Singapore is offering leaders additional resources to ‘be ready to meet new and changing expec-tations’
HR leaders in Singapore will soon have access to playbooks to aid their HR transformation journeys, announced the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
In a virtual conference, senior minister of state Zaqy Mohamad highlighted how HR was “thrust into the spotlight” to provide strategic leadership on workforce matters. This has accelerated HR to become a “strategic enabler” for the organisation.
“Whether it was to implement responsible cost-saving measures and retrenchments, to plan and execute the reskilling and redeployment of employees to new job functions, or to ensure that employees stayed safe and continued performing optimally, both onsite and at home,” Mohamad said.
“I am heartened to see the HR professionals in Singapore rising to the occasion.”
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Transformation: Keep the momentum going
He added that COVID-19 is proof that HR will continue to play a key role in workforce transformation beyond the pandemic and shared additional resources that will help leaders on that journey. These were recommended by the HR Industry Transformation Advisory Panel.
The resources aim to focus on two areas:
- Strengthening HR capability to support organisational changes
- Equipping HR with ‘emerging skills’ to enable tech transformation
“We will support HR capability building in businesses as they transform, so that the two are tightly integrated,” he said. “We will mobilise our network of stakeholders in the HR ecosystem to do this.”
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This could see MOM and the Institute of HR Professionals (IHRP) working together with industry experts to compile best practices, tools, and practical case studies into sector-specific HR playbooks. The team is currently piloting playbooks for the finance and food service sectors.
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The government will also include specific HR components into existing support schemes, such as Scale-Up SG programme.
Additionally, Mohamad encouraged leaders to tap on various tools like the Human Capital Diagnostic Tool to identify strengths and gaps in HR processes, and determine solutions.
In terms of skills development, MOM will partner with IHRP to develop more varied learning certification programmes for HR.
“The transformation work ahead of us demands organisations to harness the best talent available to lead the change,” he said. “In all this, HR has a key role to play. The profession must be ready to meet new and changing expectations from business leaders and workers.”