Jobs and Recruitment Solutions | Insurance | Financial Services | Technology

W1siziisijiwmtkvmtevmjavmtyvndyvndyvmza5l3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja181nty0mzu0ndqgkdeplmpwzyjdlfsiccisinrodw1iiiwimzawedmwmcmixsxbinailcjvchrpbwl6zsjdxq

[VIDEO] Ready, set, bake: High Achievers Club

Last Friday our High Achievers competed in our very own Bake Off challenge. In a white marquee tucked away in a pub garden in south London, all that was missing was the TV crew and Mary Berry. Here are some highlights - on your marks, get set, bake!

W1siziisijiwmtkvmtevmtqvmdkvntkvmdqvotuvc2h1dhrlcnn0b2nrxzm4mtmwmzi2mi5qcgcixsxbinailcj0ahvtyiisijmwmhgzmdajil0swyjwiiwib3b0aw1pemuixv0

All great plans start with one goal in mind: The Great Bay Area

The goal; to turn Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and nine Guangdong cities into a thriving technological and financial empire that will rival the likes of Silicon Valley by 2035. The beginning of 2019 saw the blueprint released for the development of the Great Bay Area (GBA). Its ambition to transform into an innovation hub has been well received and if all goes smoothly, we will see the region’s ability to increase the Chinese economy go from strength to strength. Hong Kong is already named amongst these regions as a world financial centre and Silicon Valley’s established presence offers a roadmap for Hong Kong within the GBA. There has been the question of where Hong Kong currently stands in the national development plans due to the social unrest that is taking place, but Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stated Hong Kong’s involvements has not lessened. Lam said: “Simply put, there is completely no change at all.” What is the plan for Hong Kong and its neighbours? To see the full plan, use the link provided The GBA should be led by reform and driven by innovation Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Macau and Shenzhen are the four core cities of 11 Authorities must establish and plan for financial risks Key financial and technology development areas in the plan An international and technological hub that will provide more opportunities for Hong Kong and Macau youths to create start-ups in the bay area Stock connections between Shanghai and Hong Kong will be enhanced Deepen the ties and to bridge the gap between Hong Kong and mainland financial systems Eligible Hong Kong and Macau banks, including insurance firms, will have support in opening branches in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai Cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in the establishment of a GBA international commercial bank in Guangdong What opportunities can we expect to see emerge? A fundamental focus in the transformation of the GBA plan is to present both businesses and professionals with the opportunity to nurture technology talent and develop new concepts, along with forging thriving partnerships and driving growth. To ensure these opportunities will be available across the borders, authorities will recognise numerous professional qualifications and lead with an open mind to new requirements that the industry will demand from candidates. “These will help Hong Kong’s professional sectors to enter the GBA and develop.” Lam added. Given Hong Kong’s vibrant market paired with China’s already existing wealth of talent (especially technology and software engineers), it is important for companies within the GBA to utilise talented professionals from beyond its borders. Hong Kong has world class educational initiatives to support technology such as artificial intelligence and data science, which can build for a strong innovative power to boost the market. There is no current reason or barrier as to why technology talent across cyber security, project management, the digital space and much more should not grow as the GBA development progresses. If anything, the GBA plan breaks down those potential walls and invites ambitious companies and candidates alike to be apart of a global evolution.

W1siziisijiwmtkvmtevmtivmtqvmtuvmdmvotk4l3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja18xodyzntuyntygkdeplmpwzyjdlfsiccisinrodw1iiiwimzawedmwmcmixsxbinailcjvchrpbwl6zsjdxq

Grab: Steering the industry towards positive technological innovation and hiring sustainability

Grab boasts an environment that breeds innovation, thrives on technological adoption and works to stay ahead of its competition. All the while attracting new talent and maintaining existing employees who feel supported and nurtured. What 3 elements can be contributed to Grab’s growing empire? Success breeds success: Grab’s continuous, undeniable growth Starting its life in a garage in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Grab has expanded across South East Asia, moving seamlessly into each new stage of growth as the super app that covers multiple services offering transport, GrabFood, GrabFinance, mobile payment and package delivery to over 36 million users. Grab this year it celebrated its seventh year in the region and sixth year in the Philippines, estimated to have contributed US$5.8bn to Southeast Asia’s economy in 12 months to March 2019. Grab has recently expanded in its network of partners by joining forces with Booking.com, allowing the app users access to its large fleet of drivers across 8 countries in Southeast Asia. Truly reinforcing its name as one of the most diverse touchpoint companies in the world. A recruitment outlook that fills its employees’ hunger for progress One of the toughest problem’s companies experience in our digital world today is being able to provide high calibre professionals with the opportunity to work on challenging tasks, the ability to innovate and be continuously encouraged to surpass boundaries. A way that Grab can support this challenge for its engineers and data scientists is to enable them to work on tough tasks and let them think of out of the box solutions. They are given the go-ahead and entrusted to work on some fascinating problems in transport, economics and the logistics of the multiple businesses under the Grab umbrella. Another key factor of growth is the continuity in recruitment, but most importantly the retention and training of talent. Across Asia and the US, Grab uses its own talent pool and connections to have a competitive advantage when it needs to scale and develop its talent pool. Over the last decade, engineering has been on a slow incline and the hope from Grab is that local graduates in the region will see the enormous benefit to having a career in the Internet economy and will take the risk in joining startups when they graduate. However, the opportunities are not just afforded to the experienced, but to the ambitious. Grab has launched an AI Southeast Asia Challenge that promotes the use of data and AI to solve some of the region’s biggest urban challenges. Even junior employees who are working for Grab do so while studying or supporting their families and are given an open door to enhancing their skills beyond their title. The business bleeds innovation Grab has established and embedded a culture and working environment that aims for innovation. The technological guru has announced its intentions to invest $150 million in artificial intelligence and in turn, to actively hire more engineers to expand across all areas of the business. A way of thinking that is setting it aside from other tech hungry giants is its outlook that AI should not be built for the sake of building it, but so it acts as a vital benefit to partners, employees and consumers. “We want to go from AI-powered to AI everywhere,” co-founder Tan Hooi Ling in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin. The data science team at Grab have the combined objective to upgrade what they currently offer by using AI, data mining and deep learning. They are amongst the top 10 organisations hiring data scientists in Singapore and seek those with experience in machine learning (ML) frameworks, Scala, Python, building ML models and more. A successful combination; prioritising areas of the business that will grow its profits and presence across the globe and continuously nurturing talent and opening their doors to those with the same drive and ambition to succeed and stay ahead of the competition.

W1siziisijiwmtkvmtavmjivmdkvmtmvmzcvmjy0l3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja18zmty0nzc5mtmuanbnil0swyjwiiwidgh1bwiilcizmdb4mzawiyjdlfsiccisim9wdgltaxplil1d

[BLOG] Will the growing relationship between robotics and the financial services sector last?

It would not be the first time we have seen a piece of technology strike up a promising connection within the financial services industry. Banks, insurers and asset managers leading up to 2019 successfully piloted robotics programmes, but few have succeeded in implementing a permanent structure into their business. The benefits from doing this in terms of industry transformation and cost savings, places software robotics on the priority list for the C-suite of most financial services organisations. How far have we progressed in robotics? It is not all success stories and this a fundamental truth behind implementing robotics, it will be a case of trial and trial again for real world stability. The financial sector faces ever-evolving challenges and it is continuously faced with the changing demands of its customers along with keeping a watchful eye on regulators and their requirements. To remain successful and ahead of the competition, organisations are required to offer an innovative, streamlined customer experience, at the same time as reducing costs, expanding the visibility of what is on offer and enhancing efficiency. This is where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) comes into action. How are we going to see RPA benefit financial services? Financial services is a market that becomes more saturated each day, so to stay competitive, it is no longer beneficial to produce a staggered review of what is being delivered to clients and customers, but there is a need for a continuous assessment of a company’s place amongst its competitors. Robotic process automation utilises user friendly computer software that allows for an effortless integration without touching underlying programmes in place. RPA has become an invaluable aspect to the banking sector, assisting organisations to transfer processes from human labour to software. The moment RPA and the financial world met this virtual workforce has minimised the human element in the completion of tasks. By transferring tedious, smaller jobs to machines, banks have created a direct impact on efficiency to staff retention and expenses. Although RPA is not limited to just banking, it can benefit all across the financial world including its ability to manage collections, account closures and service desk enquiries. It is an all year-round investment that allows companies to use RPA as a guaranteed accuracy system. Using it to reduce error and protect customer data, additionally limiting the exposure to regulations such as GDPR. Is there anyway to stop this seemingly essential force? Technology has firmly established itself as revolutionising financial services. However, although many banks already have some form of RPA in place, it is safe to say it is not being used to its full potential. What is clear and vital even before considering RPA, is to think of the vision and scale of where it can be used in an organisation and to ensure it is scaled for maximum success.

W1siziisijiwmtkvmtavmtqvmtqvmtyvmtmvody4l3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja181mjy3mtyyotggkdiplmpwzyjdlfsiccisinrodw1iiiwimzawedmwmcmixsxbinailcjvchrpbwl6zsjdxq

Head of Marketing, Sarah Roebuck promoted to Partner

We are delighted to announce the promotion of Head of Marketing, Sarah Roebuck to Partner.

W1siziisijiwmtkvmdkvmtmvmdkvmjgvmzcvnte4l3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja18xmda5mtyxmtazlmpwzyjdlfsiccisinrodw1iiiwimzawedmwmcmixsxbinailcjvchrpbwl6zsjdxq

[BLOG] Why is Hong Kong seeing an increase in cyber-attacks?

For a country building its way up the technology ladder and expanding its infrastructures capabilities – the need for experienced and diligent cyber security professionals is vital. Hong Kong is accepting the compulsory measures it must put in place to protect its country’s information. However, this threat is not limited to the economic damages, for example hacks on private information, but is expanding its reach to impacting foreign and security policies. Those behind the cyber-attacks are smart, there is no denying it. Rogue hackers with no particular scope of specialised skills are finding it easier to remain undetected as technology is making more information public and creating multiple connections between companies and individuals. The banking sector is taking the full force of these attacks, especially from online scams such as phishing emails, fake banking websites and false banking apps has seen a year on year increase in incidents. Even by looking at the numbers for 2016 through to 2018, the challenge organisations can expect for 2019 are going to be near enough unmanageable. A frustrating setback for any company that is striving to make technological leaps is to then have it stripped away by a cyber-attack. The crucial way to manage these successfully is staying up to date with security updates and understanding how to look for future threats, while stepping back and taking in the big picture of what weaknesses you are offering up on a plate. With new steps in digital transformations, there will always be those looking to exploit these changes, prepare you with a team of professionals that can build cyber security into your company’s culture.

W1siziisijiwmtkvmtavmtcvmtavmdavmtkvmtewl3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja183ndk3mdc2mzytkdeplmpwzyjdlfsiccisinrodw1iiiwimzawedmwmcmixsxbinailcjvchrpbwl6zsjdxq

Are you ready for IR35?

IR35 is perhaps the biggest change in taxation for contractors and professional services companies in the last 20 years. Employers will be responsible for determining a contractor’s employment status, and each role must be individually determined. WHAT IS IR35? IR35 legislation was designed to assess whether a contractor is a genuine contractor rather than a 'disgused' employee, for the purposes of paying tax. In simple terms, this occurs where an individual, who for all intents and purposes, would be an employee of an end user “client” but who operates through an intermediary vehicle such as a personal services company (PSC) to avoid income taxes and to manipulate national insurance contributions. IR35 comes into effect on the April 6th 2020. WHAT CHANGES WILL THE LEGISLATION BRING? We've compiled a factsheet detailing the changes that the legislation will bring and the options available to you, from PAYE through to SOW solutions through our consultancy arm, ECMS. Click here to download the IR35 factsheet. FACTORS TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOUR CONTRACTORS ARE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF IR35 There are a number of important factors that need to be considered in order to determine whether a role falls outside IR35 and is compliant with off-payroll working reforms. MUTUALITY OF OBLIGATION: This is a key test to determining whether a contractor is truly self-employed. Can the contractor, as the worker, accept and reject work? As a contractor, can they decline an assignment or a piece of work. If mutuality of obligation exists, they could fall outside of IR35. SUBSTITUTION: Does the role allow for the contractor to substitute themselves, at their own cost? For example, if the contractor is taking time off for medical reasons, can they send someone in their place, at their own cost. If they can’t send someone else, they could be within IR35. SUPERVISION & CONTROL: A contractor agreement that specifies terms like mandated hours they are required to work, is one that points towards employment (inside IR35) rather than self-employment. If they are providing services for the agreed job but also working on different tasks, the contract could be outside of IR35. PART & PARCEL: If contractors are embedded in the company structure this is more employment rather than self-employment, and therefore likely inside IR35. WHAT ARE MY IR35 OPTIONS? DEEMED MODEL: The contractor can remain a contractor and can remain as the director of their PSC (Personal Services Company), but for this particular assignment, is “deemed” inside of IR35, and the “fee payer” then has to withhold the appropriate taxes. PAY AS YOU EARN (PAYE): Contractor can convert to become a PAYE engaged individual. UMBRELLA: The contractor becomes an employee under an umbrella company, and the umbrella company withholds the appropriate taxes, thus mitigating IR35. It is likely you are engaging contractors through an umbrella already. REMAIN OUTSIDE OF IR35: There will be a portion of the contractor population that will be deemed outside of IR35 and remain as the director of their PSC. STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) SOLUTION: If a piece of work can genuinely be delivered through milestone and deliverable based outcomes, then SOW is a viable solution. Through our consultancy arm, ECMS, we are able to provide a SOW solution. EXCLUSIVE ONLINE TOOL TO DETERMINE STATUS We have partnered with specialist IR35 legal advisers to provide a tool, exclusively to Eames clients, to help you assess the status of your contractor workforce. The tool has been developed with a reputable legal firm in line with HMRC case law Designed to address the gaps in the CEST tool, and is considered more accurate for determining status Simply answer a moderate set of questions and get an "inside/outside" determination The tool automates the whole process and provides the required audit trail Provided the information used by the client to answer te questions is fully accurate, then the decision is insured up to £75k per contractor (by Markel), so there is peace of mind in the event of an investigation by the HMRC Please get in touch with Daniel Navazesh on daniel.navazesh@eamesconsulting.com to find out more.

W1siziisijiwmtkvmdgvmjkvmdyvmzmvmtkvnzi1l3nodxr0zxjzdg9ja18xmza1mjcwotq2lmpwzyjdlfsiccisinrodw1iiiwimzawedmwmcmixsxbinailcjvchrpbwl6zsjdxq

[BLOG] The truth behind the tech hype in Asia

Singapore’s digital transformation is driven by the country’s vital need to create not only fast but sustainable growth. The government is supporting the innovative ambition of the industry so they can harness such technologies as data science and smart transportation to improve the country’s way of life. Southeast Asia is home to a growing technology market that is drawing in young professionals and boasts a promising number of start-ups looking to make their home in Singapore. However, this technology ‘hype’ means that companies who want to be a part of it do so, without having a clear picture of what it is. What are the common misconceptions with regards to AI technology? Many companies already in Singapore or who are looking to expand into the region are already making impressive strides with new tech. Let’s look at artificial intelligence. AI is pegged as a technology to change the world. It has opened discussions on how it can contribute to employment, health care, and how it will affect political data security. Surprisingly, some professionals do not realise that a large portion of AI programmes that are up and running today are built for a very particular use, or are classed as narrow AI. An automated data processing system for example simply automates managing multiple spreadsheets.. This is an example of a narrow AI platform, but the extent of today’s capabilities stretches to a system with greater accuracy and advanced intelligence for a specific purpose in its sector. This is not to say that AI won’t reach the potential that it is being tested to, but the rise and fall of some start-ups in Singapore can be jumping on board with such advanced analytics transformations and not fully being aware of what they have to do. How can the market be better informed about new technology? The industry and Singapore in particular have a fantastic opportunity to lead from the front of the tech hype and set the examples. As with any new technology it is all about providing the right education. A problem often experienced with analysing new technology is overestimating the short-term effects and underestimating the long-term solutions. The more effective approach would be to teach all young tech innovators such tech as AI. Unless it is a specific career choice, professionals do not need to know how to build an AI system through coding, but the basics will allow knowledge of its capabilities and see its integration into multiple industries. AI Singapore is a programme for students (A14S) that brings beginner data and programming skills to young adults. The courses focus on AI research, technology and innovation, also providing courses to young children (AI4K – AI for kids). This is an example of an initiative that will help the younger generations grow up with a realistic appreciation for the technology. Singapore is thriving in its reputation as a hotspot for innovative technology, especially AI. A growing pool of tech orientated talent and a unified investment in digital infrastructure, means the country is planting strong foundations for a sustainable, technology powered future.

CONNECTING TALENT

Insurance

Financial Services

Technology

Latest News

High Achievers Club

TeamEames

[VIDEO] Ready, set, bake: High Achievers Club

Great Bay Area Plan

silicon valley

All great plans start with one goal in mind: The Great Bay Area

Grab

Technology

Grab: Steering the industry towards positive technological innovation and hiring sustainability

Technology

Technology market

[BLOG] Will the growing relationship between robotics and the financial services sector last?

TeamEames

Promotion

Head of Marketing, Sarah Roebuck promoted to Partner

HomeNews

Technology

[BLOG] Why is Hong Kong seeing an increase in cyber-attacks?

IR35

HomeNews

Are you ready for IR35?

Technology

AI

[BLOG] The truth behind the tech hype in Asia

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DRIVE YOUR RECRUITMENT CAREER FORWARD WITH TEAM EAMES

CONNECTING TALENT

Insurance

Financial Services

Technology

High Achievers Club

TeamEames

[VIDEO] Ready, set, bake: High Achievers Club

Great Bay Area Plan

silicon valley

All great plans start with one goal in mind: The Great Bay Area

Grab

Technology

Grab: Steering the industry towards positive technological innovation and hiring sustainability

Technology

Technology market

[BLOG] Will the growing relationship between robotics and the financial services sector last?

TeamEames

Promotion

Head of Marketing, Sarah Roebuck promoted to Partner

HomeNews

Technology

[BLOG] Why is Hong Kong seeing an increase in cyber-attacks?

IR35

HomeNews

Are you ready for IR35?

Technology

AI

[BLOG] The truth behind the tech hype in Asia

​FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DRIVE YOUR RECRUITMENT CAREER FORWARD WITH TEAM EAMES

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DRIVE YOUR RECRUITMENT CAREER FORWARD WITH TEAM EAMES