'You must have the moral courage to call out certain behaviors because in corporate Singapore, there's a tendency for leaders to sweep issues under the table,' says executive director of SHRI
The concept of VUCA—short for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity—first emerged in the late 1980s to describe the unpredictable and unstable conditions faced by businesses and governments.
Originally developed by the U.S. military to explain the chaos of the post-Cold War era, VUCA has become a widely adopted framework in the corporate world, helping leaders understand and respond to shifting economic and market forces.
However, in recent years, the BANI framework, developed by American anthropologist and futurist Jamais Cascio, has gained traction as an updated model for understanding the current state of the world.
BANI, which stands for Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible, captures the emotional and mental strain that both organizations and individuals experience in an age defined by disruptive technologies, global crises, and the increasing complexity of the modern workplace.
In Singapore, these frameworks have become central to many HR discussions as companies seek new ways to manage an increasingly volatile global landscape.
Alvin Aloysius Goh, executive director of the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), spoke to HRD Asia about how HR leaders can build resilience, adapt to BANI environments, and lead their organizations through uncertainty.
Building organizational resilience through humility
Goh stresses that organizational resilience begins with an HR leader’s humility.
"Being resilient is being humble, recognizing the fact that there's always something out there that I do not know, and if I do not know, humility must kick in to be then able to go ask for help, ask for information," he explains.
He adds, "Being humble is also the need to actually recognize my own personal weakness as a person, as a leader, as a fellow colleague. There's always ways of improving."
Recognizing when established policies or procedures need to change is critical for HR leaders. "There’s always a need to have the moral courage to say, ‘This policy, this procedure, is not working anymore. I need to change.’”
Singapore’s ‘pro future’ approach
Citing Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, Goh emphasizes the importance of thinking beyond short-term goals. "Singapore is successful because we are pro-future."
Goh highlights that while many CEOs and HR leaders focus on quick wins, playing the long game is what sustains organizations in the long run.
"A lot of CEOs and HR leaders are out to prove themselves within the six-month period, the one-year period... But when we keep focusing on the short game and lose sight of the long game, that’s where organizations falter."
He credits Singapore’s consultative approach—tripartism—for fostering collaboration between business, labor, and the government.
"Here in Singapore, it’s very much more collaborative and cordial. We have this thing that is unique to Singapore: tripartism. We are very consultative."
Purpose and ‘hyper-personalization’ for future workforces
For Goh, the future workforce prioritizes “purposeful” work. "The social values of [future generations] are that the work that they want to do must be purposeful. It must align with their core values.”
He believes that younger generations will increasingly seek roles that are “meaningful” rather than just securing jobs for financial stability. “That means fair compensation, fair work, fair treatment for everybody," he explains.
Goh also notes that ‘hyper-personalization’ is an emerging trend.
"In that BANI world, when this future workforce comes in... they will expect technology at consumer-grade. If you think Teams or Microsoft Office is something they will enjoy working in, I beg to differ. They will be expecting much higher-end software and technology that are tailored to their needs."
Clarity, courage, and kindness in HR leadership
Leadership in a BANI world, according to Goh, requires clarity. "To be able to provide lots of clarity... to over-communicate the vision and mission of your organization" is essential for guiding teams through uncertainty.
Goh also highlights the need for moral courage, particularly when addressing difficult behaviours in the workplace.
"You must have the moral courage to call out certain behaviors as well, because in today’s corporate Singapore, there’s a tendency for leaders, managers, to sweep issues under the table."
He advocates for creating a culture of H.O.T. (Honest, Open, Trusting) conversations to ensure transparency.
“There is nothing that we cannot agree or disagree upon. We need to focus and create an environment whereby people can voice out their concerns in the same manner—and leaders must recognize that.”
Supporting employees’ ‘holistic’ well-being
Employee well-being is another critical element, especially in BANI environments. "It’s up to HR leaders and business leaders to create that safe environment for them to disconnect when they need it," Goh explains.
A holistic approach is necessary—covering mental, physical, financial, and emotional health.
"A lot of organizations have embarked on the bandwagon to provide policies, procedures, incentive plans, on both mental well-being and physical well-being," he notes, but Goh said that managing workplace issues such as bullying, discrimination, and harassment are equally crucial.
Embracing agility in HR
Goh further urges HR leaders to build agile, resilient workforces. "If we don’t take care of employees today, productivity will take a hit on the longer-term basis."
He also advises HR leaders to embrace progressive policies like the right to disconnect. "We need not wait for legislation to come in."
Agility, Goh believes, is essential for maintaining the balance between supporting employees and driving business goals.
"We need to earn a seat at the management table. We lose that seat very quickly because we are deemed to be very pro-people and not pro-business. But when we are pro-future, we earn our keep."
The role of technology in supporting HR
While technology is integral to a BANI world, Goh warns that it should not replace human connection. "Technology is to facilitate communication. It should not erode human relations,” emphasizing that it is a “means to an end.”
He advocates for using technology to streamline administrative tasks, allowing HR leaders to focus on more meaningful engagement with employees.
Goh uses the example of utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment: "If you have a talent acquisition professional, they can filter candidates with Gen AI, which probably takes up 40% of their day. If technology is able to do that [for them], what do you do with 40% of that [saved] time?" He says this is where employers need to add value.
“That's where you value add. That's where you remain humble. That's where you look at, ‘How can I co-create opportunities as a leader? How can I go down to the ground to speak more with the community? Where can I go down to and speak more to my employees, to engage them on a personal basis?’ Use technology to elevate your work by finding time to engage rather than to disengage. Go and re-learn and re-skill.”
Introducing SHRI’s ‘PIVOT’ framework
Goh introduces SHRI’s PIVOT framework to help HR leaders efficiently deal with BANI environments. The framework highlights Purpose, Intensity and Interactive, Volatility, Orchestration, and the Transient nature of future workforces.
“So, ‘P’ [is] having that ‘purposeful,’ driven outcomes. [It’s] having a state of mind for purposeful perspective in terms of whatever we do. Whatever policies that we come up with, it's the long game that we are looking at now,” Goh said.
“In ‘I,’ there are two ‘I’s. One is ‘intensity,’ [specifically] the intensity to engage. The intensity to ensure that we are constantly on the ball. Because in that BANI world, being that ‘brittle’ world, if you don't have that intensity to continuously get things done, things will not bend in your favor.”
“The second ‘I’ is ‘interactive.’ Gone are the days when town halls were a top-down approach. ‘Interactive’ can also mean that when I engage my workforce, it need not be a physical engagement. It could be an omnipresent type of interactive engagement.”
“For ‘V,’ it stands for ‘volatile.’ We would need to recognize that in that volatile environment, we [have to] adopt and adapt very quickly to newer ways of doing things,” Goh explains.
“Then ‘O’ stands for ‘orchestrating,’ or getting things done by orchestrating decisions or making movements for the betterment of the organization and of the stakeholders that we manage, and, of course, the employees themselves. [It’s] making firm decisions, not delaying decisions, [and ensuring] that our recommendations are well-orchestrated.”
“[Lastly,] ‘T’ stands for ‘transient.’ We have to recognize that the workforce for the future is a transient workforce that is supported by technology. We need to have that diverse and inclusive type of workforce—be it full-time staff, fractional, remote, gig, and so forth, to complement our workforce capabilities.”
Thinking beyond the business’ ‘legacy’
Finally, Goh urges HR leaders to think beyond legacy systems and traditional ways. “There are three types of people. The first type of people who think inside the box. The second type is people who think outside the box.”
“To me, there's a third type—those who have the moral courage and the business gumption to throw away the box and think about issues.”
“The box represents legacy. [It] represents the old way of doing things—that box represents and hinders, to some extent,” Goh explains.
"We need a clean piece of paper to craft our value proposition all over again. At some point, we need to throw away the box and think openly."
Goh’s insights offer a practical roadmap for HR leaders to deal with VUCA and BANI environments. By fostering humility, long-term thinking, and embracing the PIVOT framework, HR professionals can help their organizations remain resilient, adaptable, and ready for the challenges of the future.
“It's not about looking backward. It's always about looking forward, having that positive perspective, having that ‘can-do’ attitude. That’s very important.”
