Talent Management Process

By Frank Mulligan - Recruit China

Someone from overseas just sent me an email with the simple question; ëWhatís it like living in China?í

I live here so it is hard to answer that because I canít see the wood for the trees. However, the question deserves an answer. My focus has to be on the talent acquisition cycle in China, and not on what itís like to actually live in China. For that, and with respect, you will need to consult a sociologist.

To illustrate what the process is like in China right now perhaps a comparison with what it was like five years ago would be illuminating.

War for Talent

To start with, five years ago Recruiters had to contact maybe 50 people to generate about 10 applicants; develop a slate of 5 candidates; and get a successful hire. Competitive intelligence, such as competitor names, candidate names, factory or office locations, job titles and phone numbers, was very difficult to find and the work was focused on finding the 50 names.

Once you had found someone they were so delighted to get a call from a headhunter or a company Recruiter that the rest of the process went fairly smoothly. ìOh, how did you find me!í was a fairly standard reply. English language skills were a big Halo Factor so screening was relatively easy.

Now that same recruiter must search thousands of candidates from the local online recruitment portals, develop an extensive network of contacts in their industry, and work towards identifying at least 100 new names as a good start.

Then, and only then, can they be reasonably confident that they will be able to solve the hiring challenge. Virtually every professional candidate now speaks some level of English so the assessment process is far more difficult than before. Niche sectors have emerged, with small skill bases, and these can prove to be really challenging. A requirement for a particular technology only adds to the challenge.

As a result, Recruiters and headhunters are faced with many opportunities to fail. Candidates who sign a job offer fall into a black hole that only brightens up on the day the candidate onboards, or doesnít. Strong candidates juggle multiple offers and choose the one that best suits them. Others play with hiring companies with the intent of using the resultant job offer as a means to get an internal pay rise.

The list goes on.

Back in the good old days most candidates could be seen as passive because there was little information available for the candidate regarding potential new opportunities. When something that seemed to be good turned up it was usually siezed by the candidate.

So putting together a slate was not the challenge it is now. Five years ago recruiters presented 4-6 candidates to the line manager who took their own sweet time interviewing, and often asked for more candidates. Now the Recruiter presents a candidate as soon as he finds one, and pushes the line manager to hire that person, unless they have some specific limitation that would affect their performance on the job.

In a market with a War for Talent, good enough is good enough.

Cobblerís Shoes

As of writing, retention is also an issue for internal hiring teams and external 3rd party recruitment companies.

In the past it was relatively easy for recruiters or headhunting companies to find candidates for their own operations because they were constantly in contact with so many people. Five years later this is not enough. Now the headhunting companies are finding that their own growth is limited by their ability to hire for themselves, just like their clients.

Salaries

Lastly, we have the issue of salaries, which is an endless topic of conversation among managers and business leaders in China.

Not surprisingly, in a candidateís market like China, where multiple offers are the norms, companies are experiencing a severe shortage of good potential new employees. Continued high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China means lots of new players, and an expanding economy means existing operations are being built out further. Each of these players is willing to pay additional salaries to make sure their new plants or expanded operations start on time, and the available talent pool shrinks further.

Salaries have gone up a good 10% every year for internal staff over the last 10 years, and the standard salary rise for changing jobs is in the range 25-30%. This is without the necessity to move to a different location, and for a position in the same pay grade.

And thatís what itís like in China, in the talent acquisition cycle anyway. (I wouldnít be anywhere else).

Email frank.mulligan@recruit-china.com
Frank Mulligans blog - english.talent-software.com