Southeast Asia tech jobs take 3 months to fill

The impact of the tech talent shortage is causing increasing strain on resources as well as productivity, particularly in Southeast Asia, a survey by Robert Walters shows.

Based on a survey last April of about 400 technology professionals and hiring managers across the region, 68% of respondents who were hiring managers took three months or more to fill an open tech position on their team.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest, tech hiring managers rated the difficulty level of hiring talent on an average score of 7. 

Business productivity and innovation took a hit as seven in every 10 hiring managers said the shortage of tech talent negatively affected their speed of product development.

The specialist professional recruitment firm has issued a technology guidebook, “5 Lessons in Tackling the Tech Talent Shortage,” which offers insights on how companies can overcome the hurdle, and can apply to all companies that seek highly sought-after talent. 

Companies are advised to review their recruitment strategy – be more proactive, discard conventional notions, and refresh the recruitment process. They are urged to begin early to reach out to and educate potential candidates through increasing the awareness of their employers’ brand and ensure a ready pipeline of quality and motivated talent. To complement existing sourcing methods, companies can consider non-traditional avenues such as seeking overseas talent or tech talent in other industries to reach out to untapped pools of talent.

Incorporating more flexibility in the benefits package, based on individual preferences, can be an effective tool to attract and retain tech talent. The top 3 benefits favoured by respondents when choosing a company were flexible hours (58%), family insurance (49%) and remote working options (46%).

Companies are urged to consider candidates who show high potential, such as a good aptitude for learning quickly and working in teams, being comfortable in using technology to create solutions, and having experiences or skills useful to the team.

Also, tech professionals surveyed cited training workshops on technical and soft skills, cross-functional project involvement, and job rotation opportunities as among the training opportunities that interest them most.