Youth Mobility Index 2018 provides a valuable trove of data and findings for HR to think, and act, on

Young talent is critical to the sustainability of any company. Understanding the dynamics that attract young talent gives you an HR advantage. The recently published Youth Mobility Index (YMI.Asia), provides an interesting insight into how young Asians move, and what moves them.

Employment mobility is key

The YMI 2018 report draws on various studies identifying the number one concern for young Asians to be employment. While this is driven by economic uncertainties, job obsolescence and also AI, at the crux is employment mobility: finding jobs that will not box them in. The YMI 2018 report showed that increasingly the younger generation is less inclined to amass property and tangible assets, especially those that would tie them down. Millennials are redefining value systems and breaking free. The youth are investing in life experiences: travel, adventures, knowledge, starting social enterprises and so on. Remaining mobile financially and geographically is replacing property ownership as a sign of success.

Job security and good pay remain relevant, but talent is looking for mobility: opportunities to work abroad and see the world, and opportunities to work in various roles and projects. At the heart of the Youth Mobility Index is DotAsia’s commitment to empower young Asians setting out to change the world. The YMI 2018 report provides a wealth of data for HR managers in considering their hiring and employee movement strategies. The data is relevant not only for multinationals. StartupJobs.Asia is a great example of facilitating start-ups to hire abroad.

Another aspect to look out for is employment start-up mobility, which describes the mobility of young people in starting up their career in a particular locale. It serves as an indicator for considering employee retention strategies.

Room for improvement for Hong Kong

Overall, Hong Kong ranks number 2 in YMI 2018, but one of the low points is in employment start-up mobility, where it ranks only at number 6, with youth migrant advantage down at number 17. To address the issue, Hong Kong should look to improve its inbound mobility across the board, from education to employment to entrepreneurship inbound mobility. Education inbound mobility is particularly an area to pay attention to. Here Hong Kong is ranked only at number 7 with student visa convenience falling outside the top 10, at number 11.

Another outlier in the YMI 2018 scorecard for Hong Kong is cost-happiness performance, where it ranked miserably at the bottom. While Hong Kong appears to achieve a reasonable level in happiness indices, that illusion is shattered when cost of living is considered. “Happiness efficiency”, which is measured by the YMI framework appears to better reflect the frustration experienced by Hong Kong youth. This, together with meagre results in income equity at number 20 and minimum wage disparity at number 14 affects Hong Kong’s attractiveness for young talent.

The importance of data

Data analytics has become an essential tool, helping HR practitioners to become more efficient at implementing mobility strategies. These YMI report highlights provide general trends in outbound and inbound mobility of prospective employees across the region.  The data can be used to optimise non-monetary rewards to enhance competitiveness by strategically attracting young talent that values working experiences abroad.

There will always be temptation for optimisation and intervention, however; an important principle in a knowledge-driven economy is that talent holds the key means to production.  While respecting employee privacy, data analytics is hugely beneficial for HR and corporate strategy.  Internally, identifying emerging ideas and understanding the dynamic trends among employees will allow companies to improve relevant incentives for employees as well as ensuring an appropriate allocation of resources for developing ideas.  

The role of HR

Orientation and communication systems are important to improve the learning curve and sense of belonging for new recruits.  Utilising the YMI.Asia data, HR teams can better provide expectations in terms of life experience, social tolerance, internet connectivity and salary growth prospect for employees, especially between their home locality and where they are looking to move to.  Based on the comparison, HR teams can also prepare additional orientation information relevant to such overseas hires. These measures will greatly improve the immediate sense of identity for mobile employees as they feel supported and welcomed into the corporate family.

Contributor: Edmon Chung, DotAsia's founder and CEO