The way we work has evolved over time and it has never been more apparent than now thanks in part to the media being able to report it and the explosive growth of startup culture. Large brands are adopting the gig economy and there is a slow, but noticeable shift in employer attitudes.
However, the question remains, are businesses in the region able to catch up?
We explored a recent report titled “Agility + Ability – to enable business growth”, which has the most likely true, but unfortunate quote for the greater APAC region;
Two in three businesses in the Asia-Pacific are not quick enough to redesign the workforce to meet urgent business needs.
We’ve broken down the report into three major trends:
The rise of the gig economy is upon us
The findings showed that the contingent workforce in Asia is growing profusely. It found that the average tenures of permanent workers are getting shorter with half of an organization’s workforce staying for fewer than three years.
1 in 5 Singapore respondents expects to see growth in contingent workers for senior-level positions, while 1 in 4 Malaysian senior executives predict a higher contingent for the mid-level management position.
HR is lacking in the region
The HR department is crucial in building companies that have the potential to change their industry. However, the study found some glaring gaps in how senior management view their HR department.
Only 31 percent of those interviewed in the region believe that their HR function is capable of providing strategic workforce insights. So, while they believe HR can hire quickly, they feel like they add little value on top of that.
In Singapore, only 20% of those interviewed think that HR adds any valuable insight into the hiring process, while only 25% of Malaysian respondents believe their HR department can attract top talent when needed.
Find out the future of HR from Jay Huang, CEO of Pulsifi
We now want different things
The report finds that most senior level executives want to define their own schedule and work parameters. With the rise in startups and a decidedly younger level of senior management, there is a definite shift in employee preference.
We’re staying in jobs for shorter periods of time and employers are starting to realise that demand for qualified and quality employees is starting to exceed current supply, so keeping people happy isn’t as easy as it was before. There is no one solution for everything and corporations now need to adapt.
Singaporeans are found to have the lowest average tenure in the region at just 3 years per employee, while Malaysia has the second highest at 3.9 years.