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SE Asian tech firms struggle to find, retain talent: Study
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he vast majority of start-ups in Southeast Asia are having a hard time recruiting qualified staff, and retaining them is an increasing problem.
A study conducted by Alpha JWC Ventures, management consulting firm Kearney and recruitment firm GRIT found that nine out of 10 technology companies admitted to having trouble finding quality talents with the right technical and nontechnical skillset.
Released on Monday, the survey called ASEAN Growth & Scale ‘Talent Playbook’ involved hundreds of employees and dozens of start-up founders in six Southeast Asian countries.
“Start-up leaders must take the right, balanced approach between growth and financial stability, and this requires suitable human capital, from recruitment to retention,” said Alpha JWC Ventures partner Erika Diansari in a press release issued on the day of the survey’s publication.
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The internet, communication and technology market in Indonesia is projected to rise by more than 48 percent from 2021 to 2026 to reach US$49 million, necessitating a growing tech workforce.
Adding insult to injury, the talent dearth is amplified by the fact that 91 percent of employees surveyed said they were open to jumping ship should a better opportunity present itself.
The three main factors for employees leaving their organization, according to the study, were the offer of better compensation, a lack of room for growth and incompatibility with the culture of the company, bosses or colleagues.
The study revealed that the latter was the most-cited reason for Indonesian employees to hand in their notice.
Recruiters found that the three main challenges for employee retention were a mismatch of skills and experience, insufficient compensation and lack of best practices in employer branding, which shifted employees’ perception of the organization.
Read also: Google to push cloud adoption to RI start-ups under Alpha JWC
However, meeting those requisites is a tough row to hoe, according to the respondents, with early-stage companies tending to have trouble with compensation, while bigger ones had problems with employer branding.
Kerney partner and president director Shirley Santoso said boosting human capital was the key to success for companies.
“That can only be achieved through a collective effort from company leaders and other ranks, including all levels in the organization,” Shirley said.
