As Asia's markets continue to grow, companies are finding it increasingly difficult not only to attract the best talent, but also to motivate and retain key employees. As such, leading organizations are striving to develop innovative and creative new ways to overcome the challenges they face and ensure a strong talent pipeline for the future.

A seasoned creativity and innovations trainer and author, Dr. Wayne Lotherington, CEO of Allsorts Habit Creation, will be speaking at Mercer’s upcoming 16th Annual Asia Pacific HR Roundtable Conference, delivering an insightful and educational workshop entitled “Innovate or Capitulate”, during which he will explore how organizations can create an innovative workplace culture. We spoke to him recently to find out more about the impact innovation can have on HR practices.

Q.	In recent years, we have seen Asia’s leading organizations increasingly exploring innovative new ways to attract and retain top talent. Is this a new trend, and if so, why do you think this is happening?
A.	It’s always been difficult to attract great people, but this issue has intensified as Asia’s economies are growing faster than anywhere else in the world.   Right now, there’s a shortage of good people, so you need to find new ways to attract them to your organization. However, good people are not necessarily attracted by something as simple as a salary, so the most sensible strategy is to find more interesting ways to attract them. This could include things such as stock options, more time off, learning and training programs, or the chance to  work in other countries or try different roles. These are the types of rewards and opportunities that companies are using to attract good people.
Q.	Does employee behavior differ in terms of career advancement between developed and developing markets?
A.	In developing markets such as China or India, an employee will leave an organization after just six months if they are offered more money. People tend to be more opportunistic, and I think that’s due in large to the fast pace of growth those markets are experiencing.   In more developed markets such as Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, people are less inclined to make a drastic change for the sake of a few dollars. They have a bigger picture in mind and personal growth and development is probably more important to them.
Q.	What do you think is the one attraction and retention strategy that HR managers should evaluate most carefully before implementing?
A.	Right now, we are living in a part of the world where people are promoted too quickly; so many organizations have people in influential roles who don’t have the necessary capabilities to do their job. In some cases, employees are filling roles that are up to three levels higher than they are actually qualified for.   Rapid economic growth has made it difficult to retain high caliber employees, and as a result, some companies offer people new and inflated titles in order to get them to stay. These people end up in a position where they can't really contribute to the organization at the level they should and everybody suffers in the long run.
Q.	What advice can you give to organizations as they attempt to overcome these challenges?
A.	It's becoming increasingly difficult to attract employees in Asia. If I was an HR manager, obviously I would think about how I could do that in more creative ways, and how I could make remuneration packages more attractive, but I would also look for unique ways of finding the right people.   One option could be to help university students with their studies, which would expose them to the company earlier so they would already know who we are and want to work with us when they graduate. Other options include looking outside of geographical boundaries, advertising in unlikely places, or maybe even looking for people with a slightly different skill set.   Part of creativity is finding unusual alternatives, which enables us to make more interesting choices. The world is changing, and we need to change with it. But that’s just finding the right people. There are a whole host of other areas in which we could develop a more creative approach. What about your interview technique? What about building your employer brand? Companies need to remember that it’s more likely you are selling your company to candidates rather than the other way round and adjust their approach accordingly.
Q.	Your workshop title at the 16th Annual Asia Pacific HR Roundtable Conference is entitled “Innovate or Capitulate”. What does that actually mean?
A.	In today's highly competitive economic environment, companies must be creative and innovative if they are going to be successful. I hope people will walk out of my workshop understanding that, and having learned some ways in which they might be more innovative.
Q.	You make a very clear distinction between creativity and innovation. Why is this and could you tell us a little more about that?
A.	Many people confuse these two words, and some people don’t think that there is any difference at all. I try to separate them, explaining the different meanings. I see creativity as idea generation, while innovation is about putting ideas into practice. The idea generation stage is all about freedom: freedom of the mind and freedom of expressions. Innovation is all about deciding which ideas you want to implement and how to make them work.
Q.	Are there any risks associated with thinking outside of the box? If so, what are they and what should organizations be looking out for?
A.	Box or no box, there are risks associated with everything we do, so perhaps a better question is what are the risks associated with not thinking outside the box. However, an essential part of the creative thinking and innovation process is the evaluation of ideas. Without proper evaluation and due diligence, it is easy to overlook potential pitfalls.
Q.	What role do you feel HR should play in fostering an innovative corporate culture?
A.	If HR is all about people and creative thinking is about people too, it sounds to me that there might be a very big role for HR in creative thinking and innovation. However, developing the right corporate culture is not easy. Imagine trying to change a person’s personality. That’s no simple matter. And neither is changing an organization’s personality or culture. If you are determined to address culture issues in order to enhance innovation, the effort must be wholehearted and you must be prepared to invest the time and resources to make the change succeed. The process will involve thorough analysis and the development of a clear organizational mission, vision, core values and principles, as well as a cultural plan.   Having said that, an organization’s culture does influence how its people manage their staff, make decisions and beat out the competition, and having a positive culture of innovation will encourage their employees to generate creative new ideas and be innovative.