On April 3, 2024, we had the privilege of sitting down with Jason Wee, Business Director of ELSA Pte Ltd. He oversees the business operation from arrangement of engineers to sales and daily activities. Established in 2008, ELSA Advance Private Limited specializes in manufacturing of Early Warning Liquid Leak Detection System. Jason shared his firsthand experience with the seamless integration of recruitment services and the career conversion program, facilitated by JonDavidson and Elitez Group. Join us as we explore Jason’s journey navigating hiring regulations and SME grants, and discover the invaluable support provided by Elitez Group and JonDavidson over the years.

How long have you been working with Jon Davison and how is it like working with Desmond?

Jason: I have started working for ELSA three years ago and that’s where I get into contact with JonDavidson’s Desmond. We actually subcontract our HR matters to him, which he have been very, very helpful to us in the last 3 years. Like I don’t really need to bother any of the recruitment matters because if we need any kind of engineers or technician or even operators, we would just look to Desmond and then he will actually do the sourcing of potential candidate for us, all we have to do is conduct the final interview with them and Desmond, would actually take care of the rest in terms of administration matters for us.

What kind of HR help were you looking for?

Jason: Being a small organisation, we do not have the luxury of time to look at our manpower, recruitment activities because we spend a lot time on other aspects of of the business. So we needed someone to help us to shortlist those potential candidates that are specialize in the areas of our needs.

So, how has JonDavidson helped you solve your HR problem?

Jason:  Desmond is definitely one big help on the recruitment side, I don’t need to spend time sourcing for the right candidates and can focus on the operations of the company. He also have a very wide spread of contacts, in recruiting people from overseas like Malaysia or even in China. In fact, some of the regulations or requirements by MOM which I may not be aware of, Desmond is always there to help and advice me accordingly. And even, for example, opportunity for getting grants from the government, support for cross training our stuff is also coming from him and this is something that he is giving us to have an added advantage from others.

What makes you choose JonDavidson over other agency partners?

Jason: I think Desmond is one person that’s very, very approachable and then he’s always willing to help. He’s always willing to find solution. And he’s always looking for new candidates that is the right fit for us. Whereas, you know, some other agency that i’ve experienced with in the past have very different goals from mine.

What’s your initial thought about Career Conversion Program (CCP) when you first heard about it?

Jason: To be honest, I was surprised that we have this CCP and it was actually recommended by Desmond himself, this actually helped to lower our cost in terms of hiring, especially when we want to bring in very highly qualified candidate. As all these highly qualified candidates normally comes in at a very high cost for us, at the same time we do not know whether can they contribute to the company because we can only go through the first interview with them and everything else is like a blank piece of paper to us.

At the end of the day for us, it’s about the return of investment (ROI) for the business. So with this CCP, helping us to subsidise some of the costs, we can make a DARE decision or a lower risk decision in bringing in and trying out a potential candidate. Should there be no CCP, we would not know whether we want to bring in a personnel that will cost us a large amount.

What made you decide to take on the Career Conversion Program (CCP)?

Jason: Hiring is one factor. Cost is another. For example, we have hired Sean from this Career Conversion Program, his credentials are pretty good and he has some of the strong assets that we need. But again, being an SME, we would like to have a person that can focus in many other areas not just the areas that he is good at. So taking on this program allows us cross-train him to other areas.

Lastly, What have the Career Conversion Program (CCP) helped the organization?

Jason: Whenever we have new employees, we want them to contribute as fast as possible, like almost immediately but we know this is not realistic.  WSG comes in with an investment to help fund the On-Job-Training that are specific to our industry. It helps our company to defray some cost when we are trying to cross train him to other areas as he may not be able to contribute while he is learning the new skills. This gives us less pressure and everything becomes more effective because we can take the time to train and teach him orderly.

In conclusion, the influx of highly qualified candidates often presents a significant financial investment for organizations. However, by strategically leveraging on resources and implementing cost-effective hiring strategies, organisations can ensure that they can also attract top talent while also maintaining fiscal responsibility.

From staffing solutions to career conversion program, Elitez Group & JonDavidson are able to help! Reach out to us at hrgogetter@elitez.asia to supercharge your organisation’s success today! 

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