The War for Talent: Insights from Asia

Executive Summary

Acquiring, inspiring, and retaining talent will continue to be a key strategic priority for years to come. The impact of ‘The Great Resignation’—a recent phenomenon involving large numbers of employees quitting their jobs, sometimes even without other jobs in hand—is being felt across the world. Asia is seeing a similar trend in many industries, although with less intensity than in the West.

The Conference Board convened a group of 40 HR leaders from countries and industry sectors across the Asian region to understand how their companies are addressing the changing nature of employee expectations and the implications for talent acquisition and retention strategies.

 Insights for What's Ahead

• It’s clearly a seller’s market in Asia: Not only is it taking much longer to recruit candidates but offers are being rejected more frequently. 
• HR leaders in the region say that career advancement and learning opportunities, flexibility, fulfilment of purpose, and non-financial rewards are their top priorities: The desire for work-life integration and realization of individual purpose through work are becoming increasingly important for employees and recruits.
• Border restrictions and political instability in some key markets are aggravating talent shortages: Markets such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sri Lanka are experiencing a large-scale exodus of top talent and “expatriates buying one-way tickets home.”
• Creative approaches to talent acquisition will differentiate players in the war for talent in Asia: This includes shifting legacy recruiting models to tap into non-conventional sources including retirees, alumni, and candidates without college degrees, redefining Employer Brand and Employee Value Propositions and curating positive candidate experiences during the recruitment process.