WHAT’S BUZZING
Business leaders in Singapore trust bots to make sustainability decisions
Photo: Unsplash
Oracle’s No Planet B study has found that the top challenges when implementing environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) initiatives are the time-consuming manual reporting processes, lack of data, and obtaining ESG metrics from partners and third-parties.
Most business leaders in Singapore also admit that human bias and emotion often distract from the end goal. As such, 97% would trust a bot over a human to make sustainability and social decisions. They believe bots are better at predicting future outcomes based on metrics/past performance (52%), collecting different types of data without error (51%), and making rational, unbiased decisions (49%).
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However, people are still essential to the success of sustainability and social initiatives. The Singapore respondents believe people are better at educating others on the information needed to make decisions (55%), implementing changes based on feedback from stakeholders (54%), and making context-informed strategic decisions (43%).
“Business leaders understand the importance of ESG, yet often have the erroneous assumption that they need to prioritise either profits or sustainability. The truth is this is not a zero-sum game. Organisations that [leverage technology to] get this right can not only support their communities and the environment, but also realise significant revenue gains, cost savings, and other benefits that impact the bottom line,” says Juergen Lindner, Oracle’s senior vice president and CMO, Global Marketing SaaS.
Singapore firms are not investing enough in data literacy
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There is a disconnect between decision-makers and rank-and-file workers in Singapore regarding the adequacy and reach of existing data skills training, a recent Tableau’s study found.
Although 78% of Singapore decision-makers believe their department successfully provides workers with the necessary data skills, only 37% of employees concur. This is worrying as by 2025, 66% of employees are expected to use data heavily in their job, up from 26% in 2018.
One reason for the disconnect is that only 28% of Singapore firms are making data training available to all their employees, with the onus to train people usually falling on department heads or team leads. Moreover, 41% of Singapore decision-makers offer training only for employees in traditional data roles (like analytics or data science).
The study also reveals that data literacy positively correlates with employee retention. More than eight in ten (83%) Singapore employees say they are more likely to stay at a company that sufficiently trains them with the data skills they need. They believe they make better and faster decisions when they can use data effectively.
“The value of data can only be realised when [everyone is] able to draw insights and turn them into action, fast. Businesses today must translate this recognition to commitment by investing in their people through training and development. Only then can they capitalise on the enormous opportunity in our high growth region and drive success,” says JY Pook, senior vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific and Japan for Tableau at Salesforce.
IN PICTURE
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Photo: NEC and JEN
JEN by Shangri-La Hotels have introduced a contactless check-in solution to bring a more efficient and connected experience to its guests. Powered by NEC, the solution is deployed at standalone kiosks at JEN Singapore Orchard Gateway and JEN Singapore Tanglin.
The unmanned check-in solution comes equipped with E-Visitor Authentication capabilities, which use NEC’s facial recognition technology to seamlessly verify a guest’s identity and validate their stay with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Once this back-end process is done, a room key will be dispensed and the check-in process will be completed, all within minutes.
DIGITAL LIFE
Strong, unique passwords are cumbersome and hard to remember but they are here to stay. Here are two password managers that can help manage your online logins.
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