Talent acquisition the biggest hurdle for Asian tech companies: survey

ASIAN technology companies face increasing challenges in acquiring talent, and they should make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform and enhance the increasingly millenial-dominated workplace, according to a new survey by Colliers International.

The survey, conducted across the Asian operations of 12 large technology companies domiciled in the US and Europe, China and India, saw some 40 per cent of tech companies cite the retention of talent as the single greatest challenge, ranking ahead of other factors like competition, regulation, or any other issue.

Companies should use AI to enhance productivity in high-value human roles, and the convergence of AI, the Internet of Things and alternative workplace solutions will result in augmenting the workplace of the future with "assisted intelligence", said Colliers, a global property services company.

According to the study, talent is also getting younger, with millennials the top or joint top employee age group for two-thirds of the tech companies in the study.

Relocation to the central business district (CBD) or within the fringes of CBDs will be necessary to access the talent pool of internet and IT experts, which Colliers predicts will see the highest demand in future, followed by hardware experts.

A prime office location could also help firms gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining talent as the workforce is increasingly dominated by millennial employees, who desire easy access to amenities such as bars and restaurants, as well as public transport, said Andrew Haskins, executive director for research in Asia at Colliers International.

Looking ahead for the next 10 years, India took top spot in the list of countries with the greatest growth potential, followed by China and Japan.

Mr Haskins said China and India are the markets with the brightest prospects in the medium term.

"In our view, it is important for technology groups to have exposure to China in particular to understand developments in a dynamic market that now leads Asia in e-commerce, mobile internet and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence," he said.