Asia Pacific highlights from 2023 Career Strategy and Design Survey
Employees no longer think of their career as linear ladder-climbing; rather, they view it as a wide-ranging journey for growth and progression. "Career opportunities" and "career pathing" consistently score as top drivers for employee attraction, retention and engagement. We know that a tangible strategy, comprehensive design and clear communication plan are leading enablers for people and organisations to progress on a path to a better future. Building a career that keeps people engaged and supports employee development is key.
Six in 10 respondents in the region see the career ecosystem as a priority and have support from key areas within the organisation or senior leaders. About a quarter answered that they do not have a career framework in place and that more support is needed from leadership (Figure 1).
| Global | Asia Pacific | |
|---|---|---|
| Career framework is already in place (Levelling, job architecture and knowledge architecture are in place for the full organisation) |
17% | 22% |
| Career framework is not in place, but career ecosystem is an HR priority and has support from senior leadership and/or interest from key areas | 60% | 59% |
| Career framework is not in place, and career ecosystem needs more support from the business | 23% | 19% |
The most common goals of the career ecosystem are to attract, retain and upskill talent, make fair and effective pay decisions and manage workforce effectiveness (Figure 2). Addressing these issues and achieving these goals will help power future performance, productivity and growth for employees.
| Most common goals | People metrics | Operational metrics | Financial metrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attract and acquire talent | 81% | 51% | 26% |
| Facilitate effective pay management, equity and fairness | 65% | 39% | 57% |
| Retain high-potential employees and top performers | 87% | 37% | 26% |
| Manage workforce planning, analytics and effectiveness | 70% | 51% | 41% |
| Build talent and upskill employees | 83% | 37% | 23% |
Even though building a career ecosystem has been recognised as a priority and having one in place would support critical talent and workforce goals, only a few survey respondents said they have the key elements of one already in place.
While half of respondents in Asia Pacific have a job levelling and job architecture framework in place for the full organisation, most organisations are not as far along in implementing other elements of the career ecosystem (Figure 3). Our survey found that only one in six organisations have all three of the elements of a career framework (levelling, job architecture and knowledge architecture) in place.
Recognised as an HR priority, our survey findings further show that strong support and leadership buy-in are key to successfully implement a career ecosystem. Readiness of leaders and managers to implement and drive changes and a clear understanding of employee needs follow in the list of key success drivers.
On the other hand, underprepared leaders and resistance of key leadership are the most-cited barriers to a successful career ecosystem.
For more insights and recommendations for building a career ecosystem that can help shape future-ready talent for your organisation, download the full report.
