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Lynette Lim, HR Director, Transport Capital, shares how DEI, a collaborative learning culture, and a focus on transparent and digitised communication play a part in this.
As a small country that heavily depends on international trade, Singapore has, for years, cited the maritime sector as a vital pillar of its economic development, driving its position as a global maritime hub. According to the Ministry of Transport, Singapore is deemed the busiest container transhipment port in the world in terms of tonnage, with more than 130,000 vessel calls annually, and a connection to more than 600 ports in over 120 countries.
Today, given the country's strategic location along shipping routes, as well as its diverse ecosystem of maritime services, it is home to more than 5,000 maritime establishments and businesses, including more than 140 international shipping groups and a varied range of maritime service providers.
A key contributor to this ecosystem is Singapore-headquartered Transport Capital, a 20-year-old asset management, loan financing consultancy and asset brokerage firm focused on the maritime and aviation sectors.
In this interview, Lynette Lim, HR Director, Transport Capital (pictured above), tells Olive Goh how the company has ramped up its talent strategies to adapt to the reopening of the global economy and thus the sector's recovery in the past year; challenges it is addressing; initiatives she has set in place since assuming her role in June 2022; ways in which her team drives DEI in the workforce – especially in a male-dominated industry, and more.
Q How has the maritime & aviation sector been coping since the reopening of the global economy, and how has the talent ramped up to prepare for the recovery?
As the world recovers from the pandemic and the global economy's reopening, the maritime sector exhibited remarkable resilience by swiftly adjusting to fluctuating demands. The approach to talent acquisition within the industry involved strategic upskilling, cross-disciplinary training, and seamless technology integration. For example, the recovery has brought increased focus on environmental sustainability which means the industry is now focusing on talent that specialises in eco-friendly technologies and compliance with stricter environmental regulations.
Other than that, the maritime sector (like many other industries) is also grappling with the effects of an aging workforce. This shift sees an increasing number of older workers nearing retirement, resulting in maritime companies needing to focus on recruiting and training younger workers to fill the positions that will be vacated by retiring employees. This involves not only hiring new talent but also ensuring that they receive the necessary training to perform their roles effectively. To attract a younger and more diverse workforce to the maritime industry, companies have been working on highlighting the range of career opportunities available and appealing to a more diverse talent pool.
This proactive approach ensures a competent and adaptable workforce ready to steer the recovery phase and fuel sustained growth in the maritime and aviation sectors.
Q Since joining Transport Capital, what are some key strategies or initiatives that you have implemented that have brought about significant impact/change?
Several key projects were rolled out recently. The first one involved the launch of our Human Resource Information System (HRIS), which aimed to streamline and elevate HR processes, improve accessibility, and centralise personal information. The second initiative focused on implementing a Performance Review Process. Most companies had opted to do away with these reviews but this step was taken to empower our employees to evaluate their contributions, particularly in the context of post-COVID hybrid working arrangements. Additionally, we significantly enhanced our employee engagement activities, which encompass diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives, monthly engagement surveys, and company-wide events.
Through such initiatives, we can better track our employee satisfaction, improve our work culture and recognise the hard work that employees are putting in. At the end of the day, systems are systems. It’s not about getting the processes up, but the people up.
Q Further, what are some core people values or priorities that you centre these initiatives or strategies around?
- DEI: We prioritise diversity and inclusion at Transport Capital across genders, fields of expertise and experience. It is important for us that employees feel valued and are always respected. By embracing different backgrounds and perspectives, the organisation creates a richer talent pool and innovative solutions.
- Fostering a collaborative learning culture: Our approach to learning is comprehensive and collaborative. We actively promote cross-functional training, ensure thorough onboarding for new employees, and prioritise continuous skill and knowledge enhancement. Our ultimate aim is to empower employees, fostering their confidence in improving efficiency, productivity, and personal growth at their discretion. By placing a strong emphasis on ongoing learning and development, we strive to establish a nurturing environment that benefits both our employees and the company as a whole. This commitment aligns seamlessly with our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, providing equal access to development opportunities and amplifying diverse perspectives.
- Transparent and digitised communication: We uphold transparent communication by utilising our internal HRIS to effectively disseminate employment-related information, including policies, HR forms, and the Code of Conduct. Moreover, the system allows me to track whether employees have read these documents for compliance purposes.
Q Tell us about the challenges you have faced when implementing and fulfilling these people strategies, and how you have overcome them, e.g., improving employee satisfaction, DEI initiatives, etc.
Implementing and fulfilling comprehensive people strategies such as launching the HRIS, DEI initiatives, alongside our performance review process was rewarding; but also came with its set of challenges.
For starters, there was resistance to change. Not many were open to these initiatives due to the “perceived inconvenience” of adopting new systems. The question: 'Why alter existing processes when they are functioning effectively?' was often raised. Definitely, the traditional method worked for years, but we needed to change as we expanded our team. We needed to be scalable, sustainable, and digitalised. We went from paper trails to cloud storage and transformed multiple standalone systems to a centralised HRIS. As our team grew (which is a great sign), there was this need for better record-keeping.
Not deterred by the resistance, we strived forward through regular feedback loops and bite-sized training to educate the workforce on why this is important and how this could improve work culture and productivity. I’m proud to say we have achieved 100% adoption rate of the HRIS and see an increase in employee engagement. Although I cannot quantify employee engagement, it can be seen in the impact it has on various individuals. From a livelier work environment, acceptance of more responsibilities, and better collaboration; the effects are evident.
Q Being a part of a male-dominated industry, what affirmative action or programmes have been implemented to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace?
It starts off with having a fair representation of women leaders in our senior management team. We have 30% women in management and 44% of our workforce of women. With almost half of our workforce being women, it’s important for us to create an inclusive workplace that empowers mums to stay in the workforce. For example, one of our employees went on maternity leave last year and we worked out an arrangement where we could support the parenting choices she made and eased her transition back to the office.
This included offering a safe space and time to pump at work and a flexible work arrangement so she could be home more often with the baby.
We are also engaging trainers from CATALYSE to hold a workshop for our management on “Managing unconscious bias in the workplace”. While we are proud to report zero incidents of discrimination in the workplace, we work hard to remain that way. This workshop dives into practical strategies that effectively minimise bias effects.
Q What are some support systems or resources available to the focus segments of your workforce population to improve employee wellbeing?
Beyond the baseline of occupational safety and health (OHS), we recognise that the physical and mental well-being of our employees are crucial for both their personal happiness and work performance.
Without proper management, poor mental health could result in a lowered productivity and increase the likelihood of developing a mental disorder. To mitigate this, we strongly encourage our staff to participate in sports and leisure activities. In fact, our health & wellness policy offers employees a reimbursement (capped at S$400 per year) to participate in a wellness programme of their choice.
In addition, we advocate for a healthy work-life balance by structuring leave benefits for our employees. We also foster strong relationships and company spirit through social interactions and team-building activities such as celebrations for festivities and birthdays.
For example, we organised a Biodiversity Walk on a Monday evening earlier this year to encourage our team to appreciate the outdoors and the rich biodiversity it has to offer.
Q In these efforts, what have you found to be particularly effective in creating a safe yet vibrant workplace?
It is of utmost priority that our employees feel safe, respected, and valued. We ensure we create a conducive work environment through DE&I activities that celebrate the diversity we have in the office.
I’m also proud to share that our Singapore HQ is a Certified Eco Office (Elite Status) with an open concept office to represent the flat hierarchy we have here.
We like to say: 'It’s not an open-door policy, it’s a no door policy'. Staff are always welcomed to speak to their managers and for more sensitive matters, we do have a grievances policy in place which ensures utter confidentiality.
Q Given the rapid development of the maritime industry, could you tell us more about how upskilling/reskilling initiatives have evolved over the years, and how you are keeping employees’ skillset relevant?
With ESG being at the core of many businesses today, we found it to be essential for our colleagues to be kept informed on sustainability matters. Just last year, colleagues from different functions (HR, marketing, and finance) spent a total of 73 hours participating in sustainability workshops. Not only that, but we also enrolled our finance manager in a Career Conversion Programme as she was formerly from a non-maritime industry. Through this programme, she was introduced to maritime operations and hence able to assimilate into her role faster with ease.
Q Finally, rewards are important to retain the best employees, how have you kept compensation & benefits competitive while managing employee expectations?
As we are in a niche market that marries both shipping and finance, there is no real-time benchmark for us to compare to. While we take reference from both shipping and financial industries, our real data comes from interviews with real candidates. Employees may also be eligible for a discretionary bonus based on their performance and the performance of the company as a whole.
Q On a personal note, what are some key principles you follow to shape future initiatives as employee needs and markets evolve?
Taking care of my employees is important because when the company prioritises their wellbeing, they, in turn, will be motivated to take care of the business. My approach is always considering people at every stage – from policy creation to system implementation and new procedures. I take into consideration their challenges and try to work on alternatives that can alleviate them. This approach works on candid feedback and open communication with my colleagues. By understanding their concerns, preferences, and needs, I design initiatives that benefit the company and 'considerately' engage them. Equally important is transparently explaining the rationale behind changes. Over my years of HR experience, this has consistently yielded positive outcomes.
Another crucial competency is embedding adaptability and agility within our workforce. Reflecting on both our successes and challenges, we recognise the need to swiftly evolve or innovate as situations arise. Our management's culture includes post-mortem meetings following any unsuccessful deals. These sessions enable teams to proactively identify the underlying causes and strategise how to address similar challenges in the future. This practice ensures that we are well-prepared to effectively respond to evolving circumstances.
Photo: Provided
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