Back to Insights

Maersk North Asia Hosts the ChapmanCG Q3 Asia Pacific HR Update Afternoon Tea

Hosted by: Maersk

The Chapman Consulting Group and Maersk today co-hosted an HR Leaders gathering to discuss the latest HR trends across the Asia Pacific region. Over twenty HR Leaders attended the session and it proved to be a great opportunity to share ideas and best practice.

Matthew Chapman, CEO of the Chapman Consulting Group, set the scene for the session by highlighting his observations on the HR market, summarised below:

  • Demand has slowed for the hiring of HR talent within the financial services sector, but this trend has not extended to other industries yet.
  • Clients are moving more cautiously when hiring HR talent and average process times (from raising the requisition to extending the offer) are extending.
  • China is the hottest location, in terms of demand, for senior HR Leaders and also one of the toughest to find talent.
  • Expectations on HR talent are higher than ever and the Asia market is quickly becoming exhausted in certain specialist roles, for example Employee Relations (ER), Compensation & Benefits (C&B), and Mobility.
  • Reorganisation and redesign of businesses is affecting HR roles and is creating challenges in retaining and attracting HR talent.

The group concluded that a number of trends are creating both challenges and opportunities for HR Leaders, summarised below:

  1. Those managing China from Hong Kong felt that the ability to find and retain talent in China was affecting their opportunity to grow, from a cost and availability standpoint.​
  2. Many industries (logistics, technology, consumer goods) are wrestling with how to develop the next generation of HR Leaders especially in specialist areas such as C&B or ER when there is no obvious feeder population outside HR.
  3. With the current unsettled economic climate there was a feeling that businesses were questioning how much investment should be made in HR. Vacant roles are not being replaced (in some instances) and there is more evidence of ‘double hatting’.
  4. Managing Compensation within Asia is going to be even tougher if the rest of the world falters. Top performers in Asia will suffer on bonuses due to overall profitability.
  5. China trade unions are in early development but best practice needs to be considered now to be ready for widespread unionisation in the future.
  6. Competition for HR talent is hot between multinationals and local based companies in China and Hong Kong. The chance to have more accountability and be more at the centre of decision making is attracting many MNC HR Leaders.

Newsletter

Keep up with the latest HR insights and updates.
Sign up

Recent Posts

Key Contributors:

Matthew Chapman
Matthew Chapman

Founder

Global Management
View more
Matthew Chapman
Global Management

Matthew Chapman

Founder

Matthew (Matt) Chapman is the Founder of ChapmanCG.

He has also created the Thrive HR Exchange, a global community platform for people leaders and HR professionals to find and exchange inspiration, ideas and insights. Discover some of his interviews with HR leaders here.

Matt has a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Business Law from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is a Singapore Citizen and divides his time between Asia Pacific, the Americas and EMEA.

Matt is a wellness, self-improvement and fitness addict. He has completed six desert, 250km ultra-marathons in Chile, China, Egypt, Antarctica, Namibia and Madagascar.

EA Registration Number: R1111550 Licence Number: 08S3543