Talent acquisition professionals in the Asia Pacific region cite quality of hire as the main challenge they will face in the near future, according to survey research from RPO firm Cielo.

Nearly half of talent acquisition professionals, or 46.2% cited quality of hire as the most significant issue they will face while skills shortage ranks second, jointly with time to hire at 35.4%.

This challenge is exacerbated for APAC respondents that do not leverage RPO models compared to those that do (26.7%), the survey found. However, APAC also sees many of its organisations willing to implement new recruitment technologies; at 26.2%, this figure diverges from the global average of 8.2%.

"Skills-based talent acquisition has the potential to address many of APAC's unique concerns, as well as those which the region shares with talent acquisition teams worldwide. In the near future, I believe that professionals are less likely to be concerned with headcount and more concerned with whether a team has the requisite experience to take on their tasks,” Kumar Bhaya, Cielo's VP of Client Solutions for APAC, said.

The survey results also confirm that those who do not leverage RPO face more issues with quality of hire (39.4%), as opposed to the professionals who do use RPO (27.2%) for its technological benefits and recruiter expertise that result in better quality of hires. Experts in the APAC region highlighted unique factors that were distinct from the general trends that this report identifies. Specifically, concerns included international skills shortages, breaking free of regional roles, and increasing attention to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Across national borders, skills shortages can vary significantly. While Singapore and Malaysia host transient markets of available talent, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia are markets where talent remains harder to find. The survey also found that particular pain points in these markets include hiring talent with leadership roles and niche skills; a challenge that may be eased through partnership with an RPO.

Meanwhile, a quarter, or 24.6% of recruiters in Asia listed diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging as a top concern compared to 45.6% globally. Regardless, APAC respondents who used an RPO were more committed to diversity and inclusion efforts (53.3%) than those who were not using an RPO (17.4%).