In order to assess the general economic and business sentiment as well as certain aspects of HR within organizations in Myanmar, JobNet.com.mm (which is Myanmar’s leading online talent management system) just conducted a survey of CEOs from local and international companies in Southeast Asia’s highest growing per-year GDP country. A set of questions from the survey was answered by the highest executive ranks from companies, and JobNet.com.mm is now eager to share the survey findings. Uncovering key insights that these studies continue to turn up allows companies to succeed their long-term organizational goals by learning from the growth of other businesses, and helping companies to not repeat past missteps while encouraging them to continue to act in an innovative manner.

The survey findings from the perspectives of CEOs covered the following areas:

• Challenges of doing business in Myanmar
• Qualities which need to be more developed in the Myanmar workforce
• HR technology investments which the businesses could benefit from

Employers in Myanmar are faced with challenges from both their internal and external environments. According to JobNet’s survey results, 72% of all CEOs polled revealed the most challenging obstacle they are facing while doing businesses in Myanmar is finding and retaining good talent for the workplace. While the quantity of candidates applying for jobs has never been stronger in Myanmar, matching the quality of the workforce with the needs of the roles hiring for is something that the country is trying to come to terms with. Being such a quickly growing country, the level of upskilling and education will take time to catch up to the rapid expansion in private sector investment. While the greatest concern is on the overall competency levels of the workforce, some others note difficultly coping with Regulatory Framework and Government Bureaucracy as another of the bigger challenges facing Myanmar CEOs.

JobNet’s survey also aimed to point out gaps to be filled in the Myanmar skills market, as seen through the eyes of employers. Based on current working experiences with the local employees, 33% of CEOs suggested that leadership skills and proactivity skills of employees would benefit from being further developed. In a country in short supply of high-level talent, these skills are recognized as one of the key strategic assets for an organization’s sustainable growth. Furthermore, 16% of the respondents thought that business ethics is the most important trait to be developed whereas 14% of the results showed that employers wish employees’ loyalty to be an essential quality to be added to their workforce.

As the number one reported challenge for employers in Myanmar is finding and retaining qualified talent, 64% of the JobNet Myanmar survey participants believe that investing in a complete HR system could benefit their organizations. HR systems which support tracking the applicants, digital onboarding processes, automated payroll, and performance management are seen as (lacking, but) valuable assets for most of the employers in Myanmar based on the JobNet Myanmar’s CEO survey.  

“This survey produced quite an interesting set of data points for us to examine. Most notably, about two thirds of CEOs expressed an interest in investing in HR (software) systems. This is part of a more general trend happening now in Myanmar whereby many companies are committed to professionalizing systems and operations with better technology solutions. We foresee enterprise solutions such as ERP, HRIS, Applicant Tracking Systems and CRM solutions to be a leading driver of change in most forward thinking Myanmar organizations seeking to improve their level of efficiency and productivity and we are proud to be delivering that gap in the market.” commented Matt De Luca, Managing Director of JobNet.com.mm.