Singapore: Workforce Big Data... or big flop?

The buzz surrounding Big Data and the workforce reached a crescendo in 2013. This interest in employee Big Data coincided with the Infocomm Development Authority’s (IDA) announcement of plans to establish Singapore as the regional hub for data analytics, in an effort to create the world’s first ‘Smart Nation’.

Yet, in spite of the hype, startlingly few organisations in Singapore have actually adopted a Big Data strategy when it comes to managing and optimising their workforce.

In fact, as a recent Asia-wide study into Human Resources reveals, the workforce Big Data movement is ostensibly US-focussed and has had minimal impact on the wider global HR profession, with an imperceptible effect on day-to-day HR practices in major Asian economic hubs, including Singapore.

In fact, beyond the media interest, there is scant evidence that companies in Singapore, or elsewhere in Asia, are applying Big Data knowledge to the workforce at all.

With the government’s vision for Singapore to be an analytics hub, it seems that there is still a long way to go for HR as the findings from the 1^st All-Asia HR Big Data Survey report reveals.

Though the study confirms that there is a growing appetite for data-driven HR amongst C-suite executives, there seems to be no substance beyond the Big Data hype with 98% of top-level Human Resources professionals responding with a resounding ‘No’ when asked the question: ‘‘Do you have a Big Data strategy in place for 2014?”. 

HR in Singapore lacks the right tools

One of the greatest hurdles for Big Data adoption in HR that I cannot agree more with, is the lack of adequate IT systems for data management.

Having lived in Asia and worked in the HR industry over the past 20 years, I struggled with managing data and generating reports across HR systems (Payroll, Talent Acquisition tools, etc.) that were living in multiple, disparate locations.

In order to make smarter, better, and more accurate business decisions, it is no surprise that management demands in-depth and detailed employee data reports. Ideally, when it comes to accessing data, report end-users want to access the data on-the-fly, in a single dashboard.

Yet, as the report shows, 91% are operating without one. Indeed, HR executives are stuck on spreadsheets, email, Powerpoint, and paper.

Commenting on the report, Divisional Director of the National Human Resources Division at Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Mr. Ow Seng Fong, said, “It is true that HR professionals grapple with the need to churn out fast, accurate data to make fact-based recommendations, but it does not help that most enterprises deploy a myriad of applications that do not talk to one another… even generating simple queries from the more well-known HRIS systems can be such an onerous process."

Another major reason inhibiting Big Data adoption as cited by HR is the lack of in-house data analysis expertise which, coupled with inadequate data crunching tools, makes it understandable why 80% of respondents do not feel confident they have the right tools to offer strategic value to the boardroom.

It would be unjustifiable for me to discount the numerous Big Data applications available in the tech market today but it is important to point out that the majority of these solutions are not engineered for the Asian market. Plus, almost close to none are dedicating Big Data analytical tools specifically for HR.

Sharing my sentiments, Low Zhongming, Talent Management Manager of SMRT Singapore, attributes the slow adoption of HR analytics to old technology and the expensive cost in implementing Big Data tools. He commented, “The right tools tend to be more costly, so Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may not have the resources or financials to support this… Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) are generally moving towards securing the right tools, but are hindered by legacy systems.”

Implications for Singapore HR Industry

Human Resources in Singapore today faces a perfect storm of challenges. When it comes to Talent, the brain-drain situation here is taking a toll on HR. Not to mention declining birth rates, tightening foreign Talent polices, as well as ageing population – fondly dubbed as  Singapore’s ‘silver’ workforce - all this is just the tip of the iceberg in the global war for Talent.

Indeed, the adage ‘the world is your oyster’ could not be more fitting as the war for Talent intensifies and steps up to the global stage. In order to survive this new era, HR needs to up its ante to overcome new challenges and should no longer be bound to old systems and processes.

As organisations look towards a turning of the cycle over the next few quarters, trying to fill key positions with the right Talent, HR in Singapore must hop onto the analytics bandwagon or risk being left behind other functions.

It is clear from the study that HR wants to be freed from admin-heavy tasks and instead be empowered with the right tools to focus on what they excel most: Human Capital Management.

As the government makes its move to build Singapore into a ‘Smart Nation’, looking towards Big Data and workforce analytics as the new drivers of growth, I firmly believe that the government should and will do more to help organisations leverage on Big Data technologies.

No doubt, Big Data tools will empower HR to make the smartest decisions about employee management, hiring practices, and reporting but the question for business leaders in Singapore now is whether they are bold enough to take the leap towards a data-driven HR department to gain real-time, first-mover advantage for their organisation.