However, the CIPD says that understanding how hybrid working impacts people management is key for people professionals to drive forward new ways of working.

A new survey report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HR and people development, finds that the impact of hybrid working varies across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and that workforce engagement is a critical priority for people professionals across all markets surveyed. While Australia is most positive about the impact of hybrid working, Singapore respondents more commonly said that it has made HR delivery more difficult, including when it comes to employees’ mental health and wellbeing, and attracting, recruiting, and retaining talent. For people professionals, this signals a need to play a proactive role in reshaping the future of work, navigating the challenges posed by hybrid working and ensuring the well-being and success of the workforce in the region.

As part of a global series the CIPD’s "People Profession 2023: Asia-Pacific Survey", surveyedover 800 people professionals across Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore and provides insights into the  talent management landscape, workforce priorities, and thenuances of hybrid working.

May Leng Kwok, Head of Market Development – Global, for CIPD, said:

“APAC is a diverse region, and the report highlights the unique challenges and opportunities in talent management. Given the diversity of each market, it’s clear that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work region-wide. As we navigate these complexities, the survey acts as a compass, guiding us and people professionals to understand and address the intricacies shaping the future of work."

Key findings from the report highlight significant variations in the priorities of organisations, perceptions around hybrid working, and sentiments around career prospects and wellbeing:

• Key drivers of change for organisations in APAC

o Digital transformation was ranked as the top trend in Australia, higher than the global sample (37% vs 28%), followed by economic change and rising costs.

o Hong Kong is significantly more likely than global and APAC respondents to cite drivers such as demands for flexible ways of working, industrial change and organisational agility, changing employment relationships, responsible business and social impact, and globalisation.

o Economic change and rising costs were ranked as the top drivers for change in Malaysia, followed by digital transformation. Social media and content consumption was also ranked amongst the top five changes in Malaysia, the only market in the region to say this.

o Compared with the global sample, practitioners from Singapore were most likely to rank the impact of digital technology platforms and changing workforce demographics as the top trends influencing change.

• Top workforce priorities

o Despite many employers in APAC countries opting to hire remote workers, remains a challenge. evidence suggests that recruitment remains a challenge. To plug resource and skills gaps, organisations in APAC are turning to their current workforce to grow and sustain the business, with upskilling, reskilling, and building capability being identified as the top workforce priority in Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. In contrast, people professionals in Hong Kong said workforce planning and management was their top workforce priority.

o Across APAC all countries, engaging with the workforce is a unanimous priority area, especially as hybrid working models are here to stay. This suggests that a cultural reset is needed to focus one employee experience, engagement, and culture in a post-pandemic workplace.

• Perceptions and approaches around hybrid working

o Australian people professionals were most positive about the impact of hybrid working. Around half of respondents said they find it makes it easier to support line managers (49%), that talent management as more manageable (48%), and employee performance management is easier (45%).

o Singapore respondents were more likely to say that it made HR delivery more difficult, with attracting, recruiting and retaining talent and supporting employees’ wellbeing perceived as most challenging.

o APAC saw big differences in perceptions of hybrid working amongst younger practitioners, compared to older people professionals. Forty five percent of people professionals aged between 18 and 34 believed that hybrid working made attracting, recruiting, and retaining talent easier, compared to just 18% of practitioners over the age of 45.

• Sentiments around career prospects and wellbeing in the people profession

o Australian people professionals are the most positive about how work affects their mental and physical health (67% and 64% respectively), while sentiments in Singapore were the least positive (34% and 33% respectively).

o Interestingly, 15% refrained from answering in Hong Kong, marking "prefer not to say", the highest proportion of respondents who selected this response. This may suggest that wellbeing at work might be considered a taboo subject or a topic on which practitioners feel less comfortable expressing an opinion on.

o Given health and wellbeing affects many work-related outcomes, leaders should consider a holistic approach of flexible working options, progression opportunities and setting clear boundaries between supporting the business and looking after their personal needs.

May Leng Kwok concluded: “Hybrid and flexible work models are reshaping the way we work, and it's crucial for people teams and managers to recognise the profound implications for both individuals and business strategies. As organisations in APAC embrace this transformative era, they need to adopt a data-driven mindset, and thoroughly analyse how hybrid working uniquely impacts their market, employee segments, and internal and external stakeholders. To adapt and thrive, organisations will need to explore creative solutions to enhance the employee experience, whether through dynamic career and skills development via job rotations, secondments, or robust support for professional qualifications and certifications.”

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by Tatyana Kromli, OPRG Singapore

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