Is online shopping an integral part of your everyday life? If your answer is yes, then you are among the majority of shoppers in Southeast Asia, according to the findings of a regional consumer survey by Lazada Group and Milieu Insight.
The pandemic-induced digital shift has dramatically altered the way consumers shop. In a world where consumers are doing more of their shopping online and getting their purchases delivered straight to their homes, eCommerce – one of the key growth drivers of the internet economy – is facing an accelerated expansion.
Within Southeast Asia, data from the e-Conomy SEA 2021 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company showed that the region added 40 million users in 2021, on top of the 40 million who came online in 2020; bringing the region’s internet penetration to 75%. Among the internet users within SEA, 80% of users have made at least one purchase online. At the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony involving Singapore Management University and Synagie, Executive Director of SMU Academy, Jack Lim in his welcome remarks cited data from a report by Meta and Bain & Company that eCommerce sales in Singapore is expected to reach $13.4 billion by the end of 2026.
In unlocking massive opportunities for business growth, talent continues to be a core need for many businesses. It is no doubt that talent is in high demand, but the search for talent for companies in this space has become tougher in this new, fast-changing digital era with digital talent in short supply. Within Singapore alone, a report commissioned by Amazon Web Services showed that the city state will need 1.2 million additional workers trained in digital skills – a 55% increase from the present 2.2 million in today’s workforce, to keep pace with technological advancement and demand. This translates to a total of 23.8 million training sessions from 2020 to 2025 to equip the workforce with the necessary digital skills.
To succeed in the tech talent battleground and push back on the great resignation trend, businesses will need to rethink their talent development and talent acquisition strategy. Effective reskilling, upskilling and skills-based hiring has to be included as a core part of their strategy to address the persistent skill gaps challenge.
Build your eCommerce team by looking within
In recent years, the recruitment process for tech talent with relevant experience is taking longer and longer. In 2019, a report by recruitment agency Robert Walters indicated that 68% of tech hiring managers in Southeast Asia took three months or more to fill an open tech position in their organisation. The pace of change is simply too fast and demand too high to wait and hire external talent. Instead, look to train your internal team to fulfil changed business priorities, and equip them with the skills required to adapt to changing work by providing upskilling and reskilling opportunities. Having the opportunity to learn is becoming increasingly important for employees, with data showing that employees who see good opportunities to learn and grow are 2.9 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not.
Consider mid-career candidates for your eCommerce team
Mid-career individuals are an often overlooked population of workers that can play a key role in solving recruitment as well as retention issues. Professionals from adjacent industries who are looking to make a mid-career switch are a viable talent source. Businesses can also consider tapping on individuals who are looking to return to the workforce after a career break. These potential candidates are able to bring to the table fresh perspective and innovative ways of doing things by drawing from their diverse experiences be it in an adjacent or different field of work. They can also offer guidance and value-add to their new roles by combining the relevant skills they have built up over the years. These skills could range from transferrable hard skills to essential soft skills such as transdisciplinary thinking, problem solving, collaboration and communication. As the future of work continues to evolve, soft skills, such as those identified by SkillsFuture Singapore as critical core skills, are seen as fundamental to organisational and personal success.
Adopt a skills-based approach to hiring
Traditional recruiting processes still place a heavy emphasis on certain types of educational background or experience when considering potential hires. Often, the idea behind such hiring practices stems from the idea that experience begets the knowledge and skills required for the role. However, studies have found that past experience is not a reliable indicator of job performance while educational requirements create an unnecessary barrier to in-demand roles. Evaluating employees and new hires for your eCommerce team based on their skill sets or even their potential to meet business needs instead can help level the playing field — and help companies tap on a larger pool of talent. It also makes recruitment more diverse and hiring more effective.
Plugging the skills gap in the rapidly expanding eCommerce industry
With talent and competition being the top challenges faced by companies, they “will need to invest in learning to survive”, said SMU Assistant Professor of Communication Management, Dr Roh Sungjong, who was part of the panel discussion on the Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Decade of eCommerce at the MoU signing ceremony held at SMU on 17 May 2022.
To help plug the talent and skills requirements of the industry, SMU and Synagie, Southeast Asia’s leading digital commerce enabler, will come together to co-develop over 60 SMU-certified programmes that cover the essential skills and competencies required for the end-to-end value chain of an eCommerce firm. The partnership was formalised by the inking of Memorandum of Understanding at the signing ceremony.
As talent development at the workplace evolves, these programmes will serve as a training solution for businesses looking to upskill and reskill internal talent in their eCommerce team, as well as help individuals acquire the skills needed to pivot into the eCommerce or tech industry. The programmes, which will be taught by subject matter experts with the relevant industry experience, will be launched progressively from Q4 2022.
Read our media release here to find out more about the partnership.
Read news coverage of our event on Straits Times, Zaobao and TNP.
