Salary and career advancement prospects are the top two factors responsible for attracting and retaining talent in China. These findings are based on an exclusive HR Workforce Survey 2015 by ZW HR Consulting. The survey was carried out on more than 4,000 HR professionals across China from diverse industry sectors.
It found more than half of them (77%) cited salaries and benefits as the most important factor, and (51%) cited career advancement as the second highest, when considering attracting talent to their organizations.
Frank Yu, Chairman, ZW HR Consulting said, “The findings will have profound implications for employers who want to attract and retain the best people. Many are facing an uphill struggle to recruit qualified professionals, and if an employee can get more money elsewhere by undertaking the same role, they are highly likely to leave. As such, it is essential for employers to ensure their salary levels are competitive with the market rate. This is particularly important in industries where there is skills shortage, such as IT, Life Sciences etc.”
“Aside from one’s personal capabilities and efforts, career development and advancement opportunities very often are dependent on a company’s culture and background. Such organisations tend to focus on employee advancement in terms of training, education, effective promotion models and internal mobility.”
“Most employees, particularly ambitious, driven individuals, will want to see that there is a career path for them in the organisation. If this is not the case and they are offered it elsewhere, it will be very difficult to retain them” added Yu.
Apart from salary, employees want to receive favourable benefits that their needs and lifestyle. According to the survey, the typical benefits that would play a greater role in attracting new talent include flexible working arrangements, health benefits and car allowance.
It is well worth investing in benefits or perks, as it is more costly to recruit and train new people than to offer good incentives to stay.
Yu concluded, “Employers must attract and retain talent by providing the right attributes to enhance career advancement. Motivational levels typically drop drastically once executives are no longer able to see where they are going in their careers, and these professionals end up thinking they have to look elsewhere to fulfil their career aspirations.”
