Leadership and the Workforce in Singapore: Evaluations by the Singapore Human Resources Institute (Report) (Survey‪)‬

ABSTRACT During 2006 the Singapore Human Resources Institute commissioned two visionary Human Resources Management (HRM) surveys. The first, which was undertaken in March, was a comprehensive examination of the characteristics and behaviours of the Singaporean workforce. Later in that year, in September, a second survey was conducted to determine the views of employees as to 'what makes a good leader.' This paper presents an outcome of the findings of these two surveys. The key findings of the initial survey revealed that many employees held valued academic qualifications; that these employees were reliable, diligent, and held good work attributes; and many were enthusiastic, ambitious and held vocationally relevant skills of problem solving and team work. A key finding of the second leadership survey demonstrated that there were perceived substantial gaps in leadership skills such as motivating and inspiring, giving recognition for achievement, and providing feedback. More positive findings were in terms of relationships with staff, the quality of leadership performance and associated competencies. These important findings are discussed from the standpoint of engagement/recruitment as well as the strategies for human resource development, which are vital elements of healthy HRM policies and practices.