BVA BDRC (Asia) ’s Post

Last week, I attended the Director's Round Table from ASIA-PACIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGY INCORPORATED LIMITED where we discussed the business approach to lean startups. While this can be more associated with new business formation, #leanstartups are equally applicable to the product development cycle within mature businesses. Currently, I am undertaking several iterations with BVA BDRC to develop new syndicated studies into financial services, B2B, automotive, and industrial goods categories.

While so much of the UK General Election debate has been around taxation, very little, if anything, has been mentioned about the Labour Party's plans to change UK employment laws. Labour's “New Deal for Working People” commits to giving employees employment rights on the first day of employment with no qualifying periods for these rights. In April 2024, I was involved in designing and analysing a BVA BDRC survey in the UK via our Business Omnibus (a nationally representative sample of n=1,200 businesses with at least £250,000 revenue) to assess how businesses will be affected by such changes to employment law, and how they might react to these changes. Concerns voiced by employers centre around potential risks associated with outcomes such as stricter dismissal procedures and expanded sick pay entitlements. In response, 70% of businesses indicate they will implement changes to manage this exposure. These adjustments could include: 1. Reduced hiring activity (22%) or offshoring operations (10%) to circumvent UK employment regulations 2. Increased reliance on outsourced labour (32%), achieved through a combination of subcontracting (20%) and / or using more freelancers (17%) 3. Investment in technological solutions (15%) to automate tasks currently performed by human employees 4. Enhanced scrutiny during the recruitment process (31%), involving more thorough reference checks, prioritising candidates with greater experience, and potentially even trying to review past sick leave records While politicians are currently arguing about who is going to be affected by changes to tax under a Labour Government, the prospect of around one-in-five businesses hiring fewer staff due to changes in employment law is falling below the radar. In this article published in Asia Research Media, we discuss how a more regulated employment market can affect the overall dynamics of employment markets comparing less regulated markets like Singapore and the more regulated markets of Europe. Ironically, despite Britain leaving the European Union, it will be getting closer to EU rules on employment and probably moving closer to the c. 40% tax to GDP ratio of the EU!

My favourite teacher in the 1980s was my math teacher Mr. Oliver at Ewell Castle School in the UK. But sometimes it is difficult to know what really makes up a 'good teacher'. Hence earlier this year, using our panel of parents who send children to #internationalschools, we asked both parents and their children this important question. The leading teacher qualities considered important to parents are engaging in the subject matter to spark curiosity, making learning enjoyable, preparing children for challenges via critical thinking / problem solving, and developing emotional intelligence & social skills for the child. This is combined with a range of 'service needs', e.g. a teacher who gives constructive feedback, who makes an effort to get to know the child individually, being warm / accessible and caring, and being well organised for classes. The question of the preferred style of the teacher is more variable, e.g. levels of mastery for the subject or their levels of 'energy', but it is the view of the kids that is more contrasting to the parent. The kids tend to concur on some of these leading attributes, but more so for teachers being 'warm, accessible, and caring' and getting to know the child individually. But kids love to have a teacher who is 'fun', sometimes informal, such as making occasionally making jokes in class. This is what I remember of Mr. Oliver!

In a competitive market where many parents seek 'academic excellence' from their schools, top schools can attract new parents even when they are satisfied with their current school. According to a recent survey conducted by BVA BDRC, 44% of those switching #internationalschools were generally satisfied with their former school but sought more from the next one. The key factors encouraging the switch were better academics (75%), including higher performance or academic reputation, a wider range of subjects and co-curricular activities (CCAs), or a preferred curriculum. Better facilities in the new school influenced 45% of parents to switch, particularly for sports rather than arts, and for access to more ‘high tech’ learning facilities. Additionally, 30% of parents switched due to better support services at the new school, such as pastoral care and counseling services, support for learning differences, or language support. With most switching occurring in secondary years, schools that can facilitate pathways to higher education in preferred countries is also a consideration in choosing the new school. In the next BVA BDRC Asia brand equity survey in September, we will assess the demand for various curricula across the international school markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, including for #internationalbaccalaureate, UK, US, and Australian curricula, as well as demand for languages.

Based on recent research conducted by BVA BDRC, about half of parents currently sending children to #internationalschools intend to switch them to a new school. 56% of these parents state that the reason to switch is, in part, due to dissatisfaction with their current school. In our poll of parent conducted in March this year, the reasons ranged from teacher quality, style of teaching, lack of support for learning differences, lack of diversity, facilities, and discipline / bullying issues. BDRC Asia will be exploring these factors in greater depth in our upcoming Brand Equity & Marketing Insights survey to be launched in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in September.

Independent schools in the UK will face challenges if VAT is imposed on school fees as expected with a probable change of Government in July this year. For boarding schools at least, one potential alleviation is to recruit more students from overseas to offset an expected attrition of current students estimated to range from 10-25%. The international market opens up a much larger market for them and they can leverage on the broad appeal of the UK brand for education worldwide. Research from BVA BDRC Asia shows that just within Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, up to 19,000 parents could be interested in the UK for boarding - consider the wider opportunity across all of Asia? For this reason, we are offering UK boarding schools to opportunity to obtain deep insights into how their schools are perceived among parents in Asia, and how best to develop a marketing and parent outreach program for Asia via a new study to be conducted by BVA BDRC Asia at the end of 2024. This video gives an overview of the opportunities for boarding in both the UK and SE Asia. #independentschools #boardingschools

BDRC Asia is currently circulating prospectuses for our 2024 International Schools Brand Equity & Market Insights study. From robust samples of parents who send children to international schools, we will evaluate the brand equity & image of the leading #internationalschools in various Asian markets, switching dynamics between schools, demand for curricular & languages, and the meaning behind 'innovation' in international schooling. This is an essential tool for school marketing & parent outreach programs and strategic planning for international schools. Studies are planned for Q3 in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

Many thanks to the 40+ schools who joined the 2024 BVA BDRC Asia international school webinar yesterday where we highlighted the market opportunity for #internationalschools and #boardingschools. Special thanks to Julian K. from GESS - German European School Singapore who provided insights into how their school is applying our market research in their own marketing, parent outreach programs, and strategic planning. Prospectuses on the BDRC International Brand Equity & Market Insights study for Asia will be circulated next week.