Commentary

Why 'counteroffer' is a dirty word in Singapore HR

As tempting as it may be, never use a potential employer’s job offer as a bargaining chip to get your current company to increase your salary.

Why 'counteroffer' is a dirty word in Singapore HR

As tempting as it may be, never use a potential employer’s job offer as a bargaining chip to get your current company to increase your salary.

5 EPL lessons most Singapore bosses and managers overlook

I just had a drink with a local friend at a pub. He lamented that as a boss, he took so good care of a female employee to the extent that his wife who worked in the same company suspected that the female staff might be his mistress.

5 business mishaps Singapore firms must avoid in a volatile economy

Uncertain markets force big decisions on businesses. When there’s pressure to maintain cashflow and customers, firms often have to take bold steps to achieve greater efficiency or competitiveness.

Learn what the 3 juxtaposed characteristics of Singapore social media are

Social media is fiercely debated whether it’s a transformational derivative or an evolutionary by-product. Arguably, it’s a tilted blend. It had been evolving for a long time with a swifter transformation lately. Of course technology is the catalyst and that’s gumption. But in current context, will harp on outcome and not the enabler.

Why it's high time for Singapore retailers to shape their own future

There are two ways to predict the future: the first one is to turn to the experts and trust their wisdom; the second is to look at the gap between what people expect and what they’re able to do, and see in it the shape of things to come.

What will keep Singapore bookstores alive?

Prologue will close its store this Friday with a surprise move to revive Borders which had since closed down in 2011. Evidently, economy of scale no longer guarantees a bookstore's survival.

How Singapore businesses can nail their brands' worth online – Part Two

New gTLDs will change the way people find information on the Internet and how businesses plan and structure their online presence. Virtually every organization with an online presence could be affected in some way – ICANN 41, June 2011, Singapore

How strategic hiring adds big-time value to businesses in Singapore

Accountancy and finance, supply chain and banking employers are recruiting, but they are not the only industries hiring new staff; we are seeing vacancies in most industries across Singapore for select strategic roles.

How Singapore can become more productive than it can imagine

As the squeeze on foreign workers increases the question that Singapore is asking employers and employees is how can you become more productive?

What does it mean to be a Singaporean today?

As Singapore celebrates her 48th birthday on 9th August 2013, the debate continues to ensue about what it means to be a Singaporean.

5 ways for Singaporeans to be invisible on LinkedIN

According to SocialBakers.com (a social media analyst), there are 1.15mil LinkedIN users in Singapore. That equates to a 25% penetration rate. In our inaugural bad hire survey that we did late 2012, clients usually cite LinkedIN as one of their key source of good performers.

How to avoid National Geographic’s publicity stunt failure in Singapore

Guerrilla marketing is a great tool to maximise a small budget to get amazing publicity and coverage. On an average weekend afternoon, you can easily spot 3-4 experiential activations being carried out along the streets of Orchard Road. Most of them intrigue enough curious bystanders to watch the performance and share on social networks. The great ones will get spotted by mainstream media – thus getting the free publicity and virality desired.

How SMRT can actually change its 'losing narrative'

Earlier this month, SMRT Corporation announced that net profit for the three months ending June 30 2013 was S$16.3 million, down 55 per cent from a year ago despite revenue for the quarter growing by 3.5 per cent to S$284.8 million.

Why Singaporean SMEs must renew their focus on innovation

The recent roll out of the new 360 Productivity framework to help Singaporean SMEs become more globally competitive, has spurred renewed focus on innovation as a key driver of efficiency and work productivity.

How Singapore businesses can nail their brands' worth online – Part One

What is the online value of your business? This is the most relevant question to any business big or small, now that we are in this mobile Internet day and age. Once upon a time during the dotcom boom, ground businesses may have envied online companies in their attainment of rapid fame and fortune. As the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, failed dotcoms scrambled to sell scraps of what they were worth online, to the bemusement of bricks and mortar.

Will crowdfunding for real estate boom in Singapore and nearby regions?

In the last few years, the buzzwords for Internet businesses have been  “crowdsourcing” and “crowdsavings”. Of late, “crowdfunding” has caught the imagination of the tech business community with the success of online crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Razoo.