Talent and Skills Shortages Number One Risk in Asia Pacific and 4 Other Risks

In the earlier post about Corporate Risks ( Global Risks to Consider and Recent Analysis by Lloyd's- Has Your Company Considered These? ) that need to be considered. It was identified that Lloyd's had ranked these Global Risks, but they also identified Regional Risks. The  image below came from the report that they assembled for 2011. It is very interesting that Talent and Skills is the Number One Risk for Asia Pacific, given the unemployment rate and educational levels in the region and the flood of youth coming up.

So, CEOs and Senior Managers need to seriously consider this, not only if they are planning to expand in the region, but also if new entries (start-ups) are being planned. It will require expert Succession Planning and Strategic Planning efforts to address this risk issue and the others identified, as well as Coaching, Mentoring, Training and Team Development for key corporate members to help fill this gap.

The BPO industry in the Philippines, identified several years ago, that while the industry could do a good job of hiring and filling entry level positions, when they promoted effective call agents, for example, these people did not have the managerial skills to handle a "Front-Line Manager" position. In many instances they were promoted to their level of "incompetence." So the bottle-neck to growth was not having identified and trained potential new managers soon enough to handle the high influx of new candidates for entry level positions.

Consequently, they changed their processes in Pre-Hire to identify 5-10% of the people considered for the entry level position(s), who had the right IQ and EQ to fit into their organizations, and who had good "job fit" with the Benchmarks/Job Pattern /Performance Modeling for not only the entry level position (significantly reducing turnover), but also for the Front-Line Manager position. They would "mark/follow" these people by observation and possible early training to assume the higher level position. This experience was possibly the early warning signs that Lloyd's seems to be now reflecting in their study, now.

For the Asia Pacific Region, Lloyd's identified the following 5 areas of major risks to be considered or addressed:
    1) Talent and Skills shortages
    2) Currency fluctuations
    3) Inflation
    4) Loss of Customers/Cancelled Orders
    5) Company Reputation Risk

As also highlighted in the area: CEO, Senior Manager, Leadership, Strategic Planning and Charisma , it is essential that CEOs, Senior Managers, and Corporate HR Managers identify at least 3-5% potential Leaders within each level of the organization (bench strength) in order to help address sustainability for the corporation. Without bench strength, just like for a sports team, while the top players are available and not injured, the team does well; but without the organizational depth and strength, it can result in high fluctuations in corporate performance over time.

The question remains: How Well Positioned Is Your Company for the Upcoming Forecasted Risks within the Region - Presently and for the ensuing 5-10 years? The future and investments are yours to make to position the company for growth and profitability! To ignore these risks could be at the peril of the corporation and organization.


Risks - Then and now: what has changed?