Over half of Singapore employers (51 percent) used temporary staffing in the last year, according to the 2017 Hays Asia Salary Guide. However, there is a slight drop on the previous year when 54 percent of employers across Singapore were engaged in flexible staffing arrangements.
The annual Hays Salary Guide is based on candidate and employer research including a survey of more than 3,000 employers across China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore representing over six million employees. The Guide, now in its tenth year, also provides the salary range for more than 1,200 roles.
The 2017 guide further reveals that, of the employers in Singapore making use of flexible working arrangements, 65 percent engaged contractors or temporary staff through recruitment firm and 37 percent employed part-time staff. A further 26 percent of employers hired casual employees on their own pay roll in the past year, while 14 percent made use of job sharing arrangements and 12 percent used some other form of temporary staffing.
This year 19 percent of respondents in Singapore expect to increase their use of temporary staff while 67 percent plan to maintain current levels of flexible staffing. Just 14 percent of employers plan to decrease their use of flexible staffing.
Across all countries, 21 percent of the employers surveyed expect to increase their use of temporary and or contract staffing, while 65 percent expect their level of engagement to remain the same as last year.
Approximately 21 percent of Singapore’s employers use temporary staff on an ongoing basis, while 42 percent bring in temporary and contract staff just to work on special projects. A further 30 percent report only using temporary or contract staff in “exceptional circumstances” and only seven percent have never utilised flexible staffing arrangements.
“This year promises to be fast moving and characterized by expected and unexpected change, making it more important than ever for employers to be able to tap into the contingent workforce when needed,” says Lynne Roeder, Managing Director of Hays Singapore.
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“It’s significant that 19 percent of employers expect to increase their use of temporary staff and contractors this year, and a further 67 percent plan on maintaining their current level of flexible staffing.”
“Flexible work options are also highly valued by employees and 67 percent of employers in Singapore currently offer flexible work practices, but there is still room to grow as 33 percent of employers are yet to introduce flexibility at work,” says Lynne.
The most commonly offered flexible work options in Singapore are:
“Singapore has a sophisticated workforce and many candidates now value a range of working conditions that improve the quality of their lives, as much as they do salary and benefits. In fact, most of the candidates expecting to stay with their current employer this year, the majority (47 percent) nominated ‘work-life balance’ as the reason for their decision, ahead of salary or benefits (nominated by 34 percent of respondents),” Lynne added.
Also read: Flexible Working Culture and the Need for Change: Exclusive Q&A with Mei Lin Low at Polycom
Feature image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
