MANILA: Asia’s aging population and an expected shortage of skilled workers in the future makes it important for the region’s employers to offer cost-effective benefits to keep increasingly scarce talents, a survey released Monday said.The 2007 study of workers’ attitudes by management consultant Watson Wyatt Worldwide showed Asian workers gave their employers low ratings on pay and benefits and effective internal communication practices. Those are key drivers for workers’ “engagement,” defined as commitment to the company and efforts to make it successful.More than 6,500 full-time employees covering all major sectors in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand were surveyed, with a 1.2 per cent sampling margin of error. Some 27 per cent of workers surveyed indicated they were actively considering leaving their current employer, the study found. Workers’ engagement was found at a low of 39 per cent of respondents in Japan to a high of 78 per cent in India.
“Programs that increase engagement can improve individual performance and productivity as well as reduce employee turnover,” the study said. Companies need to offer a competitive pay and benefits package and to communicate their value effectively to workers, it added.Forward-looking companies, it said, are replacing one-size-fits-all programs with flexible ones that target their most valuable employees.“In this war for talent, only those with the best competitive solutions can expect to win,” said Adrew Heard, Watson Wyatt’s Asia Pacific benefits practice director.An earlier study by the company showed that by 2050, Asia will be home to a billion people aged 60 and above, causing workers’ shortage in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore unless they become more flexible in keeping older workers employed.James Matti, Watson Wyatt Philippines’ managing consultant, said in the Philippines, which has a young population, overall worker turnover is at 11 per cent a year. Business process outsourcing companies, however, see at least 23 per cent of workers leaving yearly. - AP
“Programs that increase engagement can improve individual performance and productivity as well as reduce employee turnover,” the study said. Companies need to offer a competitive pay and benefits package and to communicate their value effectively to workers, it added.Forward-looking companies, it said, are replacing one-size-fits-all programs with flexible ones that target their most valuable employees.“In this war for talent, only those with the best competitive solutions can expect to win,” said Adrew Heard, Watson Wyatt’s Asia Pacific benefits practice director.An earlier study by the company showed that by 2050, Asia will be home to a billion people aged 60 and above, causing workers’ shortage in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore unless they become more flexible in keeping older workers employed.James Matti, Watson Wyatt Philippines’ managing consultant, said in the Philippines, which has a young population, overall worker turnover is at 11 per cent a year. Business process outsourcing companies, however, see at least 23 per cent of workers leaving yearly. - AP
The Business Times Online : 18 March 2008
