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MONDAY, MARCH

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THE STRAITS

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By CHIA YAN MIN

l.1a\TION "productivity" and

of ruthless ef = :i think of a level
--

::::e:cv that stems from spending

:::--:ev on technology and employ=. ::aining, but there is a less tech: - -:atic angle as well.

leputy Prime Minister Thar-

::-.-^ Shanmugaratnam added that

: j.rr3 ingredient in his Budget

il:ich,

pointing to the relatively

"=.rrphous concept of social

:.:ITIS.
instead of focusing only on
'

:-rllars and cents", transforming

::-: economy also means "chang::t our social norms", he said,

-rghlighting three broad areas
::at could be improved.
One is that companies should
Jer-elop a workplace culture
ii'here the views and contribu:ions of employees are valued.
Society as a whole should also
nurture a culture of job mastery "u'e have to take pride in develop.:l_: expertise and flair in every vo,:tion. seeking not just comper:r^cc but excellence".

"Doing the iob well is what

, :;its.
not long hours on the
"

'- r.

said Mr Tharman.

::nall,v, consumers should

- -.::ie their habits to feel more at
:=:<'.r'ith self-service technolo..: i . quality service, in other
',t. ::s. need not mean being con.:

:.:

=:.:.'.'.r-aited on.

-::-:ie investing in new tech-:;'.' ,:': seeking new sources of

::-,-=:-=. s;ch changes are not sim;-:' = =.r:ter oi implementing new

:;::ir:J:rtrs and ironing out kinks.
in comparison with other devel-

.rped economies around the

u'orld. it does seem like Singapore
has some u'av to go.

In London, for instance, supetmarket shoppers rarely encounter

a cashier. Most checkout counters
are automated and customers
scan and bag their own groceries.

Germany and Switzerland have retained their competitive edge with

the help of well-honed apprentice-

ship programmes that turn out

master tradesmen and certified
professionals in different areas.
lrlot just cclss in a machine
NATIONAL University of Singa-

fapan is renowned for its high-

pore sociologist Paulin Straughan

said a vital element of becoming
more efficient is "being able to
see ourselves as part of a larger

as

"\\re oftetr separate the u'orker

tech retail and dining concepts.

1.1:-:lri'hi1e. cor-rntries such

process " .

from his skills because of this idea

that labour is dispensable," said
Dr Straughan. "When you have engaged employees who are active

stakeholders, it becomes more

than a job to them."
A ZO\T Gallup poll of about
600 Singapore workers found the
ratio of "disengaged workers" 76 per cent - to be one of the highest in the world. Singapore fared
worse than countries s'uch hs the
United States (52 per cent) and
Britain (57 per cent).
Similarly, the ratio of "engaged
u'orkers" here 9 per cent

paled in conpa::-.::

.-rf ;l :=
Gallup's S::.
South-ers: is::

bal average

Leong Chc. Tun3.

Business T:n-..s

::

-.

search hJS si..*-:most prraj -,, :i'..-r'.r

achieve " i-r:. i:or.-.

pulpose"

::-.

::.ir

"i

tural chal.e :.apFi:

pan\"s tc,p -eaJe:.
the values .ld be:,
ing u-ith e=:. r'.'e=s

"This -=:

ls=lers i:. -'

c::-',

::.::.:.'

TIMES
\IARCH 3,2014

TE -STR\ITS

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lf'
Mr Michael Smith, country di-

rector of Randstad Singapore,

said many employers still believe

in

Singapore's traditional busi-

ness cqlture, "where job commit-

ment is demonstrated through

long hours and a culture of presen-

- the practice of being

present at one's place of work for
more hours than is required".
"Business leaders need to be
teeism

aware that presenteeism due to a

lack of flexibility might be a bigger drain on productivity, through

poor employee engagement and
collaboration, " he added.

Changing way of thinking

MS LIM Zhiyi, a Singaporean who
spent three years studying in To-

kyo, said automation and self-service in the retail and food and beverage industries are more com-

mon there, especially in lowerend establishments.

"In Tokyo, it's widely acknowledged that service labour is expen-

sive - on a par with the wages of

white-collar executive positions, "
said Ms Lim,76, a consultant at a
public relations agency.
Dr Straughan said consumers
should not see themselves as mere-

ly purchasers of

product or ser-

vice. "As consumers, we also have

to understand and appreciate why
changes like more automation in

restaurants and supermarkets are

necessary, and see the whole pic-

:t.a-rse oi this idea

-s;elra'rle," said
-\ile:.'.'- *:lave en-

paled in comparison with the global average of 13 per cent.

Gallup's Singapore and
South-east Asia manager, Mr
Leong Chee Tung, wrote in The
Business Times in January that research has shown employees are
most productive when they can

he ratio of "engaged

:e-9percent

achieve "autonomy, mastery and

purpose" in their work. Real cultural change happens when a company's top leaders clearly define
the values and benefits of engaging with employees, he noted.
"This can only happen when
leaders and managers understand

deeply that any productivity or in-

novation returns they will gain

from their investments will come
from their employees."
A survey by Randstad released
last week showed that 20 per cent
of Singapore companies polled intend to hire more people on flexible working arrangements over
the next five years, comPared
with 35 per cent in Australia and
39 per cent in New Zealand.
It showed that concerns about
employee productivity are the big-

ture. tt
Consumers are "hugely adaptable" and preferences have evolved
alongside technological advancements in sectors like retail and
food and beverage, said Mr Aaron

Boey, a member of the National

Productivity and Continuing Education Council.

Mr Boey, who is also the

former executive vice-president
and president of commercial oper-

ations for Asia-Pacific at Levi

Strauss and Co, said retailers need

gest barrier to introducing flexible

CONTINUED

working arrangements.

ON PAGE

BU

Consumers need to
change habits too
@ffi["
to understand their target customers better in order
to take advantage of new retailing concepts and
technologies that can help boost productivity.
Some United States department stores, for in-

stance, are divided into "selling floors" and

"non-selling floors". Products that customers usually need more help with are placed on the "selling
floors", while shoppers largely serve themselves on
"non-selling floors".
Retailers - including big names like Apple - are
also increasingly making use of automated kiosks.
"We often think that automated retail is for
low-priced, disposable items, but these machines
sell a wide range of products across price ranges,"
said Mr Boey. "The consumer doesn't come away
saying that quality of service has declined simply be-

cause the in-store experience has changed - in

many cases, it's enhanced," he added.
Mr feremy Lim, head of Asia-Pacific health and

life

sciences

at Oliver Wyman, noted that social

norms surrounding banking have evolved dramati-

cally, with the advent of Internet banking and

ATMs before that. In the past, visits to the bank often involved long queues at branches.
"People were gently nudged forward, and I think
that the same thing is going to happen as we shape
consumer attitudes over time," he said.
While consumers will eventually have to learn to

feel more at ease with self-service technologies,

"this does not mean replacing service staff ", who

will have to learn how to serve customers in different ways and "redefine their whole brand of service", said Mr Boey.
i-J chiaym@sph.com.sg