Talent Management in Asia Pacific - The Air Institute · Talent Management in Asia Pacific 2011...

Talent Management in Asia Pacific 2011 Regional Study

Jacki Nicholas

Air Institute Pte Ltd 102 Joo Chiat Terrace #02-05 Singapore 427256 M +65 9668 9553 T +65 6440 3348 E [email protected]

Talent Management in Asia Pacific – 2011 Regional Study © 2012 Air Institute Pte Ltd. All rights reserved page 2


Page #

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………………

5

II. METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………….

8

III. RESULTS ……………………………………………………………………… 9

o Top Talent Management Issues and Challenges ………………. 9

o Talent Management Performance ……………………………….. 11

o Talent and Employee Engagement ………………………………. 13

o Profile of Participating Organisations and Participants ……….. 16

o Talent Management Policies and Practices …………………….. 21

o Talent Development and Engagement Activities ……………… 27

o Talent Management Statements ………………………………….. 31

o Culture-Specific Talent Issues and Challenges ………………….. 34

IV. CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………….

37



List of Figures Page #

Figure 1: Talent Management Issues and Challenges Rated in The Organisations’ Top 3-5 …………………………………………………………..

8

Figure 2: Organisations’ Performance in Addressing Key Talent Management Issues and Challenges …………………………………………………………..

10

Figure 3: Organisational Performance in Providing Talent and Employee Engagement Experiences ……………………………………………………...

13

Figure 4: Types of Participating Organisations ………………………………………… 15

Figure 5: Industry Sectors of Participating Organisations ……………………………. 16

Figure 6: Number of Employees in Participating Organisations …………………… 17

Figure 7: Geographic Responsibility of Participants ………………………………….. 18

Figure 8: Determination of Asia Pacific Talent Management Policies and Practices …………………………………………………………………………...

20

Figure 9: Internal Talent Identification Processes ……………………………………… 21

Figure 10: Importance of Talent Identification Criteria ………………………………... 22

Figure 11: Talent Component of Organisations’ Workforce …………………………. 23

Figure 12: Time Spent in Talent Pool ………………………………………………………. 24

Figure 13: Informing Talent ………………………………………………………………….. 25

Figure 14: Use of Talent Development and Engagement Practices ……………….. 26

Figure 15: Most Successful Talent Management Initiatives …………………………… 27

Figure 16: Agreement with Talent Management Statements ……………………….. 30



I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

o The results represent participants from 55 organisations. o Participants were from 11 countries, the majority located in Asia Pacific. 50% of participants

had roles with regional responsibilities across Asia Pacific, 33% had national roles, and 17% had global roles.

o 74% of participating organisations were multinational corporations (‘MNCs’), the remainder being mainly national organisations, small to medium enterprises (‘SMEs’), and public sector / government entities.

o At least 15 industries were represented by the participating organisations. Banking and Finance was the highest represented industry in the study, comprising 16% of the total participating organisations, followed by Information Technology and Manufacturing with 13% each.

o 49% of participating organisations had over 1,000 employees across Asia Pacific. 46% of participating organisations had over 10,000 employees globally.

o The three most important Talent Management issues and challenges for responding organisations were:

• Retaining key talent (57.4%)

• Keeping talent engaged and stimulated (40.7%)

• Finding appropriate external talent to recruit (33,3%).

o Participants believed their organisations were excellent at addressing the following three talent management challenges in Asia Pacific:

• Ensuring appropriate English language skills of talent at a country level (30.8%)

• Increasing the number of Asians at leadership levels (25%)

• Indentifying internal talent / high potentials (23.1%).

They were poorest at addressing the following three talent management challenges:

• Securing quality leadership succession (42.8%)

• Developing and growing talent to their full potential (40.4%)

• Minimising competitor poaching of our key talent (38.5%).

o They were best in providing the following three aspects of talent and employee engagement in Asia Pacific:

• Opportunities for connection with the wider community (26%)

• Strong brand to have on resume (21.6%)

• Corporate social responsibility (21.6%).



They were poorest at providing:

• Shares, options or other ownership stakes in the organisation (27.5%)

• Flexible working hours and terms (23.5%)

• Work life balance (17.8%)

• Identifying talent methods.

o The five most successful talent management initiatives organisations have recently implemented were:

• Varied development methods (17.1%)

• Leadership and management development (12.9%)

• Performance management and feedback (12.9%)

• Coaching and mentoring (11.4%)

• Talent reviews and identification (11.4%).

o Over 50% of participants either agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements regarding talent management:

• “When recruiting external talent, we ensure there is a good fit with our organisation’s values and culture” (82%)

• “Our CEO understands and is strongly committed to the purpose and core components of talent management” (74.6%)

• “In all regions, you need to be mobile and willing to move country or region in order to reach senior executive levels” (65%)

• “We focus on both developing internal talent and attracting external talent” (62.6%)

• “We treat talent management equally seriously for individual contributors as we do for those with managerial responsibilities” (58.8%)

• “Our talent management activities are customised for the individual” (54.9%)

• “If you’re from Asia Pacific, you need to be mobile and willing to move country or region in order to reach senior executive levels” (54%)

• “Our managers typically view and embrace talent management as one of their core responsibilities” (51%).

o Over 40% of participants either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the following statements regarding talent management:

• “We don’t invest in a lot of people development as we’re concerned this will result in them being poached by our competitors” (66%)

• “Our key talent management strategy is to poach talent from competitors rather than developing talent from within” (62.7%)

• “Talent management is primarily the responsibility of Human Resources” (54.9%)

• “Our regular employees feel like ‘second class citizens’ compared to our talent pool because of the differential treatment talent get” (51%)

• “We want good and great people yet don’t expect or necessarily want long term loyalty or tenure” (50%)

• “We have a strong pipeline for all our key roles” (41.2%).



o Asia Pacific is a highly diverse region in relation to markets, maturity and culture. Therefore, while Talent Management strategies and practices are often lead regionally, there are usually significant issues and challenges that are specific to particular countries and markets. Participants’ examples of these are included on pages 34 to 36.



II. METHODOLOGY This study was undertaken as an online survey and was conducted in November and December 2011. Survey invitations were:

o sent to global regional, national talent management and human resources directors

o posted on various LinkedIn and other online forums relating to Talent Management in Asia Pacific.

Participants and invitation recipients were encouraged to forward the invitation onto other relevant people in their professional networks.

The survey consisted of 18 questions, with the opportunity for contributing additional comments.

55 organisations participated in the study. Demographic information relating to the organisations and participants is provided on pages 16 to 20.



III. RESULTS

Top Talent Management Issues and Challenges Participating organisations were asked to choose their top three to five issues and challenges relating to Talent Management in Asia Pacific.

Figure 1 lists the issues and challenges and are listed in order of importance to participants.

Figure 1: Talent Management Issues and Challenges Rated As The Organisations’ Top 3-5

# Talent Management Issues and Challenges % of Participants

1. Retaining key talent 57.4%

2. Keeping our talent engaged and stimulated 40.7%

3. Finding appropriate external talent to recruit 33.3%

3. Managing compensation levels in markets with aggressive poaching and high staff mobility

33.3%

5. Developing and growing talent to their full potential 31.5%

5. Attracting external talent in the face of strong employer competition 31.5%

7. Securing quality leadership succession 27.8%

8. Equipping local talent to meet global effectiveness standards 25.9%

9. Keeping our talent management strategies fresh and relevant in the face of change

20.4%

10. Poaching of our key talent by competitors 18.5%

11. Identifying internal talent / high potentials 14.8%

11. High employee growth rates necessitating rapid internal staff development and external recruitment

14.8%

13. Increasing the number of woman at leadership levels 9.3%

13. Ensuring adequate English language kills of talent at a country level 9.3%

15. Increasing the number of Asians at leadership levels 7.4%

15. Engaging Generation Y (ie: employees aged in their 20s and late teens) 7.4%

17. Reducing the trend of ‘importing’ staff from Europe and North America for pivotal roles in Asia

5.6%



# Talent Management Issues and Challenges % of Participants

17. Equipping Asian leaders for ‘export’ beyond Asia Pacific 5.6%

17. Transferring talent to larger countries within Asia Pacific and globally for development

5.6%

Additional comments include:

o “Blending multiple cultures within the organization.”

o “How to get the top management to embrace and actively live their roles of people management – so as to make talent management happen in its true sense.”

o “We’re good at identifying talent – it’s how we develop them and keep them growing, energised and engaged that’s crucial. It’s about getting the mix right between ensuring they’re aligned with the company’s values and what we see as important to leadership, yet at the same time letting them be themselves and helping them find their own unique contribution.”



Talent Management Performance Addressing Issues and Challenges Participants were asked to rate how well their organisation was currently addressing the same 19 issues and challenges from Poor to Excellent. The issues below are again listed in order of importance according to the participants’ rating.

Figure 2: Organisations’ Performance in Addressing Key Talent Management Issues and Challenges

# Talent Management Issues and Challenges Poor Good Excellent Not Applicable

1. Retaining key talent 28.8% 55.8% 11.5% 0%

2. Keeping our talent engaged and stimulated 32.7% 59.6% 5.8% 1.9%

3. Finding appropriate external talent to recruit 13.5% 67.3% 19.2% 3.8%

3. Managing compensation levels in markets with aggressive poaching and high staff mobility

34.6% 50.0% 9.6% 5.8%

5. Developing and growing talent to their full potential

40.4% 48.1% 9.6% 1.9%

5. Attracting external talent in the face of strong employer competition

17.6% 60.8% 21.6% 0%

7. Securing quality leadership succession 42.3% 50.0% 5.8% 1.9%

8. Equipping local talent to meet global effectiveness standards

32.7% 50.0% 9.6% 7.7%

9. Keeping our talent management strategies fresh and relevant in the face of change

30.8% 57.7% 7.7% 3.8%

10. Poaching of our key talent by competitors 38.5% 44.2% 9.6% 7.7%

11. Identifying internal talent / high potentials 25.0% 51.9% 23.1% 0%

11. High employee growth rates necessitating rapid internal staff development and external recruitment

21.2% 48.1% 11.5% 19.2%

13. Increasing the number of woman at leadership levels

36.5% 36.5% 17.3% 9.6%

13. Ensuring adequate English language kills of talent at a country level

15.4% 42.3% 30.8% 11.5%



# Talent Management Issues and Challenges Poor Good Excellent Not Applicable

15. Increasing the number of Asians at leadership levels

23.1% 36.5% 25.0% 15.4%

17. Engaging Generation Y (ie: employees aged in their 20s and late teens)

23.1% 48.1% 9.6% 19.2%

17. Reducing the trend of ‘importing’ staff from Europe and North America for pivotal roles in Asia

13.5% 32.7% 17.3% 36.5%

17. Equipping Asian leaders for ‘export’ beyond Asia Pacific

32.7% 28.8% 1.9% 36.5%

17. Transferring talent to larger countries within Asia Pacific and globally for development

17.6% 37.3% 13.7% 31.4%


o “[Another issue is] minimising interference from government in the management of talented people for top management position. The rating here is poor.”

From the table above we can see that there are four talent management challenges which organisations within Asia Pacific are handling the best. Over 20% of participants said their organisations were excellent at addressing the following four issues:

Highest Performance % Excellent

Ensuring appropriate English language skills of talent at a country level 30.8%

Increasing the number of Asians at leadership levels 25.0%

Identifying internal talent / high potentials 23.1%

Attracting external talent in the face of strong employer competition 21.8%



The poorest performance was on the following ten issues, where between 25% to 42.3% of participants said their organisations were currently poor at addressing the challenge:

Poorest Performance % Poor

Securing quality leadership succession 42.3%

Developing and growing talent to their full potential 40.4%

Minimising competitor poaching of our key talent 38.5%

Increasing the number of women at leadership levels 36.5%

Keeping our talent engaged and stimulated 32.7%

Equipping local talent to meet global effectiveness standards 32.7%

Equipping Asian leaders for ‘export’ beyond Asia Pacific 32.7%

Keeping our talent management strategies fresh and relevant in the face of change

30.8%

Retaining key talent 28.8%

Identifying internal talent / high potentials 25.0%

This demonstrates that organisations are currently struggling the most in issues relating to the Talent Management themes of development, engagement and retention of talent.

Talent and Employee Engagement

Participants were asked how well their organisation performed in 22 areas relating to talent and employee engagement. The results are outlined in Figure 3 in order of excellent performance.



Figure 3: Organisational Performance in Providing Talent and Employee Engagement Experiences

# Area Poor OK Good V Good Excellent

1. Opportunities for connection with the wider community

4.0% 26.0% 38.0% 8.0% 26.0%

2. Strong brand to have on resume 5.9% 27.5% 13.7% 31.4% 21.6%

3. Corporate social responsibility 2.0% 29.4% 21.6% 25.5% 21.6%

4. Pleasing physical environment to work in 3.9% 15.7% 33.3% 29.4% 17.6%

5. On-the-job learning and development activities

3.9% 13.7% 29.4% 37.3% 15.7%

6. Respect for and demonstrated commitment to diversity

7.8% 13.7% 29.4% 33.3% 15.7%

7. Challenging, stimulating work 2.0% 9.8% 31.4% 45.1% 11.8%

8. Fair and equitable treatment of all employees and suppliers

2.0% 19.6% 27.5% 39.2% 11.8%

9. Training and eLearning 7.8% 17.6% 27.5% 35.6% 11.8%

10. Workplace safety and health 5.9% 19.6% 33.3% 29.4% 11.8%

11. Flexible working hours and terms 23.5% 13.7% 29.4% 21.6% 11.8%

12. Great bosses 2.0% 31.4% 35.3% 19.6% 11.8%

13. Freedom and encouragement to speak up and be heard

11.8% 17.6% 27.5% 33.3% 9.8%

14. Shares, options or other ownership stake in the organisation

27.5% 31.6% 13.7% 27.5% 9.8%

15. Total remuneration – compared to market 2.0% 29.4% 31.4% 31.4% 5.9%

16. Fun, collaborative work culture 5.9% 15.7% 45.1% 25.5% 7.8%

17. Opportunities to contribute actively to innovation

9.8% 23.5% 33.3% 25.5% 7.8%

18. Coaching and mentoring culture 11.6% 25.5% 33.3% 21.8% 7.8%

19. Feedback-rich and positive performance management culture

13.7% 27.5% 27.5% 23.5% 7.8%

20. Access to positions in different functions and businesses

7.8% 37.3% 25.5% 21.6% 7.8%

21. Work life balance 17.8% 27.5% 29.4% 17.6% 7.8%

22. Fixed remuneration – compared to market 2.0% 31.4% 37.3% 27.5% 2.0%



Over 40% of participating organisations considered they were either very good or excellent in providing the following matters contributing to talent and employee engagement:

o Challenging, stimulating work – 56.9%

o Strong brand to have on resume – 53%

o On-the-job learning and development activities – 53%

o Fair and equitable treatment of all employees and suppliers – 51%

o Respect for and demonstrated commitment to diversity – 49%

o Training and e-learning – 47.4%

o Corporate social responsibility – 47.1%

o Pleasant physical environment to work in – 47%

o Freedom and encouragement to speak up and be heard – 43.1%

o Workplace safety and health – 41.2%.

At least one-third of participants believed their organisation was either poor or only OK at providing the following benefits to engage staff:

o Shares, options or other ownership stake in the organisation – 59.1%

o Work life balance – 45.3%

o Access to positions in different functions and businesses – 45.1%

o Feedback-rich and positive performance management culture – 41.2%

o Flexible working hours and terms – 37.2%

o Coaching and mentoring culture – 37.1%

o Great bosses – 33.4%

o Fixed remuneration compared to market – 33.4%

o Strong brand to have on resume – 33.4%

o Opportunities to contribute actively to innovation – 33.3%



Profile of Participating Organisations and Participants A diverse range of organisations were included in the study, in terms of type, size and industry.

Although nearly three-quarters of the responding organisations were multinationals, there was solid representation from national (12%), small to medium enterprises (10%) and government related bodies (4%), as shown in the following Figure.

Figure 4: Types of Participating Organisations



At least 15 industries were represented by the participating organisations, as shown in Figure 5. Banking and Finance is the highest represented industry in the study, comprising 16% of the total participating organisations, followed by Information Technology and Manufacturing with 13% each. Figure 5: Industry Sectors of Participating Organisations


o Diversified industries including Rubber, Logistics, Energy, Agriculture, Chemicals

o Telecommunications and Transportation

o Construction: PEC

o Legal

o Office Furniture.



Size of Organisations

The size of participating organisations varied considerably from those with under 100 employees to those with over 200,000. 49% of participating organisations had over 1,000 employees across Asia Pacific. 46% of participating organisations had over 10,000 employees globally.

Figure 6: Number of Employees in Participating Organisations

# Employees Your Country Asia Pacific Globally

1-20 33% 2% 6%

21-100 12% 4% -

101- 500 21% 12% 4%

501- 1,000 8% 10% 4%

1,001 – 10,000 8% 33% 17%

10,001 – 50,000 - 12% 25%

50,001 – 100,000 - 2% 15%

100,001 – 200,000 2% 2% 4%

Over 200,000 - - 2%

No response 16%% 23% 23%

Total 84% 77% 77%



Location of Participants The survey participants were based in the following 11 locations:

o Australia o Nigeria

o China (mainland) o Singapore

o Hong Kong o South Korea

o India o Taiwan

o Malaysia o Thailand

o New Zealand

Geographic Spread of Responsibility

Half the participants held organisational roles with regional responsibility, while 33% had country-specific responsibilities and 17% had global responsibilities.

Figure 7: Geographic Responsibility of Participants



Examples of participants’ roles included:

o CEO o Country Manager

o Chairman o Group Human Resources Director

o General Manager

o President

o Senior Manager, Learning & Development - Asia

o Supply Chain Manager o Regional People & Culture

o Vice President, Asian Operations

o Head of Talent Management, Asia Pacific

o Regional Director, Human Resources Development



Asia Pacific Talent Management Policies and Practices

Participants were asked how their organisation’s talent management policies and practices were designed for Asia Pacific - to what extend were they globally, regionally or nationally determined.

As Figure 8 below illustrates, 61.3% of organisations have their Talent Management policies and practices for Asia Pacific determined globally, of which:

o 28.6% were determined by global head office and cascaded to the region

o 24.5% were determined globally with regional representation, and

o 8.2% were determined by each business stream globally.

Meanwhile, 14.3% of organisations customised their Asia Pacific policies from global policy and 12.2% determined them in the region. Another 12.2% of organisations had their policies determined by each specific country.

Figure 8: Determination of Asia Pacific Talent Management Policies and Practices

Explanatory comments include:

o “We have a global framework in place – some elements of which are not up for discussion. The maturity of Asia Pacific in terms of TM is behind the rest of the Group, so allowances are made for the speed/pace of implementation, depth of talent reviews etc”

o “We’re working on getting greater influence from the regions in devising the global practices, but it’s largely still determined by HQ – which is often not ideal”



o “In Asia, we have the flexibility to decide how to implement the policies and practices and tend to go deeper and do this with more discipline than other regions.”

o “We use a Global framework with global pools for more senior levels. Local talent pools [are] managed by each country for more junior and emerging talent.”

Identifying Internal Talent

Identifying who is considered Talent internally is a significant aspect of an organisation’s Talent Management strategy, and usually one of the first steps an organisation takes when embarking on Talent Management. Many organisations have formal talent pools consisting of employees currently considered as talent. There are a number of different processes which organisations can use to identify their talent. Considerations such as whose judgement is sought and what assessment processes are applied are significant decisions organisations make when determining their Talent Identification process.

Participants were asked, which of eight processes they used regularly in their organisations to identify ‘talent’. Figure 9 shows that, while 76.9% of organisations use ‘nomination by direct manager’ as one of the methods for identifying talent, other people’s perceptions are also considered important with, for example, 63.5% of organisations using roundtable discussions and 53.8% using 360° feedback. The least used process was Assessments Centres with only 15.4% of organisations using these.

Figure 9: Internal Talent Identification Processes




o “In our company, the direct manager’s role is a bit weakened in terms of talent identification. Rather, nomination by the department head has more say.”

o “Nominated against a set of defined criteria and calibrated at the Executive team level. Driven by Line Managers with support from Human Resources Business Partners.”

o “Self nomination.”

Talent Criteria

Participants were asked to identify the importance of nine components when identifying talent in their organisations.

Results and performance remain number one with 69.8% of participants placing them as critical and with 100% of participants placing them that as either ‘Important’ or ‘Critical’.

The following figure shows, however, that a combination of both ‘hard’ (eg: results / performance) and ‘soft’ (eg: values, character, behaviours) criteria play a significant role when determining who is talent.

Figure 10: Importance of Talent Identification Criteria

Criteria Not Important Important Critical

Results / Performance - 30.2% 69.8%

Behaviours 1.9% 35.8% 62.3%

Demonstration of organisation’s values 5.7% 47.2% 47.2%

Character 5.7% 54.7% 39.6%

Agreed competencies 2.0% 66.7% 31.4%

‘Sponsorship’ by a senior executive 18.9% 60.4% 20.8%

Mobility 35.8% 52.8% 11.3%

Tenure – time in organisation 43.4% 50.9% 5.7%

Age, gender or other demographics 62.0% 34.0% 4.0%

Interestingly, while agreed competencies are important, Character was considered ‘Critical’ by nearly 40% participants – perhaps reflecting the ‘beyond competencies’ trend where organisations are increasingly recognising the significance of deeper personal qualities that affect behaviour.




o “Mobility isn’t important for every role – but if they want to work at senior levels globally or regionally, there’s a need to work beyond the country level at some point – especially in Asia. In Head Office, they seem to be able to get away with staying in one place.”

o “We use a 9 box grid as part of comprehensive talent review discussions.”

o “Federal character principle, meaning representation of the key component parts of the country.”

o “Assess potential to assume higher level management roles.”

o “Leadership performance and potential.”

Talent Pool Size

The size of organisations’ talent pool varies considerably, although there is clustering at certain levels. Some organisations aim for a specific percentage, for example:

o 26.2% of organisations have a talent pool of 5% of the total workforce



o 4.8% or organisations have a talent pool of 50% of the total workforce.

Others aim for an actual number with, for example, 4.8% of organisations having a ‘Top 100’. Many others don’t have a fixed number or percentage but tend to vary within a general range.

The Figure below outlines the relative size of organisations’ talent pool compared to their total workplace population.

Figure 11: Talent Component of Organisations’ Workforce

Component of organisation’s total workforce % Participants

Top 100 2.4%

No clear percentage 2.4%

Under 2% 4.8%

2-5% 40.4%

5-10% 21.4%

10-20% 19.0%

20-30% 2.4%

50% 4.8%

100% 2.4%




o “5%. We don’t stick to a rigid number, but aim to keep it near a certain % - give or take a few people if they meet the criteria.”

o “That is one of the things we are trying to figure out! Probably around 5-10%.”

o “It varies greatly – no set number but if we were working to an ideal it should be top 2-5%.”

o “Approximately 2-4% of the GI side – slightly higher on the Global Life side. Our aim is to keep numbers small and manageable.”

o “Our Top Global Talent is 1.5%.”

o “Roughly 5% of the population – definitely no more.”

o “200 out of 10,000.”

Time in Talent Pool

Participants were asked how long could identified Talent stay in their organisation’s talent pool. Figure 12 below shoes that in 54% of participating organisations, talent can remain in the talent pool indefinitely, as long as he or she meet the criteria. In 29% of organisations, they can remain for 3 to 5 years.

Figure 12: Time Spent in Talent Pool




o “We segment our pools per level (from rising to emerging to enterprise to business to successors to leadership team positions.). So people can move upwards during their careers or stay in one pool.”

o “Until he/she fulfils and assumes the highest level role he/she is expected to undertake.”

Informing Talent To tell or not to tell? That is the question.

A dilemma many organisations find themselves in is whether or not to tell the people who have been identified as Talent. As indicated in Figure 13 below, only 27% of organisations formally tell their identified talent that they are in the talent pool, although some 54% do so informally. 19% of organisations do not tell people if they are identified as talent.

Figure 13: Informing Talent



Talent Development and Engagement Activities

Participants were asked the extent to which various activities are an important component of their organisation’s talent development and talent engagement practices.

The results are included in Figure 14 below in order of core usage.

Figure 14: Use of Talent Development and Engagement Practices

# Activity Core Some Not at all

1. Involvement in desirable projects eg: high profile, cutting edge, global and regional reach

56.9% 41.2% 2.0%

2. 360° feedback and debriefing for development purposes

56.9% 31.4% 11.8%

3. Personalised career development planning 51.0% 37.3% 11.8%

4. Internal mentoring 40.4% 55.8% 3.8%

5. Signature leadership development programmes 39.2% 33.3% 27.5%

6. Access to senior executives eg: breakfasts, small group discussions

26.9% 51.9% 21.2%

7. Short-term executive coaching (eg: up to 3 months, up to 5 sessions)

22.0% 52.0% 26.0%

8. Long-term executive coaching (eg: 6 months or more)

21.6% 39.2% 39.2%

9. Higher variable remuneration and benefits 19.2% 50.0% 30.8%

10. Protected from retrenchment 12.0% 22.0% 66.0%

11. Short-term assignments in another country in the region

11.8% 52.9% 35.3%

12. Transfer to another country in Asia Pacific 9.8% 54.9% 37.3%

13. Short-term assignments in another region 8.0% 44.0% 48.0%

14. Transfer to another region 7.8% 54.9% 37.3%

15. Higher fixed remuneration 2.0% 58.8% 39.2%


o “While talent aren’t exempt from retrenchment, we go out of our way to keep them by finding another desirable role for them wherever possible.”

o “The region has a newly appointed Head of TM role – thus many things will be embedded



going forward and will mirror activity at a Group level, while taking into account local market requirements.”

Successful Talent Management Initiatives

Organisations are using a myriad of initiatives for Talent Management in Asia Pacific. Participants were asked to specify up to three Talent Management initiatives that have been most successful and well-received in their organisations. These open-ended comments were coded into common themes.

Figure 15: Most Successful Talent Management Initiatives

Initiative % of Participants

Examples of Comments

Various development methods

17.1% • “70/20/10” rule of mainly on the job training”

• “structured programs including assignments, projects and internal mentors”

• “seminars and networking sessions”

• “opportunities to learn and develop new skills”

• “action learning”

• “development of e-learning platform”

• “short term assignments”

Leadership and management development

12.9% • “strong leadership development programmes – with quality content, action learning, coaching etc”

• “developing our managers to manage and engage their people better.”

• “globally driven leadership development programmes”

• “upgrading of management quality and leadership development”

• “developing our managers to manage and engage their people better”

Performance Management and Feedback

12.9% • “regular feedback on performance”

• “back to basics – getting performance management right”

• “strong performance management processes and positive experiences of constructive feedback”

• “One Thing” Accountability for everyone in the organization”





Coaching and Mentoring

11.4%

• “offer mentoring manager training cascaded level by level”

• “mentoring and coaching formal initiatives”

• “internal mentoring from senior executives”

• “coaching and mentoring of high potential talent”

Talent Reviews and Identification

11.4% • “conducted roundtable discussions with department heads and Management in identifying hi-pots”

• “a very well defined annual TM cycle that moves from country to region to global”

• “talent review process – management meetings facilitated by and with contributions from HR”

• “‘The Assessment Model’ to identify the talent”

Involvement of senior leaders

5.7% • “senior leaders meeting with local staff whenever they travel”

• “authentic commitment to talent management by senior leaders”

• “Group CEO and Exec Tam very visibly involved in TM cycle”

• “ensuring that Talent identification and management initiatives are owned by the business, not seen as HR initiatives”

Succession Planning

5.7% • “identifying the pipeline for key roles so we know who’s coming up, how long it will take and what they need”

• “long-term direct leadership pipeline activities”

Career Planning 5.7% • “career path development”

• “defined Individual Career Development Plan (short term and long term)”

• “Individual career coaching and assessment work”

• “high potential development and career guides programme”

360° Feedback Process

4.3% • “launched 360-degree feedback and conducted debriefing to talents”

• “360° feedback process”





Transparency 4.3% • “open HR benefits recently published”

• “mandatory internal job posting”

• “transparency in terms of talent pool inclusion and placement on succession plans”

Postings 2.9% • “overseas posting”

• “Asia Pacific country rotation program for high potentials”

Other 5.7% • “profit-sharing”

• “stock options”

• “localisation of leadership. Encourages staff to believe they have a long term future. Additionally, business performance and market insight has improved.”

• “making sure the talented people are respected in our parent companies in Europe and recognised for their hard work”

• “keeping close to leaders, understanding their talent management initiatives, and providing coaching and partnering with them in addressing talent strategies has been the greatest value add HR can provide”



Talent Management Statements Participants were asked to what extent they agreed with 18 statements regarding Talent Management. The results are outlined below in Figure 16 in order of Strong Agreement:

Figure 16: Agreement with Talent Management Statements

# Statement Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

1. When recruiting external talent, we ensure there is a good fit with our organisation’s values and culture

2.0% 2.0% 14.0% 46.0% 36.0%

2. Our CEO understands and is strongly committed to the purpose and core components of talent management

3.9% 5.9% 15.7% 47.1% 27.5%

3. If you’re from Asia Pacific, you need to be mobile and willing to move country or region in order to reach senior executive levels

4.0% 18.0% 24.0% 40.0% 14.0%

4. In all regions, you need to be mobile and willing to move country or region in order to reach senior executive levels

2.0% 18.4% 14.3% 53.1% 12.2%

5. We’ve found that developing ‘great bosses’ addresses many talent management issues, and this is a core practice

- 16.0% 36.0% 36.0% 12.0%

6. We focus on both developing internal talent, and attracting external talent

- 9.8% 17.6% 60.8% 11.8%

7. Talent management is applied throughout all or the vast majority of the organisation

5.9% 33.3% 15.7% 33.3% 11.8%

8. We have good Talent Management strategies, yet struggle in their effective execution and implementation

- 26.0% 30.0% 36.0% 8.0%



# Statement Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

9. We treat talent management equally seriously for individual contributors as we do for those with managerial responsibilities

- 11,8% 29.4% 51.0% 7.8%

10. Our talent management activities are customised for the individual

2.0% 17.6% 25.5% 49.0% 5.9%

11. We want good and great people yet don’t expect or necessarily want long term loyalty or tenure

8.0% 42.0% 24.0% 22.0% 4.0%

12. We don’t invest in a lot of people development as we’re concerned this will result in them being poached by our competitors

20.0% 46.0% 20.0% 10.0% 4.0%

13. Our managers typically view and embrace talent management as one of their core responsibilities

- 21.6% 27.5% 47.1% 3.9%

14. We talk about engaging talent and becoming an employer of choice but, to be honest, it’s more lip-service than reality

9.8% 23.5% 31.4% 31.4% 3.9%

15. Our regular employees feel like ‘second class citizens’ compared to our talent pool because of the differential treatment talent receive

5.9% 45.1% 27.5% 17.6% 3.9%

16. We have a strong pipeline for all our key roles

3.9% 37.3% 31.4% 27.5% -

17. Talent management is primarily the responsibility of Human Resources

19.6% 35.3% 21.6% 23.5% -

18. Our key talent strategy is to poach talent from competitors rather than developing from within

19.6% 43.1% 21.6% 15.7% -




o “There have been some rumblings from staff that ‘talent’ get treated like kings and queens.”

o “Line Managers are engaged but do not necessarily have the tools or language to execute TM on their own. As is typical I think, we see Exec teams engaged and involved with this diminishing as you move downwards – this takes time and a couple of TM cycles to further enhance.”

Over 50% of participants either agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements regarding talent management:

o “When recruiting external talent, we ensure there is a good fit with our organisation’s values and culture” (82%)

o “Our CEO understands and is strongly committed to the purpose and core components of talent management” (74.6%)

o “In all regions, you need to be mobile and willing to move country or region in order to reach senior executive levels” (65%)

o “We focus on both development internal talent and attracting external talent” (62.6%)

o “We treat talent management equally seriously for individual contributors as we do for those with managerial responsibilities” (58.8%)

o “Our talent management activities are customised for the individual” (54.9%)

o “If you’re from Asia Pacific, you need to be mobile and willing to move country or region in order to reach senior executive levels” (54%)

o “Our managers typically view and embrace talent management as one of their core responsibilities” (51%).

Over 40% of participants either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the following statements regarding talent management:

o “We don’t invest in a lot of people development as we’re concerned this will result in them being poached by our competitors” (66%)

o “Our key talent management strategy is to poach talent from competitors rather than developing talent from within” (62.7%)

o “Talent management is primarily the responsibility of Human Resources” (54.9%)

o “Our regular employees feel like ‘second class citizens’ compared to our talent pool because of the differential treatment talent get” (51%)

o “We want good and great people yet don’t expect or necessarily want long term loyalty or tenure” (50%)

o “We have a strong pipeline for all our key roles” (41.2%).



Culture-Specific Talent Issues and Challenges Participants were invited to share any specific Talent Management issues and challenges their organisations were experiencing in different countries or cultures within Asia-Pacific. These are provided below by country or sub-region.

Asia Pacific

o “Over all APAC we are in a highly competitive industry and the biggest challenge is attracting and retaining the right talent.”

o “There are still some challenges in transferring talent ie: Korea and Japan (still sensitive); India to China or any countries where you have good talent but their English is not to the level required.”

o “AP generally: transferring westerners challenging given their family situation ie: children in final years of school, looking after aged parents, not willing to travel to some countries: ie: Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong (pollution) etc.”

o “People in Asia seem to be less mobile than their counterparts from other regions hence limiting their own career opportunities.”

o “All APAC countries – need stronger basic people management capability building.”

o “Avoiding the perpetuation of expat leadership across the region.”

o “In general, a short supply of international, professional middle / senior managers.”

o “No TM resources in the countries – very low understanding of what TM is in the HR community and with Line Managers. A lot of education work needs to be done on getting the basics right.”

o “The use of Assessments will be completely different when compared to Europe or the US. Open feedback may inhibit the pace of development that is required to lead aggressive growth targets.”

o “People in Asia seem to be less mobile than their counterparts from other regions hence limiting their own career opportunities.”

o “Attracting female technical / engineering talents.”

ASEAN

o “High demand and limited supply of capable leaders and managers.“

o “All SEA countries, the difficulties of moving talented people from different cultures full time to other countries – ie: Thai employees to Malaysia - languages also an issue - eg: Thai to Chinese.”

China

o “Still no commitment to a strategic approach to talent management so varied efforts are often chaotic, not thought through and primitive when nuance and developed responses



are required. Still anchored in traditional Chinese authoritarian organizational cultures.” o “Continued high growth and "war for talent" from all MNCs operating or expanding into

China. Due to the lack of talent ie: China born, western educated, English language skills and returning home there is a comp. premium to be paid. This has made it challenging to keep comp under control in China.”

o “Providing a team concept that is embraced by the team members. Employee turnover and Retaining Talent.”

o “Not enough talent.” o “Line managers view and embrace talent management as one of their core responsibilities

as a people manager.” o “Lack of commitment and support from Top Management and Corporate HR, as I’m in

Business Unit HR.” o “Retaining talent is a key issue. It is almost impossible for us to keep up with annual wage

inflation and employees seem to be motivated by money more than loyalty.”

India

o “Leadership.” o “Attracting the best talents in a Start-up Company is a big challenge that we are facing.” o “The perspective of the Senior Management about Talent Management. The Leadership

Team is unable to make it one of their responsibility.” o “To stick to the development plan agreed upon.” o “High mobility of Gen Y.”

Japan o “Still issues around women in senior positions.”

o “Cultural issues around leadership style.”

o “Too many senior expats that we rely on plus the need to develop a strong pipeline of future local leaders.”

o “Limited diversity, exposure to the wider organization.” o “Too many senior expats that we rely on, plus the need to develop a strong pipeline of

future local leaders.”

Korea

o “Limited diversity, exposure to the wider organization.”

Malaysia

o “Developing leaders with vision.“

o “Finding the right skills within the country specific to our needs.”

Philippines

o “Have a very close culture so getting them to include other cultures is a challenge.”



Singapore

o “Bringing in external talent from some other Asian countries and having the cultures coexist.”

o “Lack of cooperation from the Executives / Managers – unable to gather the data and do the required work while assessing the Talent.”

o “ Lack of commitment from the identified talent.”

Taiwan

o “Employee turnover and stability.”

Thailand

o “Continually challenging to find local talent at the level required.”



IV. CONCLUSION

The term ‘war for talent’ was first coined by McKinsey & Company in 1997, reflecting the increased competition between organisations to attract and retain the right and sufficient talented employees needed to do the work and achieve results.

Since then, Talent Management has become a significant cluster of employee-related activities that most organisations adopt systematically to attract, select, develop, engage and retain their employees in general, and usually to differentiate the ‘most talented’ from the rest so that they can be given special attention because of the value they contribute.

Although Talent Management strategies are still usually determined at a global level, there are significant market and cultural issues, challenges and nuances that happen at a regional and country level that need to be recognised and addressed. For this reason, it is important to understand the current Talent Management issues, practices and activities that are happening across Asia Pacific, one of the fastest growing regions from an economic and business perspective.

This study has provided an up-to-date snapshot of Talent Management in Asia Pacific, and shows how the region as a whole is gaining greater maturity, confidence and independence in understanding and managing its talent-related issues and challenges.

About the Researcher: Jacki Nicholas

Jacki Nicholas is a Managing Partner of The Air Institute, an organisation dedicated to strengthening the authentic leadership in individuals, teams and organisations across Asia Pacific and beyond.

Through executive coaching, leadership programmes and working with high performance teams, Air equips organisations to develop and grow talented employees and balanced leaders.

You can contact Jacki at: [email protected]

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