SINGAPORE SME  EMPLOYEE TRAINING

Singapore - While niche premium and luxury car distributor Trans Eurokars has seen business improve in the second quarter of 2009, managing director Ong Lay Ling says strategic steps to redeploy and train employees help ensure a "win-win" situation for employees and the company.

According to Ong, some of the steps Trans Eurokars took to ride through the recession includes streamlining and consolidating parts of the business. The headcount was also frozen except for critical positions, and the company also launched a used car business called Eurokars Pre-owned.

In addition, Trans Eurokars also redeployed employees with the right skill sets into growth segments, says Ong which provided staff with the opportunity to broaden their experience as well as trimming costs for stagnating business costs. This strategy motivates deserving staff to feel recognised for their effort and potential, as well as helping the company save on costs and avoid retrenchments. "These staff who had been transferred are already familiar with our corporate culture and thus requires a shorter learning curve in the new division," says Ong.

"Another initiative we undertook during the period of downturn is to provide our staff with on-the-job training of different businesses within our portfolio to equip them with additional skills and at the same time, allowing us flexibility with staff deployment," Ong adds.

Ong also attended a 'The Job of the Chief Executive' programme conducted by SIM Professional Development last year before the financial crisis hit, which she says helped her anticipate the recession and its risks better.

With an employee staff strength of 430 employees in Singapore and Indonesia, Ong says one of her challenge now is to refine the company's HR policies without losing the "family culture". She attributes the family-like culture to the low attrition, with more than half of their Singapore staff having a tenure of five years or more.

Ong also stresses understanding the different backgrounds and personalities of employees so as to better manage them. "There is also a fine line between autonomy and control, and this has to be managed carefully as ultimately you are responsible for overall performance of the company," she says. Hence, by being results-oriented and defining responsibilities, targets and timelines, this can help employees achieve the company's goals, she says.