Singapore hiring market trends for 2011

1. Morgan McKinley | Singapore
Hiring Market Update - December 2010
morganmckinley.com

2. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
INTRODUCTION
The global financial crisis resulted in Singapore entering its deepest recession since independence in 1965.
However, an unprecedented expansion of 17.9% growth during the first half of 2010, saw the country come
back fighting as one of the fastest growing economies of the year worldwide.1 This was then expected to
continue at a slower rate for the rest of 2010 in line with the Government’s forecast of a 13%-15% growth
rate, and to carry on through 2011 at a similar pace, according to the recent Macroeconomic Review from
the Monetary Authority of Singapore.2
The financial services sector in Singapore is set to play a key part in this steady growth over the next 12
months. Non-bank lending is expected to continue while the fund-management market is projected to grow
further due to rising wealth levels in Asia and an anticipated rise in assets under management of 11% p.a.
on average. Niche areas within financial services are also expected to grow, with more hedge funds setting
up in Singapore and more private banking assets to manage.3 This is all good news, however a real
measure of recovery will be the impact this has on growth projections for the hiring market.
As part of our ongoing commitment to keep our clients and candidates up to date with the latest trends in the
recruitment sector, global professional recruiter Morgan McKinley recently conducted research into what the
next 12 months will bring for the professional hiring market in Singapore. We surveyed over 700 senior level
operational and HR managers within financial services and commerce & industry organisations across Asia
Pacific and asked about recruitment plans for 2011 and the challenges employers expect to face in the
Singapore marketplace over the coming year.
In this Hiring Market Update, you will find a summary of Morgan McKinley’s findings. The results have been
separated into two sections; financial services and commerce & industry. We trust that you will find this
information useful and welcome your feedback.
Chris Jay | Managing Director | Morgan McKinley Singapore
T: +65 6557 4655 | E: cjay@morganmckinley.com.sg
1 :
Bloomberg http://bit.ly/c3SV2q
2
MAS: http://www.mas.gov.sg/publications/macro_review/index.html
3
AsiaOne Business: http://bit.ly/c5fbxp
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3. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS
Financial Services
• Almost all (99%) of Singapore’s financial services employers are definitely (77%) or possibly (22%)
planning to hire new staff over the next 6 to 12 months, almost exclusively (97%) on a permanent basis.
However, over half (51%) confirm this as only the same, if not a decrease, on 2010’s hiring, which
indicates that replacement hiring is the key focus over the next year.
• 86% of financial services employers expect basic salaries to rise over the next 12 months, chiefly to
address talent retention. Similarly 86% of respondents expect bonuses to be paid this year, with only 8%
anticipating that they will be significantly lower than last year.
• The main personnel challenge facing financial services companies in the next 12 months is seen to be
talent retention: 61% see this as their main focus, with 47% of these intending to use improved rewards
and remuneration as well as better training and development to keep key staff.
• In the financial services sector, of those employers who said they would be recruiting, replacement hiring
was the driving factor for 72%.
• To attract this additional talent, 62% of financial services businesses would be turning to external
recruitment firms.
Commerce & Industry
• This hiring mood was also reflected by Singapore’s employers across commerce & industry with 97%
either definitely (89%) or maybe (8%) hiring over the next 12 months, again almost exclusively (96%) for
permanent positions.
• Although 81% of commercial businesses said that this hiring would be to replace personnel in industry
sectors that have suffered in the last two years, a positive 63% said that hiring would be for additional
headcount, showing growth is still prevalent in some industry sectors.
• In addition, 46% of those in commercial businesses said they planned to re-evaluate their strategies for
investing in people.
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4. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Market Trends
The mood in the financial services sector in Will you be hiring over the next 6-12 months? (Financial Services)
Singapore is upbeat after a busy period of
rebuilding in 2009. Steady economic growth
has been predicted across the board in 2011 22.2%
and indicators that financial services may play 0.9%
a larger role in this than in previous years
have been reinforced by the results of Morgan 76.9%
McKinley’s recent survey of senior level
operational and HR managers. Almost all
(99%) of respondents said they will definitely
(77%) or possibly (22%) be hiring in 2011. Yes No Maybe
Even more positively, 86% are expecting
bonuses to be paid this year, with only 8% foreseeing them to be significantly less than last year.
While these statistics can be read with some optimism, the almost blanket positive response was tempered
with some realism. Approximately half of respondents claimed that this intention to hire is actually no real
increase on 2010 hiring levels proving that there is still some way to go in replacement hiring to reach the
level of employment across the sector before the downturn. Of the potential number of new hires in 2011,
72% would be to replace personnel where redundancies were made over the last two years as well as to
replace key staff moving to perceived greener pastures.
This caution was recently reiterated by Singapore’s central bank which warned of possible rises in inflation in
2011 and subsequent interest rate changes – a solid reason not to become over-optimistic.4
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5. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
Recruitment Prospects
Having established that there will be definite movement on the recruitment front for almost all financial
services businesses surveyed, and looking away from replacement hires, the results of our survey show
positive signs for the sector in terms of growth. 67% of respondents said they will be hiring additional
headcount in 2011, almost exclusively on a permanent basis and predominantly at an experienced middle to
senior management level. If the economy continues its recovery, businesses will look to expand and this
figure shows these intentions are already in the thoughts of employers.
To attract this talent, 62% of employers intend to utilise external recruitment firms. They realise that in a
competitive marketplace and with possible restrictions in place on offering inflated remuneration packages,
relying on specialist firms, such as Morgan McKinley, will give them the edge over their competitors.
What strategies are you planning to put in place to combat talent attraction issues?
(Financial Services)
80%
70%
61.9%
60% 57.1%
50.8%
50%
41.3% 41.3%
39.7%
40%
31.7%
30%
23.8%
20% 15.9%
9.5%
10% 6.3%
0%
Compensation and
External recruitment
Corporate social
Internal Referral
Social media
Corporate Branding
investment in people
Other
Career opportunities
Work - life balance
boards/advertising
responsibility
development /
schemes
Training and
benefits
and PR
Job
firms
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6. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
Almost half of all planned recruitment, whether replacement, additional or project based (34%) remains very
much dependent on market conditions and the global economy at large, stressing some continued
uncertainty in the Singapore financial services market.
Personnel Challenges
Retaining key talent will be
What do you think are the main personnel challenges you will face over the next 12
months? (Financial Services)
vital for employers,
2%
according to Morgan 5%
6%
20%
2%
McKinley’s research that
14%
shows 61% of respondents
agree that talent retention
will be the main personnel
challenge they will face over 30%
21%
the coming year. 46% of the
senior managers surveyed
Talent attraction Talent retention Remuneration Benefits & rew ards
will rely on increased Handling redundancy Change management Diversity & inclusion Other
training and development
offerings to keep talented staff, with exactly the same percentage intending to tackle ‘reward and
remuneration’ in order to compete with other employers. After widespread salary freezes, this could be an
area with room for manoeuvre, with 86% expecting basic salaries to rise over the next 12 months and the
majority (62%) citing staff retention as the key reason.
If the steady growth in the economy does continue and organisations re-start their growth plans, then the
competition for highly skilled professionals in the financial services sector will result in a wealth of
opportunities for the very best. This in turn means that employers will have to fight harder than ever to retain
this sought-after talent.
4
Bloomberg: http://bit.ly/cK3yza
5
Ministry of Manpower: http://bit.ly/df8gvi
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7. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
Market Trends
Staff retention is also high on the priority list for employers in the commercial sector. With the economy
improving, qualified and experienced professionals who have potentially remained in their current roles due
to job uncertainty in 2009, are now more confident about “jumping ship” in order to secure new positions.
This means employers have to think about reward and remuneration, salary increases and even talent
planning and fast tracking in order to keep their best people.
As organisations continue to gear up their growth plans as a result of the sustained growth in the economy,
the demand for highly skilled professionals in the commercial sector will result in an abundance of
opportunities for the best talent. This in turn means that employers will be more challenged than ever to
compete over exceptional talent with both experience and specialist skills on offer.
What strategies are you planning to put in place to combat talent retention issues?
(Commerce & Industry)
50%
44.3%
45% 42.6%
40%
34.4% 34.4%
35% 32.8%
30% 27.9% 27.9%
24.6%
25%
20%
15% 13.1%
10% 6.6%
4.9%
5%
0%
Implementing
management
Increase in
Increase in
Performance
remuneration
engagement
development
deployment
fast tracking
planning and
Attraction
Other
Resource
new benefits
and cross
Employee
Increasing
bonuses
salaries
training &
Reward &
& rewards
training
offerings
brand
Talent
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8. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
Recruitment Prospects
According to Morgan McKinley’s recent survey, 97% of senior-level operational and HR managers working
across a variety of commerce & industry businesses in Singapore said they would definitely (89%) or maybe
(8%) recruit over the next 6-12 months, predominantly (96%) for permanent positions. Two thirds (66%) said
that this would be an increase on the past year’s hiring volume.
While a large percentage (81%) cited replacement hiring as a reason, organic growth in businesses is still
prevalent, with 63% of those surveyed planning on adding to headcount in 2011. A healthy 45% said that
this internal growth would be due to expansion and new business plans which are clearly forging ahead
despite concerns over staff turnover mentioned earlier.
COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
Personnel Challenges
81% of participants from the commercial sector mirrored their counterparts in financial services by stating
that replacement hiring would be driving any recruitment plans over the next 6-12 months. To attract this
additional talent, 46% will be re-evaluating their strategies for investing in people.
What do you think are the main personnel challenges you will face over the
A greater challenge than next 12 months? (Commerce & Industry)
replacing staff was seen to
2.5% 3.1%
3.1%
be keeping existing key 2.5%
27.3%
11.2%
individuals. Talent retention
was cited as the main focus
by 72% of those surveyed.
To address this, a variety of
strategies look like being 18.0%
implemented: with 32.3%
performance management
(44%); increased salaries
Talent attraction Talent retention Remuneration Benefits & rew ards
(43%); increased bonuses
Handling redundancy Change management Diversity & inclusion Other
(34%); and talent planning
and fast tracking (34%) being the most preferred options.
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9. Hiring Market Update, Singapore
December 2010
In the ‘new economy’, employers in Singapore may also have to consider even further measures to retain
employees. Aligning themselves with the popular theories of flexible working arrangements and creating a
positive work/life balance, seen more in cultures outside of Asia, could also be on the agenda for 2011 as a
tool for staff retention.6
We hope this research has provided some interesting insight into future trends within the
professional jobs market in Singapore. To discuss any of the points raised or your recruitment
requirements, please contact Morgan McKinley on +65 6557 4655.
6
Alternative News Asia: http://bit.ly/cQRCIz
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