COVID-19 Series: Aviation Vs Aerospace - What is the Difference?

24 Apr 2020, Singapore: The recent COVID-19 situation, Singapore Government, under IRAS provided the "Jobs Support Scheme" (JSS). In summary, JSS provide 75% financial assistance to the Aviation industry. If you want to know more about what is Singapore JSS -

visit this website: https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Schemes/Businesses/Jobs-Support-Scheme--JSS-/

I am working working in the Aerospace industry - under JSS, my company only get 75% financial assistance for the month of April and May while other months the company only get 25% financial support on employees' payroll who are Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Residents (SPR). Some of our employees, misunderstood that the company was getting 75% financial assistance for the 1st half of 2020.

This article is about the difference between Aviation and Aerospace Industry! In summary, Aerospace is an engineering effort to fly in the atmosphere (know as aeronautics) and surrounding space (known as astronautics) while Aviation is a design, development, production, operation and use of aircraft. In layman, Aerospace is company like Pratt & Whitney, Bell Helicopter, etc. while Aviation is AirAsia, Singapore Airline, etc.).

I found this article  and it clearly explain the differences: - 

+++++ (Source: https://www.askdifference.com/aerospace-vs-aviation/) +++++

Aerospace

Aerospace is the human effort in science, engineering, and business to fly in the atmosphere of Earth (aeronautics) and surrounding space (astronautics). Aerospace organizations research, design, manufacture, operate, or maintain aircraft or spacecraft. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications.

Aerospace is not the same as airspace, which is the physical air space directly above a location on the ground. The beginning of space and the ending of the air is considered as 100 km above the ground according to the physical explanation that the air pressure is too low for a lifting body to generate meaningful lift force without exceeding orbital velocity.

Aviation

Aviation, or air transport, refers to the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morph able wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as balloons and airships.

Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world.

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I hope this article help you understand Aviation and Aerospace Industry better!

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COVID-19 Series: Job Satisfaction Working In Aviation and Aerospace Industry

18 Apr 2020, Singapore: Someone asked me ... any pointers for "Job Satisfaction Factors working in the Aviation ad Aerospace Industry" ... at time of COVID-19 pandemic?

Let me start with the negative side which people don't know ...

1. Highly regulated and audited industry.
2. Highly unionism industry ... some company have 3 different union in one company. 
3. High level of stress - especially those is the MRO and Engine Center, every mistake you do can cause "hundred-thousand" and affect air-safety of a plane. You can even ground a plane - your family will be very proud!
4. Processes driven industry! If you don't like reading policies and manuals, this is not the industry for you.
5. A lots of certification to maintain the company business operations e.g., CAAS, FAA, etc.
6. It is not a high paying industry if you compare it to pharmaceutical or oil and gas industry..
7. An industry that is currently affected by COVID-19 and it is easily impacted by wars, terrorist, oil and gas industry, tourism industry and etc.

The positive side of working in the aviation industry ... can lead to Job Satisfaction: - 

1. Lots of learning opportunity - believe me as a HR professional, when I talk to people about EHS or International Trade Compliance (ITC) topics - you will not think I am in HR.
2. The aviation industry is a very structured, policies and processes driven - the positive side is - very well written policies and procedures for your next create career development.
3. Management are highly engage with the employees - it is part of the industry culture.
4. Lots of communication channel for employees to voice out and there are reporting mechanism in place to govern ombudsmen issues and address potential non-compliance behave.
5. Elements of Human Factor - when it comes to work, the aviation industry embrace the elements of Human Factors in their shop-floor management e.g., they will always have some form of balance on work-life for you.
6. Remuneration: In this industry, either you are (i) high in base salary (or fixed cash components) and low in variable bonus; or (ii) low base salary (or fixed cash components) with high variable bonus. You will always be fairly compensated ... you only need to manage your own life style ... but some people in Singapore will tell you "Money is Always Not Enough".
7. Education Assistance Program - it is a common employment benefits in the aviation industry that the company will sponsor your education or development - you only need to make a commitment to develop yourself and invest personal time to study. 

The above pointers is just my personal opinion and observation - does not represent the industry and the organization I work with. 

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COVID-19 Series: Work From Home (WFH)

18 Apr 2020, Singapore: When COVID-19 hit Singapore, most of the companies here had a structure Business Continuity Plan (BCP) - these are some of the existing structure / SOP left over from the previous SARS crisis. When the Government roll-out the "Circuit Breaker" (source: https://www.gov.sg/article/what-you-can-and-cannot-do-during-the-circuit-breaker-period) on 7 Apr 2020, which partially lock-down the country, and force more companies to adopt a model of Work From Home (WFH) - most unprepared companies just when into WFH without much guideline and preparedness for their employees.

Listed below are just some of the pointers: -

1. Make sure you activate all your company IT security device e.g., be issued a company Laptop, secure VPN software, security token, access code creator, etc. 
2. Make sure your home or alternative workplace have a wireless broadband facility
3. Activate your email "Out of Office" (OOO) notice, indicating that your are working from home (WFH), dates / duration WFH, and contact details (e.g., mobile number, home fix line, alternative emails, etc.) and when will you be working "on-site".
4. If you are on annual leave (Singapore context that you are on vacation), please indicate in your email OOO notice.
5. When you are on video tele-conferencing - please mute your communication device when you are not talking and deactivate your camera (for your privacy) - I will just stick a "Pokemon" sticker over the laptop camera to be sure.
6. If you WFH, good to indicate signboard at your office workstation that you are on "WFM" - share with your colleagues your working location.
7. For those based in Singapore - take the opportunity if your company can apply the Singapore Government grants on Flexi Work Arrangement (source: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/good-work-practices/work-life-grant)

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Dissecting Compensation & Benefits: Benefits

05 May 2019: With reference to my previous article on "Dissecting Compensation & Benefits: Compensation" (dated 2 May 2019), now let us dissect Benefits. Do bear in mind that this article is written from a Singapore benefits context (especially the example given by me, the author).

Definition:

• Benefits are perks offered to employees in addition to salary. Some of the common benefits are medical, disability, and life insurance; retirement benefits; paid leave; flexible work arrangement; and fringe benefits.
• Employee Benefits are programs an employer uses to supplement the cash compensation an employee received.

Benefits can be divided into 3 areas: -

1. Mandatory Benefits
2. Voluntary Benefits
3. Benefits Administration 

Mandatory Benefits
As a Benefits Specialist, the person need to have a good understanding of what are the mandatory benefits which are compulsory for an employer to provide for their employee. A good source for Singapore employment mandatory benefits can be found at the following government agency website https://www.mom.gov.sg/

Another great source of information is to purchase Mercer WBEG (Worldwide Benefits & Employment Guideline) Report. You can either buy it based on the region e.g., Asia Pacific or by individual country e.g., Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Just a disclaimer, I am not being paid by Mercer for this article. Click the hyperlink to visit mercer website Mercer WBEG


Voluntary Benefits
When it comes to voluntary benefits, most organization will focus on 4 main areas which are: -

1. Healthcare
2. Wellness
3. Retirement
4. Life Management (aka Group Insurance policies, which may include Group Term Life, Group Personal Accident, Group Hospitalization & Surgical, etc.)

To support this task, a typical organization based in Singapore may purchase "country benefits report" from Mercer, Hays Companies, Aon, or SNEF (Singapore National Employers Federation) to benchmark their benefits practice.


Benefits Administration
When it comes to benefits administration, the focus will be on the following:

• Managing Cost: some of the approach that help organization in managing the cost can include employees' contribution (co-payment), waiting period (in Singapore, an employee is eligible to benefits after 3 months of continuous employment with an organization), high deductible plans and wellness focus.

• Flexible Benefits: Giving employees the ownership and choice in benefits, some or all of which may be tax-advantages (do bear in mind that in Singapore, only related medical reimbursement has tax-advantages e.g., dental, immediate family medical cost, traditional Chinese medication (TCM), health screening, etc.). Flexi-benefits involving holiday tour and some insurance reimbursement are taxable. 

In summary, a benefits specialist / expert will need to have a good understanding of the country mandatory benefits and taxation related to the voluntary benefits they want to implement.

Source:

• Gregg Learning, 2019
• https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/human-resources-hr-terms
• https://www.onetonline.org

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Dissecting Compensation & Benefits: Compensation

2 May 2019: When you talk about "Compensation & Benefits", it is actually 2 separate functions and area of expertise. I always find it very difficult to employ a C&B specialist with a well balance of compensation and benefits skill set. Now, let us dissect "Compensation" ...

Compensation is defined as pay / salary provided by an employer to an employee in return for work done.

Compensation comprised of two (2) core elements: -

1. Fixed base pay (e.g., basic salary) that does not vary;
2. Variable pay (e.g., variable bonus scheme, sales commission, etc.), which changes with performance results.

Usually, a basic compensation plan comprise of three (3) parts: -

1. Internal Alignment (IA)
2. External Competitiveness (EC)
3. Compensation Management (CM)

Internal Alignment: Makes pay comparison among jobs or skills level inside a single organization.

Step # 1: Job Analysis (JA)
It is the systematic process of collecting information that identifies similarities and differences in work. The outcome of JA is job documentation (e.g., Job Description).

Techniques of conducting JA: 

1. Observation
2. Interview
3. Questionnaire
4. Online (e.g., O Net)

Step # 2: Job Evaluation (JE)

It is the systematic process of determining the relatives worth of jobs. The outcome of JE is the development of an internal structure or hierarchical ranking of the job.

Note: Under Mercer methodology, I will be applying Mercer's e-IPE to determine the "Position Class" (aka PC) of the Job ... similar to job leveling.

Step # 3: Pay Policy

Deciding a pay policy is the process of determining whether the organization want to lead, lag or meet the market in compensation.

(source: Gregg Learning, 2018)

External Competitiveness (EC): Pay comparisons with competitors - other organization that hire people with same of similar knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Step # 4: Market Analysis

It is the process of analyzing compensation data gathered from other employers in a survey of the relevant labor market.

Note: Under Mercer methodology, I will be participating in Mercer's TRS (Total Remunerations Survey) to obtain the market data.

(source: Gregg Learning, 2018)

Step # 5: Base Pay Structure
A base pay structure is developed through job evaluation is merged with the external market pay rates in a single regression to develop a market pay line from which pay grades and ranges are develop.

A trained C&B Expert / Specialist will be able to "regress" the data into similar graph shown below.   

(source: Gregg Learning, 2018)

Compensation Management (CM): Implementing variable pay and ensuring employees understand their compensation.

Step # 6: Pay for Performance
Deciding the use of pay that varies with some measure of individual or organization performance such as merit, incentives, and variable pay.

(source: Gregg Learning, 2018)

Step # 7: Communicate the Plan
Communicate your compensation plan ensure employee understand their compensation and how a clear line of sight between organization mission, culture, and their compensation.

(source: Gregg Learning, 2018)

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Basic KPI / Statistic for Recruitment / Workforce Planning

29 Apr 2019: When managing your recruitment / workforce planning function, upper management will always request for a key performance indicator (KPI) to measure the effectiveness of your recruitment / workforce planning.

The most common KPIs / Statistic are: -

• Speed of Recruitment (number of days / lead time to close a position) - this method can be the easier if you have an Application Tracking System aka "ATS" to support the tracking e.g., (i) Operators recruitment is targeted at 60 days and computation start when the manpower requisition (MR) is approved until the candidate report for work; (ii) Manager is 120 days from MR is approved until the letter offer / appointment is signed.

• Cost Per Hiring. The formula ... adding together all the cost (listed below) and divided by the number of position recruited to get the average cost.
• Job advertisement cost 
• Recruitment technology e.g., ATS, online recruitment tool like "LinkedIn" and "Jobstreets"
• Employee referral rewards
• Travelling (e.g., taxi / flight ticket reimbursement to potential candidates; recruiter travelling & accommodation cost)
• Background / reference checks
• Relocation cost
• Recruiter "employment cost"

Note: The cost-per-hiring is also affected by the hiring methods adopted by the organization. Cost-per-hiring can also determine the organization decision to outsource the recruitment function, and assessing employee turnover impact on the recruitment cost.

(Source: Modified from HR360, 2018) 

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Workforce Planning Guideline / Steps

28 Apr 2019: Generic steps in Workforce Planning ... 

Definition of workforce planning: 
(i) Anticipating the organization workforce needs
(ii) Identify a processes / steps to build ideal workforce

Step #1: Gather Market Data

• Local employee rate
• Local community / potential workforce demographics
• Who is the competitors
• Global / national social, technological and economic trends
• Global / national political and legislative trends 

Reliable sources for market data and information: News; Industry Publication and Website; Networking Group; Government Agencies (e.g., Singapore Ministry of Manpower, Statistic Department, etc.)

Step #2: Analyzing The Organization

• Report on number of employee by job type / position
• Strategic important / value of each job / position
• Employees' skills inventory, knowledge, ability and experiences
• Teamwork and Leadership
• What are the specialized skill, expertise or qualification required by the organization
• Potential for Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA), e.g., telecommuting, compress workweek, part-timer, shorter work days / hours, stagger time report for work, etc.) 

Step #3: Supply and Demands

• Employees planning or going to retirement
• Employee turnover rate
• Potential for internal career opportunity (e.g., fill a position from within the organization)
• Input from upper management on staff / vacancies to meet short and long term business goals
• Position which cannot be filled internally (long term can be addressed by succession planning program)
• Potential employee who can be promoted
• Availability of potential candidates

Step #4: Develop Your Implementation Plan

• Timeline for filling open and anticipated position
• Job market trends
• Time to finalized job description and recruitment advertising

Step #5: Periodical Review of The Workforce Plan (e.g., Annual or Bi-annually)

• Take note and seek clarification when there are changes in ...

1. Staff ... turnover or newly created position
2. Management team
3. Economic
4. Physical location
5. New products and services

(Source: Modified from HR360, 2018)

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Harmonizing Benefits from a Post Merger and Acquisition Perspective

27 Apr 2019: I received a Whatsapp message from my ex-staff about what concept or model should he be applying if there is a need to harmonized benefits for 2 organizations in a post merger and acquisition situation. I shared with him that I don't have any concept or model but I have a checklist based on my last 2 working experiences (e.g., a french having a JV with a local Malaysian conglomerate; Swiss organization acquiring a UK organization).

Listed below are my checklist / key-points to consider: -

1. Understand the Post Merger and Acquisition agreement, check if the agreement cover the employ of existing employees or just buying the business only (this would mean the employee's employment will be terminated) and the new owner will have an options to offer re-employment to the former employees with a new employment terms and conditions.
2. Is the workforce unionism or none unionism?
3. Compare and identify both organization employment benefits.
4. Understand the country / local employment benefits that are governed by the local regulations. e.g., Employee in Indonesia is entitled to "long service holiday / leave" entitlement (it can be taken or buy-off) while Singapore and Malaysia does not have such regulated benefits.
5. Identify the employees' population of the newly merged / acquired workforce are under the scope of the union / under local employment act (EA) and those above the EA.
6. Identify special benefits approved by former employer or Personal-To-Holder (PTH) benefits.
7. Identify if the benefits are subjected to personal income tax, e.g., in Singapore Per Diem within IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) is tax exempted which in Malaysia, Per Diem is taxable under the JHDN (Jabatan Hasil Dalam Negeri).
8. Identify which employment benefits the new employer willing to "buy-off".
9. Obtain a reliable source (e.g., Mercer WBEG Report, Mercer Employment Benefits, etc.) on the local employment benefits.

The above checklist are just some of the key-points to consider. 

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Employee's "Probation" Confirmation: New Practices!

25 March 2017, Singapore: I was out on a dinner gathering with my old HR colleagues from the Aerospace Industry. They shared with me how they have adopted a new improved process for their employee's "probation" confirmation (aka automatic confirmation). I felt that it was a good topic for my HR blog.

Over the past 12 months, I have heard the following new practices how some company manage their "probation" or employment confirmation process: -

• One US company (based in Singapore), they don't have "probation period" for new employee who join them. In their employment contract, they is stated clearly that upon accepting their employment offer - the new employee is confirmed in their employment and is entitled to all the employment benefits. This is a great way to engage a new employee!

• One company in the Aerospace Industry, adopted an automatic probation confirmation method. The recruiter will send an email reminder to the hiring manager one month before a new employee probationary period will expire. The email clearly indicated that if their is not feedback or "report" of poor performance by the Hiring Manager - the employee will be automatically be confirmed. After the expiry date, the employee will be notified by email their their employment is confirmed. Assuming that after receiving the email reminder from the recruiter, the Hiring Manager request for the employment be termination or extend the probationary period – HR Dept will contact the Hiring manager to justify the case for termination or reason to extend the probation period.

I will introduce the above practices to my company. It will help reduce all the paperwork and improve how company engage new talent.

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Segregation of Duties: A Simple Example

18 November 2016, Singapore: The last couple of days, enforce my positive view of "Segregation of Duties". By adherence to this 'internal control" policy, it create less conflict and help you to see other people professional opinion... 

Example # 1:

I wanted to use my HR Blog e-HRM Inc as an information sharing and HR training for my team. But due to some stupid bloggers, they tarnish the blog site by blogging racism topics and up-load porn videos - my corporate IT deactivated the picture download. It affected most of my blog articles. After few round of explanation to my local IT management team, Corporate IT requested an official approval from the IT Director to make the decision if the website can be moved to the company white-list. I decided to drop an email to him and his manager and informing them that it is alright for them not to approve my request and I will respect their decision. At the end, the IT Director made the decision not to put the blog website on our company IT "white-List". I accept it. Why? Because it was his area of expertise and authority. 

Example # 2:

After a discussion with my Managing Director, I was tasked to inform my colleague, Manager in charge of Facilities Management to look into my department office renovation. I dropped him an email, enclosed the designated area floor plan and shared with him my proposal. He came to my office, looking worried and shared with me that he cannot accept my proposal as it will cost a lot and too complex due to internal piping and electrical wiring. I told him that I will accept his counter proposal as I am not the expert but shared with him my expectation that the rooms should be sound proof and visitors / non-HR staff should not be able to view my HR staff LCD monitor due to nature of their work.

Based on the above examples, if every one understand the "segregation of duties" policy - there will be less conflict, and misunderstanding among department / functional heads. Beside used as an internal control mechanism, it help to establish the area of accountable and decision making authority.  

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HR of The Future, By Dave Ulrich (1997) ....

14 November 2016, Singapore: After attending RGF "Future of HR" conference, I started to "googled" and was redirected to this website entitled (click it to read for details) "HR of The Future: Conclusion and Observations" by Dave Ulrich, 1997

Is was written by Dave Ulrich in 1997. Do you think, after almost 9 years ... 2016 ... How much has change and evolve in the field of HR Management?

Please write your comment.

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Singapore MOM 2017 Regulations: Paternity Leave and Maternity Leave for Unwed Mother

14 November 2016, Singapore: HR Professional, whose job portfolio cover Singapore - Please take note of Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) changes with effect from January 2017: -

• Paternity leave for father whose child is Singaporean citizen - with effect from January 2017, it will be mandatory for 2 weeks. Currently, 2016 regulations is 1 week mandatory while another 1 week is voluntary by the employer. For details, click the hyperlink: http://www.heybaby.sg/

• Maternity leave for single or unmarried Mother: With effect from 2017, they will be entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave compared to current which is only 12 weeks.

Click the hyperlink: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parliament-unwed-mums-to-get-16-week-maternity-leave 

Listed below are some of the current 2016 MOM regulations governing the paternity leave and maternity for single or unmarried mother. Click the hyperlink: -

• MOM: Maternity leave in special situations
• MOM: Paternity Leave

I know some of the reader from outside Singapore will mention that there is some form of discrimination between married and unmarried mother. I will not comment on it as it is not the objective this article but I do hope in the future, Singapore being a develop country will be able to close such gap.

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