Retaining Top Leaders: Strategies for Organisations in Singapore
Singapore’s senior executives played a critical, but complicated, role during the Covid-19 pandemic, steering their organisations with steady hands while enduring the turmoil of mass restructuring and economic uncertainty.
The long-term impact of this intense period, the Covid “hangover”, is triggering senior executives in Singapore to re-evaluate their career paths and goals. Following years of lean staffing, insufficient resources and increasing workloads, senior leaders are weighing their prospects and exploring job opportunities to help develop their leadership skills, advance their careers, and pay. As a result, many senior executives are turning to executive search service providers like Accela Talent to gain insights into the current job market.
This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for companies, which are at risk of both losing skilled, dependable leaders and attracting new talent with future-proofed skills that will enhance the workforce. Ultimately, it means organisations must both commit to practices and policies that help retain their top leaders while building a pipeline of top talent for its most critical leadership roles.
Guidance for Employers: Strategies to Retain Top Talent
To keep their best talent in place and ensure the continued success of their organisations, founders and HR professionals need to implement effective retention strategies.
Here are some guidelines for employers in Singapore:
Provide Leadership Development Programs: Senior executives are constantly seeking growth opportunities in their careers. Organisations can retain top leaders by offering comprehensive leadership development programs, including coaching and mentoring initiatives. These programs can help senior executives enhance their skills, stay motivated, and feel valued by the organisation.
Implement Wellness Programs: Burnout has been a significant concern for senior executives during the pandemic. Organisations can combat burnout by implementing wellness programs that focus on work-life balance and flexible work arrangements. Providing resources for mental health support, offering flexible work hours or remote work options, and encouraging regular breaks can help senior executives manage their workload and maintain their well-being.
Regular Salary Benchmarking and Reviews: Organisations should regularly conduct salary benchmarking exercises and perform reviews to ensure that senior executives are fairly compensated. Transparent discussions about pay can help reassure senior executives that they are not being left behind in terms of compensation. Accela Talent, a leading executive search and HR consultancy, offers salary benchmarking and recruitment services that can provide valuable insights into market trends and help organisations stay competitive in attracting and retaining top talent.
Streamline Systems and Processes: Outdated and cumbersome systems can add unnecessary stress to senior executives' workload. Organisations should ensure that their systems and processes are up-to-date, efficient, and user-friendly. Streamlining workflows, eliminating unnecessary administrative burdens, and providing the right tools and resources can create a headache-free work environment and help senior executives focus on their core responsibilities.
Streamline Systems and Processes: Organisations are increasingly under pressure to embrace new technologies to streamline workflows and eliminate administrative burdens. Senior leaders, particularly those working in start-ups and SMEs are often responsible for implementing and managing the rollout of new systems and processes. Despite the benefits that streamlining has on the business, learning at such a rapid pace is mentally draining and can lead to stress. Businesses should ensure they have a healthy diet of systems review, and let senior leaders share feedback on what is working, or what could be improved. Ensure there is a plan for roll-outs that’s sustainable alongside the worldload demanded of each leader.
Review Roles and Responsibilities:
For some senior executives, juggling the same responsibilities can feel monotonous and lead to stagnation. Organizations should regularly review their executives' workloads and offer opportunities for them to take the lead on ancillary initiatives outside of their day-to-day responsibilities. This can provide variety and growth opportunities and prevent boredom.
By doing so, organizations can ensure a healthy work-life balance for their executives and help them achieve their fullest potential. It also benefits the organization as a whole, as motivated and engaged executives can positively impact the company's success.
Reviewing senior executives' workloads and providing opportunities for growth and variety can be a powerful way to promote a healthy work-life balance and ensure that executives remain motivated and engaged.
Retaining high-performing leaders in the post-pandemic era is a critical challenge for organisations in Singapore. Implementing these effective strategies can create a conducive environment that attracts and retains top talent for senior positions.
Accela Talent, with its expertise in executive search and HR outsourcing services, is committed to helping organisations in Singapore build a talent pipeline for senior executive roles and develop retention strategies. If you’d like to learn how we can help you, reach out today at [email protected].
