Good people are still hard to find: ManpowerGroup

Source: ManpowerGroup infographic.

Globally, the top five talents that rarest are skilled trade positions (especially chefs, bakers, butchers, mechanics and electricians), sales representatives, engineers (mechanical, electrical and civil), technicians and drivers (particularly of heavy vehicles), says the US-based workforce expert ManpowerGroup.

In Singapore, the picture is quite different. With the exception of engineers which are also in the top five positions that are toughest to fill, the others are: accounting and finance talent, sales representatives, secretaries (including receptionists and administrative assistants), and marketing, public relations and communications specialists.

The findings are part of ManpowerGroup's annual Talent Shortage Survey (TSS), for which 41,700 hiring managers in 42 countries and territories were surveyed. Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup Singapore’s Country Manager says that of the 234 respondents in Singapore, 40% said that these are the positions hardest to fill. She attributed the shortage to “widespread restructuring that is sending tremors across sectors, with shocks being added from a tightening labour market”.

"At the same time, employers do not seem to show an urgency to put into place strategies not just to tackle the talent shortage but to stay ahead of the curve to find individuals to meet their business needs,” Teo said.

“Today, merely recruiting and placing candidates will not yield results. Employers need to encourage a learning culture among their employees and to get them to chart their own careers.”

Employers also need to explore untapped talent pools such as youth and older workers, and look to enhancing benefits, she said.

According to the TSS, key reasons for organisations’ difficulty in filling jobs include:

• Lack of available applicants – 35%
• Lack of technical competencies (hard skills) – 34%
• Lack of experience – 22% 
• Lack of workplace competencies (soft skills) – 17%, and 
• Looking for more pay than is offered – 13% 

The most likely consequences of a talent shortage are a reduced ability to serve clients (42%) and reduced competitiveness and productivity (42%). In addition, 30% expect an increase in employee turnover and 26% anticipate lower employee engagement and morale.

In Asia Pacific, nearly half of all employers report talent shortages (48%). Apart from Japan, where 83% of employers are facing challenges, lack of talent is also a concern in Hong Kong (65%) and Taiwan (57%). However, talent inadequacies are least likely to be a concern for mainland Chinese employers (24%) given the country’s huge population.

Source: ManpowerGroup infographic.

On the flipside, a global career survey of employees released in April by Right Management, the global career experts within the ManpowerGroup, signal a disconnect between employee aspirations and the performance demands of employers worldwide.

The Global Career Aspiration Survey finds that only one in 10 of employees defines career success as high performance and productivity. Nearly half - 45% - of respondents rank work-life balance as their No.1 career aspiration, and the top definition of workplace success is "enjoyment and happiness".

Teo said: “Understanding employee career motivations and aspirations is key to creating a high performance culture that motivates individuals to do their best work. When people have ongoing career conversations with their managers, they experience effective career development and are more likely to be engaged, motivated and ready to take on new challenges.”

The Global Career Aspiration Survey was commissioned by Right Management in Q4 2014 to better understand career motivations and how perceptions are shifting in the workplace. The survey included results from 1,225 respondents in countries such as Canada, the US, Australia, India and Singapore.

Interested?

Visit the TSS microsite
View the complete infographic

More employees in Asia Pacific lying about their job history, First Advantage says

First Advantage, a Symphony Technology Group (STG) company and a provider of screening analytics and identity solutions, has released First Advantage Employment Screening Trends Report: Asia Pacific, Q1 2014, which has found that almost one in five of all Asia Pacific employees have not been completely truthful about their employment history and other details.

According to First Advantage, which conducts around 23 million global background checks annually, the challenges of hiring the right candidate have increased as regional legislation surrounding anti-corruption, data privacy and consumer protection is changing. The regular updating of the legalities in different countries complicates the background screening process, making it extremely difficult for employers to perform proper background checks on their candidates. 

“Through this trends report, First Advantage seeks to help employers in Asia Pacific identify the current employment background verification trends and understand how they can optimise their screening programmes,” said Matthew Glasner, Managing Director of South APAC at First Advantage. 

“We are seeing a significant increase in discrepancies in region and this further highlights the importance of using state-of-the-art screening practices available to ensure companies know who they are hiring, thereby mitigating the business loss associated with a wrong hire.”

Key findings from the report include:

• The total number of checks done per case in the APAC region has gone up from four checks on average in Q1 2013 to five checks in Q1 2014, indicating that there is more awareness among companies about background screening services. Employers are also demanding better output. 
• About a quarter (26%) of employers in the Asia Pacific region are now conducting more than six checks and above. They are 11 times more likely to uncover a discrepancy as compared to those who conduct only two checks (3%) or five checks (9%). 
• The report shows that there is an overall increase in discrepancy rates (5.8%) compared to Q1 2013. 
• Nearly one in five (18.9%) of the discrepancies in the Asia-Pacific region are related to education of employees.
• Employment history discrepancies top the list at 54.6% of all discrepancies. This constitutes an increase of 5.6% in Q1 2014 over Q1 2013, when employment discrepancies made up close to 50% of all discrepancies in the Asia-Pacific region. 
• Employers in Australia and New Zealand are the most interested in employee screening with 23.38% of respondents reporting they do it in Q1 2014, a significant increase from Q1 2013 when they stood at just 12.96% of respondents from this region. This is followed by Singapore, which had 18.78% of respondents reporting they screen in Q1 2014. 

First Advantage also notes that there is now a growing trend toward “infinity screening,” in which screening programmes are extended to include contractors and vendors, and existing employees are periodically rescreened. Infinity screening has led to fewer discrepancies in employee information where is practised, the company said.

*The report is based on data drawn from 300,000 employment background verifications and reference checks conducted by First Advantage in APAC from January to March 2014. The screening results represent a cross-section of the company’s clients located in Japan, Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. 

Ten percent of job candidates in Asia Pacific lie: First Advantage

First Advantage, a background verification company, has revealed that more than 10% of resumes received from Asia Pacific candidates contain some form of discrepancy. The problem is worse in Australia where 12% of all candidates were found to have major discrepancies in their CVs. A higher number of Australian candidates were found to have alerts on criminal and employment checks as compared to the other countries, the company said.

First Advantage advises companies to perform screening not just for industry compliance, to ensure competency, and to protect themselves against physical, legal and financial risk, but also for brand reputation. According to the company:

• One in 11 candidates misrepresents their last job title/designation 
• One in 14 shows a variance in the reasons for leaving a past job. Examples include an applicant who indicated he resigned due to “personal reasons” but when background checks were conducted, it was found that a candidate was asked to leave for “poor performance.”
• One in 25 searches identified a lower previous salary than listed on the application, with First Advantage saying that the discrepancies could be an effort by a candidate to obtain a higher salary offer from the new employer.

To manage people risks and strengthen organisations background screening processes, First Advantage offers the following guidelines:

Verify at the source
Establish strong relationships with various entities including education institutions and employers. Evaluate your internal resources to follow a strict pre-approved process, conduct the verifications in a consistent manner from person to person, and document the attempts and results.

Adhere to compliance and local privacy lawsBackground screening involves collection and transmission of personal information across borders. Checks are subject to data protection and privacy laws of many countries. These laws are dynamic and subject to changes. Develop a mechanism to be abreast of latest laws in your candidates’ source country.

Determine the number/type of checks to conductAsia Pacific employers conducting six or more checks are 11 times more likely to uncover a discrepancy as compared to those who conduct two checks. Decide what screening components make the most sense based on the position being filled. Determine what data restrictions or limitations and employment screening guidelines are in effect within the country being searched.

Get a 'one-world' viewUse advanced online technologies to help juggle multiple language differences, time zones, local restrictions, country guidelines on data privacy and manage multiple logins, passwords and reports for separate websites. Some screening providers unify all screening activities under one login and password. A screening provider with more branch offices and employees around the world will better understand local cultures, resources and regulations, minimising risk.

New e-book offers advice on aceing the resume, the interview and more

iCIMS, a provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) talent acquisition software solutions, has introduced the second in a two-part series of e-books designed to help job candidates in their search. Searching for the Perfect Job: The Resume, Interview, and More is now available for complimentary download on the company's thought leadership site, the Hire Expectations Institute™.

Earlier this year, iCIMS conducted a survey of 700 job seekers and found that many do not know what to expect from the screening process or how to set themselves apart from other qualified candidates. By accessing the rich data available within 2,200+ customers' use of the company's flagship Applicant Tracking System, iCIMS Recruit, the Hire Expectations Institute research team was able to analyse more than 1.3 million jobs created in 2013 and survey more than 450 recruiting professionals to provide a better understanding of their hiring practices.

"Today the job market is very competitive with a lot of qualified candidates vying for available positions," said iCIMS Chief Marketing Officer, Susan Vitale. "We created this e-book series to offer job seekers a glimpse into the minds of recruiting professionals and the talent recruitment industry so they know what to expect, and therefore how to properly prepare to land the job they want.

According to iCIMS' research, 42% of recruiters do not like to see alternatives to traditional resumes, such as infographics and personal websites. More than half (54%) believe that non-traditional resumes should only be used when it is appropriate to the job being applied for. This study points out these recruiting professional preferences to provide job seekers with the information they need to separate themselves from other candidates and get recognition from potential employers.

Below are a few excerpts from the new e-book:

• Cover letters are still useful – 59% of recruiters consider the cover letter a useful tool, and 25% claim that the absence of a cover letter will result in disqualification. It is in the job seeker's best interest to submit a well-written cover letter with their job application. 
• Recruiters search online – 76% of recruiters say that they "always" or "sometimes" perform a Google search on candidates before hiring them. Furthermore, 40% of recruiters report finding online information that disqualified a candidate from consideration. 
• Behavioural interviews are common – 45% of recruiters will ask the job seeker for specific examples of past work experiences and 32% reported conducting unstructured interviews based on the individual's application documents. 
• Use specific examples to demonstrate soft skills – Soft skills like communication and teamwork must be demonstrated by adding examples to the resume and cover letter in order to make the resume stand out. 

"The end goal of talent acquisition and recruiting is to connect qualified individuals to positions that are mutually beneficial and rewarding for both candidate and employer," Vitale added. "By using candidate-friendly technologies, such as easy-to-navigate, mobile-optimised career portals and iCIMS' applicant screening tools, employers can effectively find the best fit for a job while balancing a positive candidate experience."

To view the e-book visit the iCIMS Hire Expectations Institute site. iCIMS' thought leadership site offers the latest information about industry trends and best practices for employers along with content specific to job seekers.