Companies might call their people their greatest asset but few take the time to effectively select and deploy them. The practice costs countries in the Asia Pacific around $29.5 billion year.
The estimate appears in recently released report commissioned by the SHL Group. Called “Getting the Edge in the New People Economy”, it is part of ongoing research to explore the hidden costs of hiring, selecting and managing employees, says SHL NZ managing director Rebecca Bose. “The figures uncovered are startling and only begin to scratch the surface of the problem as the statistics are based purely on the cost of the wasted time managers spend with underperformers,” she says.
Companies fail to match the person with the job. Companies are, according to Bose, under-investing when it comes to employee selection and as result are failing to tap into the potential of their workforce. “The cost ramification of dealing with poor people decisions is hurting the region.”
Not that the problem is confined to Asia Pacific. The same research has found that Britain is losing £12 billion year through poor people management and America kisses goodbye to around US$158 billion. Hong Kong loses nearly three percent of its GDP. Sweden boasts the most efficient companies squandering only 0.59 percent of its GDP.
“The global distribution… suggests no single country or culture is wrestling with this problem. Rather business as whole is preparing for an inevitable sea change,” says Bose.
Agri experts warn New Zealand’s food and fibre future could arrive by default rather than by design
Management Editorial Team
June 24, 2026
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds say the sector must be intentional about its future path if it’s to successfully navigate the social, economic, environmental and technological forces impacting its operating environment.
