Bridge Talent Gaps, Improve Profitability

More than half of Singaporean firms plan to tap on a distributed  workforce to bridge talent gaps, improve profitability

Remote, the leader in building, managing, and supporting global  distributed workforces, today released the results of a survey of remote work adoption among  Asia-Pacific companies. The IDC InfoBrief sponsored by Remote, “Bridging the Talent Gap: The  Future of Hiring in the Asia/Pacific Region,” March 2023, IDC Doc #AP241420IB, features findings  from the IDC AP SMB and Mid-Market Hiring Trends 2023, and highlights the growing trend of  remote hiring and distributed workforce strategies in the region. 

The survey demonstrates that, in the three years since the global remote work revolution began,  Singaporean companies have increasingly looked towards a model of having permanently  distributed teams spread across multiple locations, in an attempt to address current business  priorities, which include addressing major talent gaps in the workforce while improving profitability  in the current macroeconomic climate. Out of the four countries in the Asia Pacific region  surveyed, which include Australia, India, and New Zealand, Singapore came in second in terms  of international hiring maturity, which covers payroll management, talent sourcing, and technology  adoption.  

Key findings from the survey include:  

– More than 50% of Singaporean SMBs and mid-market companies are planning to hire 20- 30% of new employees remotely in the next 12 months 

– Finding the right mix of required skills in target countries remains the greatest challenge  for Singaporean firms looking to hire internationally, alongside building a stronger  employer brand and a lack of understanding of compliance requirements in international  markets. 

– 44% of local SMBs are at the “aware” stage of hiring maturity, where internal transfers  between countries are typically used to bridge skills gaps across markets. 

“The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way businesses operate, and we are seeing that  companies in the Asia Pacific region have been among the fastest in the world to adapt their hiring  and workforce strategies for the current era,” said Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of  Remote. “As remote work continues to gain traction, companies that are able to tap into the  international talent pool will have a significant advantage over those that do not.”  

The InfoBrief further highlights that most companies in the region rely on internal expertise to hire  and retain international workers, which could become unmanageable as the ratio of international  remote hires in their total workforce grows. One in three companies (31%), however, are using  Employer of Record (EOR) platforms for onboarding and management of their global workforce.  EORs help companies employ and pay international employees living in countries where they do  not have a legal entity and manage the complexities of local compliance, payroll, benefits, taxes, 

and more. This enables business and HR leaders to focus on tasks such as workforce planning,  sourcing and retention strategies to drive the new and emerging work culture. The IDC AP SMB and Mid-Market Hiring Trends 2023 study surveyed respondents from SMBs  and mid-market companies in Australia, India, New Zealand, and Singapore at the end of 2022,  with the aim of understanding international hiring trends in the region. For a copy of the IDC  InfoBrief, visit https://idcdocserv.com/AP241420IB_FINAL