Human Capital Management in Asia: The War for Talent Continues in This High-Growth Region

A recent newspaper article illustrates the difference between managing talent in Asia and in Western countries. A multinational bank, which prides itself on cultural understanding, acquired a bank in South Korea and started operating there. As part of its integration strategy, the bank introduced its global people management practices, including meritbased salary increases instead of seniority-based increases and pay for performance instead of pay for loyalty. Employees were told — rather than consulted — about these changes. As a result, the newspaper reported that 6,500 white-collar employees went on strike, accusing management of disregarding local work practices. There was a media outcry on the issue, which impacted customer perceptions of the “new” bank and negatively affected the business results. It has taken years to address this initial perception in both the employees’ and customers’ views.