Pauline Chua, general manager of human capital and corporate social responsibility at Fuji Xerox Singapore, says companies need to rethink their fixation with employee retention. The focus should be on bringing the best out of employees, she says, rather than on ways to make them stay longer.
The printer and copier company has a turnover rate that is 0.2 percentage points above the national average. But Chua is not losing sleep over that because many of the company’s employees who left have come back. “As long as we can ensure they have a good experience, we shouldn’t be too concerned about the turnover,” Chua adds.
Indeed, Fuji Xerox is doing well where it counts. According to management consultancy Hay Group, Fuji Xerox scored 67.5% for employee effectiveness last year. That was four percentage points above the average score of Singapore companies. And an effective workforce means customers are better served.
This emphasis on helping employees to give their best to a company, instead of making sure they stick around forever, is even more important today. Statistics show that most millennials — those born between 1977 and 1997 — stay at one company for about two years versus four for the average employee.
“It’s not true that young people are not loyal. They are loyal to their profession,” Chua tells The Edge Singapore. “So, it is important that we make an effort to connect with them, to understand their individual aspirations and give them the opportunities to learn and grow in every aspect of their lives.”
Keeping employees interested
As with most MNCs, Fuji Xerox has a comprehensive training programme for its employees. The commercial associate programme grooms employees to fill leadership positions; the ICT Upskill programme ensures each employee is trained to handle the IT systems its customers are using. Some of the programmes are intended to help employees do their jobs better. “The idea is to provide a more conducive work environment by removing barriers that will hinder their work,” Chua says. Others have more to do with personal fulfilment and broadening skill sets. “It is not always about advancing or getting a promotion. They can choose to grow laterally,” she explains. “This approach in development gives them a broader view [of the business].”
There are informal initiatives too. Last year, the company introduced “career conversations”. Line managers hold informal 15-minute sessions with their staff. Topics range from what frustrates them at work to how they are coping with their job. Chua says the conversations help connect its 800-odd staff as well as ensure that junior employees’ input is not neglected.
The company also has a corporate social responsibility committee comprising representatives from each department. The group meets monthly and provides Chua’s department with feedback on the types of activities the employees are interested to work on. Employees today are also interested in achieving something beyond work, she says. “How can we put more meaning into their time here at Fuji Xerox? Especially for young people, ownership and recognition that they are contributing to something bigger are important.”
Fuji Xerox works with charity group Beyond Social Service, which serves about 2,000 disadvantaged families in Singapore. Today, 172 employees of Fuji Xerox are active volunteers and at least 20 to 30 staff at any given time take part in volunteer programmes. In the past year, they have built houses for the poor in Batam and mentored youth who face academic challenges. Every month, a department from Fuji Xerox will visit a boys’ home to spend time with the youngsters. The company recently introduced the Smile Pack Food Distribution programme. Employees have distributed more than 800 food packages to families under the Beyond Social Services banner.
Volunteerism with Fuji Xerox comes with perks: Employees get a day off if they volunteer on a weekend. The company also tracks the number of hours and volunteers from each department. And a reward — a certain sum of money to be donated to a charity of the winners’ choice — awaits the winning department each year.
Giving back
For her part, Chua has been volunteering her time to help local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) deal with human resource challenges. Fuji Xerox recently hosted a workshop as part of the Workforce Champion Series organised by the Workforce Advancement Federation and supported by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.
According to the Ministry of Manpower, there are currently 113 vacancies for every 100 unemployed persons in Singapore. Meanwhile, SMEs are in competition with larger companies that have more resources. “[SMEs] may not be able to retain employees for a long period of time if they cannot match salary growth or provide the career advancement that employees desire,” says David Ang, director of training and consultancy provider Human Capital Singapore. He points out that, in the current environment, engaging employees may not be a top priority. “Some do not even have a dedicated HR person,” Ang adds.
According to a survey conducted by KPMG last year, most SMEs hire just one HR staff for every 41 employees. Many of these HR staff are saddled with administrative duties, leaving no time to attend to employee problems let alone develop skills. Chua believes the practices of companies such as Fuji Xerox are adaptable even for SMEs. She says they should recognise the need to develop their human capital in order to grow their businesses.
This article appeared in the Enterprise of Issue 723 (April 11) of The Edge Singapore.