Interesting Expat Development

[scroobal]

Here is something that those in consulting might see once in a while. This is unfolding as I speak so lets leave out the details but it shows how the FT policy has evolved.

One of the major MNCS that came on board 8 to 9 years ago and has created such a major profile in Singapore handling the high end of the market in its industry is now facing cost-cutting. In Singapore they have been voted one of the best employers and they have sponsored major events.

All the people in the Singapore Offices, occupy either band one or two except for support staff such as PA etc. These bands are identical to its head office and the highest grades except for Managing Group in the head office. And there are a lot of staff. As part of the cost-cutting, a team flew in to map jobs and processes that can be done at a cheaper location so clearly jobs will start to go and the majority are expats. Such things are part and parcel of the industry.

What no one expected was the revelation that the mapping exercise had in store. Such exercises cover end to end so that no process is left out. When they mapped the jobs of Band one and two staff they were shocked to find that they were doing stuff that should have done by an entry level grad or even a clerk. The first cut revealed a massive cost savings that was record breaking. Someone immediately tagged it Yamashita's gold.

The staff apparently have been taking stuff directly from head office and re-badging it with little value add.

So Singapore did not bring in the skillset or the brain pool was never on the island in the first place. All it did was drive high end property prices so that our eilte can earn rent. High property prices eventually will travel down the property ladder and we have the Mah Bow Tan story.

 

[Hans168]

aiyah it is well known that expat add no value at all but high costs
they wield powers to get job done,.... something any singie can do, only better n much cheaper

 

[Loofydralb]

Reading between the lines,I would say its from the banking industry and the affected people are from the sub continent.

If true I would say they deserve it. Useless bunch to me.

 

[scroobal]

I will never ever call sub-continent arseholes expats. They are also too cunning to be caught out like this. These guys would have padded their job descriptions and blown smoke up the arse of the visiting team.

 

[Fook Seng]

MNCs are not clueless though. At least their HQs watch their cost-benefit quite closely. Expats staff with iron rice bowl employment contracts in their home countries are regularly asked to convert to local terms with a corresponding increase in their local pay. Many have no choice but to convert as they would not find as good or as prestigious a job back home. Once on local terms, the better ones would continue and prosper. The lousier ones would be forced out and they might find for themselves postings in some other parts of the world like Dubai.

 

[scroobal]

Agree. Eventually they will come in check. Even they were shocked to find out what had evolved.

In the past Singapore like most countries have limits on the number of expats for two reasons (1) to allow knowledge transfer to locals and (2) not allow talent available here to be replace by the same or lesser talents from foreign land. Singapore however gave that all up.

I know an expat who flew into a country and was asked to leave immediately because the local authorities had quotas that the former were not aware of. When HQ pleaded his case on the basis that he was an expert of some sort, the company was asked to repatriate an existing expat immediately to remain within quota. They got a shock. The company now behave themselves.

MNCs are not clueless though. At least their HQs watch their cost-benefit quite closely. Expats staff with iron rice bowl employment contracts in their home countries are regularly asked to convert to local terms with a corresponding increase in their local pay. Many have no choice but to convert as they would not find as good or as prestigious a job back home. Once on local terms, the better ones would continue and prosper. The lousier ones would be forced out and they might find for themselves postings in some other parts of the world like Dubai.

 

[mojito]

When they mapped the jobs of Band one and two staff they were shocked to find that they were doing stuff that should have done by an entry level grad or even a clerk.

scroobal, your scoop is most interesting. Though I must say it runs contrary to my own experience.

Senior managers, when faced with the stress of handling the demands of their level and those of the next, will often bottom-feed on the work of junior officers or subordinates under their charge as a convenient excuse for not performing their existing duties. Not sure whether this is a unique development in Singapore, to be fair I must say it is usually the SGs/Msian/PRC who are guilty of these workplace shenanigans.

There seem to be a level of trust that is absent to empower subordinates to perform their roles independently. The whites and the South Asians seem to be better at delegation (for various reasons), which runs contrary to your scoop.

It's quite an unexpected development. Do you think the job cuts will be announced over the media?

 

[scroobal]

This is actually an odd occurrence. Because they handle high value and high end of the industry, their staffing levels are usually small. Anecdotal evidence suggest that they were giving jobs to fellow expats from their home town and those that they met here. So these guys were layering with menial tasks and over time it got out of hand.

As an example, the account manager for an institutional client has got 20 people supporting his work from stapling report to collating figures and they are all VPs and all Ang Mos when such activity calls for 2 managerial staff and maybe another 3 clerks.

This has yet to hit the fan. In fact the big bosses are coming for a major sponsored event.

scroobal, your scoop is most interesting. Though I must say it runs contrary to my own experience. Senior managers, when faced with the stress of handling the demands of their level and those of the next, will often bottom-feed on the work of junior officers or subordinates under their charge as a convenient excuse for not performing their existing duties. Not sure whether this is a unique development in Singapore, to be fair I must say it is usually the SGs/Msian/PRC who are guilty of these workplace shenanigans.There seem to be a level of trust that is absent to empower subordinates to perform their roles independently. The whites and the South Asians seem to be better at delegation (for various reasons), which runs contrary to your scoop. It's quite an unexpected development. Do you think the job cuts will be announced over the media?

 

[psy83]

So technically what you guys are saying is.. Quantity over Quality?

 

[scroobal]

It was more like jobs for your mates. Because the revenue was large, this got lost in the large numbers. Quality is there but it could be done by a fraction of the crew. I once came across a lady from DHL who was recruited for an esoteric role. When this role was assessed, nobody could even offer a sliver of evidence to support her hiring. After repeated questioning it turned out that her husband was a staff and he asked another Dept colleague to hire her. All involved were Australians and it happened in Singapore. Another abuse among the expats are the hiring of spouses on a part-time basis and on contract basis. This will not show on payroll or in establishment strength. Something our sub-continent friends have picked up.

So technically what you guys are saying is.. Quantity over Quality?

 

[TheFootballer]

It was more like jobs for your mates. Because the revenue was large, this got lost in the large numbers. Quality is there but it could be done by a fraction of the crew. I once came across a lady from DHL who was recruited for an esoteric role. When this role was assessed, nobody could even offer a sliver of evidence to support her hiring. After repeated questioning it turned out that her husband was a staff and he asked another Dept colleague to hire her. All involved were Australians and it happened in Singapore. Another abuse among the expats are the hiring of spouses on a part-time basis and on contract basis. This will not show on payroll or in establishment strength. Something our sub-continent friends have picked up.

I'm curious on this development as well. Any well established MNC woud have personel requisition procedures in place and zealous Internal Auditors are fast to pick inconsistencies up. Regional head are often given first-hand knowledge so that year budget variations dun come as a rude shock in due. 8-9 years is not a short time span. If there are record-breaking cost-savings, my guts tell me its accounting treatment.

hope to see some follow-up. Willl be interesting. nice scoop as 1 mentioned.

 

[halsey02]

It was more like jobs for your mates. Because the revenue was large, this got lost in the large numbers. Quality is there but it could be done by a fraction of the crew. I once came across a lady from DHL who was recruited for an esoteric role. When this role was assessed, nobody could even offer a sliver of evidence to support her hiring. After repeated questioning it turned out that her husband was a staff and he asked another Dept colleague to hire her. All involved were Australians and it happened in Singapore. Another abuse among the expats are the hiring of spouses on a part-time basis and on contract basis. This will not show on payroll or in establishment strength. Something our sub-continent friends have picked up.

What you are saying is nothing new, nothing shocking, the fact is, SINgaporeans don't bother & many shackled by the so call unions are helpless. This rot began after the 1984 recession. Nothing new to me.

 

[nin-nao-hiah]

Here is something that those in consulting might see once in a while. ... ...When they mapped the jobs of Band one and two staff they were shocked to find that they were doing stuff that should have done by an entry level grad or even a clerk... ...The staff apparently have been taking stuff directly from head office and re-badging it with little value add.

I have seen it, witnessed it, & experienced it. White trash fresh off the boat steps in to the local & regional industry & starts throwing their weight around. They then piss everyone off except the boss, who is oblivious because these trash will only blow their own trumpet. Local staff like me then have to fight the fires that such trash started because after a while, the clients & contractors refuse to talk to them anymore. Works progress smoothly & get completed & boss then trumpets that the smooth delivery is because of the talented white trash.

So what if its "jobs for your mates" or "I scratch your back & you scratch mine", or another "cost-cutting" exercise? Its honest, hardworking people who know their work who do not benefit from such "scoops". Until the money runs dry & the music stops playing, shit like that is going to continue to happen.

 

[LeMans2011]

It was more like jobs for your mates. Because the revenue was large, this got lost in the large numbers. Quality is there but it could be done by a fraction of the crew. I once came across a lady from DHL who was recruited for an esoteric role. When this role was assessed, nobody could even offer a sliver of evidence to support her hiring. After repeated questioning it turned out that her husband was a staff and he asked another Dept colleague to hire her. All involved were Australians and it happened in Singapore. Another abuse among the expats are the hiring of spouses on a part-time basis and on contract basis. This will not show on payroll or in establishment strength. Something our sub-continent friends have picked up.

The inference i draw here is, the private sector will eventually take care of what the PAP govt failed to. Europeans and US MNCs are facing increasing pressure to streamline and this is gathering pace. When they start to look at job roles, they will find many with little value add and could possibly be done outside Singapore, and the people most affected could well be FTs than locals. My company's marketing department have 10 headcounts of which 5 are FTs, i see the department as the first casualty in our streamlining.

 

[mojito]

As an example, the account manager for an institutional client has got 20 people supporting his work from stapling report to collating figures and they are all VPs and all Ang Mos when such activity calls for 2 managerial staff and maybe another 3 clerks.

Sounds like someone has got a large annual consulting budget. A government agency most likely. I would be concerned about this side of the equation.

 

[TheFootballer]

The inference i draw here is, the private sector will eventually take care of what the PAP govt failed to. Europeans and US MNCs are facing increasing pressure to streamline and this is gathering pace. When they start to look at job roles, they will find many with little value add and could possibly be done outside Singapore, and the people most affected could well be FTs than locals. My company's marketing department have 10 headcounts of which 5 are FTs, i see the department as the first casualty in our streamlining.

Imo. If it a cost-cutting restructuring exercise by a MNC, the locals will be hit and no matter what is it..its bad for Singapore. Always thought there was a FT quota system in place in Singapore. At least this was the case just 5 years ago.

 

[LeMans2011]

Imo. If it a cost-cutting restructuring exercise by a MNC, the locals will be hit and no matter what is it..its bad for Singapore. Always thought there was a FT quota system in place in Singapore. At least this was the case just 5 years ago.

I see this as law of nature, when cost gets too high in a country, business will move to the next best alternative location. There is no reason placing a department in Singapore, hiring FTs to do the job in Singapore, paying them as much as local, when the job could be done from a cheaper location. My company categorise countries into "high cost", "medium cost" and "low cost".

Singapore moved from medium cost to high cost in the last 3 years i was here, to the likes of Australia, HK, Japan, etc. The implication of this categorisation is, it is very difficult to get headcount approved in our high cost countries. India and China moved from "low cost" to medium cost. Our headoffice is even wondering if it is worthwhile doing this business in Asia !!!

 

[scroobal]

This is very unusual as the all the expats are on the top 2 bands. I actually never seen anything like this when it came to mapping the job activity. This was the shock and not the part about getting mates in. The jobs could be done by a good clerk.

I'm curious on this development as well. Any well established MNC woud have personel requisition procedures in place and zealous Internal Auditors are fast to pick inconsistencies up. Regional head are often given first-hand knowledge so that year budget variations dun come as a rude shock in due. 8-9 years is not a short time span. If there are record-breaking cost-savings, my guts tell me its accounting treatment.

hope to see some follow-up. Willl be interesting. nice scoop as 1 mentioned.

 

[scroobal]

Actually I never came across a situation where a whole bunch of Ang Mos doing near clerical job in one place. I do not want one of their major client as it will give away the industry but it is a major GLC and we all know of it. No access to client accounts so do not know if the GLC has been screwed properly.

What you are saying is nothing new, nothing shocking, the fact is, SINgaporeans don't bother & many shackled by the so call unions are helpless. This rot began after the 1984 recession. Nothing new to me.

 

[scroobal]

I think we all have seen this kind of abuse. I know one case in the 90s where the expat electricity bill came to $12K a month as he insist on leaving the aircon all the time in his black and white bungalow.

I have seen it, witnessed it, & experienced it. White trash fresh off the boat steps in to the local & regional industry & starts throwing their weight around. They then piss everyone off except the boss, who is oblivious because these trash will only blow their own trumpet. Local staff like me then have to fight the fires that such trash started because after a while, the clients & contractors refuse to talk to them anymore. Works progress smoothly & get completed & boss then trumpets that the smooth delivery is because of the talented white trash.

So what if its "jobs for your mates" or "I scratch your back & you scratch mine", or another "cost-cutting" exercise? Its honest, hardworking people who know their work who do not benefit from such "scoops". Until the money runs dry & the music stops playing, shit like that is going to continue to happen.