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By Ben Arnold O. De Vera,
Researcher
NEARLY half of employers in Asia
plan to slow down on pay increases in the event of further economic
decline, according to a survey conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
About 61 percent of Asian
employers would implement organizational restructuring, while the
same percentage would consider a hiring freeze, the consulting firm
said on Monday.
Employers in the Philippines and
other Asia-Pacific countries are more prepared than their
counterparts in the US for the current economic slowdown, it said.
Laying off employees lies in the
bottom of the list of Asian employers’ contingency measures, the
survey showed.
This year’s Global Strategic
Rewards Survey showed that 84 percent of employers in the
Asia-Pacific region have adopted contingency plans in preparation
for any softening in their economies, compared with only 67 percent
of employers in the US.
“While many would acknowledge
at most some slowdown in the Asia-Pacific region compared to the US,
it is the Asian employers who seemed to have braced themselves for
what’s ahead,” said Rachelle Arcebal, director of strategic
rewards for Asia-Pacific of Watson Wyatt.
She said many businesses
operating in Asia have set up contingency measures as they have
learned from past experience that it pays to be prepared, especially
after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Data gathered from the
Philippines reflect the general observation in the region, Arcebal
said.
Laura Sejen, Watson Wyatt’s
global director of strategic rewards, said companies with
contingency plans in place would be in a better position to weather
the crisis and bounce back when the economy improves.
Top contingency plans of US
companies include resorting to layoffs, 52 percent; organizational
restructuring, 46 percent; and halting hiring activities, 39
percent.
Arcibal explained that the survey
further showed that attraction and retention of top-performing
employees is a major challenge among Asian companies; hence
employers in the region tend to explore other options before letting
go of workers who possess skills critical to their business.
Sejen said the survey revealed
that almost one-third of US companies have no formal contingency
plans, as most of them have a “wait and see” attitude.
Watson Wyatt’s second Global
Strategic Rewards Survey was conducted from April to June this year
in 37 countries around the world, including the Philippines and nine
other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. A total of 1,389
employers from various industries participated in the survey,
including around 400 Asian employers.
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