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HRO Today Forum APAC Enter the Dragon A snapshot of APAC labour from one of the region's thought leaders. By Anthony Raja Devadoss Despite the uncertainty of the global economic recovery, APAC is very much still on the rise. There is an ongoing increase in the hiring of full-time employees. But it is complicated. In our recent survey of workers across APAC, we identified five key areas that are affecting this market. First is the importance of technology. Second is the growing mismatch between worker skills and jobs. Third is geographic mismatches. The fourth is growing pools of untapped talent. And fifth is disparity in income growth. APAC is growing at full throttle on all engines. But we still have three primary challenges. One is avoiding the pitfalls—including the possibility that someone in APAC looks to sabotage a project coming out of the United States or London. We need to navigate the cultural differences. That's why second is considering the reality of a global culture, but with a local mindset. Corporate branding plays a big part here, and that means paying attention to the great prevalence of social media. You must take your "temperature" regularly, a talent checkup. Don't wait for the end of the year. This also applies especially to mobility and how willing some might be to move. Now think about retention, and this goes across all age groups. Every country in APAC is growing. India and China are twin engine jets, but it applies across the region. At the same time, two-thirds of workers are thinking about another job, and everybody wants to get and keep the top 10 per cent—as well as also the high potentials. This is a challenge. And it raises a question. Why is there no return on investment formula for HR? It's only considered a cost. They say people costs are the largest. So the problem is quantifying something that's thought of as needing qualifying. But can you apply the same things that work elsewhere to Asia? It depends. Double happiness—reward and recognition—is most important. And that can mean just being noticed. Last is the pursuit of cost advantage. But that's musical chair activity. Instead, how do you move to a value-based model? How do we promote quality and service in the new economy? To do that, you need data. And our survey indicates that 79 per cent of leaders are not satisfied with the data they have. So to avoid the pitfalls in APAC in the next 10 years, you must focus on retaining talent, particularly given the expectation of salary raises. You also need that balance of work space and social space. You need to shift from cost to value. And when all is said and done, you need measurable results. Anthony Raja Devadoss is vice president for APAC at Kelly OCG. [14] HRO TODAY GLOBAL | SPRING 2012