Recruiting in China

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

The recruiting of staff is the greatest challenge that HR practitioners in China face.

But turn the turtle on its back and we see that recruiting is big business. There is a lot going on underneath. A mulititude of players offer everything from executive search to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

These international players are currently targeting China.

The graphs below tell an interesting story. They are based on a large scale study of international companies who offer some form of solution for recruiting. They illustrate well how the investments in the recruiting space have shifted from Hong Kong to Mainland China, and specifically to Shanghai. China is taking off, with Hong Kong flat. The study was done by a London-based MandA specialist called The1, and if you want to know more go here and click on ’Research’.

So the good news is that the kinds of recruiting support services that are avalilable in most countries around the world will soon be available in China. This would include Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), online hiring services, background checking based on call centers, online skills testing, outsourced payroll and benefits, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and so on. The 1 tracks them all.

These additional support services will make life a little easier for HR professionals in China. They won’t solve the biggest problem, which is the shortage of skilled, experience staff.

For that we still have to get our hands dirty.