1. Must-Know Staffing Trends for 2015
2015 Southeast Asia Staffing Trends
Build, engage and recruit more by staying ahead of these industry trends

2. Introduction
​To win in 2015, search & staffing leaders need to stay
ahead of the latest staffing trends. Broader technology
advancements have also begun to disrupt the talent
industry, setting the stage for a dynamic and exciting future
for the staffing industry.
About this survey
We surveyed 1,993 staffing decision makers in 19
countries to understand what’s keeping them up at night
and where they see the industry headed in 2015. Get a
head start on 2015: tap into our insights and chart your
course for success.
02 Introduction
03 Executive summary
04 Part 1: The staffing industry in 2015
08 Part 2: Sourcing
14 Part 3: Brand
18 Part 4: The future of staffing
2Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

3. Executive summary: Southeast Asia staffing trends
3 must-know talent acquisition trends and predictions for 2015
1 Sourcing: Social professional
networks are by far the #1 source of
quality hires for staffing firms.
2 Brand: Most firms prioritise the
need to build their brand. Now their
actions are beginning to catch up.
“Think about the key quality hires that your
organisation made in the past 12 months.
Which of the following were the most important
sources for those key positions?”
77%
78%
56%
53%
Our brand has a
significant impact on
our ability to engage
great talent
Our brand has a
significant impact on
our ability to grow our
business
Those responsible for
our brand have enough
resources to do it well
We regularly measure
the health of our brand
in a quantifiable way
% Agree
“Please indicate the extent to which you agree or
disagree with the following statements as they
relate to your firm's brand.”
3 The Future: Passive candidate
sourcing and social professional
networks expected to shape the future.
62%
61%
43%
59%
65%
32%
Finding better ways to
source passive
candidates
Utilising social and
professional networks
Boosting referral
programs
SEA Global
“What do you consider to be the three most
essential and long-lasting trends in recruiting for
professional roles?”
3
36%
38%
51%
66%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
2014
Social professional networks
Internet job boards
Employee referral programs
Your ATS/internal candidate
database
Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

4. Part 1: The staffing industry in 2015

5. Internal pressure and external threats
Southeast Asia hiring volume and budgets
remain healthy
A whopping 76% of Southeast Asian staffing leaders project
that their hiring volumes for full-time employees will increase
this year. The gap between Southeast Asian hiring volumes
and budgets remains wide. Staffing leaders must scale and
invest wisely.
“Considering only full and part-time professional employees, how do
you expect the hiring volume across your organisation to change this
year?”
“How has your organisation's budget for recruiting solutions changed
from last year?”
Part 1: The Recruiting Industry in 2015
79%
76%
42%
61%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2013 2014
Hiring Budget
Hiring Volume
% with increase
“What are the things that your competitors have done or may plan on
doing that would make you most nervous?”
22%
24%
25%
28%
25%
27%
27%
29%
Invest in their firms brand
Hire recruiters to
strengthen their team
Improve their client
experience
Build and nurture strong
talent pools or pipelines
SEA Global
Talent pipelines, social media, and client
experience are the top competitive threats
More Southeast Asian companies are concerned about
talent pipelining and client experiences than global
companies are.
5Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

6. Priorities: Top priorities are growing new client
base and being a strategic partner
Client business development and being a
strategic partner to clients are top priorities
Southeast Asian staffing firms prioritise growing their client
base and becoming a strategic partner as a top priority in
2015.
Boutique and large firms differ globally
Small staffing agencies are significantly more likely to
prioritise new clients and recruiting passive talent. We
define small agencies as organisations with fewer than 10
recruiters.
“Think about your firm’s top priorities for the next 12 months.
Which of the following choices would you consider to be the most
important and least important areas of interest for your
organisation?”
“Think about your firm’s top priorities for the next 12 months.
Which of the following choices would you consider to be the
most important and least important areas of interest for your
organisation?”
Part 1: The Recruiting Industry in 2015
20%
24%
30%
46%
53%
23%
27%
32%
42%
50%
Improving quality of hire
Recruiting/sourcing highly-
skilled talent for my firm
Improving sourcing
techniques
Being a strategic partner to
my clients
Growing our base of new
clients
SEA Global
50%
19%
56%
25%
Growing our base of
new clients
Recruiting passive
talent
Large agencies Small agencies
6Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

7. Obstacles: Biggest obstacle to landing talent in
2015 is availability of quality talent
Availability of quality talent is #1 obstacle
Competition is the number one obstacle Southeast Asian
companies face in attracting top talent, outstripping
compensation.
Competition is obstacle for significantly more
large firms than for boutique firms
Competitive pressures are more of a threat to large firms than
to boutique firms. Offers made by clients is also viewed as a
threat to more large than small firms, although the difference is
less significant.
“What are your firm's biggest obstacles to attracting the best talent?”
Part 1: The Recruiting Industry in 2015
“What are your firm's biggest obstacles to recruiting talent?”
41%
45%
60%
47%
49%
57%
Offer made by my client
(includes compensation,
role, location, etc)
Competition
Availability of quality talent
SEA Global
42%
49%
Competition
Large agencies Small agencies
7Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

8. Part 2: Sourcing
8

9. Top source for quality hires: Professional networks
Social professional networks are the top
source for quality hires
Social professional networks are the most important source
of quality placements. Get ahead of this trend by tapping
into social professional networks for quality placements.
“Think about the key quality hires that your organisation
(placed/made) in the past 12 months. Which of the following were the
most important sources for those key positions?”
Large and small staffing agencies are equally
reliant on social recruiting globally
Large agencies are more apt to use internet resume databases
to place high quality talent with their clients. As smaller agencies
gain increased access to data and information, this difference is
one worth watching.
38%
32%
46%
14%
Social professional
networks
Internet resume
databases
Large agencies Small agencies
“Think about the key quality hires that your organisation (placed/made) in
the past 12 months. Which of the following were the most important sources
for those key positions?”
Part 2: Sourcing
9Southeast Asia Staffing Trends
36%
38%
51%
66%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
2014
Social professional networks
Internet job boards
Employee referral programs
Your ATS/internal candidate database

10. Top source for quantity: Professional networks
Social professional networks are a major source for
quantity of hires
Staffing agencies are currently utilising social professional
networks as a major source for the quantity of placements
around the globe. Job boards and candidate databases are
fairly close behind.
“Think about the key quality hires that your organisation placed in the
past 12 months. Which of the following were the most important sources
for those key positions?” Showing % with over 15% of hires.
Part 2: Sourcing
38%
50%
51%
15% 40% 65%
2014
Social professional networks
Internet job boards
Internet Resume Databases
56%
54%
53%
42%
31%
26%
24%
58%
46%
44%
34%
22%
20%
19%
Social professional networks
Internet job boards
Your ATS/ internal candidate
database
Internet resume databases
Company CRM system
Company career website
Employee referral programs
Large Agencies Small Agencies
Large staffing agencies are more engaged
With the exception of social professional networks, large
staffing agencies are more likely to utilise all sources for
professional placements.
10Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

11. Sourcing: There are a handful of sources
that provide both quality and quantity
“How significant were each of the following as a source of white collar professional hires
for your organisation in the past 12 months?” (>15% quantity of hires)
5 sources of hire for quality and quantity globally
“Think about the key quality hires that your organisation (placed/made) in the past 12
months. Which of the following were the most important sources for those key
positions?”
54%
of global staffing leaders believe
they’re not doing a good job
tracking return on investment on
sources of hire. There’s lots of
room for improvement.
As the gap between hiring
volume and budgets widens, it’s
time to invest in and optimise the
sources that return both the best
quality and quantity of
candidates.
Part 2: Sourcing
Company
career
website
Company
CRM system
Employee
referral
programs
General
career fairs
General
social media
Job boards
Internet
resume
databases
Other
Print
Social
professional
networks
ATS/ internal
candidate
database
Best quality & quantity
11Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

12. Passive candidate recruiting: Southeast Asia
above average
Southeast Asia is above average for % of
staffing firms that recruit passive
candidates
Why passive candidate recruiting works
Globally, 75% of professionals consider themselves “Passive.”
75%
Passive
25%
Active
Global Candidate Breakdown
Active candidate definition:
 Actively looking
 Casually looking a few times a week
Passive candidate definition:
 Reaching out to personal network
 Open to talking to a recruiter
 Completely satisfied; Don’t want to move
“How would you describe your job search status?”
Source: LinkedIn’s Talent Trends 2014 study
“To what extent does your recruiting organisation focus on reaching
out to passive talent?” To some extent or very much so.
Part 2: Sourcing
United Kingdom 95%
China 94%
United States 91%
Canada 89%
Southeast Asia 88%
Australia 87%
India 87%
Brazil 84%
France 84%
Nordics 82%
Netherlands 72%
87%
Global
average
12Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

13. Sourcing: Number of placements is most valuable
hiring metric
Number of placements is most valuable
metric for staffing firms
Client satisfaction and quality of placement are also important
metrics staffing firms use to evaluate performance.
“What is the single most valuable metric that you use to track your
recruiting team's performance today?”
Large agencies are about scale while
small agencies are about satisfaction
Globally large agencies tend to judge themselves on the
number of placements. Smaller agencies tend to be
more focused on client satisfaction.
“What is the single most valuable metric that you use to track your
recruiting team's performance today?”
Part 2: Sourcing
18%
28%
29%
18%
24%
33%
Quality of
placement
Client
satisfaction
Number of
placements
SEA Global
32%
26%
18%
27%
30%
17%
Number of
placements
Client
satisfaction
Quality of
placement
Large Agencies Small agencies
13Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

14. Part 3: Brand
14

15. Brand: It’s a priority and top reasons to invest
Brand is a key driver to hiring top talent
Global staffing leaders agree that brand is a priority that
impacts their ability to hire top talent. Their actions are now
beginning to catch up. Companies can get ahead of the
competition by creating a proactive brand strategy.
“Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the
following statements as they relate to your firm’s brand.”
Part 3: Talent Brand
70%
58%
48%
37%
Our brand has a
significant impact on our
ability to grow our
business
My company has a brand
strategy
Those responsible for our
brand have enough
resources to do it well
We regularly measure the
health of our brand in a
quantifiable way
% Agree
Top 4 reasons agencies invest in their brand
The number one reason Southeast Asian agencies invest in
their brand is due to increased competition. Southeast Asian
agencies are more likely to cite this as a reason than global
companies.
“For what reasons are you spending more on your firm’s brand this year?”
Directed to leaders who report spending more on brand this year.
46%
51%
46%
40%
45%
49%
49%
54%
Increased belief in the impact
of our firm's brand
Need to raise general
awareness
Increase in client demand
Increased competition
SEA Global
15Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

16. Brand: Top 4 channels for promoting it
Small agencies rely on word of mouth while
large agencies tend to rely on public recognition
Small agencies tend to take the friends and family approach
to building and promoting their brand. Large agencies are 2X
more likely to rely on public recognition awards.
Fastest growing channel for promoting
agency brands is online professional networks
In Southeast Asia, online professional networks are the fastest
growing channels for promoting a staffing agency’s brand.
“Which channels or tools have you found most effective in promoting
your business?”
Part 3: Talent Brand
58%
63%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
2013 2014
Online professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn)
Our firm's website
Friends/family, word of mouth
Traditional Job Boards
“Which channels or tools have you found most effective in promoting
your business?”
30%
16%
43%
8%
Friends/family, word of
mouth
Public
recognition/awards
Large agencies Small agencies
16Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

17. Brand: Southeast Asian companies are on top in
prioritising and acting on their brand
Southeast Asian companies are
on top when it comes to
prioritising and acting on brand
Agencies in Southeast Asia and India are
leaders in branding. Get ahead of the
competition today by prioritising and investing
in your brand.
Part 3: Talent Brand
Brand is a top priority for our organisation
Mycompanyhasabrandstrategy
US
UK
Australia India
Nordics
Brazil
Southeast
Asia
China
Netherlands
France
Canada
17Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

18. Part 4: The future of staffing
18

19. The future: Professional networks and improved
candidate & job matching are in the cards
Passive candidate recruiting and social
professional networks are here to stay
Global and Southeast Asian staffing leaders believe that
passive candidate recruiting and social professional networks
are here to stay. SEA firms believe in the importance of referral
programs significantly more than their global counterparts
Trend spotting: Candidate and job matching
Candidate and job matching could reshape the recruiting
industry. SEA firms believe that expanding into emerging
markets is a key strategy for staffing firms of the future
compared to their global peers.
“What do you consider to be the three most essential and long-
lasting trends in recruiting for professional roles?”
“Which of the following new and upcoming trends do you think will play
a significant role in shaping the recruiting industry for the next 5 to 10
years?”
Part 4: Predicting the Future of
Recruiting
62%
61%
43%
59%
65%
32%
Finding better ways to
source passive
candidates
Utilising social and
professional networks
Boosting referral
programs
SEA Global
51%
42%
40%
30%
51%
35%
33%
31%
Improved candidate and
job matching
Expanding into emerging
markets
Recruiting becoming more
like marketing
Using "big data" for
predicting future talent
needs
SEA Global
19Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

20. Survey sampling and methodology
Data Comparisons
 Global comparisons are reported as un-weighted averages from the noted
countries
 Historical data comparisons are taken from 2011, 2012 and 2013 Global
Recruiting Trends research, which had similar sampling criteria and
methodology to 2014:
– 2014 survey fielded August-September 2014 with 201 SEA
respondents
– 2013 survey fielded April-May 2013 with 24 SEA respondents
Survey Sample
 Survey respondents are talent acquisition professionals who:
– Work for a staffing firm
– Represent an even mix of small, medium, and large
firms
– Have at least some authority in determining their
company’s recruitment solutions budget
– Focus exclusively on recruiting professional hires for
clients
 Survey respondents are members of LinkedIn who have
opted to participate in research studies. They were selected
based on information in their LinkedIn profile and contacted
via email.
Brazil: 185
USA: 202
Canada: 201
UK: 201 China: 100
Southeast Asia: 201
India: 202
Australia: 200
Nordics: 100
France: 200
Netherlands: 201
20Southeast Asia Staffing Trends

21. About LinkedIn
Talent Solutions
LinkedIn Talent Solutions offers
a full range of recruiting
solutions to help organisations
of all sizes find, engage, and
attract the best talent.
Founded in 2003, LinkedIn
connects the world’s
professionals to make them
more productive and successful.
With over 300 million members
worldwide, including executives
from every Fortune 500
company, LinkedIn is the world’s
largest professional network.
Subscribe to our Blog: talent.linkedin.com/blog/
Follow us on Slideshare: slideshare.net/linkedin-talent-solutions
Follow us on Twitter: @hireonlinkedin
Follow us on YouTube: youtube.com/user/LITalentSolutions
Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/1337
21Southeast Asia Staffing Trends
Discover additional insights:
https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/staffing-agencies

22. About the authors
Sam Gager
Research Consultant,
LinkedIn Talent
Solutions
Sam is an experienced
researcher on
LinkedIn’s Insights
team. He and his
colleagues uncover
data-driven insights
from LinkedIn’s
proprietary data.
Lynette Pathy
Field Marketing
Specialist,
LinkedIn Talent
Solutions
Lynette is an avid fan of
great content and really
enjoys helping talent
professionals be
successful by driving
content to the
Southeast Asian talent
industry.
Esther Cruz
Insights and Content
Marketing Manager,
LinkedIn Talent
Solutions
Esther is passionate
about connecting
people and
opportunities. She
enjoys creating
content and disruptive
thought leadership for
the talent industry.
Ryan Batty
Director of Marketing,
LinkedIn Talent
Solutions
Ryan believes in the
power of great
storytelling to convey
meaningful ideas. He
leads a team of
marketers capturing
and sharing insights,
ideas and stories to
serve the talent
industry.
22​ Southeast Asia Staffing Trends