SEA faces short of talents, says ecommerceIQ

The biggest challenge in the development of e-commerce in Southeast Asia is the shortage of talents, according to the results of ecommerceIQ’s the Talent Challenge Community Survey in Southeast Asia.

In a time of the region’s emerging trend of the digital economy, there are lots of funding pouring into the startups here, hence, money, it seems, is not an issue for these internet companies. There is instead an even bigger problem – a lack of a company’s most valuable resource: talent, says the research of the ecommerceIQ, a leading market research portal that focuses on providing data-driven insights to the region.

Every tech company operating in Southeast Asia that ecommerceIQ, Southeast Asia’s first market research portal that focuses on online commerce, interviewed has cited difficulty finding, recruiting and retaining top talent when asked about significant challenges. In a region abundant with people – 650 million – and abundant resources, what is going on?

Through a community survey conducted by ecommerceIQ, executives from companies such as Colgate, Grab, Facebook, Blibli, DHL and Abbott, shared the top traits they look for in a successful candidate and their thoughts on hiring in the region. The feedback we have garnered reveals companies are experiencing the same problems such as inflated salaries, job hopping, and lack of ownership and strategic thinking.

Some of the key findings include:

• Digital Marketing (25.8%), Senior Management (16.1%) and Tech (16.1%) are the top three departments that struggle the most with finding quality talent;
• Problem Solving and Technical Skills (both at 54.8%) are considered to be the hardest skill to find in Southeast Asia, followed by Strategic Thinking (45.2%) and Data Analysis (12.9%) respectively;
• Problem Solving and Strategic Thinking (both scoring 67.6%) are the top crucial skills for a successful candidate, followed by Willingness to Learn (45.2%) and Strong Culture Fit (38.7%). The first two are also the hardest to find in the region.

How can companies navigate the talent challenge?

In Southeast Asia, soft skills should trump hard skills every time. Companies can teach someone to navigate Structured Query Language (SQL), manage time and set up Adwords, but they will struggle to teach conflict resolution, self-motivation and problem-solving.

Like all business strategies, recruitment efforts need to be adapted to the local market to be successful, whether through an in-house team or third-party platform.

These were hiring best practices shared with ecommerceIQ:

• A resume is not a 360° review of an individual and experiences nor their skill sets;
• Fancy education doesn’t guarantee strategic thinking or grit; less experienced but hungrier candidates will go further;
• Update old application systems that require 10 steps to upload a CV;
• Tap into your C-levels to scout for talent as they are your biggest network of eager candidates;
• Rethink unrealistic qualifications (ex. 10+ years in digital, 7 years in ecommerce, etc.), or you will never find someone;
• Continue training your people and have an internal culture accommodating to the locals.

Companies in developing markets like Southeast Asia often focus on high growth and cash burn to grab market share but forget to build a strong, positive company culture, so the top talent actually wants to stay.