young, skilled and connectedHow migrant populations can improve your access to talent

anthony Raja devadoss

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top 5 migRant destinations

canada

migRants make up one quaRteR

of hawaii’s population

u.s.

Russia

countries with 1 million+ chinese:

indonesia thailand malaysia singaporephilippines vietnam Burma united states canada

of the entiRe austRalian migRation

pRogRam, skilled migRants compRise

60%

of swiss citizens live outside switzeRland

10%

the laRgest diaspoRa of

is in aRgentinaswiss

japanese

the chinese diaspoRa

numBeRs appRox

50 million

saudi aRaBia

geRmany

the indian diaspoRa

numBeRs appRox

30 million

the malaysian-BoRn migRant

population is appRox

1 million

aRound one-thiRd of all migRation RepResents ‘BRain dRain’ foR the home countRy.

among developing

countRies, the philippines had the highest numBeR of

univeRsity-educated emigRants leaving its

shoRes (1,126,260 people) in

2000.

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the numbers reveal that:

• VirtuallyallCEOs(97%)believethatthe

accesstoandretentionofkeytalentis

criticalorimportanttosustainingtheir

growth,yet25%globallyarelookingto

reduceheadcount.

• Over60%ofCEOssaytheyhave

challengesrecruitingandintegrating

theirmillennialemployees,andless

thanone-thirdbelievethattheyhavea

comprehensiveunderstandingoftheir

employees’viewsandneeds.

Itisclearthatcompaniesarefindingit

moredifficulttoattractandretaintheright

workforce.Inasense,theoldconcept

of‘braindrain’thatreferredtoskilled

workersleavingtheirhomecountryto

pursuelucrativeopportunitieselsewhere

isnowsomethingfarmorecommon,even

forcompaniesoperatingamidfavourable

economicconditions.

we’Re all expeRiencing ‘BRain dRain’A recent global PwC survey of 1,100 CEOs and business leaders revealed that they are struggling to balance talent retention and cost reduction against a backdrop of economic deceleration.

‘Braindrain’isstillasignificantandpressing

issueforcountriesinmajormigratory

corridors,suchasSouth-EastAsiaand

EasternEurope.However,it’salsoa

phenomenonthataffectsmorecompanies

moreoftenthankstothemobilityofthe

world’sworkforce,theeaseofswitchingjobs,

andotherlarge,globaldemographicshifts,

suchastheagingpopulation.

Companiesneedtofindnewwaysto

attractandretaincriticalskills—andthe

originalsourcesof‘braindrain’(i.e.migrant

populationsor‘diasporas’)mightjusthold

someoftheanswers.

Actively engaging with diasporas offers very

specific advantages over other strategies for

skill retention.

they’re young: themedianageoftheforeignpopulationlivingintheEUwas34.4

yearsin2010,whichis7.1yearslowerthanthemedianageofnationals(41.5).

they’re skilled: inOECDcountriestheskillintensityofmigrationisaround70percent.

Manyvisarequirementsensurethatmigrantpopulationsbringwiththemhighlevelsof

skillsandexperience.Significantdiasporasalsodevelopoutofpopulationsthatsettle

afterbeingeducatedbythehostcountry’stertiaryeducationsystem,keepingcritical

skillsin-country.

they’re connected:theyhaveconnectionsintheirhomecountry,whichcanbeused

bycorporateslookingtoexpandintonewmarkets.

wHy engage witH diasporas?

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InAsia-Pacific,forexample,thenumberof

peopleaged65andolderisestimatedto

increasethreefold—from420millionin2010

toalmost1.3billionby2050.Thisincrease

willmeanpeopleofnon-working-agewill

constitutealmost25%ofthetotalregional

populationinlessthan40years’.Inapart

oftheworldthatisexperiencingdramatic

economicgrowth,thisposesarealproblem

forcompaniesthatneedskilledworkers.

Unfortunately,manyofthecountrieswith

growingpopulationsdonothavethe

educationalinfrastructuretodevelopthe

volumeofskilledlabortomakeupforthe

shortfallinindustrializedcountries.Africa’s

populationremainsyouthfulandlargely

unchangedinagedistributionsince1990,

yetitseducationinfrastructurecannotfillthe

talentgapwideningoverthenextdecades.

they’Re youngFertility rates in all developed economies is now below replacement rate and the downward trend is spreading far and wide.

Inlightofthesesoberingstatistics,

companiesshouldlooktomigrantdiasporas

withparticularinterest.Ifweareallgoing

tobeclamoringforashrinkingpoolof

youngtalent,andmigrantdiasporasarea

keysourceofthisresource,companieswill

havetogetusedtoaccommodatingthe

‘millennialmindset’—andparticularlythatof

educated,migrantyouth.

GenerationYseesglobalexperienceasa

positivedifferentiatorinjobselectionand

promotion—andthisisjustonereason

whytheymakeupalargerproportionof

migrantdiasporas.GenYalsobringsnew

approachestotheissueofethicsandsocial

responsibilityintheworkplace.Theywant

toworkforcompaniesthatdemonstrate

transparencyandengagementwiththe

communityatlarge.

Rethink the way you promote: millennialslookfornewopportunitiesfor

developmentanddevelopmentmorethantheylookforhierarchicaladvancement.

Theywantachallengeandtheywanttotestnewtechnologyandthelatestideas.

Be more flexible:theyexpect(don’tjustwant)workplaceflexibility,andtobe

measuredonwhattheyachieveasopposedtothehourstheywork.

have a real dialogue with staff:theyexpect(don’tjustwant)tobeheardandto

contributeinmeaningfulways.Iftheyseethingsthatdon’tfitwiththeirvalues,

they’llwantyoutoknowaboutit.

a genuine appreciation for diversity:toattracttheyouthful,highlyskilledworkers

ofmigrantdiasporasglobally,corporatesneedtoembracediversewaysofthinking

andofacting.

How to attract and retain tHe youtHful workforces of diasporas

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TheWorldBank’sresearchintothe

investmentclimateshowsthatforsome40%

offirms,skillsshortagesareatopinvestment

obstacle.Regardlessoftheregionwherethe

firmoperates,thesizeofitsoperations,its

exportorientation,itsownershipstructure

ortheindustryitbelongsto,theconcern

abouttheiraccesstocriticalskillsremains

remarkablyhigh.

Worldwideeducationandtraining

infrastructurehasfailedtodeliverthevolume

ofskilledtalentrequiredinfieldssuchasIT,

healthcare,engineeringandscience.These

shortagesareonlybecomingmoreacute,

andinsomelocationsfirmsareforcedto

operatewithoutcriticalskillsforlongperiods

becausetheysimplycannotobtainthem.

Forexample,itcurrentlytakes5.4weeks

tofindaqualifiedtechnicianinMalaysia,

they’Re skilledWe have already entered a long-term phase of competing fiercely for certain skills.

whereasinIndonesiaittakesjust1.6weeks.

Whencompetitiveadvantageishardtobuild

andevenhardertomaintain,differenceslike

thesereallymatter.

Skillsshortagesarethesinglegreatest

influenceonmigratorybehaviorandthe

formationofdiasporas.Infact,theMalaysia

EconomicMonitorshowsthatofthetop

threereasonspeoplemovefromtheir

countryofbirth,twoaremoneyand/or

careeroriented:

1.Careerprospects

2.Compensation

3.Socialjustice

Weknowthatmigrantdiasporastypically

haveahigherconcentrationofskillsand

educationthannativepopulations,and

thatcompensationisoneofthekey

reasonsformigration.

know their talent supply chain:doyouknowhowlongyourcycletimesforcritical

skillsetsare?Wherearethebottlenecksinsupply?Doyouhaveaccesstosources

oftherighttalentattherightprice?

consider moving the work, not the worker: considerwaystoaccesscritical

skillswheretheyaremoreplentiful,includingofferingmoreflexiblework

assignmentsandprojects.

Be specific and targeted in your hiring campaigns:campaignscansuccessfully

targetexpatriatesandenticethemtoreturntotheirhomecountryforspecific,

high-profileprojects.Onceyouknowwhohastheskillsyouneedandwherethey

are,youcanfindspecificmessagesthatwillberelevantandattractivetothem.

to tap into migrant diasporas, companies must:

Years after country names denote survey period. Source: World Bank’s global investment climate survey database

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time RequiRed to fill vacancies

time required to fill a vacancy for skilled technician (lhs)

standard deviation of time required (Rhs)

Brazil 2003 malaysia 2007 thailand 2007 ireland 2005 germany 2005 korea 2005 india 2002 Russia 2005 indonesia 2003

10 14

8

12

6

10

8

46

2

4

2

0 0

NumBEr OF WEEkS

NumBEr OF WEEkS

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Notonlydodiasporasincreasetheexchange

ofgoodsandknowledgebetweencountries,

theysignificantlycontributetofacilitating

newrelationshipsacrossborders—and

connectionsarewhatbusinessesentering

newmarketsoftenlack.

AHarvardBusinessSchoolstudyshowsthat

Americancompaniesthatemploysignificant

numbersofethnicChinesefinditmuch

easiertosetupinChinawithoutajoint

venturewithalocalfirm.

they’Re connectedFor the countries they leave, and the places they go to, the impact of diasporas is measurable. The flow of information, money, goods and ideas—between diasporas and their home country networks—influences change in both places.

Reconsider the way project teams for new ventures are assembled: life

experienceofprojectteammembersmaybejustascriticaltothesuccessofa

newventureaseducationandtraining.

listen to what diversity is telling you:giventhestilllargelyhomogeneousnature

ofmostleadershipteams,andtheskeweddemographicsofspecificroleswithin

everyorganization,providingwaysforalternativeviewstobeheardiscritical.

to leverage tHe full value of a diverse workforce, companies must:

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In many ways, the old idea of ‘brain drain’

has new meaning—thanks to the mobility

of the world’s workforce, and unstoppable

global demographic shifts, the right skills are

now harder to find and even harder to keep.

Companies need to find new ways to

attract and retain critical skills—and the

original sources of ‘brain drain’ (i.e. migrant

populations or diasporas) might just hold

some of the answers. When conditions are

conclusion

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RefeRences•http://www.management-aims.com/PapersMgmt/21Kilduff.pdf•http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-034/EN/KS-SF-11-034-EN.PDF•http://www.unescap.org/stat/data/syb2011/I-People/Population.asp•http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/us/16skilled.html?pagewanted=all•Themagicofdiasporas,TheEconomist,October2011•MigrationandRemittancesFactbook2011,2ndEditionby:DilipRatha,SanketMohapatra,AniSilwal:http://publications.worldbank.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23876

•http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBIPROGRAMS/KFDLP/0,,contentMDK:20946758~menuPK:1727232~pagePK:64156158~piPK:64152884~theSitePK:461198,00.html

right, skilled migrants will move and settle in

new locations, bringing their skills and other

significant benefits with them, including new

ideas and networks.

Diasporasareyoung,educatedand

connected—just what organizations are

looking for. But if organizations are to make

the most of diversity they already embody,

or the diversity that they hope to engage,

change must surely follow.

Kelly Global Workforce Index™

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eXit

aBout the authoR

Anthony RAjA DevADoss is currently the vice President—APAC with the outsourcing & Consulting

Group of Kelly services. From network services, engineering to e-business solutions, Anthony Raja has

worked in both India and Malaysia, within technical roles to the Chief executive officer. he has received

his Bachelors degree in science and his MBA in Marketing & Postgraduate Diploma in Computing. he

holds membership in various local and international associations such as the MIM, human Capital Institute

& Association of Career Professionals International. he is the head of Policy enablement & Government

Liaison with outsourcing Malaysia and a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the Graduate school of Business,

UnIRAZAK. he has been recently appointed to the hR Capacity Building task force by the Ministry of human Resources,

Govt of Malaysia. Anthony is also a member of the hRoA APAC Chapter Board.

http://my.linkedin.com/in/anthonyraja http://twitter.com/anthonyraja