89 per cent of hiring managers in Asia think inclusive recruitment benefits everyone according to Hays study
Management seen as crucial factor to implementing successful diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives

 

The report, ‘Building Inclusive Hiring Practices: A Blueprint for Action, surveyed 966 working professionals and hiring managers across China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in July 2024. Respondents were asked how various diversity factors affected their careers within their organisation, and where they felt their companies stood today with DE&I initiatives.

 

“Companies today benefit from making changes to their recruitment processes that take inclusivity needs into consideration,” says Marc Burrage, Managing Director at Hays Asia. “As leaders deepen their understanding into why these measures are necessary, we are likely to see talent attraction and management strategies become more inclusive and sustainable overall.”

 

Non-managers provided demographic data which was used to identify diversity groups that working professionals identify as, including by their gender, caregiver status and ethnicity. A summary of findings is included below:

50 per cent of non-managers whose ethnicities were under-represented in their organisation expressed feeling like they faced limited career advancement opportunities due to their personal diversity factors.

 

45 per cent were dissatisfied with the diversity of their management teams resulting from internal promotions, while 87 per cent felt it was important for recruitment processes to be inclusive of their needs.

18 per cent of working professionals identified as carers for an older person, only slightly lower than 24 per cent of respondents identifying as child carers. However, efforts to support caregivers for the elderly are not highly visible in most companies today, or are applied on a case-by-case basis.

 

Additionally, 36 per cent of caregivers felt they faced barriers to career advancement, and were more likely to leave a place of employment for options that offer more flexibility.

Men and women placed similar levels of importance regarding DE&I measures, with minor variance. Men were 5 per cent more likely to feel like they faced barriers to career advancement, while 6 per cent more women felt recruitment processes needed to be inclusive to their needs.

89 per cent of hiring managers believed in the importance of inclusive recruitment, a higher ratio than non-hiring managers (88 per cent). However, there were gaps in knowledge of which processes could be utilised to improve inclusivity in hiring. 

 

“Supporting inclusive recruitment is not just a trend. It’s a transformative approach that broadens access to diverse talent pools and enhances the hiring process for both professionals and hiring managers. The more organisations understand the benefits of these various inclusivity measures, the higher the likelihood of implementation. By sharing these insights, we hope to encourage companies to refine their strategies in the service of fostering more inclusive and efficient environments,” says Marc.

Only 49 per cent all survey respondents felt their company initiatives were effective towards recruiting management positions from diverse talent pools. When asked what challenges companies faced when recruiting diverse management candidates, 58 per cent cited limited candidate pools as a reason.

 

“While talented management candidates matching these criteria exist, narrow talent networks and limited resources result in these candidates remaining out of reach. Organisations can consider establishing and leveraging on Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to foster internal inclusivity and assist with identifying promising individuals from within to develop,” says Marc.

 

A copy of this report can be found here.

 

【Survey Summary】
・Survey Period: July 2024
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Survey Organization: In-house survey (target regions: Japan, China, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand)
・Number of Valid Responses (sample size): 1,400

 

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 30 June 2024, the Group employed over 11,100 staff operating from 236 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2024:

 

– the Group reported net fees of £1,113.6 million and operating profit of £105.1 million.
– the Group placed around 57,700 candidates into permanent jobs and around 225,000 people into temporary roles.
– 13% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 32% in Germany, 20% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 35% in Rest of World (RoW).
– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees.
– Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 25% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Engineering (11%), are the next largest.
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK, and the USA.