2012. 6. 16

China’s Talent War

TIME Magazine. May 28, 2012. Page 44-48.

Introduction

In terms of the labor market, China and Japan enjoy completely different situations in which for China it is a typical seller’s market for skilled people, but, in contrast, in which for Japan it is a rare case to change jobs so frequently for better pays even among top university graduates. What does this difference cause in recruiting styles of each nation?

Briefing

In China, companies, especially in tech industries, are always looking for talented employees, and it is usual for such workers to stay in one place for less than a few years. According to the article, an ICT firm in Beijing reported the industry-wide annual turnover rate of labor at 35%; in individual company, the figures for some reach at 50%.

Every CEO in China has concerned about a problem of poaching arisen from the shortage of well-experienced businessmen. For employers, it is not acceptable to lose human-resources who has been educated in their own companies. Furthermore, some job swappers leaves their companies, carrying important documents for their new employers.

All company tries to retain proficient workers by means of offering stock options, promotions, and even attracting them with corporate cultures. However, they can not change the structure of the job market, and, after all, throw up their hands.

Opinion

Contrarily, Japan’s job market is not as circulating as China’s; annual turnover rates among industries do not exceed 20% except service sectors; it is the lowest in the energy and water supply industry, followed by finance and insurance, and manufacturing.

Clearly, high rates among service industries are not resulted from poaching, but, rather, retiring probably because of too hard working schedules, too cheap salaries for required performance, too poor working environments, or so. In these business fields, every employer tries to find workers with reasonable skills at the cheapest cost.

Overall, China and Japan has the same feature in recruiting: high turnover rates in the industries where employers strongly need better labors; however, ironically, China needs high-quality ones whereas Japan needs economical ones.