Financial Leadership Forum 2009

Labour Watch
•	2010
-	Employers to Tackle Business Challenges with Strengthened Talent Bench
•	2009
-	The Revolving Door
-	JobsDB Hiring Trends Survey 2009
-	Financial Leadership Forum 2009
-	For A Good Cause – CSR in action
-	Employers up hiring expectations in Q4 2009
-	The Hotspots of Recruitment Activity
-	An exciting time to work in China
-	New technology initiatives drive IT jobs growth
-	Companies continue to hire in Q2 2009
-	WorkSkills Qualification leads to better careers
-	The Hudson Report - Hiring and HR Trends in Singapore
-	Singapore employers keep hiring cautious and headcount steady
•	2006 - 2008

On 12 November 2009, the Annual Financial Leadership Forum jointly organized by Robert Half and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore, took place in the STI Auditorium at Capital Tower.

This year’s theme for discussion was Lessons from the Downturn: POSITIONING FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS. Chaired by Melvin Yong, Executive Business Editor / Presenter of Channel NewsAsia, the forum brought together a panel of prominent business leaders in Singapore, including –

•	Dr Ernest Kan, President of ICPAS and Senior Partner, Deloitte
•	Ms Teresa Lim, Managing Director, IBM Singapore
•	Mr Robert Yap, Senior Vice President of WW Shared Services Centre and Chief Information Officer, DFS Venture Singapore Pte Ltd
•	Mr Sarjit Singh, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, AIA Singapore
•	Mr Tim Hird, Managing Director, Robert Half Singapore

It was a truly engaging and insightful 2-hour forum before an audience of over a hundred participants, whereby the distinguished panelists shared their insights and recommendations on how companies could recover from the recent economic downturn and emerge stronger.

Here are the key ideas and HR solutions that were put forward by the panelists -

1.Talent retention:
	Companies need to tailor HR strategies to retain and develop their best and brightest staff. Useful policies and procedures to retain and attract good staff include Work Life Balance, Flexi hours and opportunities for staff to upgrade their knowledge and skills.

2. Brand protection and innovation:
	In these competitive times, companies that invest in building and maintaining their brand will be able to distinguish themselves from the competition.

3. Interdependent collaboration:
	Companies should look into forging alliances and collaborate with other companies from diverse industries to leverage upon each other’s unique strengths so as to achieve greater productivity and synergy.

4. Invisible job market:
	Companies should use the power of Web 2.0, via social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, for example, to tap into a large pool of passive jobseekers and potential talent for hire.