Recruiting in China

One 31-question survey used by Ceridian for its employees. Questions include "How satisfied are you with how the job was described during the interview process compared to what you are actually doing?"
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As part of a solution to deal with employee turnover, Ceridian¡¯s HR department saw an opportunity to increase employee satisfaction and retention and improve its staffing processes. The staffing department created a quarterly survey in (below) to help gather information from each new hire regarding their satisfaction of the hiring process, training, impression of manager, and orientation.
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We appreciate your feedback on this brief survey to help us understand what we¡¯re doing well, and what we need to improve regarding: the interview process, new hire introduction, new hire training, and job specific satisfaction.

The survey has 34 questions and will take you 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Your answers will be kept completely confidential.

Section 1 - Pre-Employment

1. How were you recruited to Ceridian?
Employee Referral
External Recruitment Agency
Ceridian Staffing Department
Re-hire
Worked for previous customer
Other

2. How satisfied were you with the number of on-site interviews with Ceridian?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

3. If dissatisfied, please tell us how many interviews were conducted: _________

4. How satisfied were you with the organization and scheduling of your interviews?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

5. How satisfied were you with the explanation of Ceridian¡¯s benefit program?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

6. How satisfied were you with the length of time it took from the time you applied to the time you were hired?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

7. During the interview process, did you receive a folder with company information?
Yes
No

8. Overall, how satisfied were you with Ceridian¡¯s interview process?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

Section 2 - New Hire Introduction

9. Do you work virtual (off-site)?
Yes
No

10. How did you receive your "first day" new hire orientation?
Teleconference conducted by Ceridian Human Resources associate
On-site
Did not receive ¡®first day¡¯ orientation. If so, skip to question #14

11. How satisfied are you with the first day new hire orientation?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

12. How satisfied were you with the welcome you received from your department?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

13. How satisfied were you with the knowledge and skill of your assigned mentor or co-worker?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

14. How satisfied are you with your manager¡¯s ability to lead and provide direction to you?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

15. How satisfied are you with the necessary tools (i.e. computer, phone, etc.) provided to complete your job?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

16. How satisfied are you with the time it took to receive your benefits package?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

17. How satisfied are you with the benefits automated enrollment process?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Section 3 - Training

18. When you were hired, what percentage of your skills matched those required to perform your job?
100% Match
80% Match
50% Match
20% Match
No Match

19. How satisfied are you with the computer-based new hire orientation training?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

20. How satisfied are you with the flexibility and ease of completing the computer-based new hire orientation training?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

21. How satisfied are you with the job-specific training opportunities provided by the Learning and Development Organization?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

22. How satisfied were you with the assistance of your manager in completing your training?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

23. How satisfied were you with the availability of your mentor or co-worker to assist you in completing your training?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

24. How satisfied are you with the length of time given to complete training during work hours?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Section 4 - Job Specific

25. How satisfied are you with how the job was described during the interview process compared to what you are actually doing?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

26. How satisfied are you with the review of Ceridian¡¯s Performance Management Process with your manager?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

27. How satisfied are you with the review of Ceridian¡¯s goals and objectives explained by your manager?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
N/A

28. Considering everything, how would you rate your overall satisfaction with Ceridian at this time?
Extremely Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied

29. Would you recommend Ceridian as a good place to work?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

30. What recommendations do you have that would improve the new hire process?

31. Please share any additional feedback or recommendations you may have.

Executive search is about enticing the right person for a job, writes Vivienne Reiner.

HEADHUNTERS can do no wrong in the current economic climate, with a global skills shortage fuelling growth in their industry. Revenues for executive search firms worldwide have grown by 20 per cent each year for the past two years, and indications are very good that 2006 will also be a year of significant growth, according to US-based Peter Felix, president of the Association of Executive Search Consultants.

"Assuming a 20 per cent increase this year, then the market would be more or less back to its peak 2000 level with worldwide revenues at about $8 billion,'' Felix says. "Any growth beyond that would take us to new heights.''

Search has experienced strong growth in the past few years because of a war for talent caused by demographic trends in Western countries and high competition for experienced management in new growth markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe. In Australia, the market is quite buoyant across all sectors, and particularly strong in infrastructure and resources. As well, the rate of change in Australian companies jostling to improve position, and mergers and acquisitions, have placed further pressure on the hunt for executives.

Executive search organisations tend to perform searches for senior positions offering remuneration upwards of $150,000-$250,000. But in Australia search is also becoming more common for more junior roles, thanks to the low unemployment rate. Employers are increasingly turning to recruitment agencies to target specific organisations and people to fill positions below the $100,000-mark.
Recruitment agencies with executive search arms, however, can be less research-intensive than headhunting firms that specialise in search.

Rob Pocknee is a partner in Cordiner King, the Australian arm of leading global executive search group Amrop Hever. Cordiner King receives up to 100 unsolicited resumes every week. But the people Cordiner Kings wants are often those well looked after by their employer, or too busy to apply for a new job.

"Sometimes the best candidates will not respond to an advertisement, and in fact that's probably becoming more and more the norm the higher you go in terms of the job,'' he says.
From the employer perspective, it may also be preferable not to advertise an upcoming vacancy, because this could be sensitive. To some people, headhunter is a bad name, suggesting a profession which poaches otherwise happily employed individuals.

But Pocknee believes the best headhunters present the information and leave the next step to the individual. According to Antony Beaumont, country director for Australia of another big global headhunting firm, Russell Reynolds Associates, people targeted for approach are generally ready for a new challenge. It is increasingly common for their companies to respond with a counter-offer, but Beaumont says about 80-90 per cent of people who accept counter-offers and stay put end up leaving within a year.

Beaumont says one of the exciting elements of working in the industry is the potential for finding the right placement that transforms an organisation. He once saw an injection of outside expertise boost a share price substantially. Some headhunters keep unsolicited CVs, but Beaumont says his firm focuses on search rather than collating and managing the numerous requests for work that come its way.

"It's like a golden age for executive search,'' Beaumont explains. "As companies become more international, the potential impact of executives who can really make an impact and drive performance and demonstrate that superior leadership is more marked. There's more demand for these people and there's a relatively small pool of them.''

The job of headhunting may sound mysterious, but there is generally a set way of going about the business that guides the profession. The first task is to get a clear brief from the client -- perhaps not so easy when it involves a number of stakeholders. Next is to identify possibilities. Headhunters search their databases, speak to sources and specialists, and look at people in similar roles to the brief.

They then act as a mediator between the short-listed candidates and the client. Getting a meeting between the interested parties can be a job in itself, with full diaries and executives often in overseas locations. A change of mind at the last minute can further drag out the process. Searches commonly take three months or more, and are not always successful.

Headhunting can be done by large international executive search firms, boutique firms that may focus on one or two niche markets, or by national recruitment agencies with executive search arms. Larger firms tend to be brought in for appointments at the CEO level or for positions reporting to the CEO, and where candidates are hard to find.

Stakes are high, with executive search firms generally charging up to a third of the position's first-year salary -- (placements resulting from advertising average about one fifth of the salary, and some headhunters charge a fixed fee). One standard headhunters generally set for themselves is to not approach people previously placed for another client. Damon Sharwood, the director of legal search and recruitment agency, Dolman, says the exception is a past placement approaching the agency off their own intitiative.

Sharwood says in some cases people have said in their exit interview that they were headhunted, rather than admitting they had been looking. "It's happened a few times and we have then had to go back and explain ourselves,'' Sharwood says.

How can people increase their chances of being headhunted? As well as approaching agencies, people should raise their profile. Julie Mills, the chief executive officer of Australia's peak body, the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association Ltd, says in this new era of privacy law headhunters can face hurdles getting information -- but there is nothing to stop people posting their own details on the internet.

And Gaby Riddington, senior principal at local recruitment firm Hamilton James & Bruce, which also does executive search, says people can become more visible by presenting themselves as expert in their area -- especially beneficial for those who do not network outside the workplace to make presentations at conferences, publish papers or do volunteer work for professional associations.
Riddington says people who are looking for new opportunities should not get complacent, or let their standards drop. And she says it is worth the effort to recommend a suitable person if someone approaches you for help in a search -- it's likely the favour will be returned.

One of the biggest issues that I see business professionals face day in and day out is: what do I REALLY want to do? If you're early in your career, you may think you can play the field, try on a few jobs or careers before settling down. But job searching and career planning isn't exactly like dating. Not taking an active interest in planning what comes next may just leave you permanently behind your peers.

You see, the longer you test the waters, hesitate or fool around, the mre others are getting experience and getting ahead. And it isn't just about the competition. The more you play the field, the bigger impact your job "first dates" and job "break-ups" will have on your relationships, your confidence and your success.

The best part? Planning isn't even that hard. Let me help you start attacking that New Year's resolution to help you figure out what you want to do with your life:

1) Commit two hours
2) Try creating your own personal Career Model
3) Use the model to start a job search

It may seem like it's more fun to surf Facebook, listen to your i-Pod or search your college town for the best sushi. But I promise you'll thank me later for making me, make you, get off your butt now.

- Susan Strayer is an HR and business professional, and former career coach, recruiter and hiring manager who has worked with hundreds of Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of The Right Job, Right Now now available from St. Martin's Press.

Outsourced hiring, or hiring through third party recruiters, will be an over $1 bn industry this year. It grew slowly initially, but in 2005-2006, the business saw exponential growth, posting a turnover of Rs 3,922.32 crore, against Rs 630.98 crore in the year before. The industry this year is seen to be growing at about 40 pct. So by the fiscal-end, it would go well past $1 bn, according to a study by the Executive Recruiters¡¯ Association (ERA). The ERA has culled out information on manpower recruitment in consultation with 93 different service tax collection points across the country, the major commissionerates being Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Since recruitment firms pay service tax, the annual figures are arrived at on the basis of the tax paid. The study looked at performance of the recruitment industry for last nine years.

Do your opinions seem to count? Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important? Have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
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After hundreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the Q12, a 12-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement. Results from the survey show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. Here are those 12 questions:

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

Do you have a best friend at work?

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

SHANGHAI: The municipality will further open its service sector and aims to lure more foreign investment, Vice-Mayor Zhou Yupeng said yesterday.

The service sector attracted the largest share of Shanghai's contractual foreign capital last year $9.76 billion, or 67 percent, of the total $14.57 billion invested. The investment was mainly in commerce and real estate.

Total contractual foreign investment in Shanghai surged 5.4 percent year-on-year in 2006.

During yesterday's briefing on Shanghai's foreign trade and investment, the vice-mayor said Shanghai would intensify the process of opening-up in 2007, especially in the service sector.

"The municipality will attract more institutions including multinational companies' global headquarters and regional centers, research and development centers, investment firms and operating centers," he said.

To further boost investment in the modern and manufacturing-based service industries, foreign-funded financial institutions, forwarders, shipping service providers as well as professional service providers are welcome in Shanghai, he added.

One of the first "service outsourcing base cities" in China, Shanghai will take measures to enhance its service outsourcing business and attract investors.

Foreign-invested enterprises have contributed a lot to the municipality's economic growth, according to figures from the Shanghai Economic Relations and Trade Commission.

Active participation in the region's economy in turn has brought considerable profits. In the first 11 months of last year, foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai reported a combined 1.4 trillion yuan in sales revenue, a year-on-year jump of 12.8 percent, with total profit surging 30 percent.

The foreign-invested companies were major contributors to the municipality's total output.

In 2006, the combined output value of overseas players accounted for 63.5 percent of the municipality's total, 66.8 percent of exports and 28 percent of local revenue.

They are also major employers in Shanghai foreign companies had hired 1.68 million personnel by the end of November, about a quarter of the municipality's total.