Singapore’s Institute of Banking and Finance held its annual conference today and because the theme was “talent and leadership strategies” we decided to go along. Here’s what three senior industry players chose to highlight during a panel discussion. If you agree or disagree with their assessments, leave your comments at the bottom.

OCBC breaks down the barriers

David Conner, director and chief executive officer, OCBC, stressed two things regarding HR policy at his firm: 1) a focus on outcomes; and 2) empathy. The former means that employees should not simply work in their own narrow job silos, they must also help to build the bank’s overall market share.

And “empathy” isn’t as fluffy as it sounds. For example, Conner said OCBC has a programme which gets different teams together and gives them the power to improve a bank-wide process (e.g. risk management). Instead of being “literally at war with each other” teams break out of their silos and employees get the chance to contribute ideas about how the firm operates.

SGX gets tough (and goes soft)

The old “socialist approach” to compensation at the Singapore Exchange, in which staff used to receive an equal bonus percentage, is now a distant memory, said Seck Wai Kwong, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, SGX. There is now a “culture of high performance” at the exchange which rewards top achievers. “We want to be a caring organisation, but we also want to help our top performers,” said Seck.

He also told the conference that SGX has renovated two rooms in which staff can access guidance counsellors on an anonymous basis and talk about “any problem” they have. “We want to focus on the mental health of the staff…I once heard that burnout happens not when people work too hard, but when they don’t have a sense of purpose.”

Hedge fund managers don’t really do HR

“A hedge fund is the antithesis of a big corporation,” said Peter Douglas, principal, GFIA. Most hedge fund managers try hard not to be leaders because it keeps them away from the business. “A successful hedge fund manager turns up to work, gets direct feedback and returns home with as few interruptions as possible,” he added.

But what about more junior staff? Highly structured, bank-style HR doesn’t come into play here either. “The motivation for non-principals is the apprenticeship factor of learning from people who are very good at what they do.” Douglas said about 80 per cent of these employees could be better compensated at an investment bank. “But would they have more control over their career? Absolutely not.”

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