Efforts of talent acquisition professionals in Asia Pacific measured on the basis of long-term new hire retention, instead of focusing on the process itself. This finding was revealed in a new global study, conducted by the FutureStep division of Korn Ferry, in part three of its Talent Forecast.
In Futurestep’s global survey of more than 1,100 hiring professionals, the respondents in Asia Pacific said that the time-to-hire is the top priority metric (65 percent), with only LATAM respondents placing more emphasis on it. Time-to-hire is followed closely by the longer-term metrics of new hire retention (51 percent) and job performance up to 18 months, after being hired (46 percent). These findings are consistent with other regions around the globe.
“Traditionally, the job of a talent acquisition professional ended when a position was filled,” said Pip Eastman, Managing Director ASEAN, Korn Ferry Futurestep. “But in today’s competitive marketplace, the focus has shifted to finding, hiring and retaining workers who are not only effective in their roles today, but who can also be the leaders of tomorrow.”
In this survey, 35 percent of APAC talent acquisition professionals cited lack of candidates, who can move up the leadership pipeline as the top reason for today’s talent shortage. This is the highest globally, six percent higher than LATAM, and eight percent higher than EMEA.
See: Talent Acquisition Professionals in APAC Fail to Harness Tech Tools and Align Business Strategy
“Tackling the leadership pipeline shortage requires organisations to do a more effective job of leadership assessment, development, and succession planning for specific positions,” Eastman added.
“Talent acquisition professionals need to take a strategic view and think of talent as a business asset, that should be developed in a systematic manner, to provide a foundation for superior organisational performance.”
According to the survey findings across the globe, quality of hire (34 percent) and competition for talent (30 percent) are the two most significant issues that keep APAC talent acquisition professionals up at night. APAC ranked quality of hire joint higher than any other region alongside LATAM, and was only the only region behind North America when it came to competition for talent.
“Non-stop advances in technology and rapidly changing business strategies have led to the creation of jobs that didn’t even exist a few years ago,” said Eastman. “In addition, there are demands for new skill sets in virtually every job and profession. Hiring and retaining workers who are agile, and who can adapt to the fast pace of change is critical for staying ahead of the competition curve.”
Also read: Top Global Talent Acquisition Trends for 2017
Feature image credit: Freedigitalphotos.net
