Delivering Results: How Logistics Firm Alliance 21 Group Gained Lead in Race for Talent

Business Case

The logistics sector is undergoing significant transformation, shaped by rapid technological advancement, evolving global trade demands, and the need to attract a new generation of talent. These shifts present both challenges and opportunities for companies that are ready to reinvent how they develop their people and capabilities.

Against this backdrop, Alliance 21 Group saw an opportunity to strengthen its foundations for future growth. As the company expanded into new revenue streams regionally while competing with larger logistics and aviation players, it also recognised the importance of building a resilient and future-ready workforce. With an experienced team forming the backbone of its operations, the organisation placed strong emphasis on succession planning, knowledge transfer, and leadership development to ensure long-term sustainability.

Featured Fair and Progressive Employment Practices

• Interviewers trained in unconscious bias mitigation
• Managers trained in grievance handling and other fair HR practices
• Growth-oriented performance reviews
• Structured training programmes for staff
• Supporting work-life harmony with flexible work arrangements and digital productivity tools
• Inclusive events which promote staff well-being

Implementation

Alliance 21 Group views Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (FPEPs) not just as compliance requirements but as strategic enablers. Alliance 21 Group embarked on a purposeful, group-wide HR and workforce transformation journey where it continues to position itself as an employer of choice by investing in people, strengthening workplace practices, and building future capabilities:

Employee Experience and Growth Committee

To strengthen governance over its workforce transformation efforts, Alliance 21 Group established an Employee Experience and Growth (EXG) Committee comprising members of the senior management team together with the Head of HR, which serves as a dedicated leadership platform to align people strategies with business priorities.

Beyond overseeing employee development and workplace practices, the committee also functions as a regular management forum that provides updates on labour legislation, emerging HR trends, enterprise and workforce risks, and employee matters. This ensures leadership remains well-equipped to champion FPEPs while reinforcing their accountability in building a progressive and high-performance workplace.

The committee also drives a growth mindset across the organisation by identifying capability development needs, strengthening internal processes, and encouraging employee feedback. Employees are provided with clarity on career pathways, performance expectations, and development opportunities, supported by regular communication platforms that enable staff to share ideas and raise concerns.

Through this transparent and leadership-driven approach, Alliance 21 Group has fostered a supportive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to grow. By aligning organisational goals with individual development, the group continues to build a culture of continuous learning and improvement, strengthening employee experience while developing a capable and future-ready workforce.

Strengthening Workforce Capabilities Through Structured and Industry-Recognised Training

Supporting this culture of development, Alliance 21 Group implemented a structured learning framework designed to strengthen workforce capabilities and prepare employees for evolving operational needs. Employees are supported in pursuing industry-recognised certifications¹ through a blend of WSQ certifications, customised programmes, app-based micro-learning and structured on-the-job training (OJT). These are complemented by in-house workshops and mentorship to ensure practical and relevant learning, while structured OJT programmes accelerate capability building for new hires while preserving institutional knowledge.

Building on this strong learning foundation, Alliance 21 Group also enhanced its business enabler Alliance 21 Exchange (ALEX), an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, to further improve its operational efficiencies. Through continuous training, structured OJT embedded into daily workflows and stretch projects, employees developed the digital competencies and collaborative skills needed to quickly adapt to increased digitisation and cloud-based collaboration.

With these capabilities in place, teams were able to collaborate more seamlessly across departments and locations. The enhancements in ALEX significantly streamlined workflows, reduced manual process, and enabled faster coordination between operations teams, customers, and partners.

Flexible Work Arrangements and Digital Tools to Support Work-Life Harmony

The adoption of digital collaboration technologies and structured task management frameworks enabled Alliance 21 Group to implement flexible work arrangements such as hybrid work, staggered schedules, and flexible hours, allowing them to manage personal responsibilities while maintaining productivity through digital tools and structured workflows. 

This integration enhanced employee experience, improved operational efficiency, and sustained high service standards while reducing overtime and allows employees to focus on higher-value tasks.

Outcomes

Employee engagement has surged, with staff attrition dropping significantly from 37% in 2022 to about 10% in 2024 and staff referrals for job openings from current and former employees have tripled, reflecting stronger employee advocacy and trust in the organisation.

Productivity has also gone up. Employee objectives and key results achievement rates rose by 40 per cent in 2024 and 2025, with more staff achieving above-average performance ratings and customer commendations for service excellence.

Alliance 21 Group’s success has been widely recognised, earning accolades such as the Tripartite Alliance Award for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, SkillsFuture Employer Award (Gold) 2024, WorkWell Leaders Top 25 Impact Employers 2025 and Learning Enterprise Alliance 2023. Their workplace learning and progressive employment practices were also featured widely by the media and various institutions², which highlighted the company’s structured workplace learning approach as a good industry example, strengthening its employer branding and reputation.

Overall Alliance 21’s success demonstrates how fair and progressive practices can drive business growth, while fostering greater sense of ownership, trust and engagement.

^Footnotes

^{[1] Employees may pursue training in areas such as Dangerous Goods handling, Risk Management, Workplace Safety and Health, and Forklift Operations}

^{[2] Alliance21 group’s learning and progressive employment practices were featured by the Institute for Adult Learning Singapore in Jan 2023, SBF in Dec 2024, Skills Future Singapore in 2025, Channel NewsAsia Career Health Playbook in 2025, SBF-SHRI’s Progressive Employers Learning Day in May 2025}