Imminent skills shortages, talent retention concerns, limited succession planning and inflated leadership
expectations are all on the cards for HR, according to Randstad’s 2012/13 World of Work Report
Things are not looking good for HR. Despite unemployment being at its lowest level for 13 years, the ageing population coupled with a low birth rate suggests Hong Kong is heading towards talent scarcity in the not-so-distant future.
Skilled workers in demand
Although a certain degree of turmoil persists in the financial sector, demand for talent currently remains strong in areas such as risk management, compliance and information services as well as for highly skilled workers who will drive the next wave of innovation and productivity in Hong Kong’s service led economy. The skilled jobs categories include; business development, technical and sales roles, digital and social media experts, innovative leaders and analysts.
Gaps aplenty
Of the employers surveyed, over two-thirds expect skilled-knowledge workers to make up the majority of their workforce in the next five years. However, less than a third are confident that government initiatives will deliver the skills required, and less than half expressed confidence in the education sector’s ability to deliver these skills. Indeed, a third of organisations cited ‘filling critical vacancies’ as a key productivity challenge, implying that positions are either being left open or filled by less than ideally-qualified staff. To meet the talent scarcity employers are looking to increase contract staff, recruit on other flexible arrangements or recruit from overseas.
Career advancement critical
Almost 60% of the Hong Kong workforce surveyed in the report said that they would leave their jobs in 2012. Nearly half of businesses cited lack of opportunity for advancement as the reason for this and only 18% cited dissatisfaction with pay. Some organisations are conducting ‘stay interviews’ with a view to tackling employee dissatisfaction before large-scale retention issues ensue. HR managers are advised to look towards their value propositions and see what really matters for their employees.
Looking to leaders
Almost all employees say inspirational leadership is ‘important’ to ‘very important’ when considering a new employer yet only 45% of employers rated their current leadership capabilities as ‘good’ and, alarmingly, only 4% rated them as ‘excellent’. Furthermore, over two-thirds of employees felt concerned about their senior management pipeline, indicating succession issues in the years ahead. Only a tenth of companies surveyed plan for a two-year horizon and
over a half spend 10% or less of their strategic planning time on the workforce. Brien Keegan, Director, Randstad Hong Kong commented, “Workforce planning is not purely a numbers game. It’s about ensuring your organisation is talent ready…not just for today, but also for the future.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
