Race on to find skilled staff
China faces a crisis of a lack of top-level management as companies scramble to find often inadequate managers to fill positions, according to a top recruitment consultant.
With a dearth of quality management potential and thousands of new foreign companies setting up each month, the race to snatch good talent is well and truly on, says Tony Dickel, chief executive of the MRI China Group, which provides expertise in executive search, recruitment-process management, research solutions and training.
'There are basically two big issues which make China different from other markets. The first is demand for management recruits, which is created by factors including China's economy, which continues to grow at a rate of nearly 10 per cent.
'China's one-child policy also means anyone under 28 is an only child and we're starting to see this impact now in mid-level management. People are being promoted far too quickly because of a talent panic. There are not enough coming through to middle-management positions.
'It's only recently been accepted that China's growth is at risk because there will be a lack of senior-level talent within 10 to 15 years.'
Mr Dickel said other indicators to surging demand include the Beijing Olympics and the business being brought with it.
'There are 3,000 foreign companies a month setting up business in China at the moment,' he said.
'In the past 18 months we have seen Chinese multinationals fishing in the same pool as foreign companies for recruits.
'There is an extremely serious undersupply of mid-level management and a tremendous excess of demand. Many companies are now in panic-buying mode.'
The second issue confronting China's recruitment market is a cultural one.
'The difficulty in China, and Macau and Taiwan to a certain degree, is that it's difficult for local candidates in these markets to say no. Chinese candidates like to keep their options open. They also don't like to tell someone to go away, that they're not interested.
'The result of this is that the recruitment consultant can take them through interviews and to an offer before being turned down by someone who never really wanted the position in the first place.'
Even worse was the high number of candidates who would accept a position and just not turn up for work, wasting months of a recruiter's time. While this was unacceptable for executives in western countries, it was prevalent in China, Mr Dickel said.
'It is not unusual for candidates to entertain several options at once and counter-offers from their own companies.'
With these factors to consider, and the enormous geographical and demographic hurdles to overcome, the recruitment game on the mainland is not easy for a company looking for the right person.
Mr Dickel said companies that operated on a recruitment ad and a prayer did not stand a chance of getting who they wanted.
Companies need to establish a brand identity strategy which allows potential recruits to see them for what they are, with an honest assessment of what they have to offer.
'Don't be tempted to bribe the candidate. There is always someone who will offer more and those who join for money will leave for money,' he said.
'Goal-based screening is extremely important in China, finding out more about candidates and what they want and why. You can screen out those who won't be a good fit and save a lot of time this way.'
Mr Dickel said background checks were also important. About 70 per cent of resumes in his experience in the mainland contained lies or faked information or certificates.
'This compares to about 45 per cent internationally and again it's because of demand that many of these people can get away with it. If they're found out they walk away and go somewhere else.'
