Social enterprise partnerships are an opportunity for greater DEI outcomes
Partnering with social enterprises geared towards diversity in employment can help organisations boost corporate excellence, social responsibility, and empowerment of underserved communities. This is one of several insights found in the latest Chief of Staff Asia research paper, on remote working. Navigating Remote and Hybrid Work Boundaries in Southeast Asia is now available for subscriber download […]
Elite Technology cuts 20% of workforce, exits non-core markets
Elite Technology, a legal technology company, has announced that it will be cutting 20% of its workforce and exiting non-core markets, including China, India, Mexico, Poland, and Singapore. The company’s CEO, Mark Dorman, said in an email to staff that the decision was made after a “comprehensive evaluation” of the business and that it was […]
RCBC, Hungarian FinTech partnership to accommodate OFWs
At the Hungarian-Philippine Roundtable Discussion on Labor Market Trends last July, Hungarian and Filipino executives signed the Memorandum of Understanding for an embedded finance partnership providing a wide range of digital financial services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Stakeholders are the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and Hungary-based fintech Peak Card Services Ltd. (Peak) and […]
Philippine office demand to hit post-COVID high in 2023
Demand for office space in the Philippines is expected to reach a post-pandemic high of 1 million square meters (sq m) in 2023, driven by the robust IT-BPM sector. This is still below the all-time high levels seen in 2018 and 2019, but it reflects a strong recovery from the pandemic. The IT-BPM sector accounted […]
Malaysia’s labour market improves in August
Malaysia’s labour market continued to improve in August 2023, with the unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 3.4%. This was supported by a 2.1% increase in the number of employed persons year-on-year. The services sector continued to be the main driver of employment growth, with wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage services, and transportation and […]
Flash Coffee closes Singapore operations to prioritise other markets
Flash Coffee, a Singapore-based coffee chain, has closed its operations in Singapore to focus on other markets, the company said in a statement on Friday (Oct 13). The chain previously operated 11 outlets in Singapore, but these have all been closed. Employees at the Jurong Point outlet had previously put up a notice suggesting that […]
Remote work is boosting economic opportunities in Southeast Asia
Four years after the onset of Covid-19, opportunities for remote or hybrid work remain widespread. As well as providing flexibility for employees, these arrangements also pave the way for workers to ‘cushion’ their financial wellbeing in the face of economic uncertainty. This is because remote or hybrid setups make it easier for people to work […]
Vietnam faces semiconductor talent shortage
Vietnam is facing a shortage of semiconductor talent, as the country’s booming semiconductor industry struggles to meet the growing demand for skilled workers. Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnam needs 5,000-10,000 engineers a year for the semiconductor industry, but only 20 percent of demand can be met. The US government […]
The Reading List: What is fixation trap and how can your team avoid it?
Here is some light reading material curated by Chief of Staff Asia to keep you updated over the weekend. Is Your Team Caught in the Solution Fixation Trap? | Harvard Business Review The solution fixation trap is a decision-making bias where a team rushes into discussing possible solutions without fully understanding the problem at […]
Philippines unemployment rate falls to 4.4%, lowest in 3 months
The unemployment rate in the Philippines fell to a three-month low of 4.4 percent in August 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday. This is the lowest unemployment rate since May 2023. The number of employed persons also increased to 48.07 million in August, up from 47.87 million a year earlier. NEDA said that apart […]
