Financial firms aim to keep 75% of staff local

Financial firms aim to keep 75% of staff local
PHOTO: Financial firms aim to keep 75% of staff local

SINGAPORE - Banks are getting the government's call for a stronger Singapore core in the workforce loud and clear.

While recognising and emphasising the need to have diversity in the work place, as well as the importance of leaving the door open for global talent, financial institutions told BT that they are committed to keeping locals as a major part of their headcount.

They said that they wanted at least three-quarters of staff to be citizens and permanent residents (PRs).

"UBS has more than 2,000 employees in Singapore, of which more than 75 per cent are Singaporeans and permanent residents," said Moira Roberts, head of human resources at UBS Singapore.

But she noted that as a global bank - UBS employees are made up of 44 nationalities - it also cannot compromise on its own internal philosophy, from which its Singaporean employees benefit as well.

"A diverse workforce is important as our clientele is diverse," she said. "We promote mobility and international experience, providing our Singapore-based employees the opportunity to be posted overseas and vice versa, as we believe the sharing of different expertise, experiences and perspectives increases our competitiveness."

At Standard Chartered, 75 per cent of its 7,600-strong workforce are Singaporeans and PRs. The Singapore office is also its global hub which runs a majority of its global operations.

"We got a diverse pool of people here, but we also have a very strong core," said Ray Ferguson, the head of the bank in Singapore. He recalled an "extreme example" during his previous posting in the US, where there were only "one or two non-Americans and the rest were Americans".

Strengthening the Singapore core also has advantages as the customers the bank deals with here are mainly Singaporeans, especially the SMEs and consumer clients, he added.

"So if you go down to any of our branches, about 90 per cent of our customer-facing or front-facing staff are Singaporeans."

This familiarity is also the reason why another international financial player here focuses on employing more locals. Societe Generale's Asia-Pacific regional CEO, Olivier Gougeon, said: "Over 80 per cent of our staff are locals.

They are complemented by international staff who lend diversity, expertise and best practices from other markets to the business.

"As far as possible, the Singapore office is resourced by local staff and where appropriate, they are also complemented by employees from our international offices."

The Singaporean core is even deeper at local banks.

At OCBC Bank, for example, Singaporeans form the bulk of staff strength across all its divisions in Singapore.

"Singaporeans and PRs form 94 per cent of our workforce in Singapore. (However) Singaporeans (alone) form 80 per cent of our workforce in Singapore," Jacinta Low, the bank's head of human resource planning, told BT.

The banks interviewed pursue different strategies to achieve this Singapore core and seem keen to continue this trend. UBS, for example, places great emphasis on growing the Singapore talent pipeline.

"In Singapore, we have also placed a strong focus on grooming local talent at the undergraduate level with our Graduate Training Program (GTP) which specifically targets students from local Singapore universities," said Ms Roberts.

In addition, it also launched the UBS Business University in Singapore in 2007 to provide on-going training and professional development for employees here and across the region. Its efforts to build the local talent pool has been fruitful as the bank points out that several Singaporeans serve in its top-ranks here - including, Edmund Koh, Singapore country head and CEO of UBS Wealth Management Singapore & APAC Hub; Tan Min Lan, global head of macro strategy research; and Keith Magnus, chairman & head of investment banking for Singapore & Malaysia.

OCBC also emphasises internal development marked by training and new opportunities. Said its CEO, Samuel Tsien: "We unveiled the S$60 million OCBC Campus in April. OCBC is the first bank to dedicate an entire building in the central business district for training and development.

"OCBC Campus was not an overnight decision. It was an outcome of several years of planning to ensure that we have a meaningful facility not just for our current needs but also for our future business requirements.

"Through the OCBC Campus, we will build and nurture a Singapore core by nurturing young job entrants with opportunities to be mentored by senior leaders and broaden their horizons across various functional roles; preparing entrants to the industry with the necessary foundation skills and knowledge; keeping the skills of our existing employees relevant for today's requirements and adept for future challenges; giving all our employees the opportunity to deepen their skills, take on international postings and leadership positions and sustaining a pipeline of leaders and specialist talent among Singaporeans."

In addition, it also invests extensively in its employees' development through various training and career planning programmes, such as the OCBC-Insead executive development programme.


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