Singapore Market Outlook & Analysis: Key HR Trends in 2024

While market conditions have been relatively tight in 2023, companies can look forward to brighter prospects in 2024. Encouragingly, forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated expectations for Asia to outperform global economies, with a projected collective growth of 4.2%. In Singapore, a faster-growing economy is anticipated, with estimates ranging from 1 to 3%, an increase from the 1.2% growth observed throughout 2023. When it comes to leveraging the full potential of the optimistic outlook, having the right people onboard is pivotal. As we look forward to the year ahead, here are two essential HR trends worth noting for 2024 that will inform your talent strategy development.

1. Changing Employee Values 

As with the pandemic years, a HR trend that continues to underpin the labour market is employees’ desire to find companies that align with their values. In particular, we see a strong emphasis on work-life balance and flexibility in sectors like legal, banking, and middle-back-office professionals. Talents are also increasingly viewing career advancement and growth opportunities as one of the top measures of job satisfaction.

Key Takeaways

This emphasises the need for companies to recalibrate their understanding of employee motivation and reflect it in their HR strategy to enhance talent acquisition and retention outcomes.

i. Define & Communicate the Employee Value Proposition

Reassessing the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is one way to start. An EVP is a well-defined and consistent message that enables a company to convey the tangible and intangible aspects that make its workplace appealing to employees. By reflecting employees’ motivations in your EVP and communicating it to your team, you can help employees see your company’s commitment to their growth. This, consequently, helps leaders better engage their teams’ energy, fostering a more equitable future for all.

ii. Rethink Recruitment Strategies

While proactively approaching candidates was the standard practice for top positions, HR insights also suggest that there may be value in rethinking the talent acquisition strategy for other professional levels. This is because job ads targeting active candidates may not always attract highly qualified candidates businesses require. To stay ahead of competitors, firms need to engage with top industry talent, and passive candidates tend to fit the bill since they often do not frequent job boards as they are doing well in their current roles. By reaching out to passive candidates, companies increase the likelihood of accessing talent with expertise equal to, if not greater than, what they would find in the conventional labour market.

In fact, a study by LinkedIn revealed that engaging passive candidates for mid or even lower-level executive positions is a trend we’re starting to observe among recruiters. Against this backdrop, executive search firms in Singapore, like JC Consulting, can play a crucial role in connecting firms with the talent they need. With extensive connections across APAC and a deep understanding of client and candidate needs, recruitment specialists can facilitate swift placements of candidates who fit both the company’s requirements and its culture. Through this, candidates can access better opportunities, and firms can reduce the time spent on the hiring process while ensuring they make informed hiring decisions.

Besides managing changing employee values, preparing for the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automation is crucial. According to the 2023 Asia Pacific CEO Survey, 67% of CEOs in APAC are already investing in deploying technology, including cloud and AI.

Key Takeaways

i. Build a Talent Pipeline

As these tools become the norm, we anticipate that having the technical and soft skills to leverage such technologies will become one of the key factors distinguishing top candidates from the good. On the employee front, we are already observing passive candidates enrolling in courses and obtaining certifications for emerging tools like AI. Concurrently, taking a skills-first approach is also gaining traction among employers. For instance, the proportion of searches on LinkedIn that include skill-based filters has increased by 25% since 2019. Meanwhile, the likelihood of recruiters searching by skills is 50% higher than searching by years of experience in 2023.

That said, there is still a gap between the theoretical adoption of a “skills-first” recruitment strategy and its actual implementation. Notably, only 64% of HR personnel believe they can accurately assess candidates’ skills. For companies looking to evaluate and identify promising candidates accurately, the experience of executive search specialists can be helpful.

Committing to informed HR decisions is the first step in priming your workforce for the market of tomorrow. While the takeaways above offer a starting point to refine your recruitment and talent strategies, staying ahead necessitates a deeper examination of your company’s unique strengths and position in the growth trajectory.