7 in 10 employers worry that Singapore exports too much talent overseas

Better brace for an excessive talent drain in 5 years' time.

According to CIPD research involving 1,000 Asian organisations reveals human resource trends and challenges – with Singapore seemingly lagging behind in talent management and innovation/ creativity strategies.

Firms across Asia are prioritising creativity and innovation as a critical focus for future business success. However, an overly hierarchical approach to who should be involved in innovation – less than a third of all firms interviewed are involving all their employees in strategies for innovation – together with a patchy approach to future talent and skills needs is putting future growth and success at risk.

That’s according to a survey of more than 1,000 organisations across China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, revealed bythe Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and conducted in collaboration with the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM).

The survey also finds considerable concerns amongst employers about a draining of talent overseas or to working for MNCs – with three quarters believing their country will be a net exporter of talent in five years time.

Singapore statistics show that:

- 70% of respondents are concerned about the country becoming a net exporter of talent in 5 years’ time, compared to 62% for the overall sample

- only 52% of Singapore organisations engage in talent management activities focused on attracting, developing and retaining talent, compared to 74% for the overall sample: in fact Singapore comes 5th out of the 6 geographies

- only 7% of respondents, compared to 12% of overall sample, say that the objective of these talent management activities address the future skills needs of the organisation – indicating a danger that fears of a talent drain become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The majority (60%) are focusing on developing high potential employees in line with the  organisations’ current needs, which may make sense today – but there needs to be more focus on understanding future skills requirement and ensuring a strong pipeline of future talent to fill skill gaps and to replace skills that migrate abroad.

The findings are also particularly surprising given the fast rate of growth and change in the region, which will require a constantly refreshed and agile workforce that is well equipped for the future.

What’s more, the survey found significant skills gaps when it comes to leading and managing change – nearly half (44%) of the organisations surveyed identified this as an area of concern. More than a third of organisations also cited a lack of skills around performance management (38%) and leading and managing people (37%).