People Profession 2023: Asia-Pacific survey report

Against a backdrop of economic instability, advancing technology and new models of working, we explore how people professionals in the Asia-Pacific region are responding and adapting, and give recommendations on how practitioners can navigate the challenges they are facing.

This report forms part of our international research on the profession. In 2023, we surveyed people professionals in nine countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, to understand regional priorities, and the commonalities and contrasts that practitioners face across the world. Our series of reports also includes findings from separate research in Canada, carried out by the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada (CPHR Canada), which give a comparative view of the opportunities and challenges faced by people professionals in this region.

By taking the pulse of the profession internationally, and building on our previous reports, our findings reflect the CIPD’s ongoing commitment to provide an informed view on how we can collaborate globally, develop professional capital within the industry and build HR functions that are future-fit across different regions and markets.

Key findings in the Asia-Pacific region

• Australian practitioners were generally most likely to say that hybrid working had impacted people management positively, making people objectives easier to deliver. In comparison, Singapore respondents more commonly said that hybrid working has made people management more difficult. Particular challenges included supporting employees’ mental health and wellbeing, and attracting, recruiting and retaining talent. In general, younger and early career people professionals were more likely to believe hybrid working makes people management easier.
• Across all APAC countries, engaging with the workforce is a critical priority area. This suggests that, for many of our APAC respondents, a reset is needed to focus on employee experience, engagement and building culture in a post-pandemic workplace.
• Respondents from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore are focusing on developing and building skills as a top priority area, significantly more than the international sample.

Recommendations

• Hybrid, flexible and new ways of working are here to stay and will have implications for people and business strategies. Therefore, understanding how it impacts people management will be critical for people teams and people managers. Ensure you are data-driven to inform how hybrid working is impacting different markets, employee groups, and internal and external stakeholders, and ensure leaders are aligned and consistent in their thinking about hybrid working across markets and business functions.
• Organisations need to find creative solutions to strengthen the employee experience, which could include career and skills development through job rotations and secondments, or by supporting professional qualifications and certification.