HR Evolution Perspectives 2023 reveals that CXOs across Asia Pacific today project high growth and profitability in the coming few years.
While 83% of CXOs across the region say they expect revenue growth in the upcoming years, 70% foresee a rise in M&A while another 80% state that organic expansion will remain an important driver of growth and profitability.
The Darwinbox and People Matters’ landmark report is the largest study of its kind in the region, gathering responses from over 1,200 HR practitioners, 350 CXOs and around 1,500 employees.
It brings together both employer and employee voices to showcase evolving priorities and enable strategic change.
“Empower and Evolve are important themes for this landmark report. With the world of work evolving rapidly, the study helps anchor HR strategies in quantifiable insights and helps explain, in great detail, how talent leaders can build future-ready practices that help companies scale and address their growth projections,” said Ester Martinez, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, People Matters.
Some of the key findings from the report are:
- 83% of companies across Asia Pacific state a positive growth sentiment. 81% state becoming more profitable is on the cards. 69% of CXOs across the region are aiming to expand their headcount. The only exceptions to this group are a few high-cost locations and sectors like Telecom, media and technology.
- 63% of CXOs across APAC highlight developing capabilities as their most significant talent risk. Yet only 27% feel they are adequately prepared to address this concern.
- Employees demand better, more capable leaders. 52% of employees surveyed across Asia Pacific said good leadership is a must.
- 68% of CXOs say better talent management integration is a key priority. Another 55% say that unifying their HR tech is the need of the hour.
- 68% of CXOs want employee experience to be an important outcome of their HR transformation journeys, 63% want to improve the quality of HR services and 59% want to empower managers and frontline employees.
“Undeniably, the CXOs have an extremely positive economic outlook and rightly predict that the path to success is dependent on solving critical talent challenges. Hence, there will be more emphasis on strengthening the HR functions,” noted Vikrant Khanna, Global Head – Value Management, Advisory & Solutions, Darwinbox who has co-authored the research report.
“HR teams must navigate a period of heightened employee expectations, a rapidly shifting digital landscape, and stakeholder pressure toward inclusive workplaces. The report sheds light on these challenges and calls upon HR professionals to seize the opportunity to transform their organisations, powered by the transformative role of technology,” said Khanna.
A rapidly evolving market presents varying challenges to leaders across the Asia Pacific. To better address these challenges and achieve growth, the report finds that HR leaders want to focus on Agility and Employee Experience as two key pillars of this change.
Khanna added, “The focal point of HR strategy is becoming increasingly centered on enhancing the employee experience, empowering frontline staff and managers to lead, emphasising a robust knowledge base, and witnessing a substantial surge in the integration of technology. This shift signifies that the new narrative is firmly rooted in an “outside-in” approach.”
“At Darwinbox, we firmly believe that while identifying and implementing technology to drive efficiencies is the initial phase, the true return on investment emerges when organisations continually embrace technology and use it to adapt to evolving circumstances. Therefore, we collaborate closely with our customer base, attentively listening to their needs and delivering innovative solutions that empower them to stay ahead of the curve,” Vikrant Khanna concluded.
