Leading through Unprecedented Times - Mercer global survey

Submitted by Amit Puri - Managing Consultant, Sandbox Advisors on July 24, 2009 – No Comment

About 44% of Singapore respondents say they plan to reduce staff within the next six months, a figure that is on par with the rest of Asia.

According to Mercer’s latest Leading through Unprecedented Times global survey conducted in May, it found that 63% of 77 Singapore respondents say they have reduced their staff headcount in the last six months, compared to 59% of Asia and 66% of global respondents.

While 44% of Singapore companies say they plan to reduce staff within the next six months, the cut would not be deep.

Su-Yen Wong, managing director of Mercer’s ASEAN operation says that large-scale retrenchments are no longer common in Singapore, “although it is worth noting that a significant 36% of companies are still looking at trimming the number of staff (by less than 5% ) in the coming months. This figure is actually higher than the Asia average of 31%.”

The survey also found that companies continue to take action that includes salary freezes and reduced contributions to retirement plans. “Equally notable is the fact that organisations generally are not taking actions in response to the economic downturn such as cutting pay and eliminating benefit programs altogether,” the report adds.

The majority of companies say they will be more likely to freeze pay levels or defer pay increases rather than pay cuts. But in Singapore, only 38% of companies say they froze salaries across the board in the last six months, while 36% say they intend to do so within the next six months. Furthermore, 17% of respondents increased salaries as planned, which is less than the Asia average of 25% and the global average of 28%.

“Companies operating in Singapore are increasingly prudent when it comes to costs. Although retrenching staff is often seen as a last resort, other ways of containing or reducing costs remain a top priority” says Wong.

The survey polled 2,100 organisations across the world.

Sources and references: Sandbox Advisors, HRO, Mercer

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Amit Puri - Managing Consultant, Sandbox Advisors

Amit is an experienced career, business and HR professional. Previously, he has worked with organisations such as Bain & Company, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Amit has advanced degrees/qualifications in Career Counselling, Organisational Psychology & HR, Occupational Psychometrics, Career/Life Coaching, Business and Finance.