The labour movement recently declared that it is embarking on a new battle to raise the productivity level of companies in Singapore. Although SMEs, being small, are deemed to be more flexible and nimble, they also have fewer resources than larger firms and multinationals in implementing changes. What scope then is there for them to improve their productivity levels? What is your company doing to work towards that goal?
Jerry Tan
Managing director
Hu Lee Impex
WE understand the government is trying to encourage local companies to engage more Singaporeans and at the same time raise productivity. Our business of farming of fruit and vegetables is very labour-intensive. We cannot improve productivity on the farm; we can only improve in our factory through more automation. But this involves a lot of investment - and SMEs like us have limited resources. Alternatively, we can engage more cheap foreign labour, as locals do not want to work in this backyard industry. We hope the Ministry of Manpower can look into the problem case by case, instead of across the board.
Victor Khaw
General manager
Allalloy Dynaweld
ALLALLOY is taking two approaches:
We are thinking 'lean', and we find that simple ideas and methods save us time and make for efficiency. We are outsourcing all non-critical processes so that we don't have assets and people that aren't used efficiently during good times and become a liability during a crisis.
We are looking at ways to help our customers improve their welding productivity by introducing to them products and processes that will boost their efficiency. An example is our Oerlikon cored wires that can deposit weld metal 25-40 per cent faster, without customers having to change their existing welding equipment at considerable expense in the current difficult economic climate. We strongly believe our success depends on our customers' success.
William Wong
Managing director
RealStar Premier Property Consultant
ENHANCING productivity can be as simple as setting efficient goals to help manage your company's business vision, mission and sales or profit targets. There are also technical business productivity solutions, such as installing an efficient communications system. Examples include telephone enquiry management, consumer feedback systems or basic company intranet.
We believe that overall business performance is based on the well-being and productivity of each employee. As such, we are primarily focused on aligning our employees' personal goals with the company's goals and equipping our staff with the skills they need to meet our goals. Examples include motivational and skills training, training incentives and overseas retreats.
We also use effective and fast communications via our sophisticated call centre, intranet and updated property database system to ensure our sales staff are well equipped and productive. Talent and technology have brought about our company's success. Most importantly, staff recognition and development are integral to our organisation's productivity and business efficiency.
Winston Chua
Executive director
Heatec Jietong Holdings
WE encourage our employees to upgrade their skills and contribute to improved productivity. To ensure the highest efficiency, our employees undergo rigorous training to ensure their skills are up-to-date and they are fully certified. Examples include a shipyard safety induction course, welding training and pipe-fitting training. Our employees undergo training programmes tailored to the requirements of their jobs. And we will continue to train them because this is an important driver of our productivity.
Safety is equally important. By minimising accidents, downtime will be reduced, enhancing productivity. Our industry is relatively high-risk, so it is vital that safety be upheld by each and every employee. To encourage this culture, we give cash incentives monthly and annually to employees who have achieved excellent safety performance. Employees are happy and proud to be recognised for their efforts. We also take good care of our workers, providing them quality accommodation and even fully subsidised vaccination. Happy and healthy employees are motivated to work hard - and collectively boost productivity.
Cheryl Tong
Managing director (PowerPRO)
Pursuit
COMPANIES can increase productivity by producing higher value-added products or improving their operations so they can procure, organise and convert resources into goods and services more efficiently.
Some confectioners selling cakes and pastries are moving up the value chain by converting part of their premises into bistros. Such businesses can use IT to implement just-in-time processes so materials arrive on the day of production, freeing storage space for the bistro. They can also use IT to automate and link operational functions such as procurement, accounting and production to improve labour productivity. Excess manpower can then be redeployed to higher value-added functions such as customer service.
The human factor should not be ignored. A skilled and motivated workforce is more willing and prepared to accept job redesign or redeployment to enable a company to realign its strategies and resource allocation to meet changing circumstances. Happy workers also contribute to higher productivity because absenteeism and resignation rates fall.
We are currently in the process of improving the productivity of our supply chain. Our products are designed in Singapore and made in China from materials sourced in China and Taiwan. Our customers are from Singapore and the region, and even from as far away as Africa.
We see a lot of room for productivity improvement in the interfaces between suppliers, manufacturers, shippers, customers and designers. We plan to automate our supply chain system to reduce time lost through miscommunication, cost through correcting product defects, and waste through product loss/damage in transit. We believe IT is a powerful enabling technology that can help us achieve higher productivity and profitability.
Valerie Tan
CEO
Pinnacle International
SMEs, without extensive resources enjoyed by the MNCs, should think out of the box to increase productivity. At Pinnacle, this is the kind of mindset we subscribe to as we recognise the need for innovative methods to increase productivity within our resources.
SMEs can also leverage on their size to increase productivity with a softer and human-centric approach. Workers at SMEs are motivated differently from those in an MNC setting. Acknowledging this allows an SME to introduce unique motivators that strike a chord with their workers. In short, we have a relatively flat hierarchy that allows us to introduce changes radically and swiftly. This is a strength which I urge all SMEs to seize on.
Dhirendra Shantilal
Senior vice-president Asia-Pacific
Kelly Services
RAISING productivity depends on tangible and intangible factors, including incentives, motivation and morale. Employees are valuable assets. And like the companies they work for, they are affected - in terms of morale and productivity - by changing economic conditions. As such, employers have a role to play in keeping staff motivated and engaged.
Organisations need to ensure their employees are equipped with the skills and tools to promote optimum efficiency. They must also provide the right monetary and non-monetary incentives to motivate employees to excel. Organisations can also promote work-life balance through flexi-work arrangements that cater to employees who need them. This will help attract and retain critical talent that will otherwise be lost, while enhancing productivity at the same time.
