Many Western companies in China struggle with recruiting and retaining Chinese young talents. Each year many new graduates enter the Chinese labor market but their qualifications and expectations do not fit in naturally within global companies that operate in China. In a recent HR conference of the EU Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai on talent management in China local HR professionals shared some persistent notions.
Differing qualifications
The Chinese education system focuses on cognitive learning methods according to detailed curricula. It discourages students to adopt alternative learning ways, let alone to develop a critical mindset. As a result, Chinese graduates may have gained extensive knowledge but many lack the ability to think and work independently. Western companies operating in China, therefore, need to prepare and develop new employees for their newfound tasks and responsibilities as well as for working together with their colleagues. Collaborativeness is a key value in many global companies whereas in the Chinese education system competitiveness is the driving force. Despite a group oriented culture, Chinese students strive to be the best among their peers. Combined with a stronger hierarchy and vertical communication structure in Chinese society and organization, actively sharing and looking for knowledge is not a well-developed competency.
Matching expectations
Expectations of young Chinese graduates about their career perspectives are sky-high. They expect to be promoted much sooner than their peers outside of China. In stead of broadening ones experiences within the company and moving sideways, young talents are on the move upward and feel that it is a career must-have to change positions or even employers within 5 years. This is major concern for western companies who are willing to invest into the development of Chinese talents but fear premature loss of investment; something most Chinese companies are reluctant to do for this very reason.
Acquiring an MBA is considered to be another essential tool for a successful career by these young graduates, and they are all online comparing each other ’s moves. Groupthink and peer pressure, oddly enough, hold young grads back in taking up new opportunities or positions in other parts of the country; they are not that willing to relocate.
Developing a global mindset
Next to qualifications and expectations, the lack of a global mindset is considered by many HR experts in the field as perhaps the biggest stumbling block for real talent development in China. Of course, companies look for excellence in selecting candidates for talent management programs. But a global mindset and skill-set including language ability are essential tools for being able to work across the board and outside of China too. Young graduate programs need to redirect several key behaviors from the very moment these Chinese employees start working for a western company. Are such expectations of western employers about their Chinese staff members realistic and feasible? Some Chinese young graduates may have studied abroad (an increasingly popular activity) but most of them have not, and it remains extremely difficult to adopt a different mindset with sometimes opposite basic beliefs.
What’s a global company to do then in order to build a reliable global workforce?
For one, young graduates need to be molded into the company culture and into their professional positions from day 1 onward. Tailored in-company programs should support them to do their jobs up-to-standard as well as to provide them with clear career opportunities. Chinese people are generally eager to continuously improve themselves and learning and development programs can plug into that basic need.
Secondly, a young graduate’s education and career is considered a family investment; including the family of the young talent by providing for family events, housing schemes and/or education funding strengthens their commitment to the company. These benefits should be part of the compensation schemes.
Lastly, make international experiences an integral part of a young graduate’s ongoing learning and development scheme and career path. After all, you can’t create a global mindset if you don’t set foot in another country. Short-term assignments and well-guided exchanges can be valuable aspects of talent management programs. They appeal to the desire for traveling of many young Chinese and as such can be highly motivating. As long as working abroad does not become too attractive…at the end of the day these talents are needed to manage operations in China.
