Learning culture develops leaders from within

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Shopee launched in Singapore in 2015, and has since expanded to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Find out how the e-commerce platform manages its growth and skills development as we speak with Shopee's Chief Commercial Officer, Zhou Junjie.

Since receiving the SkillsFuture Employer Award in 2018, how has Shopee continued to drive a strong learning culture and develop capabilities within the organisation?

Zhou Junjie: At Shopee, we believe in grooming our leaders from within. From first-time leaders to our experienced senior management team, we continuously support their growth through Shopee Academy, our training institute.

The academy currently offers five tiers of leadership programmes, designed to meet the different needs of our leaders at different stages. There are foundational modules for new leaders, advanced topics for experienced leaders, and regional leadership training courses for leaders from all markets. New hire leaders in Shopee are also brought to our Singapore headquarters for a quarterly onboarding where they learn more about the business, receive training and shadow a buddy to accelerate their learning.

Our current coaching programme is integrated with our leadership training so that there is continuity in learning and an emphasis on learning application. Our current pool of internal coaches are experienced leaders who are specially trained in coaching skills. For executive coaching, we took the time to select experienced coaches who were the right fit for our industry and the experiences of our senior executives.

Shopee’s mentoring programme is widely popular, with more than 100 mentors and 300 mentees benefiting from the programme. We structured our mentoring programmes to ensure good pairings of mentors and mentees, as well as training both mentors and mentees on how to get the most out of their professional relationship.

Our approach necessitates heavy involvement from top management. Together with the dedication of our talented professionals within the Learning and Development team, we are able to sustain a strong learning culture.

What would the e-commerce scene look like five years from now?

JJ: E-commerce in Southeast Asia is expected to expand to become a USD240 billion market by 2025, as more sellers continue to enter e-commerce to grow their customer base and more buyers consume online for cost savings, quality and convenience. More players from across industries are likely to enter the market, including offline ones, resulting in further expansion of product categories and product variety. 

As the e-commerce market expands, data science will grow increasingly important as organisations leverage data to generate insights, create business solutions and optimise success. This is further supported by industry trends, as the adoption rate of artificial intelligence (AI) and data doubled from the year before and more than 35% of Singaporean respondents had plans to embed AI into their operations by 2020, according to a 2018 survey conducted by IT market research and advisory firm, IDC.

At Shopee, we ensure that we stay ahead of the curve by fostering a data-driven culture from the get-go. This will allow us to use the latest AI technology and data science solutions to serve our customers better. The data science team is currently developing an E-Commerce Knowledge Graph to enhance the user browsing experience by improving the product recommendation engine. I believe that in the future, product recommendations and interactions on e-commerce platforms will be even more tailored to each user’s shopping behaviour, and every individual will have a unique and personalised shopping experience.

Can you share 1-2 key consumer trends of 2019 and how it will impact the e-commerce scene in the region?

JJ: Shoppers are increasingly demanding an interactive shopping experience. They want to discover new products and be entertained and engaged. Our data shows us that there is a correlation between an engaging shopping experience and an increase in customer retention, time spent in-app, and the number of purchases.

To drive user engagement and inject fun into the online shopping experience, we have integrated a host of gamification elements into our platform, such as:

• Shopee Live — an in-app live streaming service that enables sellers and brands to live stream content to customers.
• Shopee Quiz — a live game show hosted by local influencers to entertain and engage shoppers on our platform.
• Shopee also has a range of hugely popular games such as Spin & Win, Shopee Shake and Shopee Slice, all of which are optimised for mobile and designed to elevate the user experience.
   

Creating an interactive and engaging shopping experience for users is part of our DNA, and we aim to continuously innovate and elevate the shopping experience for all our users. 

What are the essential skills marketers today need to be competitive in the e-commerce industry?

"Data analysis is a key skill that marketers will have to master. Consumer behaviour and preferences are constantly changing, and marketers will have to be able to analyse data and trends in consumers’ shopping behaviour effectively to better anticipate consumers’ needs."

Zhou Junjie, CCO, Shopee

Successful marketers will have to be able to examine facts and understand the implications of statistics to make sound decisions about how to invest in marketing and promotions. 

Beyong hard skills, successful marketers should also possess soft skills such as being curious and having the willingness to learn in order to better understand the industry and keep abreast of local consumer trends.This will allow them to tailor marketing solutions and create meaningful engagements with consumers. At Shopee, we believe that a strong, hyperlocalised approach is essential to bringing the best online shopping experience to consumers. As such, marketers at Shopee strive to roll out highly customised initiatives for each local market to respond to local users’ needs and preferences more efficiently.