Future leadership a concern for firms globally - Singapore
For many firms in Asia-Pacific, it is a primary workforce challenge: IBM study
By MATTHEW PHAN
COMPANIES worldwide are confronting their inability to cultivate future leaders, and nowhere is this frustration felt more strongly than in Asia-Pacific, according to IBM’s latest global study on human capital.
Three-quarters of firms responding to a survey by the information technology company felt future leadership was a concern. But in Asia-Pacific, the percentage rises to 88 per cent, the highest for any region.
‘Two groups are particularly vulnerable to growth constraints resulting from a lack of leadership,’ said IBM. These are firms operating in Asia-Pacific and companies in the industrial sector.
Almost half the respondents from Asia-Pacific said a lack of leadership capability was a ‘primary workforce challenge’.
In fact, ‘leadership at all levels is problematic’, IBM quoted a vice-president of human resources at a Singapore technology company as saying.
Similar issues are arising in the global industrial sector, which means firms struggle when they try to expand overseas.
Given this, many firms are trying to improve their in-house training, either by classroom training, mentorship schemes or rotations.
But it needs the cooperation of the whole organisation. ‘There is a noticeable reluctance by the releasing manager for individuals to rotate jobs - (there is a) fear of losing talent,’ IBM quoted another HR manager as saying.
IBM also said three key capabilities will affect a workforce’s adaptability.
The first is that firms must be able to predict their future skill requirements. Second, they need to identify and locate specialists. Third, they need to collaborate across the organisation, connecting groups from different divisions, time zones and cultures.
The first task does not sound easy, nor is it. Only 13 per cent of firms interviewed said they have ‘a very clear understanding of the skills they will require in the next three to five years’, according to IBM.
Firms believe they understand their current businesses, but are less sure of being able to predict skills needed for new or emerging markets. Pace of change is another factor - the half-life of knowledge is now 18 months, an executive at a European bank said, reported IBM.
Likewise, only 13 per cent of respondents felt they are ‘very capable of identifying individuals with specific expertise within the organisation’.
Many felt they could not ’systematically’ do this, and one financial services HR manager said it was more a matter of ‘who knows who’ and anecdotal information, said IBM.
As for the third task, only 8 per cent of respondents felt they were ‘very effective at fostering collaboration’. Technology was not the issue, rather, organisational silos, time pressure, and misaligned performance measures were the most common obstacles.
Besides skills management, firms can try less formal solutions, like online employee profiles, or informal interest groups, to promote collaboration, said IBM.
The survey covered over 400 human resource executives from 40 countries, from public, private and non-profit organisations ranging from under 1,000 to over 50,000 employees in size.
Source : Business Times - 31 Jan 2008
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