Right strategy key to tackling 'talent crunch'
With the Chinese economy expected to grow at about 10 per cent this year, talent recruitment and retention in the mainland is posing a major challenge for companies operating there.
'If foreign enterprises can't get people, it means that they can't achieve their business objectives. And if they can get people, they can't keep them,' said Tony Dickel, chief executive of recruitment firm MRI China Group, a lead sponsor of the Best Employers in China 2007. Calling the talent situation in China the 'worst talent crunch the world has ever known', Mr Dickel said many of his clients were in 'distressed buying mode'.
'They have to do things that they shouldn't be doing,' he said. This includes paying too much, not screening candidates properly and promoting people before they have gained sufficient experience to take on bigger roles, all of which eventually lead to an increase in time and money spent on each hire.
Mr Dickel said the solution was to develop a strategy. 'Companies need to understand where the talent channels are. They need to know how to position themselves in terms of these talent channels. And they have to know how to access these talents and how to manage this process.'
The first step to attracting and retaining talent was to have good employer branding - the way a company was seen in the eyes of the talent population.
'You need to be what you say you are,' Mr Dickel said. In the medium-term, people's perception of a brand depended on their experiences when they came into contact with it, rather than on what the company's advertisements said.
Companies that are looking to hire in China need to be quick because 'talent has a lot of choices' there, he said. 'Talent has all the cards right now.'
The recruiting problems in China were not problems that could be solved with money, Mr Dickel said, pointing out that while several hotel chains had emerged as winners in the Best Employers in Asia 2007 study, they were not the top paying companies.'Some industries are very good at making their staff feel loved. That's really what it's all about - respecting people,' he said. 'In China, people really want to be treated with respect.'
