The People Profession
in 2018 APAC Report
(CIPD)
November 2018
This research survey conducted by the CIPD provides a snapshot of the HR professional associations in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In excess of 1300 people professionals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) were surveyed about their career paths, values, behaviours, and organisational context.
Key Findings
Across the APAC countries, people professionals tended to feel that their career progression has met their expectations, and that the work they do is meaningful. Overall, the main barriers to career progression were lack of opportunities with their employer and organisational politics. Practitioners in Malaysia (27%) and Singapore (27%) were more likely to cite lack of opportunities with their current employer as the single biggest barrier to career progression. Meanwhile, respondents in Hong Kong (20%) and Australia (18%) were more likely than those in other countries to say that personal confidence has been the key barrier.
We explored the extent to which practitioners feel able to exercise professional judgement in their role, and the data revealed that Australian respondents were most likely to report that their job gives them the opportunity to express themselves as a professional (74%). People professionals in Malaysia (44%) and Hong Kong (45%) were the most likely of the APAC countries to feel that there’s a conflict between what their organisation expects them to do and what they feel is appropriate according to their professional judgement.
We asked people professionals which sources of evidence they use in their decision-making, and found that personal experience is the top factor across the APAC countries, followed by organisational data and insights from experts.
In a time when the expectations of people professionals are so high, and their roles are becoming more complex, the results of this study are a useful reference point for any practitioner to understand the current shape of the profession.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Utpala Menon
Senior Account Manager, Mahlab
[email protected]
0497 588 042