Ask most HR directors whether they have an employee engagement problem and the answer is usually a carefully hedged “we’re working on it.” But dig deeper and a more revealing picture often emerges: employees who are not just disengaged, but actively underutilised — talented professionals whose capabilities, experience and ideas are going untapped in roles that no longer challenge them.

Employee underutilisation is distinct from disengagement, though the two are closely linked. An underutilised employee may still show up reliably, meet performance targets and avoid conflict — but a significant portion of their capacity is invisible to the organisation. They coast. They stop volunteering ideas. They accept the ceiling that’s been put on them, consciously or not.

The scale of the problem

Research by the Singapore Human Resources Institute found that nearly one in three Singapore professionals felt their current role did not make full use of their skills and experience. Among workers aged 35 to 50, the proportion was closer to 40%. The cost is substantial: studies consistently show that underutilised employees are more likely to leave voluntarily, more likely to suffer from reduced wellbeing, and contribute meaningfully less innovation and discretionary effort.

“The irony,” said one HR director at a financial services firm, “is that the employees who are most underutilised are often the ones who used to be your highest performers. They got there, hit a glass ceiling, and quietly gave up. You can’t afford to lose them — but you’re also not using them.”

Identifying underutilisation

Most performance management systems are not built to detect underutilisation. A strong performer who is operating at 60% of their capacity may still score well on a standard performance review. HR leaders recommend a different diagnostic: regular capability mapping, 360-degree feedback focused on stretch and challenge, and structured conversations in which managers explicitly ask: “Are you being stretched enough?”

Project-based work, internal mobility platforms and talent marketplace tools are increasingly used to surface employees with underused capabilities and match them with cross-functional opportunities.

Strategies that work

Several Singapore and regional employers shared their approaches:

• Internal talent marketplaces — Platforms that allow employees to post their skills and interest in projects, and managers to search for internal talent before hiring externally.
• Stretch assignments and rotations — Formal programmes that deliberately place high-potential employees in roles or projects outside their comfort zone for fixed periods.
• Manager coaching — Training line managers to have capability-forward conversations, not just performance-backward ones.
• Reversing the skills audit — Instead of auditing against current role requirements, map what employees can do against what the organisation will need in three years.

“Unlocking an underutilised employee is one of the highest-ROI investments an organisation can make,” one CHRO concluded. “It costs almost nothing and the productivity gains, engagement uplift and retention benefit are immediate.”