Looking for a good career job? Think global, a recruitment specialist advises
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HUMAN resources was once considered outside a company’s core business, but many firms now embrace employee relations as a crucial part of successful operations.
Shanghai Daily sat down with Brad Brenner, Hudson’s general manager of recruitment process outsourcing in China, to talk about employment trends and the evolution of human resources practices.
Brenner has been in the business for more than three decades. Before joining Nasdaq-listed Hudson Global Inc in 2013, he was in charge of recruitment for JP Morgan in Asia and the Pacific.
Hudson, a talent management and recruitment service provider, has been in China’s mainland for 14 years. The company has offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, and mainly works with multinationals.
Q: What trends have you observed in the pursuit of talent?
A: The biggest trend for anyone just coming out of the college or making a big career change is to be aware of the growth of the international environment. There are many international companies that are very interested in or already entering China to expand their platforms. There are a lot of Chinese companies that are going global.
I think the biggest trend for anyone coming into business is to be aware of that cross-border growth and the opportunities it offers. Chinese nationals will benefit from their English, and anyone interested in getting into multinationals also needs to learn Mandarin. Those are going to be the two predominant languages. When it comes to operations in different markets, the Western concept of how something should be sold, presented or designed is different from the Eastern concept in many cases. Someone with the ability to introduce or facilitate a product across those mindsets will do great in any multinational.
Q: Chinese authorities have recently conducted anti-corruption and anti-monopoly investigations involving multinationals. Do you think that will impact their expansion and recruitment in China?
A: It won’t really impact expansion. I think it will impact more how a company manages its operations, employees and compliance.
Every country or region has its own laws, regulations and compliance issues. Companies need to be aware of them. In order to do that, you have to have people who understand the laws and regulations, and help the organization deliver services and products inside the regulations. In the recent GSK case, it’s a question of the senior management truly understanding what the regulations are. It may actually have a positive impact from the recruitment perspective because it means more compliance people will be getting jobs.
Q: Is the role of the human resources department changing in the overall operations of companies?
A: When I started in HR about 30 years ago, it was more like only a personnel department. It was getting the paperwork done, delivering the personal benefits and sending out paychecks.
I’ve seen human resources grow from that concept into the idea of business partners inside a company. The most important things for every human resources department these days are to watch trends, understand the best concepts and design employment programs. If you think about different functions in a company, everybody in each function needs to be very good at what they do. But many are not good managers. A good human resources department will help leaders think through questions such as: What do I do with my people? What do I do to retain, train and develop them? How do I make sure they are happy and productive?
The transition from a personnel function to a business partner concept is also going on in China. Every company spends a lot money and time maintaining its equipment. The human resources department is there to maintain the people, who are much more complicated than equipment.
Q: It’s a bit difficult to think of humans as a “resource,” like machines.
A: We take human resources as a combination of the two concepts. The HR department needs to focus on the human side of the resources and understand their personalities, their desires and their needs. HR can help senior management get the best out of employees. Yet, the senior management needs to recognize that they are a kind of human resource themselves.
Q: So what are the general personalities and needs of employees today?
A: Decades back, when I started work, the most advanced technology was the copy machine. Now, when I look at the desks of our staff, I see smartphones, iPads and laptops. They are connected and they are well informed. They know more and they want more. We need to understand their expectations. These days, employers offer more flexibility in the workplace, paternity leave, job sharing and sabbatical leave. Sometimes people want to take extended leave to sail around the world or do other things, and they are allowed to do that.
Q: Expectations vary so much. How can employers address that?
A: There is a relatively new idea called “employer branding,” though the basic concept has always been there. Employer branding is a package that carries the message of what it’s like to work there. Companies differentiate themselves from each other in the experience an employee may have and the value of the job.
Some people just want very regular office hours. Others want mentoring programs and more interaction with management. The value of employer branding is to tell people this is who we are and this is what you will get — and then let people decide. It is almost impossible to tell people what’s the best for them because you don’t know what each person wants.
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