Talent is key to accelerating business transformation

In a commentary, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business Senior Lecturer of Finance Dr Ang Ser Keng said that potential employees do not join SMEs and employees leave the SME because they do not see structured training and development as well as clear paths for advancement. This was one of the findings of a study commissioned by SPRING Singapore and UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute in 2014. The study also found that young graduates who joined SMEs often faced conflicting roles within a job, and that there are significant gaps in the ways SME management and young graduates view various issues. Dr Ang opined that the employer-employee relationship should be a partnership. As such, besides the employers helping, employees must also be willing to embrace changes and recognise the need to upgrade. Both parties can discuss development plans that will help the employees stay ahead of the learning curve, hence increasing their market value; the employers will also benefit from enhanced business effectiveness and efficiency.