Having a diverse workforce helps organisations successfully leverage continuous disruption and most companies in Hong Kong are beginning to show leadership in this area, according to recruitment experts Hays.
New research from Hays reveals that leaders in Hong Kong organisations are not only well ahead of Asian competitors when it comes to promoting women in the workplace, they are also driving a broader diversity agenda.
A survey carried out across five countries/regions in March and April this year formed the basis of the The 2018 Hays Asia Diversity & Inclusion Report. The key findings have shown that respondents in Hong Kong showed confidence in their leaders’ ability to lead Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives, with 88 per cent of them saying they trust their leaders to deliver change in D&I. To add, 87 per cent regard their corporate leaders as role models for diversity and inclusion.
90 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong believe their leaders understand the relationship between D&I and profitability, compared to 46 per cent across Asia. At the same time, 91 per cent of respondents believe their leaders understand the link between D&I and customer insight, compared to 48 per cent across Asia.
40 per cent of companies in Hong Kong are training leaders to champion D&I and holding them accountable through setting targets and KPIs, while closely tracking the results. This surpasses the 35 per cent average across other countries/regions included in the survey such as Mainland China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
By contrast, 75 per cent of respondents felt their chances for career progression were constantly limited due to their gender, age or background, which is telling of a trend across Asia where 70 per cent responded similarly. Adding to that, 93 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong believe their leaders are biased towards employees who look, think and act as they do; this number is much higher compared to 63 per cent across Asia.
At the time of the survey, 31 per cent of participants in Hong Kong reported to a female line manager; a smaller proportion than that of Malaysia (46 per cent), Singapore (45 per cent) and Mainland China (44 per cent) but superseding Japan (28 per cent).
The survey also asked participants if their organisations have set D&I targets and KPIs for senior and line managers. 47 per cent work in companies where targets are set and they have indeed been actively working towards them.
“Most of our respondents in Hong Kong have identified improved company culture, better leadership and greater innovation as the top three benefits D&I can bring to an organisation,” says Dean Stallard, Managing Director of Hays Greater Bay Area.
“We agree. D&I helps create a company culture that encourages new ideas and ways of solving problems, and helps employees to adapt to constant change in evolving business conditions. If most employees – and indeed business leaders – think the same and have similar life experiences, then it can make it harder to accept a different way of thinking or a new idea when it is voiced,” he adds.
“In today’s business lexicon, disruption means using technology to disrupt and grow industries and improve productivity. Disruption is considered a ‘hard trend’, which means it’s here to stay. It creates both opportunities and risk, and a diverse workforce helps organisations to act on the opportunities and manage such risks.”
“D&I means having more women rising through the ranks and having managers and employees of all ages and ethnicity, religions, cultures and even life experiences. This not only promotes new ways of thinking, but also more representative of the increasingly global customer base for many Hong Kong products and services,” says Dean.
Learn more about our 2018 Asia Diversity & Inclusion report by clicking here.