Navigating 2024: Singapore HR Trends Revealed by EngageRocket Data

As we look ahead into what 2024 has in store for us in the HR profession, we can’t help but notice how quickly the landscape is changing. Drawing from the extensive data collected by EngageRocket from their clients in Singapore, we provide a clear, practical, and actionable outlook on the future of HR locally. These insights are data-driven predictions shaping our outlook to HR this year and beyond. 

The illustration below shows the composite results collected in the last 12 months of EngageRocket’s clients in Singapore (over 270,000 data points from 25,000 employees)). You will note that employee satisfaction scores very high, and yet burnout (The question was “I rarely feel burnout at work”) scores very low. These two extremes appear incompatible. 

Balancing Stability and Adaptability in a Tight Labour Market 

The post-2008 economic landscape and the subsequent pandemic have drastically altered workforce dynamics. EngageRocket's data reveals a workforce that highly values stability, as seen in the strong scores for Employee Satisfaction. Yet, adaptability remains a key trait, with varying levels of Trust and Confidence indicating a workforce ready to embrace change in uncertain times. At a time where many companies are still sorting out their Work from Home/Work from Office/Work from Anywhere, we should be paying more attention to these two values, ahead of feeling good about the high satisfaction scores.  

The reality is that Singapore is at its lowest level of unemployment (1.9%), meaning it is hard to find new employees to grow our businesses. Employee attrition is reaching 20% (19.6%). Both of these point at attraction and retention as key areas of concern. Note that this trend is unlikely to abate any time soon, as our workforce replacement ratios (new employees coming in vs. employees leaving the workforce due to retirement, etc.) are very near zero. That is, no increase to the number of employees in the workforce. And yet, not surprisingly, pay – especially performance-based pay – is the lowest scoring item, second only to burnout. These are concerning numbers. Add to this the low score companies receive on the wellness front, and you can see why mental health is becoming such a priority in the corporate settings. 

At the same time, given the soft economic outlook due to the socio-political situation in the USA, China, the Middle East and Western Europe, coupled with stubborn inflation and the simultaneous rise of Generative AI, businesses are demanding better results, which to us in HR means greater employee productivity.  

If we are not able to "hire to grow", we will have to come up with alternatives. Retention and development will therefore be two key priorities. As would adapting pay and benefits to this new future of work. We cover both in the sections below.  

Enhancing productivity through employee retention and development 

We should already be good at this. After all, it is the number one factor we should be measuring when we want to show how we add value to our organizations. And as a result of the above, it will likely be the number one thing our CEOs will be expecting from us.  

However, from the data above, judging by the levels of burnout, we are looking to achieve this by working harder, not smarter. At least our employees seem to think so and they are voting with their feet, as seen by the levels of attrition. 

If achieving labour productivity improvement is to become a higher priority, then our existing talent is more valuable than ever. Thus, 'talent hoarding' becomes a strategic necessity. The data from EngageRocket emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and development, with a focus on enhancing Leadership and Performance Management skills, and the need to fix the pay discrepancies. This can only be achieved by nurturing internal talent and prioritizing career development within organizations. One company that does this well is constantly assessing where their employees need to move in the next 12-24 months, having open conversations with them in terms of skills to work on to improve performance at the current level, competencies to deepen to prepare them for the next rotation, and pay that is linked to skills and competencies, rather than performance ratings. This has allowed them to accelerate development, improve performance, prevent talent from being “stuck” under a boss that won’t release “good” people, and increase retention. 

The modern workforce expects many things, which they believe they should get in this current market situation. One is a fair paycheck, and nearly 40% of them think it is not fair. They also seek empowerment, meaningful engagement, a variety of opportunities to learn and grow, and a sense of purpose. EngageRocket's findings in Well-being and Burnout reflect an urgent need for supportive and empowering work environments. There is the example of a company that listens to their employees and has adopted a more employee-centered approach to management. And yes, it includes listening to how they wish to be paid, to the point where the company has created new benefit programs based on employee feedback. It seems a foreign notion, but our companies normally listen to customers and adapt offerings and services to better meet their needs. We should be applying the same level of rigor and discipline to listening to our staff and responding to their needs as well.  

Enhancing productivity through personalizing pay and benefits 

Technology has allowed for personalization of services to our customers. Is it time to consider personalization of services for our staff? We offer choices for benefits, and some companies also offer choices for work location. We can expand this to new benefits (see table below to gauge the size of this opportunity). And even to pay. This is a sore topic to  staff, that can’t understand why there is not more transparency in the process of determining pay levels, they see the inequalities, and they also see us cling to what are now outdated compensation models. New employment models demand new ways of approaching pay. Shopify is an example of a company that now provides employees with choice on how much base pay vs. bonus they want to receive. 

The employee benefits I have meet my needs	34.9% agree
My organisation provides flexibility on how to utilise my benefits based on my personal and family needs eg. leave, compressed work-week, childcare facilities, counselling support, etc.	47.3% agree

New Frontier: Enhancing productivity with workplace technology and analytics 

However, the other area we need to face is technology, and particularly HR Analytics and GenAI.  

As HR's role continues to rapidly evolve from a support function to a strategic partner in business growth, we must complete the shift towards more strategic, data-driven HR practices, especially in Performance Management and Talent Development. It is no longer acceptable to lack good data on our staff and the ability to generate insights from it. We should be able to answer questions like what is the best approach to improve performance? How best to increase productivity? What is the ROI of our training and development programs? Do we understand how much each percentage reduction in attrition represents in increased productivity? Or, as an extension of this question, can we say with 95% confidence that each percentage increase in employee engagement translates into x% reduction in attrition (and thus y% increase in productivity? Can we answer simpler questions like the ROI of our leadership training? We must manage the numbers for talent with the same rigor as any other resource in the organization. 

GenAI is a game-changer. It will affect every organization and HR needs to be ready to manage the impact GenAI will have, not only on the HR Function, but in the rest of the organization as well. This is where CEOs are likely to place their bets for productivity improvement as they seek for ways to automate in order to improve productivity. And GenAI seems able to deliver on this front. We will have a huge task ahead of us to determine areas where jobs can be replaced, how we will manage the change in our organizations, how we will manage the displaced staff, and how we will change our own HR departments in line with changes in other areas. Or, perhaps, HR will lead the change? 

Conclusion: A Data-Driven HR Roadmap for 2024 

EngageRocket's data provides a comprehensive, data-driven roadmap for Singapore HR professionals in 2024. It emphasizes the need for flexibility, strategic talent management emphasizing retention, development and pay systems, employee empowerment, and a focus on productivity and efficiency. As we face the new challenges and opportunities this new year brings us, we hope these insights will generate ideas and discussions to create robust, effective, and forward-thinking HR strategies.