HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTIONS ARE GETTING LEANER

Many specialisms today face cutbacks amidsts wider concern about the economic climate and human resources teams are no exception. 54% of human resources professionals across Asia expressed a lack of optimism for the economy today, slightly higher than the average of 51%.

"Companies are becoming more selective when it comes to hiring in HR, recognising its crucial role in shaping organisational culture and operations," said Sasawan. "We are seeing a leaner model where there is a growing emphasis on being able to do more than just specialised tasks."

As teams grow leaner, generalists capable of performing multiple functions will be favoured over specialists. During this period, we are likely to see greater integration between human resources and administrative roles.


Human resource professionals are adjusting their career plans accordingly, with 49% deciding to stay in the same role at their current organisation, instead of seeking new opportunities. Jobseekers looking to explore will need to be strategic in their outlook, emphasising skills and adaptability in a shifting market.

While these restrictions seem likely to impact how human resources teams approach talent management in Thailand, HR leaders remain confident in their ability to plug any gaps needed to ensure talent pipelines remain robust and functioning in their organisation. 74% of respondents were confident or very confident in recruiting candidates with the skills needed to meet organisation's needs, higher than the 57% of average for other industries.

OFFSHORING REPRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HUMAN RESOURCES CANDIDATES

Amidst this pessimism, there is a silver lining: offshoring. Far from being the only market experiencing austerity measures, Thailand has gained a reputation for being an Asian hub for business expansion. Multinational companies have begun adopting a bottom-up management style, promoting more localised HR authority within the market.

HRBP and talent acquisition roles are particularly in demand, as companies look towards establishing talent pipelines. Candidates with proficiency in both English and Thai are highly sought after, as is demand for Mandarin and Japanese fluency to service business leaders who primarily converse in those languages.

AI IN RECRUITMENT IS STILL BUDDING

While many are keen to harness the power of Generative AI in the workforce, this technology has not yet been picked up heavily for recruitment in Thailand. 20% of employers in Thailand surveyed currently use AI minimally throughout the recruitment process, while 30% are only looking to explore it in the coming year. 25% have no plans to use AI in their recruitment processes yet.


Additionally, while 83% of human resources personnel support the use of AI tools to help them perform their tasks at work, only 55% of them believe their organisations have embraced AI sufficiently to stay relevant in the future.

THERE ARE STILL GAPS TO IMPLEMENTING AI IN HR WIDELY

Understanding the barriers HR teams have with AI adoption is essential to formulating next steps. Only half of HR respondents in Thailand felt they were sufficiently equipped or had a sense of how to acquire the required AI skills to succeed in their role in the next three to five years. 19% of respondents were unsure, while 33% disagreed or strongly disagreed with that notion.

Sentiments when it came to future upskilling were encouraging, however. 50% of HR professionals were confident that their employer would support them in developing the necessary skills for their role. HR leaders will want to explore pathways to upskilling to ensure that these expectations are met, especially if their organisations plan on introducing AI tools to their workforce.

Businesses have a lot of ground to cover when it comes to AI policies. 26% of HR professionals acknowledged that their organisation or leader had issued an AI tool usage policy or provided guidelines on AI usage and restrictions for work; highest in Asia. For the remaining 70%, addressing these gaps will be crucial to foster trust in hiring processes.

THE MOST IN-DEMAND ROLES IN HUMAN RESOURCES FOR THAILAND IN 2024

1. Human Resources Business Partner
2. Talent Development &mps; management
3. Talent Acquisition
4. Compensation &mps; Benefits
5. Generalist &s; Operations