Jeslin Lim shares how talent decisions and commercial fluency help position HR as a growth driver
In a market shaped by talent scarcity, economic shifts, and rising expectations of HR, the pressure on people leaders has never been higher.
Companies are no longer just asking HR to support business strategy: they’re expecting HR to anticipate and drive it.
Being time-starved is a constant dilemma faced by many HR leaders in fully embedding themselves in commercial decisions.
Competing priorities, overextended scopes, and business fluency can get in the way of real impact.
At Cycle & Carriage Singapore, a multi-entity business undergoing constant expansion, the shift from HR partner to growth driver isn't just aspirational. It's by design.
Jeslin Lim, the company’s Head of People & Culture, shares how focus, commercial insight, and bold talent decisions helped accelerate outcomes and trust.
From operations to acceleration
“If we’re talking about HR as a business accelerator, it means HR must play an active part in shaping strategy,” Lim explains.
But that requires fluency in the language of the business: knowing what drives profitability, growth, and risk.
“Sometimes one of the challenges I see is focus. HR leaders try to juggle too many things at one time, and we end up spreading ourselves thin.”
“But if we can be clear to identify the few levers that truly move the needle and invest our efforts there, we can support the business in a much more impactful way,” she adds.
Balancing build, buy, and borrow strategies
With experience spanning the luxury and logistics sectors, Lim has seen firsthand how talent strategies must adapt to different growth rhythms.
Her approach centers on a blend of building, buying, and borrowing talent, adjusted intentionally based on the business cycle.
“Some organizations may lean heavily on external hires for quick wins. Others are ready to invest for the long haul. For us, it’s about playing the long game while staying commercially agile and viable. We look at talent mobility years ahead, and adjust the mix of build, buy, and borrow strategies based on that time horizon.”
But Lim acknowledges the internal skepticism this sometimes brings.
“Building talent is an investment over a time horizon, and the long-term ROI is never guaranteed. Whilst not every leader may intuitively align with this strategy, ongoing dialogue helps build understanding and trust,” Lim admits.
“That’s why we have to engage stakeholders early on and through regular conversations, understand their pain points. If the timing or context isn’t right, we revisit it later, but we stay focused on creating value or solving business problems through talent strategy.”
One way she builds that trust is through data-driven storytelling.
“We speak to the data. When we talk about piloting a change, like a new hiring strategy or capability framework, we use evidence to show impact. That neutralizes emotion and reframes the conversation around what the business needs, not just what HR wants.”
From legacy models to reimagined pipelines
Lim shares that this long-view approach led to a major shift in how the company designs its rotations for its Management Trainee Programmes.
“Traditionally, trainees rotate first and get placed later. This model was in place for 10 years. But we flipped that model. We hired with the end in mind… Assigning them to functional or business units from the start, and then rotating them purposefully in that career pathway.”
Getting buy-in wasn’t easy. “People were used to doing this for 10 years. I had to ask them to try just one cohort. I wasn’t asking for a permanent change… Just a pilot. Let the results speak for themselves.”
The trial succeeded. Retention became the litmus test.
“If we retain more, we know we’re doing something right.”
Localizing talent calibration across SEA
Lim also oversees leadership development across regional markets, where business maturity levels vary.
“It is natural and intuitive that career conversations are upward-focused. But across Southeast Asia, we’re seeing a shift toward lateral growth and experience-based development.”
“It’s no longer about just climbing the ladder. It’s about deepening across domains and giving people the opportunity to pivot into adjacent roles. That flexibility helps us build leaders who are adaptable, even when markets differ in scale or speed.”
This approach, she adds, makes it more relevant for career conversations and moves.
“We facilitate career conversations with our teams: think of career as a jungle gym. It can go in any direction, and this builds long-term value for their career portfolio. That mindset has broadened the mindset and enabled us to retain talent who might have otherwise left to seek faster advancement elsewhere.”
Culture continuity during rapid expansion
As Cycle & Carriage continues to grow, maintaining a strong culture during expansion remains a top priority.
“One thing that has worked is being intentional about mixing experienced players with new joiners from other industry domains. That creates a healthy tension… Innovation meets execution.”
The goal is to ensure consistent ways of working and clear expectations during times of change.
“Anchoring the culture means balancing fresh perspectives with those who know how to work through our industry. That balance sustains momentum.”
Career mobility starts with clarity and alignment
In a multi-entity setup, designing career pathways that serve both the business and employees is a constant work in progress.
“There’s no magic formula. But it starts with clarity, communication, and alignment,” Lim says.
Employees need visibility on how to grow their careers. Leaders, in turn, need structured check-ins and conversations that connect aspirations to business needs.
“When there’s a framework and a process, mobility becomes a progressive conversation.”
Reframing HR metrics in business terms
One common misstep HR leaders make? Speaking in data points that don’t resonate commercially.
“We love data, but sometimes we talk about turnover in percentages. The business hears ‘cost and customer impact.’ So I learned to reframe: what’s the productivity loss? What’s the fill rate risk? What does it mean in real terms?”
Lim encourages HR professionals to zoom out and compare internal metrics with macroeconomic trends, and convert that to create value for the business
“It’s not just about replacing one headcount. It’s about understanding the economics of talent in context.”
Business networking as a strategic HR capability
Looking ahead, Lim sees commercial fluency and stakeholder trust as critical capabilities for HR.
“We talk about business partnering, but I think it’s about business networking. Spend 80% of the time along the corridor, building relationships, and 20% in the boardroom. That’s how you secure buy-in.”
She emphasizes the value of knowing what matters to business leaders.
“What’s the customer churn rate? What drives gross profit? Once we speak in those terms and connect them to people strategies, the credibility follows.”
Focus delivers culture and credibility
The final mindset Lim encourages HR leaders to adopt is focus.
“We can be guilty of trying to do too much. But when we concentrate on building one cultural block at a time, the ecosystem aligns.”
At Cycle & Carriage, the outcome has been organic employee-led recognition.
“The awards we’ve received? Those are votes of confidence from our people. That’s how we know the culture work is paying off.”
