One HR director shares her insights on ways HR professionals in Singapore can gain more recognition
Despite the government’s positioning on the importance of the HR profession and the progressive strides within the industry, there are still some HR professionals struggling to be recognised within their organisations.
“There are some pre-conceived notions of HR for some businesses who have not experienced how progressive HR practices can help them,” said Whee Wah Ng, regional HR director at Adecco.
“They still treat HR as a traditional back office function, so they naturally do not have any high expectations of HR.”
The onus is on HR to change that, she added. Ng said it is up to the HR practitioner to show the company what HR can do to help the business; that HR can do more than just hiring people or making people happy.
She said there are three things HR professionals can do in order to get more recognition within the company.
Reach out to the business
Be the first to reach out and “not sit there and wait,” she said.
“Don’t wait for the business to reach out to you and engage your services. Actively ask to be involved in the business meetings,” she advised.
And when you are at the meeting, don’t waste the opportunity provided to you and not actively participate, she said.
“It’s important for us to show that we are interested. Ask intelligent questions and also provide effective discourse during the meeting,” she added.
Understand the business challenges
When you start creating your HR goal strategy plans, make sure that it is also aligned with the business challenges, she said.
She cited their practice at Adecco where they utilise the objectives, goals, strategies, and measurements (OGSM) methodology.
“Local HR would have to align our goals and strategies to see how we can help support the global HR initiative, but also the global business strategies as well,” she said.
Stay connected with the HR community
Continuously better yourself by learning from other HR practitioners, she said.
“Stay up to date with developments by attending HR events and networking with the HR community,” she said.
Keeping up with the latest trends and insights in the industry will help HR professionals better understand what’s happening with the business and the challenges that they face, she added.
Related stories:
More focus on soft skills training needed
How ‘rebel employees’ encourage innovation
How to get ahead in HR in Singapore
“There are some pre-conceived notions of HR for some businesses who have not experienced how progressive HR practices can help them,” said Whee Wah Ng, regional HR director at Adecco.
“They still treat HR as a traditional back office function, so they naturally do not have any high expectations of HR.”
The onus is on HR to change that, she added. Ng said it is up to the HR practitioner to show the company what HR can do to help the business; that HR can do more than just hiring people or making people happy.
She said there are three things HR professionals can do in order to get more recognition within the company.
Reach out to the business
Be the first to reach out and “not sit there and wait,” she said.
“Don’t wait for the business to reach out to you and engage your services. Actively ask to be involved in the business meetings,” she advised.
And when you are at the meeting, don’t waste the opportunity provided to you and not actively participate, she said.
“It’s important for us to show that we are interested. Ask intelligent questions and also provide effective discourse during the meeting,” she added.
Understand the business challenges
When you start creating your HR goal strategy plans, make sure that it is also aligned with the business challenges, she said.
She cited their practice at Adecco where they utilise the objectives, goals, strategies, and measurements (OGSM) methodology.
“Local HR would have to align our goals and strategies to see how we can help support the global HR initiative, but also the global business strategies as well,” she said.
Stay connected with the HR community
Continuously better yourself by learning from other HR practitioners, she said.
“Stay up to date with developments by attending HR events and networking with the HR community,” she said.
Keeping up with the latest trends and insights in the industry will help HR professionals better understand what’s happening with the business and the challenges that they face, she added.
Related stories:
More focus on soft skills training needed
How ‘rebel employees’ encourage innovation
How to get ahead in HR in Singapore
