Talentnet-Mercer Exclusive Post-survey Webinar 2020

High caliber speakers presenting at the webinar included:

• Ms. Godelieve van Dooren – Partner, Mercer Singapore
• Ms. Hoa Nguyen – Senior Principal, Human Capital Solutions, Talentnet
• Ms. Phuong Nguyen – Director, Human Capital Solutions, Talentnet

The webinar provided a broad view of the local and regional economies amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, market movements, along with the latest and most significant updates in salary and bonus trends. Our speakers also offered plenty of in-depth sharing in strategic workforce planning in 2021, and how companies across the region are coping with the “new normal”.

In the first presentation, Ms. Godelieve van Dooren – Partner, Mercer Singapore, brought a lot of in-depth expertise and valuable insight into the regional market overview, the regional salary and bonus trends during and post Covid-19. According to Ms. Dooren, the pandemic will be a defining moment in an employee’s career and life journeys; and how businesses respond will have a lasting impact on employee behavior – engagement, productivity and commitment. In fact, many employees have shown signs of depression, fatigue and pressure at the prospect of the labor market that is still unknown.

A focus group interview conducted by Mercer Employee Voice Experts showed that:

• 96% of employees felt their company has responded effectively to this outbreak.
• 3 out of 5 said that the outbreak hadn’t impacted their confidence in the future of their organization.
• 64% of employees were concerned with the impact of working from home on their work/life balance
• 45% of employees were worried of the possibility of wage cuts amid Covid-19 economic downturn

To the next part, Ms. Hoa Nguyen – Senior Principal, Human Capital Solutions, Talentnet, and Ms. Phuong Nguyen – Director, Human Capital Solutions, Talentnet opened up a close-up view of Vietnam’s economic market, as well as some key highlights in the Talentnet-Mercer 2020 Total Remuneration Survey.

According to Ms. Hoa, Vietnam is at the top of the countries adapted effectively to Covid-19. As a result, the economy and the labor market in Vietnam have gained certain advantages over other countries. On the other hand, despite economic turbulence due to Covid-19, businesses are still keen on investing in their human resources strategies to capture the market and remuneration trends.

Here are some highlights extracted from the post-survey presentations:

• 6% of companies implemented/ or is considering implementing base salary reductions in response to Covid-19. 
• 14% of multinational corporations (MNCs) and 34% of local companies have a salary freeze in 2020. 6% of MNCs and 3% of local firms are expected to continue salary freeze in 2021.
• The rate of salary increase in 2020 is 7.6% (for MNCs) and 7.9% (for local companies).

Speaking of the hiring intentions for 2021, Ms. Phuong Nguyen – Director, Human Capital Solutions, Talentnet shared that: 40% of companies intend to hire more people by 2021; 5% of companies intend to reduce staff; while 55% forecast no change in headcounts.

With standardized methodology and updated knowledge in global human resources trends, the Talentnet-Mercer Salary Survey is a powerful reference tool for business leaders to study in the process of designing the people strategy relating to total rewards in the Vietnamese market. Combined with other factors such as working environment, training, performance management, etc., this is an essential premise for companies to develop effective policies and remuneration, aligning with business goals and sustainable development.

REGISTER NOW for the latest Talentnet-Mercer 2020 Salary Survey! The most detailed remuneration report with more than 334,000++ data points, 2,300++ jobs, and 605 participating companies across 16 industries!

For a glance at Total Remuneration Survey Report 2020, please find some key highlights as below.