People at the heart of business performance-12 Sep 2013

The importance of focusing on human capital cannot be emphasised enough if a company wants to improve its business performance.

This was part of a series of findings of a recently completed study commissioned by the Ministry of Manpower, which validated the common wisdom that having the right talent practices will pay off.

Launching the survey results was Acting Minister for Manpower, Tan Chuan Jin, who delivered the opening address of the Human Capital Summit 2013.

The study found that when business leaders in Asia applied talent practices effectively, it accounted for 54% of business results, thereby being able to somewhat control more than half of the variance in business performance.

The report also suggested that among good talent practices, the ability to identify and groom leaders well has the greatest impact on driving business performance.

In addition, there is a significant focus gap in talent development. This is seen among Asian leaders who are much more proficient in establishing HR standards, in recruitment and in orientation, and lacking in proficiency in talent development.  

As such, the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) will launch a modular programme to help companies develop the next generation of Asian leaders in 2014, as well as work with top international business schools to design and conduct the Asian leg of the Global CEO programme in Singapore and Indonesia.

Tan said that human capital management was not just only about leaders. They too need the support of top quality HR professionals. To meet this need, the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) has partnered Republic Polytechnic to launch two new programmes in the form of a part-time Diploma in Business Practice or the International Human Resources Management and the full-time Diploma in Human Resource Management with Psychology.