Change can often be disorienting. But to ensure a business remains competitive in a fast-evolving economy, change is a necessity.
In the case of Hoya Electronics, which manufactures photo mask blanks that are used to make integrated circuits in semiconductors, there was a strong case of needing to better understand costs and its implications for the business.
Mr Shawn Kelly, division CFO, LSI Division at Hoya Electronics Singapore, identified the benefits automating processes would bring.
For one, it would free staff to perform a more analytical role and give them an expanded role in areas like financial planning. This was critical because of the rapid pace of technological change.
“In order to keep pace, we needed better analysis. We needed improved modelling, and a deeper understanding of our cost levers to improve the profitability of our business,” he said.
For both companies, job redesign – the restructuring of work tasks and responsibilities to optimise processes and workforce allocation – helped them address critical business needs. This helped drive business transformation, benefitting employees in the process.
Job redesign created a win-win scenario – companies were able to respond to new business needs and workers were able to upskill and stay relevant.
AND RETAIN TALENT
FoodXervices’ Ms Ng joined the company at a time when the sector was trying to embrace digitialisation. “Very early on in my journey, I knew that redesigning jobs would be a lifelong exercise that I’d have to do as long as I'm in this trade,” she said.
Cross-training was the order of the day. Knowledge of other departments’ processes gave workers a better understanding of how the company functioned. It also helped cultivate an interest in other areas of the organisation, potentially setting the stage for job redesign and upskilling opportunities.
"Very early on in my journey, I knew that redesigning jobs would be a lifelong exercise that I’d have to do as long as I'm in this trade."
MS NICHOL NGCEO & MD, X-INC
AND FOODXERVICES
MS VIOLET CHOE,FINANCE EXECUTIVE,
FOODXERVICES
“Although a new hire might have a diploma in logistics, he or she may have transferrable skillsets that can allow for job scopes beyond logistics,” she said.
The objective? Attract and retain talent and build a workforce that would help the company meet its business goals. It was not however, an attempt to downsize the workforce to save costs as some might assume.
Job redesign is a convenient way to downsize your workforce by trimming away excess fat.
FALSE
Job redesign helps companies develop and retain talent, while also helping firms adapt to a rapidly evolving economic climate. It facilitates the development of new roles in which current employees can grow and contribute back to the business. According to PwC's Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022, 69 per cent of respondents cited job fulfilment as the reason for considering a job change. It was ranked second only to financial rewards.
FoodXervices' Ms Ng says she had already communicated to her customer service team years ago that their roles, which included taking orders manually, would eventually be facilitated by automation and technology. In October 2023, their roles were enhanced and the entire team took on a sales role as account managers.
She said: “The attitude of the employees is that: ‘My boss is telling me that my job is going to be obsolete. But she guarantees me a rice bowl because she will train me to take on a new role so that I will always remain relevant in the company.’”
The team’s transition involved adapting to new job roles and key performance indicators. But not every aspect of the job was new to them. As the existing customer service team has been with FoodXervices for some time, they already had a relationship with the firm’s customers. This made them ideally suited to a sales role.
“These relationships are something that digitalisation cannot replace,” said Ms Ng.
The attitude of the employees is that: ‘My boss is telling me that my job is going to be obsolete. But she guarantees me a rice bowl because she will train me to take on a new role so that I will always remain relevant in the company.’ ”
BUSINESS DECISIONS
For Hoya Electronics, efficiency and speed in understanding costs and having real-time oversight of their inventory was critical in the high-tech semiconductor manufacturing sector as investing in equipment and facilities was costly and time-consuming.
Investing in new equipment and waiting for it to be manufactured, shipped and integrated into a wafer fabrication plant takes months to years. Given this long lead time, it was critical for the business to develop a deeper understanding of how capital expenditure decisions affected its business.
Job redesign’s benefits are skewed towards employees, rather than helping employers achieve business outcomes.
FALSE
The role of job redesign is often misunderstood. Job redesign can benefit both employers as well as employees. Job redesign can help companies optimise processes by restructuring work tasks and responsibilities. The streamlined workforce allocation improves productivity. This offers greater support for business transformation priorities, especially in this volatile macroeconomic environment. For employees, job redesign creates higher value jobs that are more fulfilling, allowing them to contribute more effectively to the company.
To help meet this objective, Hoya Electronics undertook job redesign for accounting staff like Ms Serene Ong, manager, Financial Planning and Analysis, LSI Division, Hoya Electronics Singapore.
She is one of several staff who were trained in new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that automated most of their traditional accounting functions. This enabled them to perform a more analytical role, which helped the company meet its business objectives. Workers also expanded their job scope and contributed greater value to the company.
“In order to keep pace, we needed better analysis. We needed improved modelling, and a deeper understanding of our cost levers to improve the profitability of our business.”
MR SHAWN KELLYDIVISION CFO, LSI DIVISION,
HOYA ELECTRONICS SINGAPORE
MS SERENE ONGMANAGER, FINANCIAL PLANNING
AND ANALYSIS, LSI DIVISION,
HOYA ELECTRONICS SINGAPORE
ERP systems are an integrated suite of applications that provide businesses with an overview of almost any aspect of their organisations. They incorporate data from various departments – including accounting, inventory, human resources, manufacturing, marketing and sales. This provides business managers with a unified overview of company data and helps identify areas to improve efficiency and processes.
“To support business decisions, you will need to have more insight gained from analysis. I upgraded my role from performing a purely accounting function to an analyst. It does not stop there – it is a lifelong learning process. Because even after 10 or 20 years of analysis, the business environment will continue to change,” she said.
A CHANGING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Even before the pandemic, business transformation was already crucial for companies. COVID-19 simply accelerated digital transformation across industries and highlighted the importance of redesigning jobs to meet evolving business needs. It creates a more agile workforce, improves productivity and increases employee satisfaction. This is especially true in the context of Singapore’s ageing population, as mature workers can continue to contribute meaningfully with the help of job redesign implemented as part of a supportive workplace environment.
Job redesign could reflect badly on a company’s standing.
FALSE
Job redesign shows that a company is progressive and willing to adapt in the face of disruptions. More than being seen as marring a company’s reputation, undertaking job redesign shows that it values its workforce by reskilling them to take on new job roles in growth areas. This makes them more adaptable to the needs of the future workplace. Especially so for older workers with their increasing representation in Singapore’s workforce. The Labour Force in Singapore 2022 survey found that the portion of seniors aged 55 and over in the resident labour force rose from 19 per cent in 2012 to 27 per cent in 2022. There are support programmes available for senior workers.
For example, FoodXervices’ longest-serving employee is an executive in their finance department. Ms Violet Choe has been with the company for 46 years and is now in her late 60s. Her job has been redesigned multiple times as technology has advanced.
She used to collect money in a cash register and count the day’s take with the help of a coin-counting machine, a far cry from the automated invoicing systems in use today.
Said Ms Ng: “She used to have to count S$30,000 – S$40,000 cash each day, but that job has long been irrelevant and no longer exists. But with the evolution of technology and training, she is still with the company. We still ask her if she would like to be trained in any other roles or skills which can enhance or value-add to her existing skillsets.”
To support business decisions, you will need to have more insight gained from analysis. I upgraded my role from a purely accounting function to an analyst. It does not stop there – it is a lifelong learning process .”
WITH JOB REDESIGN
The challenges of manpower shortages and rising business costs are not going away anytime soon. Job redesign can alleviate these pressures by reshaping processes and retraining staff to better help companies meet an existing business need.
This helps firms retain talent and reduce the risk of hiring a new worker who may be less likely to stay.
It is understandable for organisations to be concerned about how job redesign can affect them in a challenging business environment. Several support programmes are already in place.
The Support for Job Redesign under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR), provides funding support for consultancy services on job redesign through a panel of pre-approved JR consultants who have been appointed to help enterprises redesign work processes, tasks and responsibilities. Workforce Singapore (WSG) also has sector-specific job redesign programmes for sectors such as environmental services, accountancy and retail that enterprises can leverage to complement and sustain their business and workforce transformation efforts.
The challenges of manpower shortages and rising business costs are not going away anytime soon.
Job redesign can alleviate these pressures by reshaping processes and retraining staff to better help companies meet an existing business need.
WSG in collaboration with the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP), launched Singapore's first Job Redesign Centre of Excellence (JRCoE) on Nov 15, 2023. JRCoE will serve as a centralised enabler for job redesign thought leadership, capability development and advocacy. It focuses on developing industry relevant resources to equip companies with capability to embark on their enterprise transformation and job redesign journey.
To encourage adoption and implementation, the JRCoE is supported by a panel of JR experts and will progressively roll out targeted initiatives such as capability development workshops and a Job Redesign Playbook for HR practitioners in 2024.
In addition, SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit helps companies reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for enterprise and workforce transformation. The Workplace Skills Recognition Programme helps enterprises build and fast-track workplace learning capabilities. It also helps workers gain formal recognition of skills learnt at work.
Redesign the job. Redefine the future.
Job Redesign helped these companies evolve to address unique business challenges. Watch the episodes.
Episode 1:
Security
Episode 2:
Marine & Offshore Energy
Episode 3:
Food Services
Episode 4:
Professional Services
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