CHRO Radar: The View from Southeast Asia

Michelle, what’s the CHRO talent pool like in Singapore and ASEAN right now?

Both across ASEAN and in Singapore there’s a large pool of talent.  The most senior HR talent consists of  CHROs for local conglomerates and large regional CHROs of MNC’s. The regional CHROs many times have a larger remit, both in terms of people and revenue. But they can sometimes be more focused on execution of a strategy that their global HQ has set. They will have to tailor the global strategy for the region, then execute it.  They’re typically pragmatic and great executors—they get things done.

The CHROs, of the local conglomerates on the other hand, have to work more closely with the board and the CEO. And because they’re actively involved in setting the overall people strategy, they have to be more strategic and commercially-minded. They are still pragmatic and able to get things done, just like their regional counterparts, but they generally span broader assuming the HR function is sophisticated and a true business partner to the CEO and board.

And how is the CHRO talent pool different in Singapore and ASEAN?

Typically, the talent pool here needs to cover many different markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. So they’re very adept at dealing with complexity and cultural diversity. They also excel at relationship-building and influencing, because they need to be good at building bridges to execute quickly. And they need to be good at managing complexity, because some markets in this region move at a much faster pace. So you have to learn how to prioritize across different markets and think about what’s going to make the most impact.

Does that mean there’s a greater demand for experienced CHROs here, versus first-timers?

Yes. The CHROs here tend to be more experienced, because you really need to have lived here to understand how to build relationships. So generally, they’ve either spent time living and working here as part of their rotation. Or they’ve covered this part of the world for a while, so they have some understanding of the culture. As such,  they tend to have seen more and done more by the time they reach CHRO level.

What other qualities does the ideal CHRO need to have to succeed in ASEAN?

One key thing is that we experience a higher degree of volatility and change, compared to other parts of the world—natural disasters, regime changes, and pandemics. So you need a CHRO who’s highly resilient, agile, and able to adapt very quickly.

Another thing is, with growth in China starting to slow, everyone is looking to Southeast Asia for growth. That means you need a CHRO who is very commercially-minded and can work with your business leaders to translate your business strategy into a people strategy that enables you to deliver that growth. It’s not enough to be a ‘people person.’ You need to have a brain for business and be able to speak the same business language as the board and the CEO.

In the past, when things were more stable, CHROs could just keep their heads down and focus on execution. But now they’ve got to be more strategic and commercially savvy.

And how easy is it to find a CHRO like that?

We have lots of CHROs who fit into that pragmatic, execution-minded category. But commercially-minded and strategic CHROs are harder to come by. They do exist, they are out there. But there’s definitely a skill gap there.

But the other thing is that some of those regional layers of HR are disappearing, due to cost-cutting. Teams are getting leaner. So often, you’ll find that your regional HR leaders have to wear two or three different hats. For example, they may also be Head of Talent or Performance as well as HRBP. They can’t do it all. So again, that ability to prioritize and think strategically becomes even more important.

What can organizations to do address that skill gap?

It comes back to that age old question: build versus buy. Obviously, you have to build your own talent. But you also have to think about where your business is going to be and what the market is going to look like five years from now. For example, AI is a big trend at the moment, so you’re going to need HR business partners who understand what impact this technology is going to have on your future workforce. And that means you need to think slightly differently about your ‘build’ strategy.

Then, you need to ask yourself whether you have the right talent to build out those skills, or whether you will need to bring in new talent in from outside your region or market. That’s the ‘buy’ part.

But  I think there’s a third element too: build versus buy versus ‘bot’. And this third element is about asking yourself what tasks can be done or delivered by AI? How can you use AI to take care of low-value tasks (like data collection, for example) in order to free up your people to spend more time and energy doing higher-value, more strategic activities.

Finally, what can organizations do to help attract the top CHRO talent?

The top talent want to work in a place where they feel they can make a real impact—in an organization that takes HR seriously, where they know they’ll have a seat at the top table and have the chance to contribute to the business strategy. That’s the first thing.

The second thing is purpose. You need to have a strong employee value proposition. People want to feel like they’re making a positive difference in the world in general.

But I think the most important thing for a CHRO is really that relationship with the business leader. They have to feel like they’re going to make a great team together and be able to deliver meaningful change.