60 seconds with a rising star: Jon Goh from Standard Chartered Bank

This edition of 60 seconds with a rising star features and celebrates the achievements of Jon Goh, SG Core Programmes and Governance Manager at Standard Chartered Bank.

Tell us about yourself. What’s your role in your company and what do you like to do in your free time? 

I am Jon Goh, and I am working at Standard Chartered Bank as a SG Core Programmes and Governance Manager. My key responsibilities are to ensure that we build a strong Singapore Core workforce within the bank, while prioritising meritocracy as a key value of our recruitment process, and to partner with government agencies and leverage on various government initiatives to support fresh graduates and mid-career switchers. Taking a break from my full-time profession, I like to spend my free time cooking and reading up about real estate and property investment.

How would your friends describe you?

My friends would describe me as someone who is logical, analytical and meticulous. In addition, I am seen as someone who is conservative and has to have a few contingency plans. 

Why did you choose a career in HR?

I will be honest and say that I did not start off choosing a career in HR. It started with what I think I did not like, followed by what I thought I would like to give a try. It was an opportunity given by my first manager where she decided to take the leap of faith to hire me as her intern because she saw the potential in me. I would have never entered the world of HR if it was not for her. Till this day, after eight years, I am ever grateful and thankful that I was privileged to be given this opportunity.

What have you learnt about yourself since the start of the pandemic?

The pandemic has definitely taught me to be adaptable to the way we work. What used to be taken for granted like daily face-to-face huddles or rolling your chair over to your colleague’s desk to ask a quick question was completely replaced with the hassle of setting up 15 min zoom calls. As with all changes, this was a rather painful change that we all had to get used to.

Through this pandemic, we also realised the need to digitise and automate many of our HR processes. There were also many conversations with the government authorities to rethink and improve the existing manual processes. In a way, this pandemic brought out the creativity in us to think harder and work smarter. 

When thinking about future of the workforce, what skills do you feel HR need now more than ever, as a result of the pandemic? 

With technology at its forefront, it is inevitable that the way we work has transformed and will continue to do so. While technical skills such as coding and data analytics are good to have, I feel that, as HR professionals, it has become more apparent that we need to be fundamentally knowledgable about HR policies, total reward philosophies, labour laws and government regulations. It is only by having these strong foundations that we can be the business partners that our businesses can trust and rely on. It is also only then we can be quick to react and be agile in the way we approach changes.

What advice would you provide to graduates thinking about entering a career in HR? 

Join a career in HR with an open heart, an inquisitive mind and a willing spirit to do and to learn.

What does success look like to you from a work and personal perspective? 

To me, success is being privileged in life to find something that you love doing, and you want to do it well today and do it better tomorrow.

Please note that all commentary and opinions provided are those of the individual, and not the company.