Since the 1997 handover, Hong Kong has been the gateway for international corporations seeking a path into the expansive Chinese market. While this has been the one of the major factors driving the local economy, the last two years has seen this route reversed. Born of a rapacious desire to conquer new foreign markets, companies from Mainland China are now seeing Hong Kong as a stepping stone from which they can access the rest of the world, prompting an ingress of Chinese companies setting up headquarters in the region. As a result there is likely to be increased recruitment in the HR industry as companies utilise its services in their expansion.
There are four major areas of HR that will be in the most demand over the coming year:
• Talent Acquisition
• Talent Management
• Compensation & Benefits
• HR Business Partners
According to Dean Stallard, Managing Director at Hays Hong Kong and South China, these roles have been in demand since 2017, but are proving difficult to fill due to the shortage of candidates.
“Some of these positions, due to their specialist nature, are particularly niche, and finding those with the appropriate talent is a sizable challenge. Another issue intensifying the problem is the way in which organisations with differing needs dissimilarly define success. HR professionals required for the recruitment of senior level candidates will possess skills differing to those operating with smaller companies, meaning that a candidate who is specialist in one area may be less equipped to perform in another.”
For candidates looking to operate in larger companies, the specialist roles of Talent Acquisition, Talent Management and Compensation & Benefits hold perhaps the best opportunities as the demand in these areas is particularly high.
“If you are a general HR manager in a small organisation then there is a limit to your opportunities, as larger firms require specialists,” Dean explains. “Companies are trying to upskill candidates in this area, but there is such a demand for those with niche skills that firms are offering higher salary ranges that can be taken advantage of, and this is a situation likely to continue for the next 12 to 18 months.”
That isn’t to say that generalists are not required, as HR Business Partners are very much in demand. However, this is a position that has recently altered in its definition.
“Traditionally most areas of recruitment would have been handled by a business partner, but now these functions have been separated, and the role of the business partner is now more focused on the value that the HR department can add to the organisation,” Dean says.
“Part of this is looking into employer branding and increasing employee value proposition, especially in larger companies, but having a keen business acumen is absolutely crucial.”
No matter within which area an HR professional operates, due to the volume of Chinese companies entering the Hong Kong business sphere, bilingualism is a key skill that is increasing in its necessity.
“Individuals who can not only speak Mandarin but also adapt to the Chinese business culture is something that companies are actively seeking out. If candidates have these qualities, or have spent time working for Chinese companies, these experiences will be advantageous,” Dean continues. “Those who have spent most of their careers at MNCs may find it difficult to adapt, so it would take more to prove that they have the versatility to do so.”
As with most specialisms around the world, Hong Kong’s HR sector is looking to the future and to how the coming digital transformation will affect the industry, with most predictions considering it likely to streamline the HR function.
“While this may have begun at some of the smaller start-ups, larger companies are exploring how it can improve their services,” Dean notes. “Of course, the larger the company the more relationships it has to consider. However, they are looking with interest at applications that connect with people in order to become more resourceful and to open up different avenues that improve HR strategies.”
Although technical skills, particularly in the more niche specialisms, are highly sought after, HR is still a people-driven industry, which means that soft skills perhaps trump all other considerations.
“HR is all about communication. Of course it’s important to know the business well and to understand how to strategise around it. However, even if you have the necessary technological skills but are unable to engage with stakeholders, you will not be able to execute your role,” Dean says.
“As a HR professional, you are the face of the department, you are the ambassador for the business, and you must be able to communicate with the stakeholders who can affect the company’s progression.”
Candidates able to ally these fundamental soft skills with technological knowledge and business acumen in niche areas will be successful. Those who are bilingual, aware of coming technologies and are able to fit seamlessly into Chinese business practices will be the best rewarded of all.
An overview of what other trends have been observed in Hong Kong’s HR sector can be viewed below.
• Candidates across the HR function showed an increased interest in improving work/life balance through flexible working practices.
• 2017 saw a wide number of new and replacement roles filled, with this expected to not only continue but increase during the coming year.
• The growing use of regional centres of excellence in Hong Kong is seeing a need for new roles in performance management and learning and development.
• In order to fill positions in candidate short areas, companies are looking to transfer employees from other functions. The most common area of migration is from finance departments.
• Although some of the larger companies may provide upskilling for these transferees, those in smaller companies are taking on external training in order to attain relevant qualifications.
• Networking remains popular in Hong Kong’s HR sector, but it is predominantly the domain of senior level individuals.
• Due to the need for candidates to understand the local market, international hires are not particularly common, however for especially niche areas, large MNCs may look abroad.
To read the full Inside Story report of HR in Hong Kong, please click here.
- Ends -
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
Follow Hays on LinkedIn - The #1 Recruiter on LinkedIn globally
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 markets 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 markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mainland China, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA