Qualifications vs all roundedness

HRM 06 Jun 2014

Roselin Lee
Director of HR, Estee Lauder Travel Retailing Inc, Asia Pacific

While academic qualifications form a fundamental foundation, the new age HR officer should extend the search for candidates with holistic backgrounds. In today’s world, many organisations, regardless of size, are hoping to transform their workforces, bringing a competitive edge and value to their businesses. This calls for existing employees to have a paradigm shift in the way they conduct business – candidates need to draw upon new skill sets and competencies.

Candidates who have broader perspectives possess the capabilities in wearing both functional and corporate hats. Instead of looking at things from a narrow or single functional standpoint, a holistic background enables an individual to look at things from a different perspective and provides invaluable insights to creativity and innovative ways of doing things.

Gone are the days when organisations only hired for skills and competencies to fill the current job. Employers now want candidates with skill sets that enable them to perform roles at least two years ahead, and they also hire from outside the industry, but with the right attitude and leadership competencies.

Take HR as an example - if the HR Business Partner does not have the right mind set of wanting to spend time understanding the business and understanding how different skill sets, leadership competencies could impact their area of expertise, the individual will continue to be perceived as a backend support, and not a strategic business partner whose views and comments could impact how an organisation attracts, develops and retains talents.

Juliana Ong
Director of HR, Royal Plaza on Scotts

Candidates with high education qualifications are not difficult to find in Singapore’s employment market. Employers now not only evaluate a candidate based on their education levels but also on other qualities.

An integral part of the process includes assessing the cultural fit of the applicant to the organisation’s brand and values. The organisation is screening for candidates who can grow well with the organisation and work towards a common goal together with the rest of the team in a collaborative work environment.

A good cultural fit can lead to many positive impacts on the organisation. With greater job satisfaction and commitment to the job, the associates are happier and more likely to stay longer with the organisation. During their time at work, they are also more productive, engaged and innovative. Meaning is created when the associates identify with the way the organisation runs.

The younger generation in the workforce is also known to prioritise work that is meaningful to them over the pay alone. HR professionals on the team need to be trained to identify these traits and learn how to evaluate a candidate based on their responses in these situations. In short, besides the skillsets and technical competencies, the search is on for candidates who are passionate, possess a good attitude with the ability to adapt and learn, as the goal is not only to attract talents but to retain them in the long term.

Tan Li Li
HR Director – Corporate Banyan Tree Holdings Limited

Education is important, but that’s not the only quality that we look out for in a candidate. We assess them in terms of their experience, how prepared they are and their attitude. It is vital that they have the ability to be groomed and to progress in the company. In today’s era, there are candidates who change their jobs quite regularly.

We do not hire such candidates, even if they appear relevant for the position. If a candidate has a history of working at companies for only one to one-and-a-half years, we avoid hiring them. It is really important for candidates to be able to stay and contribute in a firm for at least two years. In today’s workforce, everyone has a degree or least a diploma. I do not just look at their qualifications. The first thing I look at is the candidate’s working experience.

Qualifications do not mean much these days if the person does not have important characteristics such as the right attitude. Even the smartest can be very calculative and once they possess such an attitude, it can be very difficult.

As a global company, we do not focus on names or where the candidates come from. What is more crucial are the qualities candidates possess. For example, are they able to work as a team? Are they willing to go the extra mile for the company and for their colleagues? If everybody has the same mentality of simply doing their own job and nothing else, then it will be very difficult for the company to advance. It is really important to choose candidates who will be the right fit for the firm.