New report finds major disconnect between employers, employees on priorities
Hiring systems in Singapore need to keep up with evolving expectations as an emerging disconnect between employers and employees threatens to narrow talent pools, according to new research.
Indeed's Work at 60 Report revealed that 59% of employees in Singapore ranked salary and stability, as well as work-life balance, among their top priorities when evaluating a job.
This is significantly different from what employers assume, according to the report.
Just 29% of employers believe that employees prioritise salary and stability, while just 27% think jobseekers look at work-life balance when evaluating a job.
"Workers are nearly twice as likely as employers think to prioritise salary, security, and balance," said Saumitra R Chand, Career Expert at Indeed, in a statement.
"In a tight labour market, underestimating those fundamentals risks narrowing your own talent pool."
Hiring systems need to keep up
The disconnect reflects a hiring system in Singapore that is failing to catch up with the evolving world of work.
Nearly half of employers (44%) and employees (46%) agree that entry-level roles will be the most affected by change in the next decade, especially in the wake of technology automating entry-level tasks.
Younger workers are adapting to this change by combining digital fluency with human strengths.
A majority of employees are also putting greater emphasis on lifelong learning and skills-first hiring over traditional degree pathways.
For employers, 30% said finding skilled candidates is their biggest hiring challenge, with 52% saying Gen Z employees are the hardest generation to attract or retain.
But the report noted that employers are struggling to find capable talent because their hiring systems are failing to keep up with the times.
According to the report, hiring structures in Singapore still rely heavily on static titles and credential filters.
This likely results in employers missing out on "job-ready candidates" because of a lag in recognition, instead of a shortage of capability.
The report stressed that aligning role design, skills recognition frameworks, and career pathways to employees' priorities will impact how effectively talent is matched to opportunity.
"That means hiring strategies must move beyond assumptions and more clearly align compensation, stability and flexibility with what candidates are actively looking for," Chand said.
