6% of employers won't hire in 2Q12

Good thing 42% of respondents still expect to grow headcount - now that's a relief.

There has been little change in expectations in recent Hudson Report surveys of 600 executives across key business sectors. Corresponding figures for Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 were 42 percent and 44 percent respectively. And at 6 percent, the proportion of respondents forecasting a reduction in hiring is consistent with the previous quarter’s 7 percent.

“Despite pockets of optimism in certain segments and for specific roles, the overall sentiment is cautious. In the current economic climate, organisations with the ability to identify and attract great hires will have a tremendous advantage over their competitors”, said Andrew Tomich, executive general manager of Hudson Singapore.

Employers are well aware that bad hiring decisions can have severely negative and far-reaching consequences for their organisation. Out of a list of 10 suggested possible consequences, four are mentioned as concerns by around half the respondents overall. At 51 percent, the impact on staff morale is seen as the greatest single concern, while the cost of back-filling the role, lost productivity and opportunity costs are mentioned by 49 percent, 47 percent and 46 percent respectively. Exceeding targets and high motivation are key factors When asked how high performers contribute to their organisation, respondents across all sectors say that going the extra mile to exceed targets and exhibiting high levels of motivation are the most significant factors. They are mentioned by 78 percent and 77 percent of respondents respectively. Having a wider impact on their team is seen as the least relevant factor, being cited by just 52 percent overall.

Most respondents in Singapore believe that robust hiring practices have a significant impact on successful hiring and employee performance. Overall, 22 percent agree that such practices have a large impact and a further 46 percent state that they have quite a lot of impact. Both figures are higher than the other markets surveyed in Asia. Just 2 percent say that robust hiring has no impact at all. With its reputation as a key socio-economic indicator in the current marketplace since its Asia launch in 1998, the survey has been built on the premise that employers’ expectations of an increase or decrease in staffing levels represent a significant indication of their level of optimism in the growth of their organisation and their industry as a whole. The Hudson Report surveys the expectations of
nearly 1,800 key employment decision makers in Asia from multinational organisations of all sizes in all major industry sectors.