Losing Out on HR
By Mike Threatt
Firms coming into China always include research into local market conditions and human resources in their business plan.
Unfortunately, once a business is established and operating efficiently within the local system many of these firms abandon those resources which were responsible for their initial success and substitute their own (western) corporate hiring practices.
This dysfunctional cycle has become SOP for large firms and is one of the major reasons extended growth does not live up to the expectations of initial projections.
1. A Fortune 500 firm seeks to establish production/branch offices/outlets in Asia.
2. The company’s advance team makes contact with local partners and, through these partners, local government and licensing entities.
3. Contracts are signed and the office begins preliminary operations.
4. Local staff are hired.
5. Foreign management is brought in to train-up staff.
This is the point at which ‘corporate’ mentality intrudes and throws sand in the gears.
The more successful companies keep this training process in place and continually rotate new foreign managers to ensure operations are kept up-to-date and new procedures are installed with minimum disruption.
Hiring of new staff is kept at the local level given that the people living and working in a city are more aware of local resources and changes in office dynamics.
Companies that like to ‘think big’ cast the widest possible net and move their HR to a national level. The (false) logic behind this is that if local talent is able to perform at a certain level then expanding the pool raises the number of hiring possibilities. There are a few problems with this way of thinking.
While the number of possible candidates does increase, the percentage of qualified candidates decreases to a much greater degree.
Rather than streamlining the process, this practice of utilizing national recruiting simply creates a much larger bureaucratic tangle for local managers. Where hiring was once the responsibility of my local HR manager who had inside information on local conditions, I now have less say and bigger headaches when an HR agent in Beijing sends an accountant who lives in Haerbin to my office in Jinan based on requirements they were given by an office in Chicago. Recruiters who work nationwide under rules established by a head office on the other side of the world will never be as efficient or aware of needs as the local recruiter who has actually seen your office.
Foreign firms thinking about moving into the Asian market need to know more than ‘what has worked everywhere else’. They need to learn that when it comes to operating in a specific area of Asia, nothing beats local intelligence.
Mike Threatt, Dalian Universal Human Resources
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August 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Losing out HR in China: My personal learnings as an expat in China
This is a good subject for all multinational comapany excutives in China to learn. I used to work in China as an expat as a founding General Manager. let me share some of my personal perspectives on how to attract, develop and sustain talents in order to build up a quality operation in China. For your reference,I am currently offering coaching and training service in China on these subjects.
Most of foreign companies focus too much on process oriented subjects in their China HR operation, including hiring, compensation and benefit, labor law, training as routine, motivation activities….etc, without touching employee’s needs and even worse, their hearts,which they cares the most. We all aware of Maslow’s 5 levels of satisfaction. These young professional in China are seeking to achieve 5-level objectives in parallel at the same time. This is relevant to Chinese culture and social environment today. For example, before qulifying to marriage, the girl and her family may expect the man to have a house or car, which is not necessary realistic outside China,but this is an hidden social pressure in their heart. They are struggling between personal career growth and short team income to build up their family. I can give you hundreds of examples like this. As Corp. executives and HR leaders, you need to learn it and touch their hearts by offering relevant programs to address their need,helping them to build up capability to manage their own destiny and achieve their dream, just few examples:
1. Corp. branding: This is important factor for them to join a good company that they can feel proud in front of their friends and family, CSR is one of the keys. IBM and Intel are doing the right thing. The ultimate goal is to serve your emplpyee’s need as self-achievement to serve the community they live with pride. This is a basic foundation as a good company in China. Corp. culture, including mission, value and vision, is a critical factor to these young professionals as well, this will help them to define their ideal “a great or admired company” and “a great place” to work.
2. Career development inside the company: Let them see the future by working inside the company. Help them to convience this is the right place to grow and perform.
3.Local talents development program by offering “training and development T & D” program, everyone likes to succeed, T & D is the keys to sustain talent people. “Executive Coaching” is designed to a customized program to serve talents and build up their capability to manage their personal dream and goals, across culture management and leadership and team leadership….etc.
4. Human touch on emotional side: crate programs for empolyees and their family to know you, as executives, and the company once a year face to face. By taking that opportunity, show your appreciation to them with your heart, call them on ” Chinese new year eve with seasonal greeting and appreciation”, send representative to visit them if their family have any good and bad news,such as sick or wedding, Executives need to play a role as ” fatherhood” to take care of employees. let them sense it.
I did hear a lot of good or bad stories on investing in China, just like to share my experience: don’t run it as a process or machine, treat them as a human body with emotion and heart, they have their own desires and freedom of choices, this is your, as executives, decision on how far you can or like to meet, but my story can easily convience you, the cost is low, the return is high, the most expensive decision is your commitment,are you with them ? or you just doing your job by managing goals and objectives?
I like to use Buffet’s advices to all executives, not limitted to these in China.
1. Manage your cash flow.
2. Know what your customers’ need and…
3. Know your employees’ need and …..
Finally, my advice is ” treat your employees as your customers”, listen to them and give them the best support you can, then they will work for you with their full hearts, this is the source of ” productivity, efficiency, innovation and quality”, then you can relax, then all the knowledges in MBA classroom starts to work from here, you can celebrate you have conquer the ” Culture barrier” which is significant success.
Enjoy your journey,
David Dan, an executive coach
Daviddan2007@gmail.com