Recruiting in China

Chinese companies are increasingly attractive to professionals: Study

China's workforce is maturing and giving priority to different aspects of corporate culture, a new survey shows.

The 2013 MRIC Talent Report by recruitment firm MRIC/MRI China Group surveyed more than 5,000 Chinese professionals and managers on the Chinese mainland, and in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

It found that Chinese professionals were "increasingly being lured" by local corporations, as State-owned enterprises and domestic private-sector companies expand within the nation and abroad.

Chinese companies are "increasingly attractive when compared with Western (multinational corporations) in terms of career growth and development," wrote Christine Raynaud, chief executive officer of MRIC, and Angie Eagan, managing director of MRIC in China.

Chinese companies may be able to "draw on strong nationalistic sentiment" with workers because there is "pride associated with working for a Chinese company - especially one that is seen as progressive and technologically sophisticated with good career opportunities," the authors wrote.

China's economy is no longer expanding at a double-digit pace, and MRIC found that foreign companies are not investing as aggressively as previously.

Therefore, Chinese workers are realizing that "foreign companies do not necessarily offer broader roles or great job security", according to the report.

Respondents in the survey said they valued companies with clear visions for the future, which helps clarify workers' career paths.

During times of fast economic growth, companies developed "fast-track promotion" programs, but "people now realize that a title change does not necessarily mean a broader role or greater job security".

Chinese professionals are now looking for companies with effective business strategies in China that allow for long-term growth.

As businesses in China mature, MRIC noted that leadership needs have also evolved.

"When we look at the most important aspects of culture to employees (and see) the belief in fairness and promotion on merit, we begin to build a picture of the expectations that are placed on leaders in China today," MRIC said.

Asked how their company culture rates in terms of fairness and promotion on merit, 18.9 percent of workers at Chinese companies rated their companies as "poor," compared with 15.4 percent of foreign firms.

In the area of work-life balance, professionals are facing more travel and time spent working away from home, as Chinese businesses expand.

Female respondents (42 percent) said that flexibility in work is the most important aspect of work-life balance, compared with 36.3 percent of male respondents.

Among women, 25.8 percent said it is important to have regular working hours with little or no overtime, compared with 17.4 percent of male workers.