Manila, Philippines – Majority of Filipino workers consider digital innovation crucial to their work, but only half believe that the companies they work for are putting in the resources to drive innovation, according to innovation outfit F(DEV)’s Philippine Employee Digital Readiness Report with market research firm Tangere.
Data from the report suggests 47% of respondents cite lack of resources and support or unpreparedness for innovation as the biggest barrier to digital adoption, with budget or financial cost following at 42% and the lack of relevant knowledge or skills coming third at 38%.
Despite these barriers, Filipino employees remain keen on upskilling. 70% of respondents are willing to invest in and learn more about business innovation and leadership, whilst 65% prefer other areas of interest such as design thinking, product development, graphic design, and marketing, as well as 59% wanting to explore data-related skills such as collection, analysis, and laws.
In upskilling outside of corporate spaces, employees have notably taken strides using outside platforms, especially social media. Notably, 44% rank TikTok as the most effective platform for consuming educational content, followed closely by YouTube at 38%, and Facebook at 36%.
Talking about the study, Xavier Marzan, group chief digital officer of the Filinvest Group and CEO of F(DEV), said, “We believe that innovation is about disrupting ourselves first before others can disrupt us. While we’ve initiated various programs internally in collaboration with industry experts, our primary objective was to gather unbiased data into employees’ perspectives on innovation and the factors that drive their ability to innovate.”
“The findings have not only reaffirmed the effectiveness of our existing programs, but have also unveiled exciting opportunities to elevate our strategies for empowering our workforce to be future-ready,” he added.
