Taiwan's Dire Brain Drain
By Ting-feng Wu, Chia Lun Huang
From CommonWealth Magazine
Published: June 27, 2014 (No.550)
How competitive
Opinions are so varied on Taiwan's talent pool that it can seem like an enigma.
Time waits for no one, however, and based on predictions from business consultancy Oxford Economics' Global Talent 2021 survey, emerging Asian nations will have the most pressing need for talent in the foreseeable future. Notably, Taiwan stands in dire circumstances, with the worst talent imbalance among the 46 countries included in the survey.
Rather than grope around in the dark and simply allow the variety of opinions to fall into cacophony, CommonWealth Magazine initiated a trilateral survey, of human resource directors, overseas Taiwanese workers, and local professionals. (See Survey Method.)
The survey results indicate that the three categories of professionals have their agreements and differences. At any rate, this is the first step in opening a discourse, and the basis for amassing the energy to move forward.
Hardworking, High Caliber, Loyal
Is Taiwan's talent pool competitive? All three categories of respondents agree that it is.
In order of positivity, the ranking was HR directors (86 percent), overseas Taiwanese workers (71 percent) and local professionals (64 percent). (Table 1)
At first glance this does not mesh with superficial impressions. Why are corporate HR directors, who so often lament the dearth of talent, more sanguine about Taiwanese talent than local and overseas workers?
"Talent cannot be viewed as a whole; rather, you have to focus on the top portion," opines Deryu Yin, vice president of the Human Resources Department at Advantech. A veteran of 25 years of service at Hewlett-Packard and an observer of countless people, she marvels, "Outstanding professionals are more outstanding than ever, more creative, and more international."
What does Taiwanese talent have to offer, then?
HR directors, overseas workers, and local professionals surveyed agree that "broad education" and "excellent caliber manpower" are the main strengths of Taiwanese talent. However, in addition to the infrastructure of the educational environment, both overseas and domestic working professionals rated themselves as having "outstanding performance of professional skills" and being "hardworking." For their part, HR directors are most interested in "good on-the-job learning capabilities" and "strong loyalty." (Table 2)
Lacking Ambition and Confidence
Whilst Taiwanese talent is lauded for its competitiveness, the "industry-academia gap" is frequently bemoaned. Among both local Taiwanese professionals and HR directors, there is broad agreement that this is a factor that causes Taiwanese talent to remain idle and prevents it from being fully utilized.
Even if the industry-academia gap could be resolved, Taiwanese talent is still weak in the "fundamentals." For instance, all three categories of respondents agreed that "ambition" is the weakest point of Taiwanese talent. (Table 2)
Dorothy Tao, senior vice president of human resources at HSBC, laments that Taiwanese professionals "have talent, but lack confidence." Consequently, when they compare themselves with others out in the world, they become reactive and passive.
May Wei, country segment leader of Talent & Rewards Consulting at Towers Watson Taiwan, shares that her company's surveys have found that the top three factors attracting Taiwanese professionals are stable work, regular pay, and convenient work location. "Isn't that the same as 'good pay, a light workload, and a location close to home' (the oft-cited Taiwanese ideal for a job)? Meanwhile, career development was ranked ninth by Taiwanese, in contrast to third among worldwide respondents. This shows how comfortable Taiwanese are."
Monica Han, country HR leader at 3M Taiwan, notes that Taiwanese personnel are "top experts, but not necessarily leadership material." This observation dovetails with those of professionals with overseas working experience, as 66 percent of those surveyed believe that "working professionals" constitute the main force of Taiwan's talent output. (Table 3)
Amenable to Overseas Postings, Except to Backward Countries
Acer company founder Stan Shih once said that if talent that stays in Taiwan makes a contribution of "one," two zeroes can be added after that "one" to their value after internationalization.
In its White Paper on Talent Cultivation released six months ago, the Ministry of Education placed "global mobility" among the top six critical skills for the future.
However, the path to becoming international, added-value talent is a difficult one to take, given the realities of the current professional arena.
For instance, riding high on the success of its overseas market expansion strategy, Chailease Holding Company, the "stock king" with the highest share price in the financial sector, began explosive growth two years ago. Janny Cheng, chief human resource officer at Chailease, notes, "We have 20 overseas branches, with a growth rate of three to five more per year expected in the future."
With this, Cheng is quick to add, "It is difficult to find people for overseas posts."
According to Makalot Corporation's internal figures, there is a "very considerable" gap in the retention rate of local staff in Taiwan and those dispatched to work abroad, as the casualty rate of expat staff is especially high. "Investment in human resources is an expensive venture, from initial recruitment to training, which costs up to NT$500,000 to 600,000 per head," relates Alan Chou, vice president in charge of corporate resources development at Makalot.
A number of corporations anxious to set up overseas operations are haunted by the prospects of human resources' inability to keep pace with enterprise growth.
What is interesting is that a full 76 percent of local respondents claimed they were willing to "accept an overseas work assignment for a year or longer." As for HR heads, 64 percent believe that dispatching staff abroad is a fairly easy task. (Table 5)
At first blush dispatching staff to positions abroad is not difficult in itself, but it is the location to which employees are sent that poses issues. If the assignment is to an undeveloped country (as in Africa, Central or South America, or ASEAN member countries), local survey respondents indicate that they would "consider the environment in the country before deciding" (63 percent). Meanwhile, nearly 70 percent of HR directors describe overseas job assignments as "difficult." (Table 6)
Taiwanese employees and HR directors alike relate that "family" is the main cause of hesitancy over overseas job assignments, including family members' willingness to cooperate, and other major considerations like children's education and care for elderly parents.
In addition, a full 40 percent of local respondents surveyed expressed that "attractive wages and benefits" affect their interest in overseas appointments. Yet only 14 percent of HR directors said that this is a major draw of overseas job assignments, revealing a significant difference of opinion.
Brain Drain Hollows Out Taiwan's Competitiveness
The solution must take account of various factors. Deryu Yin holds that enterprises must make full plans, from wages to family support. She does not hesitate to admit that Taiwanese corporations lag behind the overseas assignment system of foreign companies in this respect.
Janny Cheng also suggests that staff should be dispatched abroad sooner than later to prevent the family factor from becoming an issue. A company with a long history, 3M looks to corporate culture for the solution. "Overseas assignments are a form of validation, as well as a necessary path to promotion," says Monica Han.
Generally speaking, perhaps the opinions of Taiwanese living and working overseas should be taken into account in the search for the greatest common denominator to make overseas assignments smooth. They relate that the leading factors impacting their decision to leave their home country and go abroad were "development opportunities, greater leeway" (54 percent), "better local wages" (48 percent), and "expanding personal horizons" (46 percent). (Table 7)
Reflecting back on Taiwan from their perspectives overseas, an alarming 83 percent of Taiwanese expatriate professionals describe Taiwan today as having become a "talent export country."
As for what kind of talent is draining away, 25 percent of overseas workers believe the top two categories consist of "top executives and researchers." The loss of the highest-caliber assets to overseas positions is an issue worth taking very seriously. (Table 3)
Workers Blame Companies, Companies Blame Government
Getting to the bottom of the situation, both overseas professionals and HR chiefs identify such key issues as "uncompetitive wages," and "more aggressive vying for talent among neighboring countries" (i.e., China, Singapore). However, from this point on, the different groups of respondents part company. Both local and overseas workers further noted major issues including "industry lacks strategies for training and retaining talent," whilst HR chiefs ticked the box next to "government lacks strategy."
So it would appear that both enterprises and the government have work to do.
"The majority of Taiwanese corporations do not take human resources seriously enough," offers Charles Wang, president of Towers Watson Taiwan.
This is also why, when asked, "Do Taiwanese corporations systematically train their personnel?" a full 70 percent of respondents answered, "No," and even half of all HR heads surveyed agreed.
Some are optimistic nonetheless, such as Bing Li, executive director at Wow Prime, who prefers to view "outflow" as "exchange." If these Taiwanese go abroad and return to their homeland one day, they will provide Taiwan opportunities to become more internationalized, Li feels.
If outflow can be turned into an opportunity for exchange, then in addition to a solid personnel training system, Taiwanese enterprises also stand to improve in other areas as well. According to the survey, 48 percent of overseas professionals responded that they decided to take a position overseas due to "better wages and benefits." Moreover, a full 65 percent of those surveyed would not consider returning to Taiwan to seek employment, chiefly because "Taiwanese wages are unattractive." This means that around seven of every ten Taiwanese now working abroad are unwilling to return home. (Table 7, Table 8, Table 9)
"Enterprises are not necessarily unwilling to cultivate talent; the question is whether they can carry it out," explains Deryu Yin. "When corporations are only making a two to three percent profit, their hands are essentially tied."
Joining Forces
Corporations and government alike must step up efforts.
The lament that "the country lacks a talent strategy" frequently voiced in business circles is directed almost entirely at the gap between industry and academia. Bing Li and Monica Han, HR chiefs for a local and foreign company, respectively, were in accord, saying "The government's educational system fails to take industry's needs into account."
An even more serious problem is that even though the Ministry of Education released a Human Resources White Paper near the end of 2013, it failed to register with any of the respondents, who instead insist that "Taiwan lacks an overall talent policy."
How to turn the white paper into an action plan capable of satisfying the needs of both employers and employees remains a challenge.
Interestingly, however, polled as to "which government official is most suitable to expressly handle national talent policy at this time?" (Table 10), the National Development Council chairman received the most affirmative votes, outpolling the ministers of education and labor.
However, upon further analysis, the responsible officials nominated by all three categories of respondents were fairly scattered. This shows that the public is not even sure which parties are in charge of the competitiveness of Taiwan's talent pool, and that strategic thinking is lacking at the highest levels of government, while policy implementation is diffused among various government agencies.
Consolidating inter-agency functions to comprehensively formulate a set of measures spanning education, talent cultivation and recruitment, immigration, and industry policy, is a matter of considerable urgency at this time.
Working professionals are the nation's foundation, especially in resource-poor Taiwan. In an age of intensifying competition and rapid progress among neighboring countries, Taiwanese talent must find the courage to challenge itself, businesses must dare to invest, and the government must summon the mettle to formulate comprehensive plans and policies. Only when all three sides work in concert can they forge Taiwan's future.
About the Survey
The survey was undertaken simultaneously with corporate Human Resource (HR) directors, Taiwanese professionals working overseas, and local Taiwanese workers as its three cohorts. Among these, the CommonWealth Magazine Editorial Department selected 14 top corporate HR directors from various industries and fields for a survey via written questionnaire.
A random sampling was made of both overseas Taiwanese professionals and local Taiwanese workers from the CommonWealth Magazine Group subscriber database who participated in an on-line survey promoted on the CommonWealth Magazine website. The survey was conducted between April 21 and May 19, 2014. A confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus/minus 1.6 and 4.7 percentage points were attained for local workers and overseas professionals, respectively. A total of 3,861 and 433 valid responses were obtained from local Taiwanese workers and overseas working professionals, respectively.
薪資太低 10個人有7個不回台
2014-06-25 天下雜誌 550期
站上國際舞台，台灣人才有多大的競爭力？為了一探台灣人才版圖的虛實，《天下》啟動「十大人資長、百位海外台灣工作者與千位本地上班族」的三邊調查，發現左右台灣人才動向的三大關鍵要素：舞台、薪資、企圖心。
台灣的人才議題，眾說紛紜，像個謎團。
但時間不等人。根據商業顧問機構牛津經濟發布的《二○二一全球人才》調查預測，新興亞太國家將是未來人才需求最殷切的地方。然而，台灣卻也是受調查的四十六個國家裡，人才失衡最嚴重的「災區」。
為了避免瞎子摸象，各說各話，今年四到五月，《天下》特別啟動了「十大人資長、百位海外台灣工作者與千位本地上班族」的三邊調查。（見九十六頁調查說明）
調查結果顯示，這三方對台灣人才的看法有共識，也有分歧。無論如何，這都是聚焦對話的第一步，也是匯集未來行動能量的基礎。
台灣人才優點 認真、素質佳、忠誠度高
台灣人才究竟有沒有競爭力？受訪的三方都給了肯定答案。
從看好度排列，依序是人資長（八六％）、海外台灣工作者（七一％）與台灣本地上班族（六四％）。
乍看之下，似乎與刻板印象不符。經常高喊人才荒的企業人資長，為何反而比海內外工作者更肯定台灣人才？
「人才不能從整體去看，要盯住最優秀那塊，」研華科技人資副總尹德宇，曾在美商惠普服務二十五年，閱人無數的她直誇，「優秀的人比以前更優秀，更創新、更國際化。」
不意外，任何一個稱職的人資長，總是站在「擇優錄取」、「擇優培養」的角度看事情。
那麼，台灣人才究竟好在哪裡？
人資長、海外工作者與台灣受訪者都認為，「教育普及，人力素質佳」是最主要原因。但除了教育環境的基礎設施外，在個人能力與態度方面，海內外的工作者都自評「職場能力表現不俗」與「認真」。至於人資長，則較青睞「擁有良好的在職學習能力」與「忠誠度高」。
在亞洲六個國家、擁有七個廠區的紡織大廠聚陽，人資副總周文津就觀察到，「和其他國家相比，台灣人才忠誠度高，」而且「有些年輕人學習快、累積快，三、五年就可以升副廠長或廠長。」
儘管台灣人才的競爭力被肯定，但「產學落差」一直被詬病。無論是本地受訪者或人資長都認為，這是台灣人才之所以閒置，無法被充分利用的因素。
台灣人才弱點 企圖心、自信心不足
不過產學落差，還是可以設法解決。像聚陽就投資前端，和台北市勞動局合作開設產訓合作計劃。
但就算克服了產學落差的技術面問題，台灣人才還有「基本面」的弱點。例如，受訪的三方都不認為「企圖心」是台灣人才的強項，圈選比例都敬陪末座。
匯豐銀行人資副總裁陶尊芷就感嘆，台灣人才「有能力，但沒信心，」和外頭一比，就變得被動、消極。
美國詩人溫特爾（Walter D. Wintle）在《思考》寫下這麼一句話：「如果你想贏，卻覺得做不到，幾乎可以肯定你將失敗。」
美商韜睿惠悅人才與薪資諮詢總經理魏美蓉也分享，他們的調查發現，吸引台灣人才的前三名因素是工作穩定、固定薪資和工作地點便利。「這不就是錢多事少離家近嗎？『職涯發展』被台灣人排在第九名，可是在全球則是第三名，可見台灣人相當安逸。」
王品人資總監李秉懿更不諱言，大陸人才比台灣這邊更渴望成功。
一輛跑車，如果駕駛自己不願踩油門，如何能展現它的優越性能？
海內外的台灣工作者都心知肚明。特別是，人在異國打拚，必須與來自四面八方的同儕競爭，除了比能力，更不能輸在企圖心。
３Ｍ的人資長韓建玲指出，台灣人才「是很優秀的專家，但未必是領導人才。」這個觀察與海外工作者的經驗符合，高達六六％的受訪者認為，台灣的人才輸出還是以「專業工作者」為主力。
宏碁創辦人施振榮曾說過，人才留在本地，貢獻假如是「一」，則國際化後的價值，可以加「兩個零」。
教育部更在半年前新公布的「人才培育白皮書」，把全球移動力，列為未來的六大關鍵能力之一。
但在現實職場，這條國際化的人才加值之路，並不好走。
例如，因為海外市場的擴張策略成功，金融股股王中租控股從兩年前開始爆發性成長。人資長鄭秀姿透露，「海外分公司數量達二十個，未來還會每年以三到五個的數目成長。」話畢，鄭秀姿不忘補上一句，「外派員工不好找。」
聚陽內部曾統計，台灣區與外派員工的留任率「差很大」，外派員工的「陣亡率」相當高。偏偏「人才投資是很貴的投資，從找人完到培訓完，一個人差不多要五、六十萬，」周文津分析。
許多急於在海外佈局的企業，都有人才成長趕不上企業成長的隱憂。
有趣的是，高達七成六的本地受訪者卻表示，願意「接受長駐一年以上的外派」。至於人資長部份，也有六成四的比例認為外派員工還算容易。
乍看外派不難，問題出在地點。如果外派地點是經濟較不發達國家（如非洲、中南美洲、東協），則本地受訪者多表示「思考當地環境後再決定」（六三％），同時也有近七成的人資長認為外派「困難」。
艱困地區，套句台塑河靜鋼鐵董事長林信義在越南反中風波後的名言，「沒有風險的地方，輪不到台商。」如果台商富貴險中求，實際的外派難度只會更高。
台灣員工與人資長都表示，外派之所以讓人躊躇不前的因素主要是「家庭」，包括家人配合意願與小孩教育或照顧父母考量。
聽到這，陶尊芷認為，關鍵還是在企圖心。因為匯豐的外派就是外商標準，但台灣員工還是比較瞻前顧後，「小孩小有理由，小孩大有理由，父母要照顧也是理由，」她直喊可惜，因為若不想走出去，永遠都有理由。
另外，高達四成的本地受訪者表示，「薪資福利吸引力」會影響他們的外派意願。卻僅有一成四的人資長認為這是外派的重要誘因，見解分歧。
人才危機 腦礦外流 台灣競爭力空洞化
解決之道必須多管其下。尹德宇認為，企業必須從薪資到家庭支持全面規劃。她不諱言，台灣企業在這方面還落後外商的外派制度。
鄭秀姿也建議，為了避免家庭因素，員工外派，宜早不宜遲。至於歷史悠久的3M則訴諸企業文化，「外派是一種肯定，也是升遷的必經途徑，」韓建玲說。
整體而言，若要找尋讓外派變得順利的公約數，或許可以參考海外台灣工作者的意見。他們表示，當初決定離鄉背井的因素，分別是「發展機會，空間較大」（五四％）、「當地薪資福利較佳」（四八％）與「擴展個人視野」（四六％）。
就國家競爭力而言，台灣必須格外重視人才外流的議題。《紐約時報》專欄作家佛里曼曾讚譽，台灣的競爭力在於「腦礦」優勢。換句話說，如果腦礦外流，將讓台灣競爭力空洞化。
已經人在異國的海外工作者，從外往內看，竟有八成三的人指稱，台灣已經是「人才輸出國」。
至於人才外流類型，二成五的海外工作者認為是「高階管理者與研究者」。含金量最高的腦礦，楚材晉用，特別值得重視。
追究成因，海內外工作者與人資長都認為，「薪資沒有競爭力」、「周邊國家更積極搶才」是主要原因。但此後稍有不同，海內外工作者還指出主要原因包括「企業缺乏育才與留才的配套策略」，人資長則圈選了「政府缺乏人才戰略」。看起來，企業與政府都有功課要做。
美商韜睿惠悅總經理王伯松不諱言，「台灣很多企業不夠重視人資。」「人資不能只是負責辦勞健保、發薪水的例行工作，而應該是協助公司願景發展的策略性主管，」王伯松聳聳肩，「如果企業沒有先培養夠高度的人資長，又怎麼會有人才策略？」
陶尊芷坦承，很多企業人資自我設限，以至於專業還在原地踏步。
這也是為什麼，當被詢問到「台灣的企業是否有系統地進行人才培育時」，高達七八％的本地受訪者認為「沒有」，即便是人資長部份也有五成持同樣看法。
還是有相對樂觀的看法，如李秉懿，他傾向把「外流」視為「交流」，這些出去的台灣人才如果日後返鄉，其實是提供了讓台灣變得更國際化的機會。
然而，如果要讓外流變成交流的契機，台灣企業除了要有良好的人才培養制度，還有其他待提升之處。根據調查，受訪的海外工作者，有四八％當初決定在海外工作是因「當地薪資福利較佳」。而這些受訪者迄今仍有六成五不考慮返台求職，最主要的原因就是「台灣薪資沒有競爭力。」等於十個海外工作者約有七人不返台。
「企業未必不願意培養人才，但問題是能不能做得到？」尹德宇反問，「當企業只有二％到三％的利潤，一定力不從心。」
企業需要加油，政府亦然。
讓企業詬病的「國家缺乏人才戰略」部份，幾乎都指向產學落差。李秉懿、韓建玲兩位本地、外商人資，都異口同聲表示，「政府的教育制度沒有考慮產業需求。」
更嚴重的是，儘管教育部在去年年底剛公布了「人才白皮書」，但受訪的海內外工作者與人資長卻都百分百一致無感，批評「台灣沒有整體性的人才政策。」如何讓白皮書變成可以滿足職場勞資雙方需求的行動方案，還有待考驗。
三方協力 政府、企業、人才協同作戰
但有趣的是，當問到「誰是政府最適合專責人才培育的官員時？」，國發會主委被圈選比例最高，高於教育部、勞動部長。
進一步分析，無論是海內外工作者與人資長，各自勾選的專責官員都相當分散。這表示民眾感受不到誰負責台灣人才的競爭力，缺乏上位思考，散落在各部會運作。
如何統整跨部會功能，從教育、育才、延才、移民、產業政策，完整規劃配套，成為當務之急。
人才是國家之本，特別在資源匱乏的台灣。在世界愈來愈競爭、鄰國快速進步的年代，台灣人才要敢於挑戰自己、企業要敢於投資、政府要敢於統整策劃，三方協力，才能為台灣開創未來。
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