Below are my thoughts on "Recruitment in China" taken from a phone interview with a reporter from SCMP. I find this an interesting subject and one that is constantly in flux and evolving!
1. How can companies successfully implement their recruitment programmes?
Cultivating an employee brand is crucial to the success of a company’s recruitment strategy. Why can some well known companies pay 30 percent lower salaries than their competition, it is due to the desire to work for a strong brand. Leading companies know how to link their business strategy to their resourcing plan by executing a multi-front approach to hiring that works in parallel. Pro-actively determining the best channels to recruit employees for different markets will decrease the dependency on agencies. Your resourcing strategy/programme should consist of a mixture of Job Boards, Career sites, Employee Referrals, Talent Pool, and Recruitment Agencies. The programme must have buy in from management and be transparent to the organization. A well structured Employee Referral program should make up atleast 25% of new hires. The key is that every candidate that touches your organization should walk away with a positive experience, whether hired or not…..word of mouth could be your best ally or your worst enemy.
2. How do recruitment activities vary between Shanghai, Beijing and second and third tier cities?
Shanghai is a commercial city where Beijing could be classified as a political or traditional city. The Shanghainese have more exposure to multinational companies and networking with international colleagues which makes them hungry to learn English and seek ways to enhance their skill sets. Beijing is classified as a tier one city but not as exposed to the international flare. Work/Life balance is more critical in Beijing due to the large family networks and therefore I have found it is easier to entice the Shanghainese into new positions within multi-national companies.
Second and third tier cities main issue is the ability to speak English fluently. The exposure to dealing with multinationals is limited and therefore the “Chinese Way” is more prevalent. Finding the appropriate channel to attract candidates is more challenging since the Internet and Job Boards exposure is not always possible. Campus recruiting, Career fairs, advertising, text messages seem to be some of the channels most preferred.
3. What are the differences in HR matters, culture, recruitment, retention and management on the mainland compared to HK practices?
Hong Kong and the Mainland is a different animal in how they approach resourcing. Employees in Hong Kong are more motivated by a work/life balance, training and how to make as much money as possible in the least amount of time. They expect autonomy and the ability to make a difference. Employees speak their minds and will rarely ask for permission to do things slightly different from the policy and procedure manual but prefer to ask for forgiveness if caught. The company culture is crucial to the Hong Kong employee. Enjoying ones peers and belief and respect in the management team is as strong as a major increase in salary. The degree of autonomy differs for China; employees want to know what to do and are not comfortable conducting their responsibilities independently. The philosophy is to ask permission, not forgiveness for taking the initiative. This can be very frustrating for Western managers who want to empower employees to make decisions. I am a strong believer of “I would prefer the wrong decision than no decision”. This is not what I would be able to expect on the Mainland. There are always exceptions to the rule; nevertheless, this is a strong differentiator between the two worlds.
Another key difference is the dramatic increase in salaries for the Mainland. MRI World Wide China Group just conducted a report among their clients to show a 36 percent increase in the compensation as the war for top talent in China intensifies. Some of the factors that are influencing the rapid rise include: the continuing influx of new companies to China that are not bound by strict salary guidelines like many established firms, Localization trends tending to drive up the local salaries and candidates becoming more sophisticated in their approach to job changes with a better idea of where they fit in the marketplace.
(We would be happy to send you the complete report if interested)
4. How does taxation and labour laws affect HR issues?
Taxation and labour laws add to the complexity of hiring in the mainland, not to mention the strengthening of employee unions.
I always joke that the mainland have taken the best of the European friendly labor laws and exceeded them by two.
Foreign multinationals need to be aware of some of the labour issues around termination. For a start, employees are entitled to one month salary for every year of employment.
Where in Hong Kong, one can escort an employee off the premises for poor performance or unethical activities; the opposite is true in the mainland. It is extremely difficult to fire someone without proving substantial breach of company conduct. I suggest the employer have a trail of documentation stating proof that they even tried to train the employee for another position but with no avail.
Employees are getting wiser to the legal system. The employee 95 percent of the time will win a court case over the employer. So unless you plan on a kitty for future financial pay offs I suggest you hire very carefully.
5. What are the challenges of recruiting employees on the mainland?
The main factor is the shortage of talent in the mid to senior level management range. Multi- national companies seeking out the top 20% of available talent puts further constraints on the talent pool. The trend of “upgrading” talent is continuing. It varies from 1st tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing that have internet access and language skills needed to work with multi-nationals.
Identifying both the technical expertise and language skills is the number one issue. Secondary is having the soft skills that will allow the candidate to fit into the culture of the company.
Companies in search of finding candidates that have both English and Mandarin; understand the Western and Chinese culture as well as having the necessary skill set will always be a challenge for companies expanding into China. Having a strong employer brand, training, creative incentive plans, cutting edge technology, and competitive compensation packages will be the companies with the edge in hiring this small talent pool of candidates.
6. How are employers able to check CV's and work experience (I have heard that sometimes job candidates slightly improve their CV's and work experience records)?
The first key to verifying references is to know what to look for: have a checklist of your required skills and qualifications needed for the position. These include education; general and specific job experience, as well as skill and performance requirements. Our consultants are trained to look for specific “Red Flags” in resumes. Some of these include:
• Seek out unexplained time periods that might indicate unemployment or a job the applicant does'nt want you to know about. Date-stretching to cover gaps is not uncommon. Check references to detect this.
• Though employee mobility has increased, as a general rule more time in one place shows loyalty. You don’t want to be hiring again in six months. However, even the best employees can sometimes have a short period in a specific role due to unforeseen, personal or uncontrollable circumstances.
• Watch out for a resume filled with vague responsibilities and claims. Enhancing job titles is common practice. Check for inconsistencies between title, responsibilities and salary. Look for very specific details of achievements and outcomes.
• At the same time, don’t be “dazzled” by an achievement-based style of resume. Go behind it to consider actual roles and responsibilities. Flag achievements and require the candidate to elaborate in the interview.
• Salary is a common area for embellishment. This can be hard to detect, especially when you can't check with a present employer. Ask for evidence such as a contract, pay slip or bank statements. In China, we ask for TT wire verification records of pay deposits or paid tax receipts or other independent records. This is where major exaggerations occur.
Finally, come up with some pre-close questions and techniques early in the process to get to the real income range of a candidate. By qualifying early in the process, one can uncover attempts to exaggerate and identify potential “Red Flags”. However, this only tends to happen with candidates that have a bonus or commission as a portion of their total income.
There are companies in the Mainland that now offer reference verification services to clients but the average cost is around RMB 1,000 per verification which usually only makes sense for management level positions.
Many companies in the Mainland are still not checking references as part of their resourcing process. This will need to change very quickly!.
7. What can companies do to retain employees, such as offering on-going training and support for educational programmes?
As companies start to pick up the pace of expansion and growth, globalization and business integration and aligning business strategies with resourcing, companies need to have a strategic plan for career development to truly engage and retain high potential employees. For starters, companies need to cultivate an employee brand and culture that demonstrates leading industry knowledge, dedication, and the ability to be creative and get under the skins of their employees to be proactive in determining employee’s individual needs. Management needs to have the (EQ) emotional intelligence and cultural savvy it takes to both engage and retain employees.
Companies need to stop doubling salaries and start being more creative in their retention strategies.
For example: Insurance agencies are starting to come up with plans that not only cover spouse and dependants but parent coverage. With most employees on the Mainland being responsible for the keep of their elderly parents this is a wonderful incentive for employees!
One of our clients offers a US$ 30,000 housing allowance cash bonus on start date with a 5 year tie in plan, which is not pro-rated.
MBA loans are popular!
8. What challenges in the future are companies likely to face when hiring the people they need on the mainland?
An increasingly smaller talent pool to choose from.
Most candidates receiving at least 2 offers during the actual interview cycle which will force the company to raise their offer to attract the candidate.
English language skill deficiency
Struggling with having to hire local Chinese that have the technical skills but not the soft skills needed to adapt to the international culture within the organization.
Expats fighting the system to become localized knowing they can go elsewhere
I could write a book on this(:
9. As China becomes more urbanised, creating a demand for more service type industries, how can Hong Kong companies help with training people?
The “Western” service industry does not have much of a history in the Mainland. The concept of “it is how you sell a product rather than what you sell has not be grasped as of yet”. The saying that the customer is always correct has no meaning to the Chinese. Friendliness to a stranger/customer is a difficult concept. How can you teach someone to smile to a customer? These are not innate characters and hard to be trained.
Hong Kong is already training their staff to migrate into the mainland. Nevertheless, this will be a long process. The mind set of the culture will need to change, Banks will have to stop running at half capacity during the lunch period when everyone needs money. Teaching someone in customer service to help find a solution for a client when they are screaming down the phone line is not always a skill that can be trained.
Asking clients for feedback via surveys and testimonials will help the people to learn a sense of pride in service related industries. Employees need to be rewarded for coming up with creative ways to please the client. Service related industries have a long way to go on the Mainland. The best training for anyone would be to go to the U.S. and work at Mc Donald's for a month. “My French fries are cold”, “So sorry sir, please have another”!!!!
Erica Perry Briody
Managing Director Asia
tal -os asia (An MRI WW China Group Company)
2nd F / Suite A
19-27 Wyndham Street
Central, Hong Kong
tel: +852 3656 5700
mobile: +852 9723 3921
http://www.tal-osasia.com/
1. How can companies successfully implement their recruitment programmes?
Cultivating an employee brand is crucial to the success of a company’s recruitment strategy. Why can some well known companies pay 30 percent lower salaries than their competition, it is due to the desire to work for a strong brand. Leading companies know how to link their business strategy to their resourcing plan by executing a multi-front approach to hiring that works in parallel. Pro-actively determining the best channels to recruit employees for different markets will decrease the dependency on agencies. Your resourcing strategy/programme should consist of a mixture of Job Boards, Career sites, Employee Referrals, Talent Pool, and Recruitment Agencies. The programme must have buy in from management and be transparent to the organization. A well structured Employee Referral program should make up atleast 25% of new hires. The key is that every candidate that touches your organization should walk away with a positive experience, whether hired or not…..word of mouth could be your best ally or your worst enemy.
2. How do recruitment activities vary between Shanghai, Beijing and second and third tier cities?
Shanghai is a commercial city where Beijing could be classified as a political or traditional city. The Shanghainese have more exposure to multinational companies and networking with international colleagues which makes them hungry to learn English and seek ways to enhance their skill sets. Beijing is classified as a tier one city but not as exposed to the international flare. Work/Life balance is more critical in Beijing due to the large family networks and therefore I have found it is easier to entice the Shanghainese into new positions within multi-national companies.
Second and third tier cities main issue is the ability to speak English fluently. The exposure to dealing with multinationals is limited and therefore the “Chinese Way” is more prevalent. Finding the appropriate channel to attract candidates is more challenging since the Internet and Job Boards exposure is not always possible. Campus recruiting, Career fairs, advertising, text messages seem to be some of the channels most preferred.
3. What are the differences in HR matters, culture, recruitment, retention and management on the mainland compared to HK practices?
Hong Kong and the Mainland is a different animal in how they approach resourcing. Employees in Hong Kong are more motivated by a work/life balance, training and how to make as much money as possible in the least amount of time. They expect autonomy and the ability to make a difference. Employees speak their minds and will rarely ask for permission to do things slightly different from the policy and procedure manual but prefer to ask for forgiveness if caught. The company culture is crucial to the Hong Kong employee. Enjoying ones peers and belief and respect in the management team is as strong as a major increase in salary. The degree of autonomy differs for China; employees want to know what to do and are not comfortable conducting their responsibilities independently. The philosophy is to ask permission, not forgiveness for taking the initiative. This can be very frustrating for Western managers who want to empower employees to make decisions. I am a strong believer of “I would prefer the wrong decision than no decision”. This is not what I would be able to expect on the Mainland. There are always exceptions to the rule; nevertheless, this is a strong differentiator between the two worlds.
Another key difference is the dramatic increase in salaries for the Mainland. MRI World Wide China Group just conducted a report among their clients to show a 36 percent increase in the compensation as the war for top talent in China intensifies. Some of the factors that are influencing the rapid rise include: the continuing influx of new companies to China that are not bound by strict salary guidelines like many established firms, Localization trends tending to drive up the local salaries and candidates becoming more sophisticated in their approach to job changes with a better idea of where they fit in the marketplace.
(We would be happy to send you the complete report if interested)
4. How does taxation and labour laws affect HR issues?
Taxation and labour laws add to the complexity of hiring in the mainland, not to mention the strengthening of employee unions.
I always joke that the mainland have taken the best of the European friendly labor laws and exceeded them by two.
Foreign multinationals need to be aware of some of the labour issues around termination. For a start, employees are entitled to one month salary for every year of employment.
Where in Hong Kong, one can escort an employee off the premises for poor performance or unethical activities; the opposite is true in the mainland. It is extremely difficult to fire someone without proving substantial breach of company conduct. I suggest the employer have a trail of documentation stating proof that they even tried to train the employee for another position but with no avail.
Employees are getting wiser to the legal system. The employee 95 percent of the time will win a court case over the employer. So unless you plan on a kitty for future financial pay offs I suggest you hire very carefully.
5. What are the challenges of recruiting employees on the mainland?
The main factor is the shortage of talent in the mid to senior level management range. Multi- national companies seeking out the top 20% of available talent puts further constraints on the talent pool. The trend of “upgrading” talent is continuing. It varies from 1st tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing that have internet access and language skills needed to work with multi-nationals.
Identifying both the technical expertise and language skills is the number one issue. Secondary is having the soft skills that will allow the candidate to fit into the culture of the company.
Companies in search of finding candidates that have both English and Mandarin; understand the Western and Chinese culture as well as having the necessary skill set will always be a challenge for companies expanding into China. Having a strong employer brand, training, creative incentive plans, cutting edge technology, and competitive compensation packages will be the companies with the edge in hiring this small talent pool of candidates.
6. How are employers able to check CV's and work experience (I have heard that sometimes job candidates slightly improve their CV's and work experience records)?
The first key to verifying references is to know what to look for: have a checklist of your required skills and qualifications needed for the position. These include education; general and specific job experience, as well as skill and performance requirements. Our consultants are trained to look for specific “Red Flags” in resumes. Some of these include:
• Seek out unexplained time periods that might indicate unemployment or a job the applicant does'nt want you to know about. Date-stretching to cover gaps is not uncommon. Check references to detect this.
• Though employee mobility has increased, as a general rule more time in one place shows loyalty. You don’t want to be hiring again in six months. However, even the best employees can sometimes have a short period in a specific role due to unforeseen, personal or uncontrollable circumstances.
• Watch out for a resume filled with vague responsibilities and claims. Enhancing job titles is common practice. Check for inconsistencies between title, responsibilities and salary. Look for very specific details of achievements and outcomes.
• At the same time, don’t be “dazzled” by an achievement-based style of resume. Go behind it to consider actual roles and responsibilities. Flag achievements and require the candidate to elaborate in the interview.
• Salary is a common area for embellishment. This can be hard to detect, especially when you can't check with a present employer. Ask for evidence such as a contract, pay slip or bank statements. In China, we ask for TT wire verification records of pay deposits or paid tax receipts or other independent records. This is where major exaggerations occur.
Finally, come up with some pre-close questions and techniques early in the process to get to the real income range of a candidate. By qualifying early in the process, one can uncover attempts to exaggerate and identify potential “Red Flags”. However, this only tends to happen with candidates that have a bonus or commission as a portion of their total income.
There are companies in the Mainland that now offer reference verification services to clients but the average cost is around RMB 1,000 per verification which usually only makes sense for management level positions.
Many companies in the Mainland are still not checking references as part of their resourcing process. This will need to change very quickly!.
7. What can companies do to retain employees, such as offering on-going training and support for educational programmes?
As companies start to pick up the pace of expansion and growth, globalization and business integration and aligning business strategies with resourcing, companies need to have a strategic plan for career development to truly engage and retain high potential employees. For starters, companies need to cultivate an employee brand and culture that demonstrates leading industry knowledge, dedication, and the ability to be creative and get under the skins of their employees to be proactive in determining employee’s individual needs. Management needs to have the (EQ) emotional intelligence and cultural savvy it takes to both engage and retain employees.
Companies need to stop doubling salaries and start being more creative in their retention strategies.
For example: Insurance agencies are starting to come up with plans that not only cover spouse and dependants but parent coverage. With most employees on the Mainland being responsible for the keep of their elderly parents this is a wonderful incentive for employees!
One of our clients offers a US$ 30,000 housing allowance cash bonus on start date with a 5 year tie in plan, which is not pro-rated.
MBA loans are popular!
8. What challenges in the future are companies likely to face when hiring the people they need on the mainland?
An increasingly smaller talent pool to choose from.
Most candidates receiving at least 2 offers during the actual interview cycle which will force the company to raise their offer to attract the candidate.
English language skill deficiency
Struggling with having to hire local Chinese that have the technical skills but not the soft skills needed to adapt to the international culture within the organization.
Expats fighting the system to become localized knowing they can go elsewhere
I could write a book on this(:
9. As China becomes more urbanised, creating a demand for more service type industries, how can Hong Kong companies help with training people?
The “Western” service industry does not have much of a history in the Mainland. The concept of “it is how you sell a product rather than what you sell has not be grasped as of yet”. The saying that the customer is always correct has no meaning to the Chinese. Friendliness to a stranger/customer is a difficult concept. How can you teach someone to smile to a customer? These are not innate characters and hard to be trained.
Hong Kong is already training their staff to migrate into the mainland. Nevertheless, this will be a long process. The mind set of the culture will need to change, Banks will have to stop running at half capacity during the lunch period when everyone needs money. Teaching someone in customer service to help find a solution for a client when they are screaming down the phone line is not always a skill that can be trained.
Asking clients for feedback via surveys and testimonials will help the people to learn a sense of pride in service related industries. Employees need to be rewarded for coming up with creative ways to please the client. Service related industries have a long way to go on the Mainland. The best training for anyone would be to go to the U.S. and work at Mc Donald's for a month. “My French fries are cold”, “So sorry sir, please have another”!!!!
Erica Perry Briody
Managing Director Asia
tal -os asia (An MRI WW China Group Company)
2nd F / Suite A
19-27 Wyndham Street
Central, Hong Kong
tel: +852 3656 5700
mobile: +852 9723 3921
http://www.tal-osasia.com/
