Recruiting in China

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

If you are hiring staff in China you will at some point have come across people who exaggerate their experience and skills, or downright lie.

An exaggeration will cause you little difficulty because you will be aware that everyone tends to exaggerate a little. A lie on the other hand will cost you a huge amount of money if you do not catch it, and early.

Solutions that deal with these issues are available, both online and offline, but it has to be said that the online ones offer real value. The offline solutions are a little obvious, so you probably would have introduced them already if you could.

Hiring Issues
For the issue of past experience you can get an objective assessment by doing a Reference Check but our research indicates that companies in China only do this for about 10% of staff. The rationale for this seems to be that it is seen as a difficult process.

The biggest issue in China is fake degrees, which can be bought for about RMB400 on the streets. They are exact, perfect copies of original certificates but obviously they are easily identified if you have the original.

Luckily there is a website to check degrees from Chinese universities. All degrees after 2001 can be checked and the system shows you the final certificate with the person’s picture, number and so on.

Dealing with certifications is a little different. There are so many certifications authorities and training companies that you cannot devise a system to be able to deal with this easily. Instead we would recommend that you test the skill.

This could be on paper or online but again our experience shows that companies tend not to do the testing when it is on paper. The tests have to be scored, and often by someone with knowledge of that skill. Online tests score automatically and integrate easily with the online hiring system.

An excellent way of testing to see if someone has really done what they say they have done is Work Samples. All this involves is asking the candidate to produce a piece of work or solve a problem that is specific to the job he is being hired for. This must be done in your office and he has to have all the tools necessary for the solution.

What Could Happen
In case you still do not feel that any checking is really necessary the statistics below will give you more details of what you are letting yourself in for. The statistics are worldwide and cover all aspects of the hiring process.

- 9% of job applicants falsely claimed they had a college degree, listed false employers, or identified jobs that didn’t exist. *Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa

- 34% of all application forms contain outright lies about experience, education, and ability to perform essential functions on the job. *Source: Wall Street Journal

- 11% of job applicants misrepresented why they left a former employer. *Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa, Nolo .com, 8/801

- Nearly one-third of job applicants listed dates of employment that were inaccurate by more than three months. *Source: Resume Inflation: Two Wrongs May Mean No Rights, by Barbara Kat Repa

- As many as 30% of jobseekers exaggerate their accomplishments, and about 10% ’seriously misrepresent’ their background. *Source: The Complete Reference Checking Book, by Edward C. Adler

- 30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft. *Source: American Management Association and US Chamber of Commerce

- 14.7% of all applicants admit to theft of merchandise from an employer. *Source: Reid Psychological Systems (Don’t Hire a Crook, Dennis DeMay; James R. Flowers, Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 88)

- 4.4% of all applicants admit to theft of cash from an employer. *Source: Reid Psychological Systems (Don’t Hire a Crook, Dennis DeMay; James R. Flowers, Jr., 1999 Facts on Demand Press, pg. 88)

- 33% of all applicants admit to being tempted to steal from an employer. *Source: Security Magazine, 3/97

- It costs $7,000 to replace a salaried employee, $10,000 to replace a mid-level employee, and $40,000 to replace a senior executive. *Source: Recruiting Times

- In 1999, employers lost 60% of negligent hiring/supervision jury trials. *Source: The Reish and Luftman Practical Guide to Employment Law

- On average, in U.S. businesses, at least half of all new hires don’t work out. *Source: Fortune, 2/00

If you really need professional help on this issue please check out Chinawhys.