SINGAPORE SMES MARKETING EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION
Singapore - Despite the economic recession, local branding and retail consultancy company A. S. Louken (ASL) is still looking to hire and even expand into new territory.
CEO Luke Lim says while customer's price sensitivity has been heightened in light of the downturn, the company's business volume has not been adversely affected. However, Lim says the company is in a "constant mode" in looking for talent to add to its current staff strength of 30 and also recently announced plans to set up a permanent office in Shanghai before the end of this year.
But being an small-medium enterprise is not without its challenges when it comes to recruitment and retention, Lim says. However, Lim says the company addresses this issue by creating a positive culture and a robust HR system.
In addition to paying employees at a competitive rate, employees are also able to obtain two bonuses pay-outs a year, depending on company figures and personal performance, Lim says. This is aligned to the two appraisals the company conducts for all employees as well.
'Praise Cards' are given out to recognise employees who have performed well throughout the year. The difference, Lim says, is that while most recognition programmes are top-down, these praise cards "can be given to anyone", managers and leaders included.
ASL also practices sharing sessions where colleagues gather to share on a monthly lessons about how employees have touched or impacted their clients' lives. The company also has a "ring the bell" practice, and would ring a company bell whenever a "little success" such as a birthday celebration, new staff arrival or a new sales deal is clinched.
According to Lim, these small actions help. He says, "We emphasize on small wins. It sets a positive culture of sharing information and successes. So whenever someone rings the bell, everybody looks forward to hearing what the good piece of news the person has to say."
And even with a small staff strength of 30, where such HR processes means taking up employees time, Lim says it is worth it. "Although we are small in size, we see that we place a lot of emphasis, a large portion of our time on human resources management assets, especially at the top management level because we see that as an essential element in order to continue to grow and groom good people. That definitely has its ROI."
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