Commentary

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Make new friends, but keep the old… one is silver and the other gold?” Well, when you’re running a small to medium sized business in Singapore, these “old friends” are your existing customers. Just how golden are they? Studies show that it costs six to nine times as much to attract a new customer as it costs to keep an existing customer happy.

On September 1 in Singapore, the Amendments to Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, Hire Purchase Act and Road Traffic Act took effect. Also known as the "lemon law", these new regulations offer consumers more protection and remedies for the repair and replacement for defective goods.

The Asia Pacific region is set to become the world’s largest mobile market by 2020, with mobile health services representing the largest growth potential across the region. Monitoring services show a possible 55 per cent market share in 2017 with diagnostic services reflecting a 24 per cent market share, according to a GSMA PwC report.

Making critical decisions without sufficient information is a typical problem companies face. While information is unlimited, time and budgets are not. Everyday executives are subjected to making difficult decisions based on imperfect information.

Becoming a manager can be a challenging experience as you settle into a new role and take on responsibilities you most likely didn’t have in any of your previous positions. To be successful in a management role, it is essential to be prepared and have a willingness to learn new skills.

These days, people are busier that is why they rely upon their mobile phones for internet accessibility especially for checking of emails. Statistics early this year showed that there are 8.1 million mobile subscribers and 6.2 million of it are 3G users or 77% of the entire population. (Reference: Click Here) On April 2012, 3G mobile subscription increased to 7.8 million (Reference: Click Here).

Have you felt the tremors from the latest seismic rush? No, it is not a mad rush for seats in perpetually overpopulated MRT carriages along Raffles Place and City Hall stations but rather a frenzied dash by hiring managers for suitable local candidates.

The Singaporean financial press is littered with stories about the downfall of companies that have resulted from expanding too rapidly or venturing too far from their core business.

Numerous industries in Singapore have undergone changes in their hiring processes, notably the industrial and IT&T sectors. Companies are still keen on hiring, but the hiring process has been slowed down slightly by wary employers and job seekers. Even larger corporations that possess strong expansion abilities remain cautious, and have either slowed or brought their growth plans to a standstill.

The use of mobile devices is on the rise in Singapore, both amongst end users as well as enterprises. In a recent Google study, Singapore has the highest smartphone penetration rate in the world at 62 per cent– ahead of the US, UK and Japan. Known for being early adopters, Singaporeans consistently show an appetite for the latest advances in smart-mobile technology, with Apple’s iOS leading the pack at about 75 per cent share across mobile-device users in Singapore.

Singapore has always been on the radar for many business setups, be it financial services, shipping, education; name it and it is there. Being the most well connected port in the world, a relatively stable economy, pro-entrepreneur regulations and a rich diaspora, Singapore has managed to to excel in its ventures.

These days, everyone in Singapore seems to want to invest in properties. It is not surprising, as anyone who had bought a property several years ago would likely be sitting on good returns right now.

As more and more countries start putting ‘boots on the ground’ in faraway places, what are the implications of mobilizing reservists from an HR perspective. Arriving at Singapore’s Changi Airport you are likely to encounter patrols of soldiers armed with assault rifles circling the passenger terminals. A security measure introduced since 911. You may be surprised to hear that a percentage of them are in fact reservists! Recent world events have shown how the armed forces are relying more and more upon part-time reservists as a way of meeting their military obligations. The human resource implications of this are far reaching in that taking employees away from the work place depletes organizations of valuable employees for, it seems increasingly longer periods of time. When employees are called up during peacetime, either to do NS or as reservists, it is always for a stated duration. In war time it can be, conceivably, for an indefinite period. In countries such as the US, the UK, and Australia reservists volunteer their services. As such reservists make up a very small percentage of the population in these countries. In other countries such as Singapore all young men are required to complete two years military service after which, they are eligible to be called upon for reservist duties up to the age of thirty five. Reservists are often drawn from key sectors of the economy. Typically they include, medical personnel , engineering and logistical experts. The majority of Britain’s military medical personnel are reservists. Traditionally reservists have been used in support functions. Increasingly however they are being used for front time duties as well. Employers are not normally required to pay reservists while they are away. Some organizations however continue to do so, usually for patriotic reasons. Employers receive government compensation to cover the temporary loss of the employee. A survey conducted by Buck consultants in the US in 2003 revealed that two-thirds of employers were prepared to offer some form of pay differentiation to employees called away for military service in the Gulf. Between 23% and 43% stated that they were prepared to continue provide medical and dental insurance for up to a year or for the full duration of hostilities. If a company is already short staffed, possibly as a result of downsizing, the calling up of key employees can have a serious economic impact. An employer is entitled to apply to exempt a reservist from call up but, to be successful, the employer must establish that their absence will cause serious economic damage to the organization. Likewise the reservist can be granted exemption from duty on a number of grounds. These might include recent family illness or bereavement or an elderly relative to care for. Others circumstances might include recent promotion , imminent examinations or training that cannot easily be deferred. It is worth noting that 50% of appeals lodged in the US at the time of the 1991 Gulf war were successful. A key concern of the reservist is likely to be that he or she has a job to return to. In all countries legislation exists to protect the rights of reservists. In most instances the reservist is entitled to reinstatement. Bear in mind however, that a lot can happen if an employee is absent for a considerable period of time. Sometimes it can be deemed unreasonable to expect an employer to hold open a job. Generally speaking the majority of employers in the U.S. and in Europe have a favorable attitude towards employees who serve in the reserve forces. Often such employees are perceived as being more resourceful and as having greater integrity. Also there are can also be useful spin offs for the organization. Skills such as leadership skills as well as technical skills cab be transferable to the workplace.

Look around The Lion City – you see brands everywhere. In fact, studies show that the average person living in a city the size of Singapore runs across 3,000 brands every 24 hours. Not convinced? Start counting the brands you see from the moment you wake up tomorrow morning from your brand of alarm clock, to your brand of sheets, toothbrush, toothpaste, refrigerator, coffee, smart phone, computer, and on and on. Then, walk down an aisle at Cold Storage, stop on Orchard Road and glance around, open up the Straits Times and look at all the ads. Get the picture?

I am very fortunate to have a mentor who told me the importance of communication very early on in my career. I can still vividly recall her words; “The three most important skills a leader must have are: great communication skills, great presentation skills and great writing skills. Every other skill you can outsource or hire someone to fill the gap. But, you can’t outsource communication skills.”

A recent survey conducted by the National University of Singapore (NUS) Entrepreneurship Centre shows that the majority of students in Singapore’s various universities and polytechnic institutions are interested in starting up their own business.