Malaysia ranks 4^th worldwide for the use of social media in career decisions and 60% of the Malaysian workforce opts for social media as a job search tool, compared to global average of 36% according to the Kelly Outsourcing & Consulting Group (‘KellyOCG’).

 According to Anthony Raja Devadoss, Vice President of KellyOCG, Asia Pacific, as more Gen-Ys and millennials join the workforce today, social media and online tools are emerging as the vital channels that organisations need to attract, engage and retain top talent. 

 “The 2014 Kelly Global Workforce Index (‘KGWI®’) survey saw increasing numbers of employees use social media and online tools, such as online talent communities, as the medium to facilitate their career moves. This phenomenon is more inclined in APAC which stands out as a hot spot with approximately half (51%) the employees involving their social media network for employment decisions which is significantly higher than EMEA (34%) and the Americas (30%).”

 Despite this, Devadoss reveals that only less than 30% of job positions in APAC countries are landed via online job boards. “This opposing trend therefore warrants a re-think about how organisations engage the right talent. This is a pertinent issue as the worldwide talent gap continues to widen and projected to reach 81 million by 2018.”

 “Today’s digital era presents both challenges and opportunities to the employers. There are greater opportunities than ever for employers to engage a wider pool of talents across industries, occupations, countries and continents.”

 He continues, “Companies should consider integrating social media and online tools into their talent supply chain strategy in view of the growing importance of effective online and social media platforms to interact with current and prospective employees whether for branding or recruitment purposes.

Devadoss also highlights that more online talent communities have sprouted as employees today are becoming more willing to open up about work and workplace challenges. The 2014 KGWI survey report illustrated that current participation in talent communities is highest in APAC (25%) followed by the Americas (19%) and EMEA (10%).

“With a more open and networked business environment, employers have the chance to showcase available opportunities and become the preferred employer. This can improve the quality and speed of talent acquisition as well as retention rate. The concept of online talent community is still relatively new in Malaysia, but forward-thinking employers recognise it as the next generation of sourcing and social recruiting.”

Other key findings of the 2014 KGWI survey report for APAC talent market include the following:

• APAC attracts only 7% of global workers who are willing to be relocated - in contrast Europe stands out as the choice of destination with more than one-third (34%) of workers willing to work there.
• However, local workers are far more willing than the global average to give up higher pay and/or career growth or advancement to learn new skills (66% versus 57% globally) and for a greater work-life balance (65% versus 52% globally).
• More than 80% of APAC candidates prefer to apply job via digital/electronic resume or application. Online job boards are somewhat more relied on in APAC (27%) as compared to Americas and EMEA (24% and 26% respectively).