On the move

On The Move by Anne Worner is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Moving jobs

If it seems like employees and colleagues are always on the move then you are probably not wrong. 66% of employees in Hong Kong stated they were considering moving jobs in the near future. Likewise, employee retention was another flash point for companies. 65% of organisations indicated that they view retention of key employees as the biggest challenge they face, second only to recruiting the right staff, according to Working in Asia: Key HR and Leadership Priorities for 2016 published by Profile.

Lack of career growth and development opportunities topped the list of reasons employees give for seeking to leave their current organisation. A lack of opportunity to broaden skills also featured strongly. Whilst the scope for making changes to financial rewards may sometimes be limited, there is scope for providing opportunities for development if leaders and HR think creatively enough.

The 'right' people

The majority of HR managers reported recruiting the right people (77%) as the key challenge their organisations are currently facing. Richard Letcher, Managing Director, Profile commented, “It is interesting to note that diversity and generational issues are not some of the main current challenges that HR managers reported.” Managing an ageing workforce (19%), encouraging women into senior leadership positions (32%) and managing a multi-generational workforce (31%) are all low on the list.

Recruit and retain

These issues may be an important one for HR, but are currently on the back burner due to the urgent need to recruit and retain key employees. Letcher noted, “The irony is that diversifying talent pools may be one answer to current recruitment challenges.” A key people challenge reported by HR is that of developing strategic thinking in leaders (62%). There is a real need to develop leaders who can rise above the detail and articulate a clear and compelling narrative about the direction of their team, department or organisation that effectively excites and energises staff.

Underappreciated

Lastly, one-third of employees in Singapore and Hong Kong are considering leaving simply because they do not feel appreciated. This would seem a fairly easy win for managers looking to engage their staff. It does not require any money or much effort to say ‘thank you, well done’.