Today’s jobseekers are focused on more than just remuneration and quick progression when they look for their next job. In our experience, jobseekers in Hong Kong have a much longer list of considerations and are increasingly selective in the roles they are willing to consider and the organisations and projects they are willing to work for and on. As a result, salary is not the sole factor in candidate attraction.

In general, those candidates that are available are looking for roles that offer a good work/life balance, project or workload security, a stable team and opportunities for training and development. They will also consider the medium to long term career growth potential and the reputation and stability of the organisation in its industry.

To judge these factors, they are requesting more detailed information about companies and projects before committing to interviews and they also expect to be well informed by hiring managers during interviews.

They genuinely want to secure the right role for them and their future career development.

Based on feedback from these candidates, the catalyst has been rising workloads, unfulfilled career development, the instability of some organisations and a lack of appropriate recognition since the global financial crisis.

For example, many of the candidates coming to us have excessive workloads after taking on more duties over recent years. With pressure mounting on these candidates to deliver, they are watching the market for new roles. These candidates often feel they are not being rewarded for the work they have done.

What’s also interesting is that we’ve seen a change in the attitudes of organisations towards candidates who have frequently changed roles. Employers are now unwilling to consider candidates who have changed jobs too often as they also want to secure a long-term employee. This is expected to further motivate candidates to look for a role in which they can achieve longer-term tenure.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people. www.hays.com.hk

Compensation & Benefits specialists, solicitors and civil construction professionals are just some of the skills in high demand in Hong Kong according to our Hays Quarterly Report. With a number of significant projects coming online, this will put a strain on Hong Kong’s current labour pool.

Hong Kong still maintains a low unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent as Asia continues to perform well in the global market and overall our long-term prospects are good.

This is translating into vacancies and employers are looking for high-performing talent. While much of the vacancy activity is replacement driven, we are also seeing some sectors creating headcount and new contract roles as they embark on new projects.

To attract the top talent, employers are using career progression as an incentive. Employers want candidates who will be retained long-term, and they know that if they offer a solid career development plan they will attract ambitious high performers who can add value.

Meanwhile employers are willing to compromise on certain requirements that are not essential for the role, such as language skills. They will secure a candidate that fills 70 to 80 per cent of the criteria and train them up on the rest. This has been particularly evident in the construction sector which continues to face a tight candidate market.

The Hays Quarterly Report lists the skills most in demand in Hong Kong for the April to June quarter:

• Hays Accountancy & Finance – Financial Services: Regulatory candidates with full set HKMA Banking Returns expertise both at the preparer level (three to five years experience) and reviewer level and above (five years or more) are sought and candidates with Basel III knowledge.

• Hays Banking: Candidates in investment research, private equity and corporate banking as well as fund sales.

• Hays Construction: With several major infrastructure projects at their peak there demand for civil construction professionals across the board.

• Hays Finance Technology: We are seeing continued recruitment in the equity derivatives space with a focus on risk and pricing candidates as well as market making.

• Hays Human Resources: Compensation & benefits specialists, generalist HR candidates and training & development professionals.

• Hays Insurance: Life and general underwriting candidates.

• Hays Legal: Senior level Lawyers, Partners and Solicitors across banking, finance, US capital markets and securities, corporate, funds (offshore and onshore), financial services, litigation, arbitration and IP law.

• Hays Office Professionals: Executive Secretaries, Legal Secretaries, Executive Assistants and Legal Secretaries.

• Hays Sales & Marketing: Senior Marketing Communications Consultants, Marketing Managers, Media Managers, Manager/Senior Managers and Marketing and Business Development Managers.

You can view the full Hays Quarterly Report at www.hays.com.hk/report.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Over the past year we have seen steady demand for human resources professionals across all of Hong Kong’s industry sectors. According to our 2012 Asia Salary Guide a greater emphasis is also being placed on human resources at a strategic level.

In particular, demand has risen for talent and employee development professionals as employers focus on staff retention, and skilled trainers to oversee the regional development of employees at all levels.

We have also seen a major focus on compensation and benefits roles at the middle to senior levels, especially in the latter part of 2011. Employers are seeking experienced candidates who can bring added creativity to ensure their remuneration and benefit packages remain competitive to retain top talent.

A stable work history also rates highly when seeking suitable human resources professionals, which means candidates who can demonstrate this requirement are well placed to negotiate a salary increase.
This trend is evident at all levels and specialisms as employers look for loyal employees. Professionals with Greater China or even regional experience are in high demand as large organisations look to centralise their strategic human resources teams.

We have also noted higher salary increases of between 10 to 20 per cent at the senior level while salaries have remained fairly consistent at the junior to middle level. Loyalty and stability are key factors being sought by employers. There has also been a focus on restructuring expatriate remuneration packages to match local compensation structures. As a result, housing and added allowances are being bundled into the overall salary.

Given the financial industry’s downturn, it is refreshing to see the positive impact HR professionals are having on organisations where communication and talent development remain key factors.

Let’s take a look at some typical salary ranges (in ‘000) in Hong Kong’s human resources sector from our Hays Salary Guide:

Department Heads with 5-10 years experience – $480-850
Generalists with 2-5 years experience – $216-380
Recruitment Coordinators – $175-300
L&D Officers with 2-5 years experience – $216- 400
L&D Managers with over 10 years experience – $840-1,300
Compensation & Benefits professionals with 5-10 years experience – $500 – 960
Trainers with 2-5 years experience – $240-480

See what you are worth in our 2012 Hays Salary Guide by visiting our website at www.hays.com.hk/salary.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Hong Kong’s workforce can expect an average salary increase of between three and six per cent this year, according to the 2012 Hays Salary Guide.

Out now, our Salary Guide reveals salary and recruiting trends for 1,000 roles across Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Japan and was based on a survey of over 900 employers as well as placements made by us.

We found that 56 per cent of employers in Hong Kong increased salaries last year between three and six per cent. A further 21 per cent gave an increase above six per cent. But 16 per cent gave increases of less than three percent, while the final seven per cent gave no increase at all.

China was the stand out in terms of salary increases in the region, with 51 per cent of employers reporting an increase of between six and ten per cent and 21 per cent offering an increase above ten per cent.

Looking ahead, 60 per cent of employers in Hong Kong intend to increase salaries between three and six per cent when they next review. A further 24 per cent will increase above six per cent. But 10 per cent of employers intend to increase salaries less than three per cent and six per cent intend to offer no increases when they next review.

Again China is the stand out, where over 80 per cent of employers expect to increase salaries above six per cent. By comparison, in Japan 98 per cent expect to offer six per cent or less.

We also found that in the next 12 months, 64 per cent of employers expect business activity to increase and 41 per cent expect their permanent staff levels to increase. This means that those candidates with in-demand skills and realistic salary expectations can be confident that this year will provide them with the opportunity to secure a challenging career move and a salary increase.

But skills shortages will remain an ongoing issue. According to our survey of employers across Asia, almost all (95 per cent) believe that skills shortages have the potential to hamper the effective operation of their business or department.

Furthermore, in skill-short areas 66 per cent of employers said they would consider employing or sponsoring a qualified overseas candidate. Employers in Hong Kong are casting the net wide when a suitable local applicant cannot be located, although there has been a strong reduction in expatriate packages. Those that were on expatriate packages have been converted to local packages and benefits such as housing and living allowance have been incorporated into the base salary.

According to our survey, 54 per cent of employers intend to award a bonus to more than 50 per cent of staff, down ten per cent year-on-year. Instead, the use of benefits is rising. They are now offered by 81 per cent of employers, up from 78 per cent year-on-year. Health, life assurance and pension are popular benefits.

Access the 2012 Hays Salary Guide at www.hays.com.hk/salary, by contacting your local Hays office or by downloading The Hays Salary Guide 2012 iPhone app from iTunes.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Compensation & Benefits (C&B) specialists are in demand across Hong Kong’s human resources market this quarter as companies focus on improving remuneration packages and restructuring benefits policies to attract or retain good talent. This is one of the key findings from our latest Hays Quarterly Report.

C&B specialists are responsible for the pay structures and fringe benefits of employees. They aim to provide equity and consistency in how salaries and benefits are put together across different levels. At the strategic level, they can devise salary levels, incentives, commission structures and benefits packages while operationally they can be responsible for HR data integrity, staff payroll operations and adhering to government regulations.

Ideal candidates have a good head for numbers but also excellent people management skills. As a result, they are sought-after not just in Hong Kong but across Asia and are considered to be the most stable HR specialisations, as well as recession-proof.

In today’s competitive market to keep skilled employees within the business while continuing to perform at an optimum, employers must be willing to recognise and reward high performers. This is particularly important at this time of year as candidates look to move on from roles in search of new opportunities and salary increases following bonus payouts.

So the role of a C&B specialist is crucial to ensuring the organisation makes its employees feel valued. Often the biggest motivating factor behind an employee’s decision to leave is simply money. If a C&B specialist can identify what their salary expectations are in terms of how they view their worth to the organisation and meet these expectations it is far easier to retain talent. Beyond salary, when we talk about benefits these can include housing or car allowance, gym membership, a pension plan or health and life assurance as examples.

Looking at other roles in demand this quarter we note a strong need for global mobility professionals as employers look to utilise internal talent to fill skills gaps. This is highlighting the increasing importance of global mobility skills and the role these skills play in effective communications and decision making.

Increasing globalisation, the spread of multinational corporations and the growing number of Hong Kong based enterprises throughout the Asia Pacific region is boosting demand within organisations for global skill bases.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Innovative HR policies and practices are important for any organisation who wants to make its people feel valued and, more to the point, at the heart of their business success. In an often uncertain and turbulent business environment it is vital for an organisation to focus on looking at what HR strategies are working and what practices could be improved in order to attract and retain key talent and increase employee engagement.

HR practices have evolved to become far more centred to employee needs as companies try to stay competitive while optimising their sourcing processes and reducing costs. As a result, we have seen a huge shift in the role of HR, moving it from a purely functional component to one that focuses on effectively finding and managing talent. This change is being seen widely and research from our second issue of the Hays Journal highlights how HR is demonstrating its value as a strategic partner rather than one that simply manages processes.

While products, processes and even technology can be easily replicated, an organisation’s competitive advantage is determined by having the right people with the right skills.

In times of economic uncertainty, employee engagement becomes even more critical and this is an area organisations need to pay close attention. Companies must also ensure they have the necessary skills to adjust to market requirements.

One of the significant issues affecting the recruitment market today is the growing demand for skilled workers. Put simply, demand for skilled talent in several areas now exceeds supply. With globalisation, more markets and products are being exposed to competition so it is vital for companies to gain advantages wherever possible. This is further emphasised by the growing international workforce and increase in their mobility.

While we have seen hiring freezes in some areas, particularly across the banking and financial services sectors, there is an ongoing need for specialist skills, particularly in many emerging economies. The outlook is very positive for engineering, finance, sales and marketing experts who can apply their skills in most countries across the globe.

As demand for specialist skills continues to grow, the role of flexible workers is also on the rise. In leaner times, organisations will increasingly need to rely on contractors and flexible workers to complete new projects or see through existing ones. This is a cost-efficient solution when budgets are tight. However, cultural and legislative factors vary the way temporary workers are used across the globe.

This year attracting and retaining top talent has never been more important, and organisations are working on their HR strategies to hold onto top talent. Employers will need to think long term and ensure their best people feel valued, engaged and are given opportunities to progress.

To attract talent they will need to be seen as employers of choice in the sectors they operate by strengthening their employer branding and visibility in the market. In addition, ongoing in training and development is often a key to employee loyalty and the difference that will ensure they will remain with you through the good times and the bad.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

The integration of mobile technology, internal mobility and the use of Recruitment Process Outsourcing for global expansion are amongst the top issues that will dominate Hong Kong’s recruitment market in 2012.

Topping the list is the change to expatriate packages and the increased demand for bilingual skills. Also important is conducting a thorough background check rather than relying on content from social networking sites, which can be embellished.

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from the last year, it’s that technology offers employers, recruiters and hiring managers powerful new recruitment tools, but if used exclusively such tools become counterproductive to the recruitment process.

As employers incorporate social media checks into their recruitment process, some are neglecting to thoroughly background check the information they find, and some are even making hiring decisions based on this unauthenticated content. That’s why taking the time to get to know someone face-to-face, and confirming their background, is still crucial in identifying the right role for them.

The top ten talent issues we predict for 2012 will be:

1. Expatriate packages: We expect to see a continued reduction in expatriate packages. Employees currently on expatriate packages will be converted to local packages and benefits such as housing and living allowance will be incorporated into the base salary.

2. Bilingual skills: Across Asia we expect to see an increase in the number of requests for candidates with strong bilingual skills, including fluency in Mandarin and English. Candidates who have worked overseas will be snapped up quickly.

3. Instability of the Eurozone: Pending a favourable resolution to the Eurozone crisis, Hong Kong – and Asia as a region – is well placed to ride out any impact on the global economy caused by European Sovereign debt issues. As a result, in 2012 we expect to see increased interest from overseas candidates, particularly from those in the Eurozone, towards relocating to Hong Kong to take advantage of our jobs market, particularly since the Asian economies continue to outperform some of their western counterparts.

4. Background checking: It is not uncommon for employers to use social networking sites to screen applicants. But some employers are now taking this a step further by using the content on such sites to decide who they will hire. We caution against this and warn employers that content on social networking sites can be misleading. In 2012, we advise employers to work with a recruiter or adopt more thorough background and reference checking procedures before making hiring decisions.

5. Mobile technology: We expect to see further integration of mobile technology into the recruitment process in 2012. Candidates have a growing appetite for information that merges easily with mobile technology, so organisations will look for ways that the recruitment process can make this simple.

6. RPO for global expansion: The reasons for using Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) will change as organisations that are looking to expand globally seek a global approach to their workforce strategy. The need for global RPO will also be driven by both multinational employers looking to harmonise their practices and organisations expanding into emerging markets.

7. Use of contractors: The use of contractors, particularly in Hong Kong’s financial sector, is on the rise. Organisations are using contractors to fill immediate needs such as Administration Assistant and Secretary positions or for particular projects.

8. Internal mobility: To overcome the skills shortage, we expect to see employers further increasing their focus on internal mobility. This movement of employees from one position or location to another within the organisation also has retention benefits as it provides opportunities for staff to develop and reach their career goals.

9. Differentiation in the market: In 2011, employers started to turn their attention to candidate attraction and the development of new and innovative ways to differentiate themselves from competitors. Given the high competition for a very finite pool of suitably qualified and experienced candidates, this will become central to securing the best talent in 2012.

10. Succession planning: Talented staff always have options in the jobs market. That’s why employers will not only review their retention strategy, but will focus on succession planning in 2012, particularly for roles where skills shortages are greatest.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

While psychometric assessment has become a key component of many recruitment processes, such tools are not a panacea for recruitment challenges.

Many instruments are not tests. Many are designed to explore aspects of workplace behaviour, preference and motivation, as opposed to just ability. Most people will inevitably undergo psychometric assessment at some point in their career.

As one of the topics covered in our second issue of the Hays Journal, we found that while psychometric instruments are becoming ubiquitous there remain some misconceptions surrounding psychometric assessments – from both employers and those job seekers taking such assessments – including that it involves purely testing.

The principle of assessments is to gain insight into individuals’ personalities, skills and competencies, which is why many employers also use these assessments at other times, such as when making decisions about promotion, training and development.

For example, a test may imply that while you boast all of the competencies needed to be a successful salesperson, you lack the attributes that would put you first in the queue for senior management training.

There are a range of tools available that organisations can use to explore numeracy, strategic thinking and the ability to deal with complex verbal challenges, as well as off-the-shelf and bespoke questionnaires. The resulting data is used to build a picture of your overall strengths and aptitude, motivations, aspirations, preferred way of working and cultural fit.

For employers considering using such assessments, it’s important to remember that they are not a cure-all solution to recruitment challenges. A person’s track record remains one of the best predictors of their future performance, and face-to-face behavioural based interviewing is still recommended.

Tips for employers
For employers considering the use of psychometric assessments for existing staff, we have this advice:

• Ensure that only properly trained and qualified staff are responsible for conducting, analysing and reporting on psychometric tests and questionnaires. Make sure that the tests you are using are reliable and valid.
• Assess people in their own language to give all candidates the same chance. When you are assessing executives in numerous countries, look for a test with parallel language versions.
• Monitor ongoing performance. Keep a record of an individual’s assessment results and compare it with their subsequent performance in the job to assess how useful psychometric testing has been for your organisation.

Tips for job seekers
For candidates undertaking a psychometric assessment, we advise you to:

• Approach the assessment as an opportunity to further demonstrate your strengths.
• Be aware that most assessments involve multiple-choice questions with right and wrong responses. This means they are an objective assessment of you and all other candidates.
• When it comes time to take the test, read the instructions clearly and ask for clarification if anything is not clear.
• If the test is timed, note how many questions there are so you know approximately how long to spend on each one. Work as quickly as you can while still reading the questions thoroughly.
• If you are unsure of an answer, do not make a random guess. Instead, eliminate those answers you know to be wrong and try to make an educated guess from there.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Diversity in the workforce has an increasingly global relevance, but there is much debate both here in Hong Kong and abroad about how it can best be achieved in business.

In our second Hays Journal we examine how gender quotas are very much the public face of the diversity agenda, but many remain sceptical about their effectiveness when it comes to driving performance, change and share value.

Some organisations fear that a box-ticking approach to recruitment is not compatible with the aim of acquiring the very best talent. Others say that set quotas harm the notion of promotion on merit, can lead to ‘tokenism’ and can simply result in the same women taking on more boardroom roles, rather than bringing in new blood at higher levels.

For example, in January 2008 Norway imposed 40 per cent gender quotas on boardrooms. But as one senior HR executive put it to Hays Journal: “Anecdotally, the experience of Norway is that it has not gone well. They’ve just got the same women moving around and taking on more boardroom positions. It has not solved the problem of why there are not more women in business.”

Other critics of the Norwegian experiment like to point out that many female directors appointed since 2003 only hold non-executive roles, while the mandatory requirements disguise a lack of female managers in the country.

Nevertheless, Elin Hurvenes, founder of Norway’s Professional Boards Forum, says: “A lot of chairmen and investors were deeply opposed to quotas when they were introduced. The feedback from the conference (of Norwegian business leaders and politicians to assess the effects of the quotas) was that while they were still opposed to the idea in principle, they were in fact very happy with the results. So it was a mixed message.”

Beyond quotas
Yet the perception remains that not enough is done to promote gender diversity. In a recent Hays survey, 65 per cent of over 300 Hong Kong respondents thought organisations do not do enough to help women reach the top or that more could be done.

Quotas aside, without a genuine engagement and willingness to embrace diversity and inclusion when it comes to hiring and promotion, organisations risk falling into tunnel-visioned ‘group thinking’.

But inclusion goes beyond gender box-ticking. If employers are actively encouraged to seek out candidates who will bring different perspectives and ways of problem-solving to the mix, the net result would be that more women – as well as more varied cultural backgrounds – would hold senior roles. This brings the focus to the benefits diversity can bring a business.

A genuine engagement and willingness to embrace diversity and inclusion when it comes to recruitment and promotion leads to the business benefit of different ways of thinking. But sometimes, it can require a shove from above, such as quotas, to encourage employers to make diversity reality.

This all being said, it is important that we also focus on mentoring young women to help them to aspire to senior management and board positions. As with high performing male talent in an organisation, women need to be identified and encouraged by being given the same opportunities to develop their skills and experience to prepare them for a life at the top.

We would advise companies to start the development process early and establish steering groups, active mentorships and coaching or networking programs to allow women to discuss ideas, plan their career path, access career development and settle into new roles.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

One in four employees expect their salary to rise by less than three per cent in their next review, according to a recent Hays survey.

In the survey of 541 people in Hong Kong, 26 per cent said they expect their salary to increase less than three per cent. 29 per cent expect an increase between three and six per cent, and 45 per cent expect an increase above six per cent.

We conducted the survey across Asia Pacific and found that the most positive salary expectations exist in Hong Kong, with 45 per cent of people surveyed expecting an increase above six per cent. This is followed by Singapore (41 per cent), Australia (35 per cent) and New Zealand (26 per cent).

But employer expectations are not in alignment. According to the 2011 Hays Salary Guide, in Hong Kong 59 percent of employers intend to increase salaries in their next review by between three and six percent, while 18 percent will offer increases above six percent. 23 percent intend to increase salaries by less than three percent.

But employers won’t be swayed by these expectations. Instead of offering widespread salary increases, many employers are choosing to review employee benefits to help them attract and retain staff. They’re also quick to discuss potential career paths with their high achievers and offer training and development. Work/life balance improvements are also being used as alternatives to large salary increases.

If you are approaching your next salary review, we have this advice to help you maximise your chances of getting your desired increase:

• Prepare a list of your recent achievements that exceed your objectives (if this is your first review, look back at your original job description). List the resulting benefit to the company. This gives you strong evidence to support the value you are providing to the business.
• Also list any changed or increased work volumes or duties you’re now undertaking.
• Be realistic. State the salary you feel your performance and results are worth, and back it up with evidence from a Salary Guide to show it is in line with current market rates.
• Keep your salary review discussion professional. Stay calm and focused. Do not become emotional and do not talk of how much money you need – eg rising bills or mortgage repayments. Keep your review purely professional.
• Have a fall-back position. If your employer cannot afford to increase your salary, can you agree a date for another pay review in three or six months? What about additional annual leave, study or other benefits?
• Above all, use your accomplishments and the value you add to the organisation as the basis of your negotiation. In this way, you’ll clearly demonstrate your worth and will be in a stronger position to secure the maximum of the salary increase on offer.

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.