China's Talent Market
A veteran to the region reveals the nature of recruitment there
As Hodes prepares to open an office in Shanghai, we talked with Chris Plowman, Regional Director, Bernard Hodes Group, Asia Pacific, about what is unique and challenging to harnessing coveted talent in China. The world’s fourth largest country is now beginning to see its human resources professionals tap into the potential of recruitment advertising and employer branding.
Q. Is the China market a new focus?
A. This actually goes way back to 1995, when we established the Hong Kong office, and we began to support multinational clients recruiting in China. More recently, we have been working with a few clients in Mainland China, including, for example, placing all of the recruitment ads for FedEx across the country.
Q. Tell us about the new plans relating to the region.
A. The big development is that we are setting up a team based out of Shanghai. To date, a team from Hong Kong has been traveling into Mainland China to support clients. We will now have a team on the ground in Shanghai to support existing clients and develop new relationships.
Q. So this is a natural development driven by client needs?
A. Absolutely. Whenever we enter a new market, it is vital that it is client-driven. Multinational companies who are either expanding their operations in China, or entering the market, are looking for professional support in recruitment marketing. We frequently receive requests for help in China from across the Bernard Hodes Global Network, and China has been a key feature of global client RFPs and presentations in 2005. There is an obvious need for our global network to offer capabilities in the China market going forward.
Q. So, China has great potential to utilize new recruitment solutions?
A. That’s exactly what it is right now—potential. The concept of using professional services such as ours to support recruitment marketing in China is relatively new. Local human resources teams need to be convinced of the value that our services can bring. Despite the current acute skills shortages in China, it is still not difficult to generate high volumes of responses from job postings or advertising. The problem is getting quality candidates. Our challenge is to demonstrate to local recruiters—those with multinationals and local companies—that our recruitment marketing expertise can help them achieve results.
Q. What is unique to the talent market in China?
A. The massive growth of the Chinese economy and, therefore, the talent market, is well documented. With an average annual GDP growth rate of 9.5 percent and foreign investment in excess of US$50 billion per year, it is no surprise that employers in China are looking to expand their workforces. Western multinationals are competing with fast-growth local companies for a limited pool of experienced talent. And, the level of English-language capability is relatively low; making it even tougher for international organizations who need their China staff to communicate globally.
Q. What about the media marketplace for recruitment?
A. This is a really interesting area. When we were trying to place recruitment advertising in the daily news media in the mid-to-late ’90s, it was incredibly difficult. Government control over media meant that there was a complex licensing process to go through in order to place an ad. The media were also not used to carrying recruitment advertising. Deadlines were very long and rates could vary greatly depending on whether you were a local or international organization—or on how soon you could get the payment cheque to the media office.
Then, in the late ’90s, job boards like Zhaopin.com and 51job.com came along. All of a sudden, there was a recruitment media you could post a job to in 24 hours, and at a tenth of the cost to do so in print media. These job boards are now so successful, not to mention crowded with advertisers, that the boards offer joint packages of online and print recruitment media. CareerPost, a weekly recruitment magazine and the primary recruitment media in Shanghai, is published by 51job.com. It’s a sort of reverse trend to that of western markets.
Q. So how does one go about adding value in the region?
A. By applying the same solid principles that are used elsewhere in the world. At the very basic level, we turn what are effectively “shopping list announcements” of jobs into effective and meaningful recruitment advertising that promotes the attributes of both the job and the company.
Q. In other words, employer branding?
A. I’m not convinced it is as yet that sophisticated. Of course, we will be looking to establish a powerful brand for each of our clients as an employer. It’s the only way they can compete for talent, and retain talent, on a long-term basis. But when you look at the current recruitment advertising in the China market, there’s a long way to go before that is achieved.
Working with clients to analyze their needs; developing strategies and messages that will reach and motivate the right candidates to apply, and, finally, measuring the results using the 360-degree approach—Assess, Strategize, Implement and Measure—will be a step in the right direction.
Q. What are some of the results you’ve seen?
A. We have one client with significant staffing needs for data processing centers in Shanghai and Guangzhou. We introduced them to new ways of communicating with candidates through a careers forum. We also showed them how to reach candidates through innovative employee referral programs. I think it will be our ability to consult with clients on developing new and innovative solutions that will show our value.
Q. Okay, let’s talk about the campus market.
A. This is obviously a significant activity and an area where we can help our clients develop more effective and professional marketing programs. We have already worked with a number of clients helping them develop campus recruitment materials. We hope to soon provide strategic advice to China-based clients as we now do in Hong Kong.
Q. What do you mean by “strategic advice”?
A. Well, for example, for a major client in Hong Kong, we have been advising on and developing an entirely new campus recruitment strategy to optimize their resources and time. This has meant doing less on campus and more on the web. We then invite undergraduates who have passed initial selection to an event at the client offices, where managers present their particular business area to the candidates. It’s this sort of strategic partnership that we are looking to develop with clients in China. The output of graduates in China is phenomenal, at around three-and-a-half million per year. The key, again, is finding the quality.
Q. You mentioned “more on the web”. Can you elaborate?
A. Online is a very important channel for recruitment in China, and not just for graduates. And yet, only 40 of the top 100 companies in China have a careers website as part of their corporate site. So, this is an area where we can work with clients to develop careers website-centered recruiting strategies—that is, developing a careers website and driving candidates to it through recruitment marketing.
Q. So how much will you be personally involved?
A. I will remain based out of Hong Kong to oversee our offices there and in Singapore, but yes, I will definitely be on the Dragonair flights to Shanghai pretty often to support our new team.
Chris Plowan, Regional Agency Director, Bernard Hodes Group, Asia Pacific, moved to Hong Kong in 1989 to establish a new recruitment advertising and communications business for MSL Advertising. By 1995, Chris had built a solid recruitment marketing business, which was purchased by Bernard Hodes Group. In the past nine years, Chris has managed and developed this business, establishing a substantial portfolio of local, regional and multinational clients. In 1997, Chris opened the Hodes office in Singapore and has similarly managed the growth and development of this office to make Hodes a major competitor in the local Singaporean market.
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