7 Tips for Winning the China Recruitment Race

As China emerges from the spring festival holiday, news of labour shortages confirm that the economic downturn is over. For employers in China's manufacturing and logistics sectors, this means a return to aggressive competition for talent. HR expert Jackie Wong from JW Grace Consulting shares seven tips on how to secure top talent before your competitors and build your team for the future.

While the worldwide financial crisis brought layoffs and reduced payrolls at many companies in China during 2008 and 2009, it seems that 2010 is bringing back labour shortages to many parts of the country, particularly for businesses involved in manufacturing.

News of Talent Shortages

If the talent crunch has not hit your company yet, then there is ample proof of changing recruitment conditions in both official announcements and recent headlines. In February, China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security released the results of a poll of more than 3000 companies and 9000 workers, the results of which indicated that labor demand after Spring Festival increased by 15 percent compared with the same period in 2009.

Also, according to the China Daily, Zhejiang province in eastern China is facing its most severe labor shortage since 2003, with an average of 383 jobs for every 100 registered job seekers after the Spring Festival. Officials at the province's labour bureau expect demand for labour to increase by 20 to 30 percent over last year as its economy rebounds and infrastructure projects in labor-rich central and western regions retain workers who formerly migrated to industrial areas for work.

In southern China, similar shortages have also been reported. From reports in the New York Times, temporary recruitment agencies in Guangzhou had to raise their rate for factory workers in February to RMB 8 per hour, up from RMB 6.5 per hour before the new year holiday.

Preparing Your Company for the New Recruitment Reality

While managers who have been working in China throughout the downturn know that talent recruitment has remained competitive throughout the period, all indications are that 2010 will bring new challenges for businesses seeking to build teams. To help companies deal with these issues, we have put together our seven top tips for finding the team members you need this year.

1. Plan Ahead

More competition for talent means that it may take longer for your company to find the people that you are looking for, so be prepared to increase the time available for any search. If you normally expect to fill your labour needs within three months, then think about allowing five months for the process this year. This should also be the time to think about what changes you need to make in your business that will either increase your ability to recruit next year, or decrease the number of people needed to run your operations.

2. Spread the Net Wide

Most business problems can be solved by some formula involving expenditures of time, money and talent. If your company needs to fill positions in a hurry this year, then it may be time to start employing additional resources to get the people you need within the time you have available. If you normally rely on advertising in one or two media outlets for your recruitment, then try adding a few more newspapers or websites to your efforts. If you normally work through agencies, then try adding some outside advertising on top of this. Do anything you can do bring more candidates into the screening process.

3. Be Up Front About Your Offer

With more companies competing for talent, this is no time to be coy about “high-tech firm seeks team member for XXX position” in your job announcements. While stating your company name may bring some unwanted calls to your switchboard, it is time to put your firm's brand power to work to ensure that applicants turn up for your slots available – not your competitors.

4. Incentivise Your Recruiters

Assuming that you have your own human resources team involved in your recruitment efforts, it may be time to review the key performance indicators on their job descriptions. Start incentivizing your HR team like you would your sales team and give them targets for interviews held, offers made, and offers accepted. Now see if the HR desks are still all empty by 6:01 pm.

5. Clarify Your Requirements

There is a natural tension between wanting to bring in new team members quickly, and making sure you hire the right people. To ensure that you fill your positions quickly but still protect your company against bringing in sub-standard talent, be sure to clearly document all of your job requirements, as well as the processes for verifying whether applicants meet these requirements. Taking the time to do this now can save you headaches down the road.

6. Set Clear Guidelines for Reviewing and Contacting Applicants

While it can be difficult to speed up reference checks and other parts of the recruitment process that require interaction with outside sources, organisations can still increase the speed of their overall recruitment cycle by setting clear guidelines for their own teams when reviewing and contacting applicants. While reviewing applications and following up with applicants can be a tedious process, everyone reacts to clear, quantifiable goals and we recommend that you create guidelines for your recruitment team for maximum time from the time that a job application is received before the applicant is contacted for interview, maximum time from interview to follow up contact for short-listed candidates, and other preliminary steps in the process. Getting these goals in place can shave days from your recruitment cycle and help you catch candidates before your competitors.

7. Start Thinking Long-Term Now

While it may seem like your recruitment needs for this year demand your 100% attention, this is also the time to start planning ahead so that you can avoid a crisis situation in 2011 and the years beyond. Start thinking about developing relationships with universities, colleges and technical schools that will help you put in place a pipeline that can provide a regular stream of applicants to help fill your needs. These relationships can start with something as simple as having one of your managers make a few guest lectures at a school. If things go well, you can build from there.

JW Grace is a professional human resources consultancy based in Shanghai. To learn more about JW Grace and its services, visit their website.