Singaporeans value job security over money

EMPLOYMENT TRENDS       SALARY       JOB CANDIDATES       HR EMPLOYMENT

Singapore – Salary alone is no longer enough to lure top talent, as more local professionals are choosing job security, challenging responsibilities and career progression over money.

According to the latest Hays Quarterly Report for July to September, employees have higher expectations, and would factor in their long-term goals when looking for new career opportunities.

While employees may be keen to move, Chris Mead, general manager of Hays Singapore, said they are more likely to stay with their current company as job security is their highest priority. According to him, jobseekers are looking for benefits such as “a compatible working culture and reasonable working hours”.

“The current trend is to take the right role not just for the money, but for the opportunity to progress their careers,” Mead said.

To create a more attractive proposition for top talent to stay, employers are offering better incentives, promotions or early appraisals. Mead observed this has resulted in candidates realising that job stability is a good indicator of their “reliability and longevity as an employee”.

Currently, there is a demand for HR business partners who can handle the entire the function, and translate business strategies into HR strategies, especially in the commerce and financial services sectors. HR professionals in Singapore can also expect a pay rise of around 10% to 15%.

Similar to previous quarter, companies are hiring more senior learning and development roles, as well as organisational development professionals. Compensation and benefits managers and senior payroll executives are in higher demand, following the expansion of the HR function in many companies.

As more organisations set up businesses in Singapore, there has been an increase for country HR managers and those with regional experience.

However, employers are looking outside the country for talent because “vacancies have been hard to fill”. They are focusing primarily on international candidates with regional experience.

Yet Hays expects to see a rise in the number of contract and temporary workers filling in the roles because companies are willing to wait until they find the best talent fit for job.

“This has created lengthy recruitment timeframes across a number of industries as employers take an overly cautious approach to ensure the hire is a long-term investment,” Mead said.

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