I just returned from a 5 country tour on “Rethinking HR” where Oracle hosted breakfast and lunch executive seminars to the most senior HR practitioners in 5 cities in these major markets in APAC. While I have done many of these “road shows” in the past, I was most impressed with the response we received during this trip. I’m sure the execution of our marketing and sales teams had lots to do with the turnout, but I’d also like to think that this region is primed for applications that help with the talent dilemma faced by many organizations today in this part of the world and are excited about the offerings Oracle provides to help our customers attract, develop, retain and analyze their human capital.

For these type of events, we normally expect 25-30 companies in attendance with a drop-off rate of around 15%. In all 5 cities, we had standing room only with an average attendance of 50 people from 30+ companies. Interestingly enough, in 3 of the 5 cities we had people show up that were turned down during registration, for lack of room – so we actually exceeded our registration. This was the case in Canberra – Australia’s capital – with over 70 attendees. Unusual indeed!

During my presentation I referenced several studies which highlight how this region is primed for support in looking at talent in the future as high growth creates talent shortages and talented workers see opportunities outside of their current employers. A Deloitte study shows that 61% of respondents in APAC expect significant or moderate talent shortages over the next year (compared to 45% and 31% for the Americas and EMEA respectively).

Please accept my thanks to all who arranged and orchestrated this time in APAC. While my body was quite tired from the hectic schedule, my mind was energized with the interest and interaction.