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Blog Network

Recruiting Techniques in China

A look at what works and what doesn't in China's talent short hiring market.


  • China Economy Rising, Salaries Declining

    by on April 12, 2009
    Premier Wen Jiabao said China's economy was showing "positive changes" today and that matches what we are seeing in our Industrial clients' job orders and interviews. 
     
    As if in contrast to this we have been facing a growing number of offers to candidates well below their current salaries and expectations.  It would seem that the pendulum has swung and HR officers and administrators all over China are now trying to exercise leverage on the market salaries of prospective candidates.
     
    In several cases this month we have seen gainfully employed "passive" candidates work their way through the usual five-plus meeting ...

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  • China Earthquake Donation Tips

    by on May 15, 2008
    While the purpose of this blog is to share ideas and techniques with regards to recruiting in China I have been getting a number of questions from concerned friends regarding the best way to help.
     
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    I heard on the news this morning that the Chinese government has requested help from international rescue operations and that teams from Japan are on the way.  With the death toll rising and current estimates at 50,000 lives I am sure that there are many survivors that can use our help.
     
    The following post is an excellent start:
     

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  • Bacon in China (Kevin!)

    by on May 7, 2008
    I like blogging, it is the only medium where I can quote myself, link to an article I wrote, and comment on it in order to maintain and update content.
     
    I had a post picked up by China Success Stories that outlines some of my opinions and experiences on candidate care and how taking care of your candidates can lead to a better employer brand.  (here is the shamless promotion:)
     

    Competing for Candidates in China

    May 6th, 2008  by China Business Success Stories

    recruit candidates in chinaBuilding a talent pipeline is not easy in China and you ...

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  • Make more placements by offering housing in China

    by on April 29, 2008
    Creative Salary Packages in China
    The devil is in the details...
     
    The difference between an accepted offer and the frustration that comes with a declined offer can often come down to the details. 
     
    As salaries continue to rise and companies scramble to match internal equity and hire the best candidates a little flexibility can go a long way. Get creative to get ahead.
     
    We have been having a good measure of success restructuring offers that are too low into a base + housing package.  This has the effect of lowering the base, and thus lowering the tax exposure of the candidate ...

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  • We got options in China!

    by on April 1, 2008
    In October I wrote about getting creative with compensation in China, see Get Creative in China!
    ? I am happy to report that since I wrote that piece I have seen a lot of clients coming up with more creative ways to get money into the pockets of their employees without breaking their internal equity and by using more advanced compensation plans.  Looking forward I would say the days of the base salary times thirteen months  packages may be soon coming to an end.

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    This year I have seen the emergence of the spot bonus, an increase in signing bonuses, and ...

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  • Recruiting in China: more resumes!

    by on Feb. 25, 2008
    What is your recruiting strategy for China?
     

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    It seems like such an easy quetion to answer but for many of our potential clients (and maybe some current ones) their strategy sounds more like a market summary than a plan of action: "It is hard to find good people." Beyond that there is often the usual discussions about how, when they do find people they often can't meet their salary requirements.  While tis is certainly telling and, to some degree, surmountable it is not a strategy.

    The Problem:

    The way I see it, today, right now, is that many firms ...

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  • The future of recruiting in China is Dutch!?!

    by on Feb. 1, 2008
    I have seen the future of recruiting in China and it is Dutch. 
     
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    As markets tighten and candidates with hard skills grow harder and harder to find it will take global initiatives to make a local impact in recruiting.  One of my favorite new companies leading the way in global recruitment is ForeignTalent. 

    ForeignTalent was set up to recruit talented Chinese university graduates and young professionals for jobs in Europe. They target candidates who have obtained a Masters or PhD in science.  This hits a sweet spot for European companies that are having more and more trouble filling this type ...

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  • They are never late for the Movies

    by on Jan. 30, 2008
    I had a meeting this morning with the President of a Fortune 50 company in China.  We had a 30 minute chat while we waited for a candidate of mine to show up.  The candidate was late and it wil probably cost him the position.  The title of this post is a direct quote from the president of the company.  He was willing to meet my candidate at 7:00 AM at a hotel near the airport.
     

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    It was snowing and sleeting out and we both made it on time.  I was early because I wanted to meet with the ...

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  • Can you afford doing business in China?

    by on Jan. 21, 2008
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    While taking job orders is always an exciting part of our jobs here in China it has taken on a much more important role for most of our China-based search consultants over the last 8 months as prices rise in the land of Mao and money.
     
    Can you afford China?
     
    This is, increasingly, where the line of questioning takes us when we are dealing with clients new to China and also, increasingly, with clients who are looking at higher levels in China to fill roles that have been traditionally filled by ex-pats.
     
    I recently had a case where the candidate ...

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  • Speed Dating in China

    by on Dec. 19, 2007

    Speed Dating our Clients in China

    Relationships in China are as essential to business as they are in any other market and there is much already written on the subject of building relationships and the Chinese style of doing business.  While I see much written on the subject of how to approach potential business partners in China I have found little on the subject of evaluating these partners once the initial meetings have begun.  Most of what I see has to do more with not offending potential business partners through cultural gaffs than it does with how to know when ...

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  • Life ain't fair. Get over it.

    by on Nov. 12, 2007

    I really dig what the guys over at ChinaSolved.com have to say - I just caught this post on compensation options that really nails the concept of variable pay (as in more pay for performers) as far as I am concerned.

     

    It?s not supposed to be fair.
     You know this ? now they have to. You will be treating some members of your staff differently. They will get better compensation, better opportunities and more responsibility. Some of your young managers may find this stressful. Others will become power-crazed monsters. You will need to manage both...(http://www.chinasolved.com/blog ...

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  • Web 2.0 and Recruiting in China

    by on Nov. 8, 2007

    Ed Frauenheim's reported on the state of HR software in a recent Workforce.com article: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/18/55.html

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     The biggest leaps forward seemed to be in the incorporation of social networking technology.  Lawson's Human Capital Management suite even allows your employees to post jobs from your companies website on their Facebook pages and receive commissions for referrals.  That is cool and there is no way to deny that we need more great ideas like this in recruiting.

    Of particular interest to me, though, was the following quote from the Workforce ...

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  • Get Creative in China!

    by on Oct. 16, 2007
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    I had the pleasure of being invited to attend the CCBC, Shanghai's "War for Talent" event today and was, once again, overwhelmed by the amount of head scratching that was going on with regard to compensation and retention.
     
    China 's talent market is a tough one, to be sure, but we should be moving from a discourse on "why do salaries keep going up?" to "what specific strategies that we can use to attract the best people?"  Peter Arkell of the Swann Group was kind enough to leak some information from an upcoming salary survey his firm will release ...

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  • The Hiring Managers can make the difference in China

    by on Oct. 8, 2007

    While it is well noted and often quoted that "employees don't quit companies, they quit managers," it is the less explored concept that candidates don't choose to work for companies they choose to work for hiring managers that I have been looking into the last few months.

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    To be sure a top driver of company choice in China is brand recognition, and this is probably not going to change anytime soon.  We work on a lot of marketing positions at my company, we are known across Asia for our expertise in consumer goods and luxury brands so you ...

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  • The "Business of Recruiting" in China

    by on Oct. 4, 2007
    Increase the effectiveness of your recruiting in China..
     
    One of the most interesting things about being a third party recruiter is the opportunity to see into the business practices of so many different companies.  Over the years my focus on client development has changed to one of finding the companies that my team can work the best with and focusing our resources on these clients.  We are often unable to work with potential clients based on their staffing strategies, or, often, lack thereof.

     

    When I find a company with a professional, proactive, and effective staffing strategy I am always impressed ...

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  • Reality Check, China vs. US Recruiting

    by on Sept. 13, 2007

    This is China...

    I had a chance to sit down with my old manager in the US last week and enjoyed getting his perspective on a lot of the issues I face in China.  To date, I have been a recruiter in Japan, The Southern Cone of South America, the USA, and China.  By far the most challenging and rewarding market has been China.  It was good to have someone to lend an ear and give me the sagest of advice on recruiting:  make more phone calls, get more clients, introduce more candidates to those clients, and work with candidates ...

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  • Time kills all deals in China Talent Market

    by on Aug. 14, 2007

    Ready, fire, aim, offer, wait, miss out!

     

    This is the current "hiring style" of many of our largest clients in China.  Too many are not acting quickly on the candidates they choose to hire and, because of this, are missing out.

     

    I had a good client lose a candidate today for a job they have had open for over one year.  The candidate met there criteria and they had the opportunity to make an offer the candidate would accept but they let internal bureaucracy slow down the process to the point where the candidate, faced with internal issues of his ...

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  • Get Flexible with Salaries in China

    by on July 20, 2007

    While there is very little to be gained in Chinese negotiations in "leaving something on the table" there is much to be won in remaining flexible.  When it comes to candidates in China's talent short market I am constantly encouraging my clients to be more flexible with their job mapping and/or variable compensation schemes.

     

    I am not always encouraging them to pay more in salaries however.  In our current market there will always be another company willing to pay more in compensation and there will always be a candidate willing to move for more money. 

     

    The best compensation ...

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  • My candidates are lying to me, and I know why!

    by on July 10, 2007
    Negotiating with Chinese Candidates
     
    My candidates are lying to me. I know this is true because I find out later when they contradict themselves.  I do not judge, rather take what they present for what it is, information used in a complex negotiation.
     
    I found the following very useful in negotiating with candidates and clients and welcome any feedback with regards to my observations:
     
    "There exists an intrinsic paradox in Chinese negotiating style which reflects the Yin Yang thinking. The Chinese negotiator has a cultural capacity to negotiate both sincerely and deceptively and he/she changes coping strategies according to ...

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  • Are your fees negotiable?

    by on July 6, 2007
    One of the things I enjoy most about my job is meeting with potential clients.  When these meetings go well they can be learning experiences for both sides and we can gain a good deal of market information and some valuable contacts.  When meetings like this go poorly they can be frustrating and a waste of time, or, when we make the best of them, they can be learning experiences that give us an insight into doing business better in China.  Meeting with the wrong person at a potential client is one of these learning situations.
     
    As a professional in ...

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