Over the past decade we have heard a lot about how Human Resources must get a ‘Seat on the Board’.

This would imply that HR practitioners should be involved in all strategic issues such as Mergers & Acquistions (M&A), downsizing, strategic planning and so on. The move in this direction has been inchoate, but it has been happening.

Now, however, we are seeing that the progress that has been made is being rolled back a little by the current economic crisis. According to Towers Perrin, companies are rushing through M&A deals, and along the way the softer issues, like ...

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The biggest challenge facing HR right now is the relentless pressure from management to find new ways of cutting costs.

This is like one of those nightmares where the goal is tantalizingly close but simultaneously seems to be getting away from you. Bad economic news keeps coming; further cuts are deemed necessary; and previous success in cutting costs is quickly forgotten.

For political reasons the issue of redundancy is off the table for State-Owned-Enterprises but even for local private companies and foreign companies, redundancy for knowledge workers is definitely a final, final choice.  This is true because with this kind ...

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At a recent event on Web 2.0 and HR, the subject of hiring freezes came up.

I mentioned about the impact of the Lewisian Turning Point, and someone asked me how it works, and how it is connected with the current (serious) hiring slowdown in China. 

Scouring the net for graphs that illustrate the Lewisian Turning Point produces flowers called Lewisia. Finally, I found a graph, and this gets us half-way.

The source is Deloitte so we should be able to rely on it. The bars show the demand and supply for labor in China over the last 8 ...

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Brrr! Even though the sun is shining, it’s cold. It’s always cold when the economy slows, and it’s not just psychological.

Hiring freezes are in place in many of the world’s leading companies, and on a world-wide basis. This means that corporate staffers and line managers cannot hire anyone for a fixed period of time, or until an open-ended freeze is cancelled.

Here in China, where we expect the economy to ’slowdown’ to ‘only’ 8% growth next year, there has always been a way of getting around the freeze. But right now it’s getting harder ...

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As Brian Fenerty pointed out on Recruiting Techniques in China, this blog is supposed to be focused on talent issues.

But when something this traumatic happens, it's hard to focus on hiring and retention. Oddly enough the earthquake is having an effect on workforce planning because so many Sichuanese are returning home to find relatives. So much so that factories on the East Coast of China fear worsening labor shortages. I guess my talent radar never really switches off.

We are far away from the disaster here on the East Coast, and there is a disembodied sense of powerless ...

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IBM recently spent literally months discussing talent issues with senior HR executives from all around the world.

The conclusions of the IBM Human Capital Study 2008 shine a light on a whole variety of HR issues and are definitely worth the effort of registering to receive the PDF report. The people they interviewed were very senior, and had a strong grasp on what it takes to succeed. There is strong relevance to China as well.  

The basic thrust of the study is that to enhance workforce performance you have to create an adaptable workforce, with a leadership that can guide ...

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In order to make a decision on any issue you need all the available information. The new China Labor Law has not actually come into effect yet but the data is coming in, and creating a picture of conflict and hope.

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The first piece of news, courtesy of CSR Asia, is that the Otis Elevator Company, has recently been accused of attempting to circumvent the new law. According to reports on Sina dot com Otis has allegedly requested employees to sign new contracts which cause them to forfeit benefits under the new law. It's not the only company ...

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As of writing I have sufficient distance from the recent ERE Global Expo to get some perspective on everything that I absorbed.

As visitor from faraway China my interest was a bit mercenary so Microsoft China's presentation grabbed my attention immediately. I had a fair idea that I would get inside knowledge from a company that has a reputation for getting it right in China.

I wasn't disappointed. 

The presenters were Danielle Monaghan, HR Director China for Microsoft, and Patrick Sullivan, Staffing Director for R&D, and they started off with a quick overview of Microsoft in China ...

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Acres of print, and a ton of trees, have been used up in the past year on the subject of the new China Labor Law. It goes into effect on January 1st 2008.

As is common with Chinese laws, there is often enough space between the lines of the text to drive a coach and four horses through them, never mind the issue of actual enforcement. But you can definitively say that there is a tightening of rules and regulations, and a shift in power towards the employee.

The welcome news is that the target of this increased oversight is ...

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It is a little out of date now but the Xmei Conference offered up a treasure trove of thoughts and analysis on hiring issues in China. One of those treasures was the sheer number of useful graphs.

If a picture could tell a thousand words, this is what it would say:

Turnover rates in China are consistent with a War for Talent, across all industries and all functions. Peak rates, for those companies that take their eye of the retention ball, are much higher. Anecdotal reports of 80% turnover rates can be confirmed by HR practitioners on the ground. However ...

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The study is a summary of interviews with, strangely enough, 2,200 finance managers across 17 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and America. Why they didn�t interview HR people is a good question but part of the reason must be that Robert Half is very focused on the finance area. Their specialization is a big advantage in terms of their client offering but they have ...

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As of writing, the hiring process in China is slowing a little as expatriate managers from multinational companies begin to take their summer holidays. With many decision makers out of town the slowdown will continue until September, when school starts.

Many of the positions that arose after the Chinese New Year bonuses were paid, around March, have been fulfilled, and potential candidates have turned into new employees. They have settled into the swing of things in their current company. Those who did not make a move are thinking less and less about changing jobs.

It?s getting too hot to ...

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The notion of the Make China Your Gold Mountain Conference was always interesting.

Take on-the-ground HR practitioners in China and bring them to the US for a conference. Then ask American HR practitioners with an interest in China to attend the conference in San Francisco. Add in strong implementation from XMEI founders Xiaoli Mei and Liz Menkes, excellent support for visiting speakers and Hey Presto!, you have a success on your hands.

As of writing I am watching Dr. Irv Beiman supply the details how the strategy process in China works, and how you can use the Balanced Scorecard to ...

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Personally, I am always looking at problems and seeking their resolution, and like many people, when I don't have an actual problem to hand I tend to look for another one, and solve that instead!.

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