A study of human resource management practices in Singapore shipping companies : recruitment, learning & development and reward

Abstract

Human Resource has always been the valuable capital in organizations, and there is no exception in Singapore shipping industry. In addition, due to the specialty of shipping business, there are unique characteristics in Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices in shipping companies. This study specifically aims to identify and evaluate the compensation practices to both shore-based employees and sea-going crew in Singapore shipping companies. A review of literatures would define the human resource management concepts and common practices. The context of shipping industry will be examined. Primary data is derived from survey and interviews conducted on shipping companies, their employees and graduating batch of maritime related students (potential employees). By analyzing the data and comparing the results from different surveys, the author identifies the common compensation practices in Singapore shipping companies, and concludes that raising the basic pay and adopting flexible performance-based reward will help in attracting and motivating the shore-based employees. On the other hand, offering better compensation and providing longer and more flexible leaves will be an effective way to attract and retain seafarers. This study was faced with the constraints of time and resources in conducting the seafarer survey. The accuracy of the result is limited by the sample size of surveys.