The desire for personal growth on the job, rather than enhanced compensation or better job security, has emerged as the most important factors for Asian telecom and IT workers, according to a Telecom Asia-TNS salary study of telecom and IT professionals in the region.
Issues such as career advancement potential, availability of resources to do the job well, and a sense that employers value the opinion and knowledge of the workforce all rank higher than base pay as key factors when considered a job move.
The salary survey, carried out in April by Telecom Asia and market researcher TNS, involved 245 respondents holding various telecom and IT jobs in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia.
While average salary increases ranged from a healthy 8.7% to 19.5% in 2006 across the four countries, the survey found that three-quarters of respondents are looking for new work - 51% passively looking, 19% actively searching and 6% looking for a job in a new industry. The outlook for pay hikes in 2007 was somewhat lower than last year, ranging from 10.7% in the Philippines to 5.5% in Singapore.
Expectations of lower increases might be part of the reason behind such a high percentage of workers on the lookout for a new position. Despite the strong rebound in annual increases over the past two years, 42% of employees believe that their total compensation is somewhat or much less competitive compared to other employers. Just 22% of respondents, however, said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their compensation package - obviously, the grass is usually greener somewhere else.
Given the solid salary hikes and general level of employee restlessness, telecom executives with operations in the Asian-Pacific region say they are much more cognizant of a tightening telecom job market and are taking steps to cope with it.
This is supported by a report released last month by Ernst & Young on the Asian telecom sector that reported that 44% of the operators interviewed said hiring and retaining the right people was a key challenge. The report went on to say there is no shortage of base-level skills, but a 'real shortage of quality management staff who understand telecoms and can operate in a fast-changing environment.' It noted that cross-cultural challenges, such as language barriers, can undermine regional prospects.
'Technology changes in the telecom industry are rapid and continuous,' notes Colleen Rush, head of human resources for recently formed Nokia Siemens Networks. 'Having enough people with knowledge of new technologies always presents a challenge. Right now, IMS skills and experience are in short supply.' Rush adds that 'retaining employees with telecom skills is of the utmost importance.'
Juniper Network's VP of marketing and partnerships Shailesh Shukla says finding skilled telecom workers and partners is becoming more difficult. 'It's a significant challenge in terms of getting skilled folks who know much about wireless broadband and IP to deploy these networks' in Asian countries that are building out their telecom infrastructure. Juniper recently started new training initiatives in China, India and Malaysia to help solve the problem.
'We have invested in building a much more robust training and certification program,' Shukla adds.
Retaining skilled workers is difficult throughout the region, especially in India, said Cisco's VP of worldwide service provider marketing Jeff Spagnola.
He noted that India has experienced tremendous growth in its telecom sector. 'We have situations where people will jump to a competitor for a very small amount of money or for some other minor issue,' he says. 'It is frustrating.'
Although this survey does not make comparisons across different industry segments, it is reasonable to assume that technology-based jobs are at least as sought-after as jobs in other industry sectors, due to the strategic nature of technology in many Asian growth markets.
'In a healthy economic environment, there are probably more opportunities available and more active recruitment of experienced IT professionals compared with many other industries,' said Stephen Yap, regional director of TNS Technology. He notes that the key drivers of employee retention noted in the survey are 'more or less the same for any job function, namely opportunities for advancement, empowerment to perform well, recognition and equitable compensation.'
In other words, personal growth, more than job security, now drives the Asian IT and telecom professional in his or her job-hunting exercises.
Improved economies
The survey underscores the improvement in Asian economies during the past few years. Indeed, the Asian job market as a whole appears to have fully revived since the East Asian financial crisis struck with seismic impact a decade ago.
According to the World Bank, income levels in many parts of Asia are today well beyond where they were before the 1997 crisis. And in countries like China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, salaries are growing at 'exceptional rates' (web.worldbank.org). Over 100 million people across East Asia have 'left the ranks of the extreme poor' since 2000, and poverty continues to fall. For instance, the World Bank predicted that Vietnam will become a middle- rather than low-income country by 2010.
The same upward economic trend is evident across most countries in Asia Pacific. In the technology job sector the four countries where the survey was carried out continue to enjoy rapidly rising salaries.
The highest hikes last year came in the Philippines, where salaries are lower and inflation higher than the other countries covered. Base salaries jumped 19.5% in 2006 from the previous year and are expected to increase another 10.7% this year. In Malaysia base pay was up 10% last year and is estimated to rise another 10% in 2007.
Salaries in Hong Kong, which are substantially higher than the other markets, rose 12% in 2006, and IT workers are looking for another 7.8% hike at the end of this year. Singapore tech worker lagged their neighbors marginally with an 8.7% increase in 2006 and look forward to just a 5.5% boost this year.
The estimated annual base pay of tech workers at the end of 2007 will hit $63,375 in Hong Kong (up from $52,451 in 2005), $53,245 in Singapore (up from $46,416), $22,633 in Malaysia ($18,678) and $14,555 in the Philippines ($11,000). (see chart on page 16).
It follows that the same trend should apply when it comes to job bonuses, and that was indeed what the survey revealed (see chart on page 18).
Hong Kong technology workers enjoyed both the highest average yearly bonus ($6,295 in 2006) and biggest increase in bonuses (16% more than the previous year). Singapore wasn't far behind given the lower base salary levels - $5,031 in 2006 compared to $4,629. Bonuses averaged $2,086 in Malaysia and $1,395 in the Philippines - with 7% to 9% increases from 2005.
Job satisfaction
The Philippines had the highest level of job satisfaction, with 57% of those surveyed saying they are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. That's 10 percentage points higher than the average across all four countries. Singapore ranked second with a 53% satisfaction level, followed by Malaysia (49%) and Hong Kong (42%). Almost three times as many people in Singapore (11%) where very satisfied with their jobs compared to Hong Kong (4%) and Malaysia (just 2%).
Yap believes that the happiness quotient in the Southeast Asia IT and telecom community is, 'if anything, slightly higher than in many other industries.'
But what accounts for this trend‾
He believes it can be attributed to the personal growth opportunities available in the telecom and IT sectors. 'Typically, lower job satisfaction is observed in manufacturing and heavy industries, among clerical staff and people whose jobs afford little opportunity for personal growth, or ability to make decisions, or make a difference. On the other hand, IT careers generally provide good opportunities in all of these areas,' Yap explained.
One interesting findings was that just 27% of respondents in Singapore felt that their compensation package was equally competitive to other companies' while 41% of those in Hong Kong said it was. Just 34% of Hong Kong respondents said their package were somewhat or much less competitive compared to 49% in Singapore and 48% in Malaysia.
With people increasingly focused on personal growth and career advancement, the importance of such things as flexible work arrangements and a stress-free environment aren't high on job seekers' wish list - unlike in the US and Europe where such factors are now key differentiators. Less than half of those surveyed said these were critical or very important when search for a new job.
Job loyalty wanes
Does employee loyalty, in this post-pension, outsourcing-reliant and contract work-laden era, still exist‾ It does, as suggested by the findings, with 24% of those surveyed not looking for a new job or looking within the same company (see chart). But loyalty is clearly not a quality that matters a great deal these days - 76% of employees say they are actively or passively searching for a new job. The reverse - employer loyalty - is on a similar wane. The finding that 58% of all respondents felt that their jobs are not secure is evidence of this. Job security ranked a distant 11th after skill development and helping to achieve company goals - just above vacation time and benefits package.
With more workers on the look out for jobs (19% actively looking for a new job in a different company) and more employers willing or being forced to pull the retrenchment trigger from time to time, IT contracting has become a fast rising trend in Asia.
'This just reflects the global business trend of needing to be flexible in human capital management,' said Roger Olofsson, associate director at Robert Walters. While the trend is largely driven from businesses, it is also being driven by candidates who want flexibility, he said.
Today's Asian job seekers have more leverage because the current growth economies in Southeast Asia have made this region a job-seeker friendly one. TNS' Yap noted that tight labor markets, rising salaries and bigger bonuses are now a common trait across a wide variety of industries, especially in banking, advertising and marketing, where skilled professionals can command many opportunities.
'The survey clearly showed that IT professionals are aware of the strong market demand for their skills, which is reflected in the strongly upward compensation trends and the large proportion of employees who are, if not actively, then at least passively keeping an eye open for new opportunities,' he said.
So if employers in Asia want to retain highly skilled staff, he said, they should focus on offering existing staff a desirable working environment and opportunities for progression. But with demands for IT skills rising in Asia, even those job sweeteners may not be enough to prevent staff from seeking greener pastures.
UTStarcom's retention challenge
Many telecom companies in Asia face challenges retaining skilled workers, but global service provider UTStarcom's experiences underscore the trend.
'Retention is the big issue,' explains Manish Matta, director of international marketing. 'The economies are booming.' As a result, he notes that wages across the region are on the rise as national economies strengthen, even in developing countries.
For companies like UTStarcom that have operations that span the world, employee retention has become a crucial issue. Matta notes that it's not unusual for skilled, experienced telecom workers in countries like India to receive an employment offer letter from a particular company, take it next door to a competitor, and receive an immediate 50% salary boost from the competitor.
UTStarcom has responded to the challenge by becoming more employee-oriented, Matta notes. 'To help retain people in India, we have a lot of community events,' he says. 'We try to build a better environment.' One example: The free use of a fully staffed company cottage for quick family getaways.
Matta says UTStarcom also emphasizes keeping its workforce fully informed about ongoing company activities. 'It's important that they feel they are well-informed and that they know what is going on,' he explains. 'We make sure the information flow between the company and workers is not up-and-down but back-and-forth.'
- Al Senia