Commentary

Bringing traffic back to Singapore's retailers

Singapore's retail sector has been slowing down in the past two years, and retail rents are starting to be affected in line with the steady decline in occupancy rates. The strong Sing Dollar and weak consumer sentiment in China is expected to further dampen growth in the coming months.

Bringing traffic back to Singapore's retailers

Singapore's retail sector has been slowing down in the past two years, and retail rents are starting to be affected in line with the steady decline in occupancy rates. The strong Sing Dollar and weak consumer sentiment in China is expected to further dampen growth in the coming months.

3 things you need to know about employee health insurance in Singapore

In Singapore, many employee remuneration and benefits packages have a heavy emphasis on access to health insurance. And little wonder this is the case when local health-cost inflation is taken into consideration. Private treatment options are a highly sought after benefit because of the potential costs involved and, for companies of all sizes, this coverage is increasingly seen as a 'must have' by existing and potential staff.

Predicting Singapore's dying consumer industries in 2018

Singapore economy has undergone tremendous change over the past few decades. From one that is highly focussed on manufacturing in the 1970s, we have evolved into R&D in the 1980s, biomedical in the 1990s and is still emphasising very much on R&D albeit at a much broader scale than before.

Boosting productivity in Singapore: The use of learning strategies

Question: How do you get new waiters to memorise the food and drinks menu in a short span of time? For the matter, how do you get new staff to learn about voluminous and complex Standard Operating Procedures in your company?

Foreign talent in Singapore: A win-win

The recent celebration of Singapore's 50th anniversary, or SG50, provides us with a timely opportunity to reflect on the decades of success that the Lion City has experienced and remind ourselves why it's such a popular destination for foreign talent.

The implications of evolving modern retail in Singapore

In July, British retail giant Tesco announced it would delist all fruit drinks with added sugars from their shelves, and sell only 'no added sugar' variants. Why? It's part of their role as champions of the fight against the new evil: sugar. Given Tesco holds around 30% of the grocery market in the UK, the move is seriously bad news for some very big brands.

Empowering mothers at the workplace in Singapore

In his speech, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and the Secretary General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Mr Chan Chun Sing described the workplace of the future to be objective and time-driven – as long as objectives are met, there is no need to stay in the office for long hours.

How are you using Glassdoor to engage talent in Singapore?

I remember working for a larger corporation when I was younger and we'd be asked to dress up on certain days when we were expecting clients or important guests. Like children, we were instructed to put on our best behaviour that day. Take a deep breath. You can change into your T-shirts when they leave. Phew!

Should you invest in Singapore property now?

A slew of property cooling measures introduced by the Singapore government over the last few years have taken a toll in the Singapore property market. Not that potential investors are complaining, as take-up rates in Q2 of 2015 continue to inch up a substantial 61%, according to statistics by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Realising Singapore's Smart Nation vision

Singapore has set for itself an exciting goal to evolve into a Smart Nation over the next couple of years. It is an admirable and a progressive notion, much ahead of her time and that of many other countries.

What SMEs should do when competing for public tenders in Singapore

A recent study by analytics firm Vector Scorecard and National University of Singapore Business school found that a higher proportion of companies that are well managed or attain higher financial ratings tend to dominate public-sector projects.

Bursting bubbles: Graduates' askewed job expectations

Career service and guidance is becoming a big emphasis for many tertiary schools in Singapore. In fact if you take a look at Gebiz (Singapore government procurement portal), many schools at the secondary level have already done their fair share of career workshops in one form or another.

What you need to know about the new Career Support Programme

As employers, we may not like to admit it but the bias against the hiring of older workers is real.

What Singaporeans need to know about alternative investments

When it comes to investments, Singaporeans have traditionally been wedded to their property market – purchasing property not just as a home, but an investment. However, with private home prices now falling for the seventh consecutive quarter – the longest losing streak in 13 years – Singaporeans are understandably looking elsewhere.

Why should Singaporean talent want to work for a Singaporean company?

That little red spot, what a great piece of marketing that's been, it's everywhere. Whether you're a true-blue Singaporean, or merely a holidaymaker passing through, there can be little doubt that this year it's Singapore's 50th birthday. Happy birthday, Singapore.

In defence of Singapore's job-hopping Millennials

Job-hopping in Singapore is fairly standard practice, much to the frustration of employers and HR teams. And evidently this is not just an issue with senior and middle management – even recent graduates are, apparently, prepared to hop, skip, and jump between roles making moving employers an Olympic sport.

The paradox of Singapore's shrinking employment in a tight labour market

Things are getting a little strange in Singapore's labour market.