1. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Managing Data Collection Functions in a Changing Environment By Ms Adeline Ng (Deputy Director, Collection) Manpower Research and Statistics Department Ministry of Manpower 25 September 2013

2. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Vital resource for government and community Rising demands to track new labour market trends and developments Highlights: Driving forces for change Major initiatives (over last few years) New Initiatives (just launched or in pipeline) I.Singapores National Manpower Statistics © 2013 Government of Singapore 2/36

3. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace A.Understanding fast changing economic & social environment Demand for more detailed labour market statistics Rising volume and complexity of statistical information required Growing reporting burden on respondents More complex questionnaires, survey e-templates and validation rules II.DRIVING FORCES FOR CHANGE © 2013 Government of Singapore 3/36

4. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace B.Meeting respondents rising expectations More discerning and vocal Frequently questioning the objectives of national surveys Challenged the compulsory participation of the surveys Persuasion VS Coercion Little tolerance for poor service II.DRIVING FORCES FOR CHANGE © 2013 Government of Singapore 4/36

5. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace C.Managing staffing needs of a more demanding collection function Reliance on temporary interviewers for manpower flexibility New capability needs : Supervision of large numbers of temporary interviewers Delivery of effective training More data cleaning & validation Preservation of high response rates II.DRIVING FORCES FOR CHANGE © 2013 Government of Singapore 5/36

6. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace A.More targeted surveys Assess and monitor specific labour market topics and workforce segments Understands: o Quality of workplaces o Employment of older workers o Challenges in managing manpower needs o Employees' working conditions o Employment outcomes of laid-off workers o Potential entrants to labour force III.MAJOR INITIATIVES Establishment surveys Household surveys © 2013 Government of Singapore 6/36

7. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace B.Leveraging on technology 1.Integrated Manpower Survey System (iMSS) When launched in early 2010, worlds first integrated internet-cum-intranet platform Amalgamates traditional survey systems to single 3-in-1 IT system (internet survey system + survey management system + CATI) Shortens survey turnaround time Improve data timeliness and quality Real-time monitoring of key survey indicators III.MAJOR INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 7/36

8. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Capabilities and Advantages of iMSS Function/ModuleCapabilityAdvantages Survey and rule editor Addition, amendment and deletion of questions in the survey e- template, covering typologies such as checkbox, dropdown, matrix, textbox and calculation matrix. Survey managers without complex programming skills can amend/create the e-template without going through any third-party. Reduce turnaround time for launch of online surveys Sampling Auto-sampling of a survey from the survey frame, using embedded programmes. Unless there are amendments to the sampling methodology, the samples are auto-generated. Live dashboards Monitoring of survey progress (eg, by geographical area) using a traffic light system. Live monitoring of survey progress Short Message Service (SMS) submission mode Respondents able to submit their survey returns via sms using handphones. Suitable for very short answers: (Yes/No)

9. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Capabilities and Advantages of iMSS Function/ Module CapabilityAdvantages Front-to- back integration Interviewers able to validate and query respondents inputs in the internet environment and assist to fill up the forms online. Ensure data quality as all survey responses will undergo the same set of validation rules. Enables interviewer to toggle between internet and intranet modes of the survey system. Survey manage- ment Generation of progress reports by survey, including interim response rates and case status by interviewer / supervisor. Sending of reminder alerts (sms and emails) to respondents. Performance of each interviewer and supervisor is tracked to ensure efficient staff deployment. Enables the efficient management of reminder notifications. Job Control Enables case assignment, tracking and retrieval of assigned cases by officer ID. Enables better management of interviewers (esp. large surveys). Audit trail User access control for application functions. Audit trial enables analysis of most frequently edited survey item, and by which interviewer/supervisor. Ensures accountability and data integrity.

10. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace iMSS: Single IT platform from start to finish © 2013 Government of Singapore 10/36

11. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace

12. B.Leveraging on technology 2.Enhance training through E-Learning Portal Commissioned in October 2010 11 e-modules achieve up to 13 e-learning hours Covers objectives, concepts & definitions for specific surveys Interactive platform with online quizzes Acquire skills & anticipate challenges through modules – E.g.: Customer Service and Probing Techniques modules III.MAJOR INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 12/36

13. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace E-Learning: Probing Module © 2013 Government of Singapore 13/36

14. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace E-Learning: Drag and Drop test

15. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace C.Managing Respondents Expectations 1.Respondent Engagement Session Focus group engagement of establishments Hear out respondents concerns and their expectations Build rapport with respondents Facilitate buy-in through: – In-depth sharing of survey objectives – How their inputs can shape policies / programmes III.MAJOR INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 15/36

16. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace C.Managing Respondents Expectations 2.Voucher incentive programme Started in 2009 for household respondents Scope for greater buy-in to increase willingness of respondents Programme facilitated high response rates Entails new operational processes: Voucher storage Detailed record keeping Tracking returns/non-receipts Approved processes & audits III.MAJOR INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 16/36

17. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace A.Behavioural Insights (BI) Consultation with UK Cabinet Offices BI Team Rolling out randomized controlled trials of behavioural interventions Aimed : – Raise internet mode of submission – Overall response rates IV.NEW INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 17/36

18. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace B.Creating value for respondents through AutoBenchmarking Worlds first in empowering users to benchmark against official manpower data Interactive charts pre-populated with establishments survey responses upon secure login, to compare and benchmark against national and industry norms Direct benefit to survey respondents Broaden data sharing and our way of thanking establishments for their cooperation IV.NEW INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 19/36

19. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace AutoBenchmarking: Part of a whole suite of online data services: Interactive charts, Dynamic dashboard, Understanding statistics module Encourage wider usage & understanding of labour market statistics Enhance engagement with industry, garner greater buy-in from survey respondents Help establishments gauge performance and raise industry standards Enhance the analytical capability of data users IV.NEW INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 20/36

20. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Previously, data is shown in Tables or Charts © 2013 Government of Singapore 21/36

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23. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace New Interactive Website (http://stats.mom.gov.sg)http://stats.mom.gov.sg 24/36

24. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Bar Percentile Monthly Basic Wage (exclude Bonuses) : SGD$4,000 © 2013 Government of Singapore 25/36 Interactive Charts Data are presented visually in simple-to-understand charts

25. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace C.Leveraging on Payroll Software Companies for establishment-based surveys Feasibility studies for Extensible Markup Language (XML) format for payroll software Act as an interface to online survey submission Easy extraction of establishments manpower data Advantages: Saves time Allows more accurate data submission Better quality statistics Fewer call-backs to respondents IV.NEW INITIATIVES © 2013 Government of Singapore 34/36

26. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace What has worked well in the past may not be sufficient for the future … to stay ahead of the changing collection demands V.CONCLUSION © 2013 Government of Singapore 35/36

27. A Great Workforce A Great Workplace Thank You