PH firms urged to embrace Agile HR as attrition risks rise

Insider Spotlight

• Philippine employee attrition is projected to reach 20 percent by next year, putting retention strategies under pressure
• Ascent HR says annual reviews and traditional engagement cycles are too slow for a workforce increasingly open to new opportunities
• Agile HR emphasizes continuous feedback, clearer career paths and integrated payroll, compliance and workforce systems
  
  
  
  

Philippine companies need to rethink traditional human resources practices as rising employee attrition threatens institutional knowledge, client relationships and competitiveness, according to Ascent HR Inc. Philippines.

The HR solutions provider said employee attrition in the country could reach 20 percent by next year, while 77 percent of Filipino professionals are actively looking at potential career moves. That environment makes traditional annual performance reviews and quarterly engagement surveys increasingly inadequate.

Why it matters

Long feedback cycles can leave management unaware of employee dissatisfaction until workers are already preparing to leave. Ascent HR argues that businesses should instead adopt Agile HR, an approach built around continuous listening, faster responses and data-driven workforce decisions.

The company identified continuous feedback as a key component. Short pulse surveys and always-on feedback channels can help employers identify burnout, career concerns and workplace misalignment before they develop into resignation risks.

The big picture

Career transparency is another priority as Filipino professionals place greater emphasis on long-term employability. Companies should provide visible, skills-based development paths instead of relying on unclear promotion cycles that leave employees uncertain about their future.

Businesses also need to reduce administrative friction. HR teams in the Philippines handle complex requirements involving agencies including SSS, PhilHealth and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, potentially limiting the time available for strategic talent management.

What they're saying

“Loyalty today is earned through responsiveness. Leaders who understand this turn culture into a competitive advantage; those who ignore it risk losing talent not out of disloyalty, but because they feel unheard,” Ascent HR Inc. Philippines director and CEO Subramanyam Sreenivasaiah said in a press statement. 

Integrated platforms combining payroll, compliance and workforce data can move HR teams away from manual processing and toward strategic workforce planning, the company said.

What’s next

Ascent HR said companies competing for talent in 2026 will increasingly need to treat HR as a source of business intelligence rather than simply a support function.

For employers, that means responding faster to workforce concerns, making career opportunities clearer and using employee data to strengthen retention before valuable talent walks out the door. —Vanessa Hidalgo| Ed: Corrie S. Narisma