaning at work.
On how employers can build career health opportunities and outcomes
You’ve spoken previously about the S.P.I.C.E framework here. Can you share how it can also be used by employers to motivate employees to participate in career health initiatives?
Frank: The S.P.I.C.E framework seeks to provide a unifying language to help people align meaning to their work. When we ask employees what they look for at work, it invariably revolves around stimulation (opportunities for learning and growth), purpose (contributing to a bigger cause), income (security and reward), connection (work relationship and belonging) and esteem (recognition and self-worth).
Employers can use the same framework to improve engagement and productivity through aligning corporate culture and initiatives with what workers view as important.
For example, offering challenging projects with learning opportunities to enhance stimulation; connecting work with corporate mission and vision (purpose); ensuring fair and transparent pay with incentives for good performance (income); fostering strong relationships through mentoring or coaching (connection); recognising contribution and celebrating progress on a frequent basis (esteem).
