APAC employers plan talent reshape

The survey, conducted in June-July this year includes responses from HR and talent management leaders representing close to 500 organisations across Asia Pacific. The survey examined a broad spectrum of industries, with technology, telecommunications, manufacturing (durable and non-durable), healthcare (retail and wholesale) and finance representing the largest industry segments.

Two-thirds of the employers surveyed indicated that their organisations have emerged from the recession and are either back in growth mode (39 per cent) or are emerging from the recession and preparing for growth (28 per cent). As many as a quarter (25 per cent) said, they were never out of growth mode, as their organisations were not significantly affected by the downturn. Only 8 per cent of organisations said they are still in recession mode.

Most organisations are planning to make changes to their talent programmes following the downturn, even though they are at different stages of identifying and implementing these changes. The changes that top the list include leadership training (87 per cent), workforce training (83 per cent), employee engagement (83 per cent) and succession planning (80 per cent). 

“Globally the downturn forced organisations to make fairly dramatic changes to their workforces and talent programmes. Now organisations are planning further changes, but the aim should not be to revert to what they had before the downturn,” said Jason Jeffay, Mercer’s Global Leader of Talent Management Consulting. “It’s a different business environment now. We’re looking ahead to a period of positive but slower growth, which translates into different talent needs. Talent programmes need to be reviewed and tailored to fit this new reality.” 

According to Brenda Wilson, Mercer’s Asia Pacific Leader of Talent Management Consulting, “Locally, in less than 12 months many organisations are already talking about attraction and retention again, with a key emphasis on retaining the best and brightest. rganisations in most parts of Asia are once again worried about the internal talent pipeline and whether they can meet their needs with the existing workforce.”

Talent Management priorities

Organisations in the region expect talent management to grow in importance. Slightly more than half (53 per cent) rate this as a top priority at their organisations today, but 74 per cent expect it to be a top priority within the next three to five years. In addition, almost all Asia Pacific respondents (96 per cent) anticipate an increase in competition over the next three to five years for the key talent their organisations need to succeed; while 53 per cent expect a significant increase in competition.

When asked to express their confidence in being able to address a range of key talent challenges, organisations said they are most confident in their ability to link employee performance to business goals (43 per cent are very confident and 48 per cent somewhat confident) and to understand the key roles and workforce segments that drive business success (36 per cent are very confident and 54 per cent somewhat confident). Organisations are least confident in their ability to use quantitative analytics to make and measure talent investments (43 per cent are not at all confident and only 9 per cent are very confident).

Organisations were also asked to identify their organisations’ top three talent management priorities over the next three to five years. The top responses, from 14 choices, were leadership succession, leadership training and development, and retaining key talent.  “It’s no surprise that leadership tops the list of priorities,” said Brenda Wilson. “The impact leaders have on business success and organisational effectiveness is huge, and right now organisations are not sure that they have the quantity and quality of leaders they will need to succeed for the future.”

Organisations also weighed in on whether their current employee value proposition would attract the workforce needed to meet future business requirements. The majority (64 per cent) are somewhat confident in their current value proposition, 13 per cent said they are very confident, and 9 per cent indicated not at all confident.

Measuring talent management decisions

Mercer’s Future of Talent Management Survey also explored the measurement of talent management decisions and investments. Only 9 per cent of Asia Pacific respondents believe their organisations are very effective in measuring the impact of talent decisions and investments; close to two-thirds (61 per cent) said their organisations are somewhat effective, and 30 per cent said their organisations are not at all effective when it comes to measurement.

Survey findings show that organisations use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing talent management programmes. Specifically, Asia Pacific organisations are least likely to apply quantitative approaches to measuring their careers, mobility, succession planning and training and development programmes, and are most likely to use quantitative measures with performance management, rewards and workforce planning programmes.

Lacking strong quantitative approaches, many organisations tend to focus on programme execution (e.g., “Is it done well?”) rather than on programme outcomes (e.g., “Does it achieve the desired results?”). Again, the focus varies by talent programme. In responses to the previous question, organisations tend to focus most on programme execution for their mobility, careers and training and development programmes. In contrast, they tend to focus more on outcomes for their engagement, retention, recruiting and performance management programmes.

“Organisations historically have chased best practices or the newest big idea as a substitute for solid talent strategies and measurement techniques.” Wilson said. “But that’s no longer enough - you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Leading organisations have shown they are more effective at tailoring talent management practices to fit their own business models when taking a more quantitative, fact-based measurement approach. And we have found this approach steadily drives improvements year after year.”

(Source: Mercer, a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services)