Hong Kong, like much of Asia, has never been a region in which contracting & temporary work roles have flourished. With available positions generally limited to low-paid short-term assignments, seasonal cover or maternity leave, candidates have historically shied away.
However, the last 24 months have seen a continuance in the alteration of perception, creating major growth in Hong Kong’s contracting and temping sectors in the following areas:
- Finance
- IT
- Insurance
- Project management
“We have seen the market develop, becoming more sophisticated,” says Dean Stallard, Managing Director of Hays Hong Kong. “More companies than ever before are viewing temporary and contracting resources less in the context of short term staff augmentation, and instead increasingly as value-add hires.”
As companies’ perceptions change, the market is seeing a proliferation of more high-profile roles, which is in turn lending a greater legitimacy to temporary positions in the eyes of candidates who are turning to contracting for a variety of reasons. For some, it is the ability to learn an array of skills from changing roles, while others may find some contracting roles have salaries above market value. But for many, it is an opportunity to better manage their work-life balance in a region that is famed for long hours and unpaid overtime.
“It is a very different lifestyle to working in a straight permanent job,” Dean explains. “For some candidates it is definitely a lifestyle choice, working for six months and perhaps taking a break for the next six months before beginning the next assignment.”
This increase in professional contractors is particularly prevalent in project management, a sector that has seen great demand over the last 12 months and is expected to continue to do so in the coming year. Project managers, program managers, business analysts and PMO specialists are all positions that companies wish to fill with temporary hires.
“What has been coming up more over the last year is the need for candidates with very specific project skills,” Dean says. “Strong project managers should be able to apply their skillsets to a wide range of industries, meaning that they have the opportunity to work in a broad variety of different areas.”
This demand is intensified by the fact that the market for these positions is incredibly short and in continual demand, and companies are casting nets wide in an attempt to source the best available talent.
“Comparisons can be drawn with how Hong Kong’s consulting market operated in the past, with companies struggling to find home-grown talent and looking overseas for resources. The bigger MNCs are able to jet staff in internally from other areas, but others are open to regional mobile talent or even those from further ashore.”
This new breed of professional contractor is expected to work in high-profile, cutting-edge roles, and with new regulations being implemented all the time - particularly in the finance sector where the likes of MiFID II and IFRS17 are causing stirs right across the globe - candidates are expected to be up to date with extremely specialised knowledge skillsets.
“Candidates who are able to acquaint themselves with in-demand skills, whether academically or practically, are going to maintain an advantage,” Dean says. “Whether that is being familiar with the latest technology, regulations or methodology, those who can remain at the forefront of the market will continue to be successful and in demand.”
While technical skills are of course a primary concern for companies looking to fill contracting roles in Hong Kong, it is perhaps just as important that the requisite soft skills are in place to ensure a successful assignment, much more so than would be required in a permanent role.
“In many respects the job of a contractor, especially project managers, is to hit the ground running, being able to adapt to surroundings and drive quickly towards achieving objectives. The ability to deal with stakeholders and in different working cultures is imperative,” Dean explains.
“Being able to develop consultative skills, problem solve, use initiative and being adaptable are all things that will allow candidates to operate effectively as a contractor.”
An overview of what other trends have been observed in Hong Kong’s contracting and temping sector can be viewed below.
- With financial services notorious for frequent and heavy regulations, companies in Hong Kong are finding difficulty in locating candidates with the required level of knowledge. This is seeing firms look to western markets for expertise.
- Most companies are becoming more sophisticated in how they view and hire contractors leading them to invest in overall employer brand and becoming savvier in how they reach out to prospective talent.
- Although companies are beginning to see contracting outside of the traditional parameters of short-term cover for increased workloads, seasonal developments or maternity leave, talent to fill these positions continues to be sought after.
- Within the financial services, banking and insurance sectors, demand for candidates to occupy operational roles is another area of growth.
To view the full Inside Story of Contracting & Temping report, please click here.
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Hays is located in Hong Kong at 6604-06, 66/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong.
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2017 the Group employed 10,000 staff operating from 250 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:
– the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million;
– the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA