Placement agencies struggle

While head-hunting is widely known in the territory, outplacement consultancy is struggling to gain a foothold.

According to the Australia-based outplacement consultant Davidson and Associates, the services are mainly adopted by employers as a benefit to senior executives should their jobs be eliminated in case of a company reshuffle.

'It is a common practice worldwide,' founder of Davidson and Associates, Frederick Davidson said.

Despite this, it does not seem to gain popularity in the territory. 'Chinese companies here generally have no conception of the service as they do not realise its advantages,' Hong Kong managing director Caroline Swain said.