Techblog
Business As Usual When Employees Are Called Up For National Service
With most Singaporean men subjected to mandatory reservist duty, how can you ensure your business doesn’t suffer any disruption at times like these?
It’s something all small business owners in Singapore with male employees will face. These employees will be subjected to mandatory reservist duty until age 40 or even 50. Working around these absent employees is common in Singapore.
Besides the basic rights and responsibilities that business owners should know of themselves and their employees, keep the following four things in mind for business as usual while your employee is absent.
1. Have proper planning in place
Setting up a standard operating procedure (SOP) could be a great help, as it can inform what is expected of the employee before, during and after the reservist duty period.
Emphasising on personal responsibility, such an SOP encourages employees to plan ahead and complete their expected work before they leave, much like how one would when planning for a long vacation.
Should there be things that must be completed during the period, the employee could engage help beforehand, either in the form of enlisting colleagues (for example, by rotating roles), or hiring temporary staff to execute what needs to be done.
A handover checklist would definitely be essential, detailing the status of the project (or work to be done), what tasks need to be completed and by who, and so on.
2. Leverage technology
For ongoing projects or work, employees could make use of cloud storage services such as Google Drive for Work or Dropbox to allow all involved parties access to required documents and files.
Customer relationship management software like SecondCRM could also help colleagues who would need to follow up with sales leads or existing clients within that period.
3. Foster two-way communication
Employees on reservist duty should be contactable, either by phone or through email, even if replies may be delayed, to resolve any problems that might arise.
If possible, encourage your employees to check in when they can while on reservist duty, especially if there is a project at hand. But communication should go both ways, and employers or supervisors could also drop a friendly text first to ask how things are instead.
4. Support employees with NS-friendly policies
On top of reservist duty, an annual individual physical proficiency test (IPPT) is mandatory for all Singaporean men. Companies could support their employees with NS-friendly policies to make these more enjoyable experiences.
Some in Singapore already have these in place, such as giving their employees a day of leave to prepare for IPPT, or half a day off after their reservist duty to recuperate. Others give monetary benefits for passing or improving on IPPT scores.
What you give your employees is up to your own discretion but any benefit shows the company cares for their employees’ welfare. This can boost loyalty from employees and help your business run smoothly, even in their absence.
Summary:
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Proper planning and personal responsibility is key to ensuring business as usual
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Leverage on technology for easy accessibility and communication of information
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Encourage two-way communication
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NS-friendly policies support employee welfare