Singapore companies struggle to hire candidates with digital mindset: Aon’s 2019 Talent Acquisition Study

• Attracting quality talent is the top HR focus area in Singapore.
• Only 17 percent of Singapore organisations are assessing candidates for a digital mindset. 

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 18 March 2019 – As Singapore companies continue on the path of digital transformation, they must be prepared to hire candidates based on the strength of their digital mindset, according to the 2019 Talent Acquisition Study conducted by Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions.

The Aon study finds that the top three HR focus areas for Singapore companies centre on hiring top talent to gain business advantages — Attracting Quality Talent (59 percent), Building Employer Brand (32 percent), and Enhancing Efficiency of the Recruitment Process (30 percent).

However, while ‘Attracting Quality Talent’ is a top priority, only 17 percent of Singapore organisations are assessing candidates for a digital mindset. Desired behaviours vary for jobs at different levels, but qualities such as digital communication, strategic solutioning, drive to succeed, and mental endurance are common expectations across the board. Still, while 59 percent of Singapore organisations say they face a challenge attracting quality talent, only 33 percent of them are using technology-enabled assessments covering personality, cognitive ability, and behaviours to seek candidates with the right competencies.

Only 18 percent of Singapore companies are currently using mobile-enabled assessments, 14 percent using video-based assessments, and a mere 5 percent using gamified assessments. The good news is that these numbers are expected to rise significantly in the future, with a 31-point increase in organisations looking to adopt mobile-based assessments (49 percent), 21-point increase for video-based assessments (35 percent), and 22-point increase for gamified assessments (27 percent).

Ishita Bandyopadhyay, Practice Lead, Assessment Solutions, Singapore, Aon, says: “To build a workforce of the future, companies must target the candidates with the skills and competencies to achieve elite results. AI-enabled sourcing and candidate relationship management tools are key to doing this successfully. Talent acquisition professionals must deliver a candidate experience that is in sync with their customer-facing brand, and have the skills to use social media to engage passive job-seekers effectively.”

About Aon’s 2019 Talent Acquisition Study

Aon’s 2019 Talent Acquisition Southeast Asia Study surveyed over 600 talent acquisition professionals across Asia Pacific and the Middle East about their talent priorities and future plans — with 142 respondents from Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The research highlights the changing nature of talent recruitment in the region and provides key insights on the deployment of online assessments, the priority roles for recruitment, and the value of the employer brand. It also examines how recruiters are managing interviews, controlling early attrition, and achieving higher satisfaction levels through their talent acquisition process.