APAC CIOs’ top concerns

What are the key challenges CIOs in Asia Pacific face in their role in connecting business and technology and contributing to business growth?

Digital technology talent shortage, flexible work policies in an age of hybrid work, legacy systems – these are some of the key trends impacting Asia Pacific CIOs’ contributions to business growth.

What exactly are the concerns that CIOs face dealing with these challenges? How could they pivot these challenges into opportunities?

DigiconAsia discussed some of the findings from the recent Enterprise Horizons report with Eric Wong, Head of Asia Pacific, Expereo.

What are some key findings from Expereo’s recent Enterprise Horizons report?

Organizations globally are also looking to grow their workforce in an increasingly distributed manner, so it is not surprising that close to one-third of APAC CIOs (32%) have admitted to hiring someone into their team that they have never met in person. 

Furthermore, the competition for talent presents real challenges as potential employees are looking towards greater flexibility; in fact, more than half (51%) of APAC CIOs surveyed believe that flexible working is crucial in retaining and attracting highly skilled employees. 

What is hindering APAC businesses’ global growth ambitions and the key challenges APAC CIOs face in recruiting and retaining talent?

EW: To be sure, the APAC region is no stranger to the same challenges of growing a modern workforce as seen by global businesses, as employers compete for talent from the same pool. That said, within the APAC region, 42% of APAC CIOs are finding it particularly challenging to find talent with the right mix of business and technology skills.

This is also having a knock-on effect in terms of organizational ability to deliver growth, with the CIOs that we spoke to seeing three specific barriers in delivering global growth: The usage of legacy systems (36%), a lack of local knowledge (36%), as well as the level of understanding at the Board level relating to the technology challenges (36%) faced today. 

Addressing these challenges will require organizations to pay greater attention towards strategic planning, alongside increased investment in talent development, and equally important, to consider implementing more inclusive and flexible work policies.

Which skills are most challenging to recruit for in APAC, and what can organizations do to find the right mix of talent?

EW: There is a real talent shortage in several key digital technologies. Specific to the APAC region, almost a third (32%) of APAC CIOs say that finding the right competencies for their team in governance and regulatory compliance is a challenge, while expertise in growth technologies such as data analytics (44%), cyber security (43%), AI/ML (40%), and App development (40%) top the list as the most challenging skills to recruit for.

It is no secret that CIOs are struggling to find and hold on to high-value knowledge workers that are key to their expansion plans. However, CIOs in APAC are already ahead of the curve, with 44% noting that hybrid or remote working policies have enabled them to access a wider pool of talent, and that 42% of APAC CIOs have teams based in different countries or markets, higher than the global average of 38%.

With the rise of hybrid work, how should APAC CIOs leverage hybrid/remote policies to tap into a wider geographical pool of talent?

EW: In today’s highly competitive job market, offering flexible working is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Without the structure of a traditional office environment, businesses will have to adopt a different approach to define what work is, and how to measure effective output to maintain high levels of productivity among employees and to attract and retain talent. 

To start, performance metrics and evaluation criteria that are conducive to remote work must be adopted so that talents can be effectively managed and assessed across different geographical locations. This can help to ensure that employees are evaluated based on their contributions and outcomes, rather than simply showing up at work in person. It is also crucial to foster a culture of trust and accountability, where employees are empowered to manage their own time and workload effectively.

At the same time, businesses must also invest in robust and secure technology infrastructure to support remote working. Having the right technologies in place can ensure that communication and collaboration among remote teams remain seamless and enable managers to effectively manage and coordinate talent across different geographical locations to maximize the full benefits of flexible working.

What are the technology innovations that organizations can adopt to facilitate connectivity and collaboration in a remote working environment?

EW: At the heart of hybrid work is the ability to stay connected and to effectively interact with both colleagues and customers regardless of where they are. The key to making this happen is ensuring that the right technology is in place to facilitate connectivity and collaboration for distributed teams.

Connectivity is one of the biggest challenges of remote work and employers should ensure that employees have reliable and secure connectivity to workplace resources, regardless of their location.

As such, businesses should invest in enterprise networks that are robust, flexible, high-performing, scalable, and easy to use, especially for companies looking to enter new markets. They can also invest in virtual private network (VPN) capabilities to ensure secure connection to confidential workplace resources, as well as ensuring access to the appropriate cloud-based communications and collaboration tools.

Given the proliferation of hybrid and remote working, these remote workers must be provided with similar levels of security and performance as they would experience if working from the office to ensure that their remote workforce remains connected and productive.