Top 5 issues that will impact Hong Kong employment in 2013

2013 will herald in the Year of the Snake – a year for steady progress and attention to detail. Focus and discipline will be necessary for Hong Kong business leaders to achieve what they set out to create.

This year, employers need to be mindful about the key human capital issues emerging in order to ensure a successful year. With some early signs of improved economic conditions in 2013, employers will need to remain focused on attracting and retaining top talent, boosting workforce productivity, and fostering stronger leadership to drive the next phase of growth.

According to the world’s second largest human resources company Randstad’s Workmonitor report released in December last year, Hong Kong employees are far more optimistic about the economic situation. With 70% saying conditions are good and believe the Year of the Snake will see a marked performance improvement.

The Chinese New Year period puts more pressure on employers, as this is a traditional time of year when job-hopping peaks. Organisations need to ensure their employees are motivated, inspired and rewarded; otherwise they could risk losing these workers to competitors or overseas markets.

The top five issues most likely to impact employment in 2013 are:

1. Employer value proposition
As competition grows business leaders need to look at how they can attract the best people and, at the same time, hold on to their top performers. By revisiting and communicating strong value propositions to employees at every given opportunity, helps make individuals feel highly connected to the organisation and integral to its success.

Hong Kong companies can also look to offer the right training and development opportunities to allow people to upskill to take on new projects, promotions and build a long-term career path with the business.

All of this encompasses building a strong employer brand for the organisation, and it’s clear this needs to take priority in 2013 and beyond to stand out amongst a very crowded and competitive marketplace. This is particularly the case when productivity needs to be improved and people are being asked to do more with fewer resources. Crucial to your success are your managers – they need to understand the unique motivators of their team members, help them to understand how they are contributing to the overall goals of the business and therefore make them feel truly valued.

2. Navigating HR challenges
There is an ongoing challenge to know the answers to HR issues, whether large or small. You need to be able to find the answers fast and deal with the issues promptly, professionally and appropriately to maintain the reputation of your organisation and avoid any legal situations. Keeping up to date is difficult, so it’s important to be well read and connect with the right business partners to navigate through the Year of the Snake.

3. Resourcing
Knowing how to manage with limited resources and planning for the future will be increasingly crucial. So when the economy starts to pick up, you are well positioned to take advantage of every business opportunity and win by being one step ahead. The most successful companies this year will have robust workforce plans in place with well-managed talent communities and pipelines – ensuring they have ‘speed to market’ in the competition for top talent.

4. Talent Management
The Year of the Snake will see challenges around the actual management of people. Talent management will increasingly get more complex as four different generations make up the working population, together with different cultures and backgrounds. To successfully manage talent, employers will seek greater flexibility through blended workforce models – resourcing their business with part time, full time, contract, casual, temporary, remote, permanent and freelance employees.

Keeping a diverse workforce productive, motivated, engaged, challenged and satisfied will become even more critical when economies start to recover. So start early!

5. Innovation
Maintaining a competitive edge, particularly when budgets are limited, is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, engaging employees helps fuel feedback, ideas and suggestions that could lead to creative business innovations.

Also, the world of digital and social media allows for a lot of creativity and inspiration to flow into the business. So the more people upskill and learn to navigate the online world, the more creative your people become. And ultimately, by listening to and engaging your own people Hong Kong businesses can cultivate a culture of innovation from within.