SALARY SURVEY 2013 - Robert Walters Singapore

While overall job levels remainedconsistent with 2011, there wasgrowth in some specific industrysectors in 2012. Multinationalcompanies continued to transitionto more westernised businessenvironments, which created anincrease in career opportunitiesfor bilingual, internationallymindedprofessionals withindustry-specific experience.However, sourcing theseprofessionals remainedchallenging, especially at juniormanager to mid-career levels,due to limited supply and intensecompetition for candidateswith these skill sets.As Korea ratified separate freetrade agreements with bothEurope and the US in 2012,we noted increased interestamong multinational companies(e.g. international law firms)considering market expansionor entry into the country. As thistrend continues, we anticipatea limited but steady flow of newmarket entrants in 2013.While firms generally did notincrease headcount in 2012, manydid look to up-skill their teamswhen making replacement hiresrather than recruiting like-for-like.This was particularly noticeablein accounting and finance, wherefirms sought professionals ableto also perform strategic duties(such as planning and analysis)rather than purely transactionalresponsibilities, which weremoved offshore.Although consumer spendingdeclined in 2012, demand formarketing and sales professionalsin FMCG, retail, luxury and otherconsumer product companiesremained consistent. Asfirms sought to differentiatethemselves from their competitorsdespite receiving extremelylimited new headcount approval,these businesses often hiredprofessionals with specialistdigital marketing or CRMexperience when replacingstaff who left. As a result,demand for generalist marketingprofessionals decreased.We saw a slight increase inrecruitment within IT-relatedbusinesses as both new andestablished companies lookedto add new headcount. As largercompanies adopted technologies,such as virtualisation and bigdata management, demand forsales specialists in these areasremained strong. We expectsalaries in the technologyspace to increase at higher ratesthan other industries in 2013as companies compete forthe limited professionals withthis experience.Despite these pockets of activity,overall hiring levels are likely toremain consistent in 2013, withKorean businesses continuingto globalise. As a result, themajority of salary levels shouldalso remain stable. However,a shortage of internationallymindedprofessionals meansthese candidates are likely toreceive relatively high salaryincreases when moving roles.Employers will continue to focuson recruiting specialists ratherthan generalists as they seekto differentiate themselvesfrom their competitors.south KOREARobert Walters Global Salary Survey 2013 2012