HR Technology

Deel Simplifies Global HR With New Full-stack Platform

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27 January 2023

Valued at $12 billion with $295 million ARR, Deel expands beyond international hiring with Deel HR, US Payroll, and Deel Engage to consolidate global team management.

Deel, the global HR company, today announced the launch of Deel HR, US Payroll, and Deel Engage, making it possible, for the first time, to hire, manage, and pay global teams compliantly on one platform. This news comes as Deel hits $295 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) at a $12 billion valuation – up from just $57 million ARR a year ago.

Work’s gone global, but until now, no HR platform has handled everything for everyone, anywhere. Most teams use up to 16 different tools for international team management, creating data silos, tech consolidation concerns, and inconsistent team experiences. Deel has streamlined everything needed to hire, manage, and pay global teams in one platform. New functionality includes: 

  • Deel HR – The global-first Human Resources Information System (HRIS) with everything needed to compliantly manage an entire global workforce – from direct employees, to international contractors, to EOR employees. Deel HR will be free for businesses with fewer than 200 people, roughly a $20k savings for companies.
  • US Payroll – This marks the expansion of Deel’s global payroll offering with its first in-house payroll engine, starting in the US. It will never be simpler to handle payroll for global teams, all in one platform.
  • Deel Engage – A set of HR Slack plugins connected to Deel HR to help distributed teams build a stronger culture, increase team collaboration, manage time off requests, 1-on-1s, candidate referrals, and more.

Whether you want to hire worldwide without opening legal entities, streamline HR for your global team, or consolidate payroll across countries, Deel does it all.

These moves come as Deel wraps 2022 with $295M ARR, up more than 400% from $57M ARR at the end of 2021. The company also confirmed it has been EBITDA positive since September 2022. New investment from Emerson Collective and participation from existing investors value Deel at 12 billion dollars. Deel now has over 15,000 customers, including Nike, Shopify, and Klarna.

Camilla Giesecke, Chief Operating and Expansion Officer at Klarna said, “We are excited to announce Deel as Klarna’s global partner for talent onboarding and payroll management.”

“Our venture investing philosophy at Emerson Collective is to accelerate the growth of consequential companies helping people live to their full potential, which we believe includes providing access to high quality work opportunities,” said Sarah Pinto, Partner at Emerson Collective. “Deel’s products help fulfil that mission by unlocking work opportunities for talented individuals wherever they are in the world. We have been impressed with the breadth of the team’s vision and the velocity of their execution.”

“We’ve disrupted global hiring, and now we plan to disrupt the whole HR industry,” said Alex Bouaziz, co-founder and CEO of Deel. “Products that radically simplify HR get us closer to our goal of helping millions of people get to work for the best companies in the world.”

End Of Year Employee Wellness Program

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Fatihah Ramzi, DigitalCFO Asia | 29 November 2022

As the year draws to a close, it is critical that companies spend the time educating staff members about how to prevent the spread of diseases and urge them to get the necessary shots.

As the year draws to a close, it is critical that companies spend the time educating staff members about how to prevent the spread of diseases and urge them to get a flu shot, the COVID-19 vaccination, and booster dose in order to be prepared for the new year. With vaccines and flu shots, the company may see a decrease in employee absence, which eventually boosts productivity rates as fewer employees end up needing to take extended leaves of absence.

Employers have a responsibility to do their share to stop the transmission of disease in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming flu season. In addition to wanting a healthy workforce, employers must continue to ease the burden on the healthcare system. Because of this, a focus on employees’ health would be one of the most important employee wellness initiatives that businesses could provide.

Employers should motivate staff to finish preventative checks. When it comes to leading a healthy life, prevention is essential because early identification frequently results in effective treatment. Many workers may have put off going to their primary care physician and getting routine care as a result of COVID-19. Encourage your staff to arrange for their yearly physicals, mammograms, colonoscopies, and other standard exams right away. A smart strategy to remain on top of general health issues and risks for chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes is to see your doctor once a year.

Encourage them to consider their wellness objectives for 2023. Employers should be sure to include their workplace wellness goals and strategies while developing their company strategy for 2023. To make sure that these objectives are accomplished, think about establishing a wellness committee within the company. The committee will be able to assess the team’s requirements and create a wellness plan that best meets those requirements. Your employees will have happier and healthier lives if you plan wellness challenges, encourage healthier eating, and offer resources. This will also increase employee happiness at work.

A wellness challenge can also be added by businesses during the holidays. It’s simple to get caught up in the Christmas rush and bustle, which can have a detrimental effect on our health. People frequently endure improper stress management and unhealthy or excessive eating, so it might be a good idea to advocate for exercise, healthy food, or stress reduction measures during this time. 

One approach to achieve this might be by creating a challenge that focuses on one of the aforementioned subjects. To ensure that the challenge is on everyone’s mind, let the employees know about it and keep promoting it throughout the season. Consider an incentive-based challenge with prizes connected to health and wellness to encourage the team and get them participating.

Make resources for mental health available. To raise awareness of mental health during the holidays, companies can consider hosting a seminar. Employees frequently forget about the resources at their disposal or are unaware of their coverage. If it’s feasible, think about doing a virtual yoga or meditation class to make sure that staff members are allocating time for their own self-care. Do not forget to inform, assist, and serve as a resource for the team.

Companies may also think about running a biometric screening program. As the end of the year approaches, many people frequently prefer to put their health on the back burner. Offering biometric assessments to employees either on-site or off-site can assist them in understanding their baseline health and any potential problem areas.  Biometric screenings can convey to your employees that you care about their health and welfare by serving as a reminder to not let the efforts toward better health slip up.

Promote a fundraising occasion or activity. Since it’s the season of giving, many workers may want to volunteer but find it difficult to find the time or are unsure of where to begin. Think about a charitable opportunity they might participate in to lessen this burden. Employees will gain an appreciation for the company’s principles and have the opportunity to volunteer together.

Overall, one of your company’s end-of-year focuses should be workplace wellness. The primary driver of both production and employee happiness will be their well-being. Giving them materials they can use in their daily lives is the best approach to give them the sense of value and appreciation they need.

35 Filipino Companies Honored as Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2022

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 29 November 2022

35 companies in the Philippines received the coveted HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2022 awards.

With the theme, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the awards this year focused on the efforts of companies in promoting diversity and inculcating inclusion in the workplace, while retaining HR Asia’s stringent evaluation criteria.

In all, 11,800 employees from 185 Filipino companies took part in HR Asia’s proprietary Total Engagement Assessment Model – ranking their own employers on metrics ranging from workplace happiness and team cohesion to employee advocacy and continued job motivation. The top 35 companies who made the cut off point this year are then named HR Asia Best Companies to work for in Asia 2022 for the Filipino market.

“HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia is the only award that is judged solely by the nominees’ employees – making this the most transparent award of its kind. Equally important, with 15 markets, and over 400,000 surveys done each year – the program is also the most extensive awards for employee engagement and workplace excellence across the region”, says William Ng, group publisher of Business Media International, the owner of HR Asia.

The top three workplace positive sentiments by Filipino employees are that employees are willing to help those who require assistance, the employees also believe that their job contributes to the success of their organization, and employees are willing to put in the extra effort to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.

However, the survey has also turned up several concerns from employees, such as lack of communication with former employees, feeling exhausted at work due to the workload, and the lack of enthusiasm to return to work after the weekend.

This year, two companies are awarded the gold Harmonia statuette as they are recognized to be one of the Best Companies to Work for in Asia for five consecutive years, these companies are Monocrete Construction Philippines, Inc., and Puregold Price Club, Inc.

The WeCare awards are also given out to Cloudstaff Modern Workforce, Everise Philippines, Fedex Express Philippines, Monocrete Construction Philippines, Inc., Torre Lorenzo Development Corporation, and United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation (Cocolife).

2022 Philippines HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia credits Yo Manila! as the award’s supporting partner.

“The pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on business leaders and beyond. For some companies, a near term survival plan may seem to be the only agenda for recovery but by investing in employee engagement, employees will feel supported in their jobs and in return will contribute to the overall business operations and post recovery growth,” Ng added.

The HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia Awards recognises companies that have shown world-class employee engagement and workplace excellence, while displaying demonstrable empathy and care for their employees.

The award covers fifteen markets across the region including mainland China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam making this the largest recognition programme and survey in the region for employee engagement.

Bridging Administrative Gaps In Singapore With HR Software

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Fatihah Ramzi, DigitalCFO Asia | 29 November 2022

Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero

The value propositions of applications for human resources are evolving. Leading firms are utilizing HR software to streamline and fully engage their workforces. Administrative tools to facilitate data collecting and allow employee self-service are becoming a standard.

Using HR software, managers may schedule people for work, keep track of their performance, and assist staff members in advancing in their careers and learning new skills. Reports on tax compliance, payroll and benefit expenses, and headcount analysis to forecast future costs are valued by the finance teams. And many individuals from other departments use information from HR systems to enhance the employee experience in leading firms.

KeyPay is an all in one Singapore payroll software made for accountants and payroll outsource providers. It automates the entire payroll journey and free up time to grow the company’s client base. To find out more about the benefits that a HR Software like KeyPay can offer, DigitalCFO Asia spoke with Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero.

The Vision For Employment Hero And KeyPay After The Acquisition

“Through my years of experience in employment law, I had a front row seat to the devastation caused by poorly managed employment in SMBs,” says Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero. To help address these issues, Dave Tong and Ben founded Employment Hero in 2014. The business has grown considerably over the years and whilst achieving “unicorn” valuation at $1.25 billion earlier this year, acquiring KeyPay was also a critical next step in their growth.

Payroll processing has always been a painfully manual task for accountants, bookkeepers, and payroll service providers. Australia ranks as having one of the top 5 most complicated payroll systems in the world, and so KeyPay was originally launched in Australia in 2012 with the mission to create a more accessible version of payroll by utilising the capacity of the cloud. 

Bringing the vision of automation to life, KeyPay streamlines the flow of data from employees across rosters, timesheets, leave management, and reporting, providing full client visibility of the pay run at all times in a single integrated platform. 

Since its launch, KeyPay has dramatically changed the payroll landscape by offering clients an all-in-one catering to the diverse business needs of businesses across Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia. 

“Looking ahead, we hope to further evolve Employment Hero and KeyPay to empower our partnership network with a complete suite of payroll and employment management tools, saving hours of manual effort, and opening the door to value-adding and people advisory services, and new revenue streams,” says Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero.

The Gaps In Singapore That KeyPay Can Close Or Minimise

Payroll processing is difficult across the globe, and each country has its own legislation complexities. A common issue faced by accountants, bookkeepers and payroll service providers in Singapore is leave management. Due to the different leave entitlements for employees, based on varying factors such as years of employment and individual agreements, manual payroll processing can be time consuming and prone to errors. 

This is not only detrimental for businesses, but can also lead to disputes from employees. Compliance is also an ongoing issue that has only grown in severity with the implementation of remote working and payroll processing across borders. On top of this, there are not many solution providers in the region that can effectively tackle these challenges. 

“With KeyPay, we hope to help mitigate these risks and help safeguard employees being paid incorrectly, as well as protect our partners and clients from compliance issues through effective automation,” says Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero.

The Uniqueness Of KeyPay

“KeyPay is built by payroll professionals, for payroll professionals, and is designed specifically with payroll service providers in mind,” says Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero.

KeyPay sets itself apart from competitors by being an all-in-one integrated payroll and workforce management platform that streamlines various processes for accountants and bookkeepers. What KeyPay’s partners love is not having to use multiple systems to provide payroll and people services. This reduces costs but also eliminates double handling of data. 

By embracing cloud technology and automation, the time savings allows their partners to invest more hours into nurturing their existing client relationships, take on more clients without adding additional headcount, and adhere to payroll compliance requirements more easily. KeyPay makes it possible for accounting and bookkeeping firms to expand revenue streams beyond just payroll and traditional accounting services.

Unique to KeyPay is its pay conditions engine. This allows users to build rules of custom employment agreements into the platform to automate unique pay conditions, overtime rates and entitlements, saving hours of manual calculations.

KeyPay provides a Bureau Dashboard that allows its partners to have a bird’s eye view of all the pay run activities in one location. Statuses such as “Error” and “Overdue” help its partners to prioritise the key tasks and make sure nothing critical goes unnoticed. Partners can also perform bulk actions, such as finalising pay runs. Beyond that, partners also have access to a partner dashboard which allows them to have a centralised location to manage business settings, such as business templates, and clients seamlessly. 

KeyPay In Allowing Employees To Spend More Time On Value-Added Work

Payroll is a very tedious and time-consuming process in a business that includes managing things like leave balances, deductions and tax calculations manually across various countries with personalised requirements for all individuals employed.

“We have seen that businesses are placing increased importance on their accountants to provide more advisory services, and less transactional work,” says Ben Thompson, CEO, KeyPay & Co-Founder, Employment Hero.

By automating payroll, service providers are able to take on new outsourced payroll clients while actually cutting down their workload. The time saved can be refocused on expanding their client base, or even moving into new markets, further increasing revenue.

For example, EPG Payroll & HR used KeyPay as their operational backbone to move into new markets and support clients with their international expansion. Empowered by KeyPay’s wide ranging capabilities and local compliance functionality across 5 different regions, EPG were able to streamline processes and expand their services globally.

Study Finds Rising Cost of Employee Benefits a Top Concern for Asia Pacific Businesses

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 23 November 2022

The insights from the study aim to help employers quantify and qualify employee benefits and assess how their organisations can increase workforce resilience amid an increasingly volatile talent market.

  • 57 percent of employees are not fully clear about the benefits provided by their organisation
  • 2 in 3 employers report their benefits offering does not fully support their diverse workforce
  • 1 in 2 employers did not have a benefits strategy

Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, has published its 2022 Asia Pacific Employee Benefit Trends Report, which evaluates the changing expectations of employees and the trends in employee benefit strategies in the region. The insights from the study aim to help employers quantify and qualify employee benefits and assess how their organisations can increase workforce resilience amid an increasingly volatile talent market.

The Aon study revealed that 55 percent of employers found that increase in benefit plan cost was their top challenge followed by 54 percent reporting unavailability of benefit packages that offer diversity, options, and flexibility to attract and retain talent.

Benefits Strategy

Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a rapid and significant change in employee expectations in the region. Employees increasingly seek a work environment that supports their mental health and wellbeing, with increasing numbers asking for remote work arrangements, meaningful work and shorter hours. Employers recognise this with 35 percent of those surveyed reporting that 1 in 4 of their employees may work remotely in future.

However, while employee wellbeing was a key priority for 46 percent of the employers surveyed, 1 in 2 of the companies indicated that they lacked a clear benefits philosophy and that mid to longer term benefits strategy was a key future priority for them. Furthermore, 1 in 5 companies did not review their benefit offerings on a regular basis.

Tim Dwyer, chief executive officer of Health Solutions for Asia Pacific at Aon, said: “Employers in the region need to recognise the shift in employee work motivations resulting from COVID-19 and rethink their benefits strategy. To ensure they build a resilient workforce that can thrive during times of ongoing change and complexity, employers must leverage available anonymised and aggregated data insights around health and wellbeing, alongside employee feedback to gain insight into needs and expectations. These insights can inform decisions on how to manage the evolving structure of work or more specific solutions, such as ways to achieve a healthier and more inclusive team. Apart from the diversity and flexibility of benefits, there is a need to communicate the benefits employees receive more clearly.”

Benefits Diversity and Communications

Talent attraction and retention is key for organisations with 28 percent reporting an increase in turnover of more than 5 percent in 2022. In the face of rising inflation and skill shortages, employers are offering holistic compensation packages, including benefits to attract and retain people with the right skills. However, 41 percent of employers reported that their benefits were not sufficient to fulfil employees’ needs and 45 percent found that their benefits were perceived as ‘below market’.

The study also found that 1 in 3 employers plan to implement flexible options or a choice programme in the near future, leveraging digital tools and voluntary benefits. Most prevalent locations whereemployers are implementing a flexible benefits programme are Philippines, India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

Apart from a focus on enhancing benefits choices for the diverse workforce, the study also found that there are issues with the communication of benefit offerings to employees. Fifty seven percent of employers confirmed their employees were not fully aware of the benefits provided by the organisation, even though 3 in 4 employers communicated benefits through email and 41 percent used a digital benefits platform, with more companies moving toward providing a ‘digital benefits home hub’, as an access point for all things benefits.

Simon Thompson, practice leader for Health Solutions for Asia Pacific at Aon said, “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been heightened expectations from employees for meaningful work, mental and physical wellbeing and work-life balance. These expectations are different for various talent groups; therefore, a standardised benefit offering may not appeal to all. Businesses therefore must have a clear employee benefit strategy catering to the various talent groups and ensure benefits are communicated often, leveraging both digital and more traditional approaches, whilst balancing sustainable benefit plan costs. A clear benefits and communication strategy will help businesses make better workforce decisions based on employee health and wellbeing data, talent attraction and retention outcomes, benefits spend and business performance – and ensure all elements are aligned to build a resilient workforce.”

Despite Rising Manpower Shortages, Singapore’s Labour Market Improved On All Fronts In 2022

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 10 November 2022

The report highlights key trends and challenges that are impacting and transforming Singapore’s industries and workforce, as well as consolidates the latest salary and job developments across key industries. 

PERSOLKELLY, the leading HR solutions and recruitment company headquartered in Singapore, has released the 2023 Singapore Salary Guide in collaboration with SkillsFuture Singapore. The report highlights key trends and challenges that are impacting and transforming Singapore’s industries and workforce, as well as consolidates the latest salary and job developments across key industries. 

The study, which concluded in July 2022, focused on the following themes: Singapore Labour Outlook, Commentaries, as well as Industries. Salary figures included in the 2023 Singapore Salary Guide are derived from combining the expert market knowledge of senior recruitment professionals within the PERSOLKELLY Singapore network, as well as actual job placement data recorded on the PERSOLKELLY Singapore database. 

Singapore’s Improving Labour Market in 2022

Singapore’s labour market continued to improve on all fronts in the first quarter of 2022, with total employment expanding to 42,000. Resident employment exceeded pre-pandemic levels at 3.9% higher than in December 2019, while unemployment rates have continued to trend down to pre-pandemic levels. 

Singapore saw a rise in growth sectors such as financial services, information and communications, professional services, as well as health and social services among resident employment. However, consumer-facing sectors saw a decline largely due to the seasonal pattern of temporary workers hired for year-end festivities leaving in the following quarter. 

Job vacancies continued to rise, reaching a new high of 126,100 in Q2 2022. Due to a decline in unemployed persons and increase in vacancies, the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons also increased to its highest since 1998. 

With border restrictions relaxing significantly, the non-resident workforce is expected to continue to recover, catching up with resident employment growth and alleviating the current labour market tightness. At the same time, amid a weaker external economic outlook, businesses are urged to tap on government support and press on with restructuring and transformation to maintain their competitiveness, while upskilling local workers to prepare for new and emerging jobs. 

Foo See Yang, Managing Director and Country Head, PERSOLKELLY Singapore, said, “The effects of the pandemic and macro-economic challenges had a dramatic effect on the growth of our economy, and affected many sectors and industries. It is encouraging that this year’s growth outlook remains bright and we hope that this year’s salary guide will be able to provide organisations with refreshed recruitment strategies and approaches to help them attract, retain and develop talents.’ 

The Singapore Salary Guide comes fresh off the back of the launch of PERSOLKELLY’s 2022 APAC Workforce Insights, which highlighted the adoption rates by market and industry, reasons for adoption, skills in demand, the trends, as well as strategies and effectiveness of offshoring. 

Established in 2016, PERSOLKELLY Singapore is one of the largest recruitment companies in Asia Pacific, and has placed over 59,000 positions across the region and works together with 98% of Fortune 100™ companies for their workforce solution needs, which currently comprises permanent placements, temporary staffing, contract and payroll administration, HR advisory and regional talent solutions. 

New Singapore Research Finds Stability, Job Security As Important As Salary For Talent Retention

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 10 November 2022

The impact of the pandemic, the uncertain economic environment have irrevocably changed what employees want from their leaders.

Slack study of Singapore knowledge workers finds:

  • Over half are burned out and considering switching jobs in the next year, while 16% admit to ‘quiet quitting’
  • Stability and job security are more important than salary when choosing the company they work for; good leadership is almost as important as salary
  • Leaders that demonstrate soft or ‘power’ skills, and embrace the use of collaborative technology, foster a greater sense of connection to a company

The impact of the pandemic, the uncertain economic environment, and the burnout experienced by over half of Singaporean knowledge workers in the last year, have irrevocably changed what employees want from their leaders, according to new Slack research.

The study, Leadership and the war for talent, based on a survey of over 1,000 Singaporean knowledge workers, found that Singaporeans now value stability and job security (53%) more than salary (40%) when it comes to choosing the company they work for; while having a good manager (31%) was almost as much of a consideration as salary.

Survey respondents also identified teamwork and collaboration, transparent and trustworthy leadership, flexible work, and employee wellbeing as the four biggest factors in driving organisational success – all valued more highly than financial achievement. When it comes to flexible working, over two-thirds of Singaporeans want to be trusted to do their job regardless of location or the hours worked.

With nearly one in two Singaporean knowledge workers considering moving jobs in the next year, and 16% admitting to ‘quiet quitting’ – fulfilling the requirements of their job but not going above and beyond – it’s critical for leaders to act to ensure their own leadership style isn’t having a negative impact on the engagement and motivation of their employees. This means focusing more on soft or ‘power’ skills – human-centred, interpersonal skills related to areas such as collaboration, social and emotional intelligence; analysing the time employees are spending on unproductive tasks; exploring ways to elevate productivity with collaborative technology; and figuring out how to meet the varying expectations of employees from different generations, who prefer to work in different ways.

Shweta Verma, Country Manager, Singapore, Slack said, “The reality is that many Singaporean professionals are burnt out. Leaders have an obligation to address this – not least for the wellbeing of their employees, but also to drive the productivity of their organisations. As we continue to go through one of the biggest workplace experiments of the century – moving from physical offices to digital headquarters – it’s critical that employers demonstrate sound, positive leadership. By harnessing collaborative technology at scale, and engaging employees in ways that best suit them, leaders can help drive productivity and a happier, more engaged workforce.”

1. Poor leadership leads to burnout, quiet quitting

Slack’s research draws a clear link between poor leadership and a dip in employee morale and productivity. Only half of Singaporean professionals say they feel inspired by their leaders, and the same number find their leaders “stuck in their ways of working.”

‘Quiet quitting’ is strongly linked to poor leadership as well – over half (51%) of those who ‘quiet quit’ reported having poor leaders. 

According to the study, employees with poor or average leaders feel they have much less of a voice, and less control and autonomy over their work. Additionally, they reported more of a disconnect between leaders and employees, and reported culture feeling more forced.

2.  Collaborative technology as potential ‘power tools’ for boosting leadership

The Slack study showed a strong correlation between those respondents that hold their leaders in high regard and those whose leaders embrace the use of collaborative technology. Interestingly, these respondents were also identified as feeling highly connected to their organisations. Contrastingly, those who deemed their leaders as technology laggards in this area say they are more likely to quit their job.

Nearly two-thirds of Singaporean knowledge workers saw collaboration tools as enabling them to be productive, among other benefits. These include being able to free up time by automating work, getting information to the right people quickly, speeding up the implementation of projects, improving communication with leadership, prioritising tasks, and achieving faster feedback loops.

3. The real reason Singaporean knowledge workers don’t have enough hours in the day

Looking at the amount of non-productive time that Singaporean knowledge workers say they are spending on routine and often mundane tasks, the potential value of collaboration tools on organisational success becomes more pronounced.

For example, nearly a third of respondents feel that it takes them too long to find information internally, and that internal processes take up too much of their day. A similar number find that communicating across the company, within big teams and across time zones is slow due to delayed responses. Where this is the case, around a quarter of this group say they are spending over an hour a day on these activities. 

4. Mind the generation gap

The survey shows significant generational differences in employees in Singapore in terms of what they expect from their leaders, making it clear that people management is not a one-size-fits-all. 

  • Gen Z are the most concerned with wellbeing, having a highly social culture and desiring empathetic leaders. While they are more likely to be inspired by leadership, they are the most likely to switch jobs.
  • Millennials also want a focus on wellbeing, transparent and trustworthy leadership, and a great employee experience. They are the most likely to feel a disconnect between leaders and employees, and have the highest levels of job dissatisfaction. This group leans in most to the use of collaboration tools.
  • Gen X places the greatest importance on flexibility, transparent and trustworthy leadership,   and are the least concerned with wellbeing. They want their employers to have a consistent purpose, supported by robust processes. They are the least interested in technology and innovation.
  • Baby Boomers are middle of the road on most things, but are particularly favourable towards having robust processes, clear KPIs and accountability frameworks, and to have a clear level of autonomy in work.

5. Cooling down the burnout

The research also showed some clear differentiation between what Singaporean knowledge workers across different industries are feeling and looking for:

  • IT & Tech: Respondents from the Tech sector gave the highest scores to their managers for being competent and communicating well. Although not inspirational, IT leaders are seen to lead by example. Perhaps, as a result, IT workers are less likely to feel burned out.
  • Financial Services: Notably much less focused on teamwork, collaboration and wellbeing as being the keys to success, respondents from the banking sector were the most likely to want more meaning in their job. They also reported some of the highest rates of burnout, dissatisfaction and quiet quitting. 
  • Retail: Singapore’s retail knowledge workers seem to be more positive than their peers in other industries right now. Half (51%) say they feel strongly about doing the right thing by their employer and are happy to go “above and beyond”. At 42%, retail also has the lowest proportion of workers who say they’ve felt burned out during the past 12 months.
  • Government: There seems to be a significant opportunity in Singapore’s government sector to tap into the benefits of collaborative technology. More than half (56%) of government employees say that email is still their primary method of communication with customers and partners – a proportion significantly higher than other industries in the survey. Government workers are also more likely to be working from a mix of home and office environments, with around two-thirds (67%) saying they are working this way.

6. A new perspective on the office

While employees are increasingly working from home, the office environment is still valued, the Slack study found. When asked what they felt the office was best suited for, Singaporean knowledge workers cited team building, social connection, collaboration and brainstorming, and one-on-one/development meetings. Activities like progress updates, company town halls, learning programmes and knowledge sharing sessions were perceived as less critical to be held in an office. This suggests that a lot of time can be potentially saved by conducting these activities virtually using collaborative technology.

Research methodology

Slack’s new research, conducted by Honeycomb Strategy, was based on responses from 1,000+ Singaporean knowledge workers within organisations of 100+ employees. You can view the full report here: Leadership and the war for talent.

This is the second iteration of this Slack research in Singapore, with The Reinvention of Work study carried out in October 2021. A similar piece of Slack research, the Slack State of Work report, a global survey including 1,000 Singaporean knowledge workers, was carried out by GlobalWebIndex in March 2020, prior to the pandemic.

Workday Named a Leader in 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ For Seventh Consecutive Year

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 8 November 2022

Workday announced it has been named a Leader in  the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for 1,000+ Employee Enterprises. 

 Workday, a leader in enterprise cloud applications  for finance and human resources, today announced it has been named a Leader in  the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for 1,000+ Employee Enterprises*.  Workday was recognized as a Leader for the seventh consecutive year and positioned the  highest for overall Ability to Execute. 

Organizations across the globe continue to face significant challenges in attracting,  supporting, and retaining talent amid a tight labour market and evolving employee  expectations. To deliver engaging and personalized employee experiences, organizations  need a unified view of their workforce. More than 4,500 global customers – and more than  50% of the Fortune 500 – including Banner Health, Everise, Kohl’s, Lloyd’s Banking Group,  McKee Foods, Nasdaq, Inc., Palm Beach State College, Tennis Australia, Thomson  Reuters, and more are using Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) to automate HR  processes, support and empower employees, and adapt to changing business and  workforce needs. 

With Workday HCM, customers can: 

Elevate Experiences with New Innovations in Skills and Employee Engagement. • Organizations are prioritizing skills insight and development as the workforce  becomes more agile. To support this and build on the success of Skills Cloud, which  is included in Workday HCM and leverages machine learning (ML) to maintain skills  data, Workday recently introduced new technology that allows organizations to easily  and securely bring skills data in and out of Workday. In doing so, organizations can  gain deeper insight into workforce skills to help deliver more personalized  development recommendations and nurture career growth. 

In addition, to gain a holistic view of employee engagement across the business,  global organizations are using Workday Peakon Employee Voice to give employees  a confidential platform to share honest feedback about their experience,  expectations, and health and well-being. Organizations can then use these insights  to take meaningful, tangible actions that help to enhance the employee experience.

Support Various Types of Workers with Unified Workforce Management Solutions. • The shift in workforce composition is driving many organizations to develop a holistic  workforce strategy that supports various worker types. Following the acquisition of  VNDLY, Workday will provide organizations with a comprehensive solution that helps  manage salaried, hourly, contingent, and outsourced workers. 

Workday also provides innovations to support frontline workers, managers, and  operations leaders, including Workday Scheduling and Labour Optimization, a  worker-first scheduling solution that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to match  labour demands with worker preferences. It is part of a unified workforce optimization  offering that includes Absence Management, Payroll, Talent Management, and Time  Tracking to help organizations more easily attract, engage, and retain talent all in one  system. 

Leverage Reporting and Analytics Tools to Understand Workforce Trends. • Organizations need deeper visibility into their workforce and real-time data to help  them make faster decisions that support the business. Workday People  Analytics uses AI and augmented analytics to help customers better understand the  trends of their workforce, including DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts,  retention and attrition, hiring, skills, and performance – and the drivers behind them. 

Comments on the News 

“Workday HCM in Rolls-Royce is much more than an HR system,” said Marcus Millership,  transformation director, global business services, Rolls-Royce. “It’s a business tool to inform  the business, to give insights, and manage some of our signature processes.” 

“We believe we are recognized because of our ability to adapt to the needs of our  customers, enabling them to create and deliver experiences that meet the unique needs of  their employees,” said David Somers, group general manager, office of the chief human  resource officer product, Workday. “Workday HCM provides customers with a  comprehensive view of the critical workforce areas across their organization – skills,  employee sentiment, talent performance, payroll, and more – to help support and adapt to  changing worker expectations, while empowering them to grow and scale their business.” 

Remote Enhancements Enable Customers To Offer Global Mobility And Flexible Employment Packages

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 3 November 2022

Global relocation support, payment options including cryptocurrency, and unlimited PTO policies help Remote customers stand out when competing for top international talent.

Remote, the leader in building, managing, and supporting global, distributed workforces, today announced platform and service enhancements enabling greater flexibility in where employees work, how they are paid, and more. With thousands of companies now using Remote to employ tens of thousands of employees and contractors around the world, these updates help Remote customers remain competitive when hiring top candidates in the global job market. 

“In our latest Global Benefits Report, one in three workers ranked flexibility as one of their top considerations when evaluating job offers. For many, it’s now a make-or-break factor in where they work and whether they stay in their current role,” said Job van der Voort, CEO and Co-Founder of Remote. “We’re constantly working to help our customers attract top talent with world-class employment packages in every country. Those include flexibility, and our latest enhancements mean it’s easier for employees to get paid, live, and work the way they want.” 

Global Mobility Services streamlines international relocations

As more companies increase remote work options, international mobility is becoming a differentiating factor in hiring and retaining employees. In Remote’s recent survey, 34% of employees said that relocation assistance is an innovative benefit that they would use if available.

Remote’s new Global Mobility Services give customers a streamlined way to enable employees to relocate to another country by relying on Remote’s experienced in-house team for immigration guidance, pre-employment eligibility checks, and other support. Companies can also use Remote to set up new local employee benefits, issue payroll in local currencies, and avoid potential tax and compliance issues related to international employment. 

New, flexible payment options for employees and contractors

Workers employed through Remote now have more flexibility and control over their finances with the ability to split their salaries across multiple bank accounts. This enables employers to offer their employees a new way to budget their money and build savings with automatic deposits. Employees based in the United States can also choose to receive a percentage of their salary in their cryptocurrency of choice without added fees, thanks to an integration with Coinbase, allowing them to skip the step of conversion and maximise their crypto investments. 

Remote has also expanded payment options for contractors, giving them the ability to receive payments in non-native currencies in 60+ countries around the world. This means that digital nomads and other global contractors can be paid directly from their employers in their currency of choice without conversion fees, independent of where they or Remote’s customer is based.   

Easy contractor-to-employee conversion

Companies can face stiff penalties if a worker is misclassified according to the labor laws in their country of residence. Building on existing features that helps clients assess and manage misclassification risk, Remote now offers a simple playbook for companies to convert their international contractors to employees through Remote’s Employer of Record service. 

Employers can tap into Remote’s expertise and experience not only to avoid legal exposure in often-complex situations, but also to evolve the way they work with international talent and offer competitive local benefits and perks that build loyalty. With Remote, companies can now onboard, pay, and transition independent contractors to full-time employees from a single platform.

80% of APAC Employers Find that Offshore Recruiting is Effective in Achieving Business Objectives

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 1 November 2022

84% of employers across Asia Pacific favour offshoring recruitment strategies.

  • The top 3 sought-after skills when Singapore employers hire offshore talent: IT (52%), Customer Service (35%) and R&D, such as highly skilled scientists or engineers or researchers (35%)
  • The top 3 preferred locations Singapore employers’ source for offshore talent are: Malaysia (69%), India (35%) and China (22%)

PERSOLKELLY, one of Asia Pacific’s leading HR solutions companies, has conducted a business survey among 1,326 decision-makers who are responsible for hiring within their organisation, and the report titled “Hiring and Managing Talent Beyond Geographical Boundaries” highlighted the effectiveness and the growing trend of employers across the region in adopting offshore recruitment strategies for their hiring needs.

Having become more open to adopting new operation models and remote work since COVID-19, companies increasingly turn to offshore recruitment strategies to boost agility and put their operations on the right track. Given the unprecedented economic headwinds, businesses find this solution can be cost-effective. It also opens up opportunities to reach new markets, gives access to a bigger pool of talent with specific skill sets, provides resources to quickly fill gaps in their workforce, and enables the diversification of business operations.

Other Key Findings in Singapore

  • 45% of respondents are either executing or exploring offshore recruitment strategies, with 58% of them saying that this strategy is effective in sourcing good talent, which helped achieve their business objectives and budgets.
  • 66% of respondents voted that the top reason for adopting offshore recruitment strategies is the benefit of being able to access a bigger pool of experienced and skilled talents when local talents are limited.
  • When hiring offshore talent, 62% of Singapore employers would offer contractual employment
  • 70% of the companies surveyed prefer working with regional recruitment agencies, which also have a local presence within the target market. They require support such as advisory on labour law & compliance (79%), payroll & tax submission (68%), as well as recruitment & onboarding of new offshore talent (52%).

“Globalisation and technology have made it possible for employers to hire and manage talent beyond geographical boundaries. As the markets become more competitive, companies need to differentiate themselves to create more value for their customers to either preserve or introduce new competitive advantages. This can only be done through hiring the right talent with the right skill set to achieve the business objective,” said Foo See Yang, Managing Director & Country Head, PERSOLKELLY Singapore.

“That is why offshore recruitment strategy is gaining popularity. The goal is for this strategy is to seamlessly integrate the hiring of offshore talent as part of the organisation’s global setup and to improve the business operations as one team together. The metrics are picking the right people, the right recruitment agency and the right partners,” said Zen Loh, Regional Business Director, PERSOLKELLY. “With these things in place, an offshore team isn’t just a sustainable alternative to local hiring but a secret weapon in the jostle for business success.”

Almost Half Of Singaporean Workers Threaten To Quit Their Jobs If Employers Force Them Back Into Office Full-time

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DigitalCFO Newsroom | 31 October 2022

88% of Singaporeans say they want to work remotely at least once a week.

Like other employees around the globe who have become accustomed to a hybrid work environment, Singaporeans are pushing back on employers who insist they return to the office full-time. According to a new study by Employment Hero, 81% of Singaporean workers are keen to take on a permanent remote position, and 46% of remote and hybrid workers would even consider leaving their jobs if employers forced them to return to the office full-time.

According to its 2022 Remote Work Report which polled close to 1,000 Singaporean knowledge workers, Gen Z and Millennials aged 18-35 were the main drivers of this trend, with 60% of those surveyed within this age group more likely to still work fully remotely.  

Location fluidity was cited as one of the main reasons for Singaporeans to want to work remotely, with 30% of Singaporean workers having moved further away from the office or taken a working holiday while working remotely. Additionally, the rise of remote work has also brought about fresh opportunities Singaporeans are keen to pursue. This was particularly prominent amongst Gen Zs who are 78% more likely to consider moving abroad. 

The Current State of Work


While 84% of employees worked remotely or in a hybrid style from 2020 and 2021, the return to a post-pandemic ‘normal’ saw 41% returning to the office full-time this year. Of these, 49% stated that their return was due to their employer’s directive.

With the rising cost of living and talks of an upcoming recession, over half of Singaporean knowledge workers have a secondary income stream to relieve some of their financial burdens. Although 48% agreed that sometimes their other income streams take away their focus from their primary job, 81% stated that their side income does not affect their productivity at work.

Additionally, respondents also said that remote or hybrid work has been better for their work-life balance, mental health, quality of work, productivity, and innovation. More importantly, Singaporean workers also believe that it supports diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with 64% of workers from marginalised groups agreeing that remote work protects them from discrimination.

The Future Is Flexible

There is a clear preference amongst Singaporean knowledge workers for being able to work remotely, particularly in a hybrid model where they are able to enjoy the best of home and office settings.

“With a majority of employees having returned to the office full-time, work seems to have returned to some form of ‘normalcy’ – but employers need to be wary of pushing employees back into the ‘traditional’ model of work and be mindful that talent won’t forget the positive impact working remotely or in a hybrid setting had on their mental health and work-life balance,” said Alex Hattingh, Chief People Officer at Employment Hero.

“Companies looking to implement remote work should be ready to support their remote workers’ needs, being especially aware that these will differ across regions. In Singapore for example, better advocacy of work-life balance, additional financial support such as subsidising utilities, upskilling opportunities and the proper use of digital tools to maximise employees’ time and output are high on the list of priorities that employees look for in terms of support.

“We are in an era where employee working habits are shaping the employment landscape, Millennials and Gen Zs are driving working trends, and employers need to be willing to listen. The future of work is undoubtedly flexible; employers must adapt and engage with their workforce if they hope to successfully attract and retain great talent, or risk losing out,” Hattingh added. 

Employee Wellness At The Forefront Of Today’s Workforce

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Fatihah Ramzi, DigitalCFO Asia | 11 October 2022

Employee performance directly affects a company’s profitability, therefore it’s critical for them to be in top physical and mental condition to carry out their responsibilities to the fullest.

The success of an organization and a business depends on employee wellness. It has an effect on a workplace’s culture, resources, performance, and, inevitably, its financial performance. As a result, employee well-being—both physically and mentally—is a bigger concern than HR. In actuality, it serves as the cornerstone for a company’s expansion, stability, resilience, and sustainability. However, any company or organization must first comprehend what employee wellbeing is in order to appreciate its significance and effectively address the issue.

Wellness includes both physical and mental health. Its popularity as a notion in the workplace has developed over the last 30 years or so. It concentrates on assisting employees in taking control of their own health, quality of life, and mental wellbeing, which in turn affects how well they perform at work. As a result, employee wellness considers proactive ways to cultivate and encourage better lifestyles and attitudes in addition to reducing time lost from work due to illness.

Employee wellness takes a personal approach and motivates people to lead healthy lives. This is done for their benefit and the good of the workplace culture. It includes a broad range of topics, including health promotion, disease prevention, and the elements that contribute to an individual’s physical and mental well-being. Most importantly, it’s about empowering people to take charge of their own health and make better decisions for it.

Employee wellness is significant to company executives because of the high costs of stress and absenteeism as well as the obvious advantages of enhancing efficiency and recruiting and retaining talent. Businesses need to develop workplace regulations to decrease the number of burnouts and medical leaves taken by workers. Here are some suggestions for improving your employee wellness program.

Physical Wellness

Helping workers attain good physical health entails assisting them in reducing their chance of chronic illnesses, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding other problems like headaches or persistent fatigue. In fact, encouraging physical wellbeing among employees can lengthen their lives. Through yearly biometric exams, yearly corporate flu shot clinics, and the provision of wholesome workplace snacks in the pantry, employers can include the physical aspect of wellness in their employee wellness program.

Emotional Wellness

Although it can be more difficult to talk about emotional wellness at work, companies must do so. Being conscious of being in touch with one’s emotions, thoughts, and feelings is referred to as emotional wellness. A healthy mental state and well-being are supported by positive emotional wellness. Stress reduction, emotional intelligence, and good mental health practices are included (like meditation or mindfulness).

Employees are unable to perform or feel their best at work without good emotional health. Employers can include the emotional aspect in their employee wellness program by implementing stress management techniques, group relaxation exercises, on-site meditation sessions, and more.

Social Wellness

Another facet of employee wellbeing that is frequently disregarded is social wellness. Employers are growing more and more conscious of the detrimental effects of loneliness at work. For employees to be happy at work and feel general satisfaction, there must be strong working connections and possibilities for social engagement. Actually, lonely employees are considerably more likely to feel cut off from their occupations, which can result in subpar work output.

Employers can strengthen employee relationships by incorporating the social aspect of wellness into their employee wellness program via team excursions and activities as well as work celebrations. Even setting up social spaces in the workplace can foster a sense of community among your staff. 

By educating, empowering, illuminating, and inspiring employees about the health difficulties they face today, health dangers they may encounter in the future, and how to prevent them from happening, wellness’ main objective is to promote employee health. You will undoubtedly boost worker morale and produce consistently good work if you take note of some of these activities and incorporate them into your employee health program.

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