Citing findings of the Group’s Human Resources surveys published over the last two years, he drew attention to results showing a glaring decline in corporate governance, employee productivity, management quality and an appalling lack of cost control.
The surveys were conducted electronically across the Asia-Pacific and covered Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Telecom & IT, Finance, Transport, Retail, Property and the Services industry.
“While it is certainly sad to see jobs lost under the spectre of uncertainty, studies reveal extreme negligence amongst employers and employees the results of which have only added to the current financial debacle,” he said.
“We are living in competitive times. Job security and complacency can no longer co-exist. Corporations have all too easily disregarded risk expecting the good times to roll forever. Lack of transparency has allowed companies their financial misadventures. Flouting internal cost controls, companies have (in many cases) squandered profits on unnecessary expansion.”
He added: “Employees, it would appear, have embarked on a complacency competition with very few taking career challenges seriously. Due diligence dies daily when this happens and few realize that such behaviour is counter-productive.”
“By most accounts this is a wake up call. It will force employees to value employment more, it will make employers more conscious of market reality and it hopefully, will create a new set of albeit reluctant entrepreneurs from the jobless.”
Countries where the ‘services culture’ is in serious need of resuscitation will be the hardest hit and perhaps the last to drag themselves out of this gaping hole, Rogers said, stopping short of pinpointing the countries he was referring to.
