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When in Rome,
recruit as the Romans do. But what
recruiting practices work best in various
parts of the globe? What are the top
challenges? Here's a quick tour.
China
U.S. companies planning to move into China
probably already have heard that it's
difficult to find experienced mid-level
managers. But Danielle Monaghan, human
resources director for Microsoft's China
Research & Development Group in Beijing,
stresses that "there is a tremendous pool of
raw talent in the market, so, if you hire
well, you can certainly train great managers
over time."
Hiring local nationals with strong potential
and then developing and training them
internally "is a big incentive for
candidates to join your company," Monaghan
says, adding, "if you do this well and you
can demonstrate good career velocity."
But "to determine whether someone is
qualified, you have to be great at hiring on
potential and you have to spend a lot of
time incorporating your company values and
your company culture in your interviews to
ensure there is a good match over the long
term."
The most effective method of recruiting
depends on the level of the employee,
according to Monaghan. For entry-level
workers, try campus recruiting, employee
referrals, corporate web sites and job or
bulletin boards, she says, adding, "the
younger generation is
super-computer-literate. Contractor
conversions are also a good source of hires.
For later-in-career candidates, [use]
employee referrals and headhunters."
Employment law is different in many ways and
constantly evolving. "Companies must
remember that once you hire an employee, it
is very difficult to manage them out if it
does not work. The laws are very
employee-friendly and not 'at will' like in
the U.S." Also, she notes, people need
residence permits especially for large
cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
Resources:
Patrick Ran, GPHR, director of business
development, China, Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM), telephone: +86
10 8520 0066, e-mail: pran@shrm.org.
Singapore
Recruiters in Singapore can turn to the
government-yes the government-for help.
"What's unique in Singapore is that there
are government bodies that might be able to
render assistance in things such as tax
incentives or identifying people," says
David Ang, executive director of the
Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI).
Ang is also the current secretary general
and treasurer of the World Federation of
Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA).
It's "a multiple agency approach," according
to Ang, but a good place to start is the
country's Ministry of Manpower.
"I think it's important to let foreign
recruiters know that the government wants
them to take advantage of assistance
programs," he says. Americans are accustomed
to hiring consultants, but, in doing so,
"are paying a lot of money. Why not make use
of the government help?"
Campus and web-based recruitment is popular
in Singapore, according to Ang. So is
networking through professional
organizations.
Professional organizations such as SHRI can
offer help beyond networking. "We have a
number of inquires from recruiters about law
and compensation and benefits. We're able to
give them updated information and point out
where the pitfalls are," he says.
Resources:
• Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI),
telephone: +65-6438-0012, e-mail: enquiries@shri.org.sg,
web site: www.shri.org.sg.
• Singapore Professionals' & Executives'
Cooperative, www.spec.org.sg.
• Singapore Ministry of Manpower,
www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/home.html.
India
Be prepared for a huge volume of candidates
in India. "Depending on your methodology,
one ad can generate 10,000 applications,"
says Nina E. Woodard, SPHR, GPHR, director
of business development for Strategic Human
Resource Management India Pvt. Ltd. (SHRM
India).
Also, be prepared for candidates who
"usually have at least one master's degree,
if not two," Woodard says.
In India there is real value in a recognized
brand, so it greatly helps to be a
well-known company, she says. "Opportunities
to recruit at the leading campuses usually
go to the known firms who have the best
salaries, etc. They would be allowed in
first round recruiting events. Otherwise a
company may have to take third or fourth
round, which means that they would not have
a chance to hire the 'cream.' "
Employee referrals are the best source of
new hires, according to research, she says,
and "rewarding that effort is becoming a key
component" in most companies' recruiting
plans.
What most attracts candidates depends on the
area of the country, according to Woodard.
"Salary is a real driver in New Delhi, but,
in the south and west, it is probably more
focused on the opportunity for development
and growth and the value of the work
itself."
Woodard finds that when interviewing
candidates "say 'we did this and we did
that.' That may or may not mean 'I' so you
really have to ask a lot of questions to be
able to uncover what 'I' really did. You
have to train your hiring managers and
recruiters in behavioral interviewing and
competency-based interviewing skills to get
at the real information."
There are no Social Security numbers or
identification numbers in India, so
reference checking is difficult, Woodard
continues. "It is very hard to capture
previous employment and education without
actually calling all the named references.
Nothing can be verified at this point even
through a credit-type report; it is just not
available."
However, she says, a new business segment is
quickly growing up to do reference checking
as an outsourced service provider. There are
no rules about age, gender or other
discriminatory questions, and "often the
resumes and even the candidates themselves
volunteer information that we don't want or
think we need to see or know," Woodard says.
Resources:
• National Institute of Personnel
Management, www.nipm.org.
• National HRD Network, www.nhrdn.org.
• Nina E. Woodard, SHRM India, telephone:
+91 22 6707 8765, e-mail: nwoodard@shrm.org.
Latin America
Most operations in Latin America are located
in major metropolitan centers that "are
magnets for employable people in their
respective countries," says Neil Currie,
GPHR, manager of international recruitment
and development, Latin America, for Johnson
& Johnson.
"In Latin America, the culture is not as
mobile as U.S. culture. [Family
relationships] tend to be very strong, and
at least 90 percent of university students
live at home while going to school. People
generally stay with their family until
they're married, then move down the block."
So, except for a select group of upper
managers, this makes recruiting a local
activity rather than a national or global
one, Currie says. Recruiters often find
candidates through local career fairs and by
advertising in newspapers and specialized
magazines.
In the larger markets of Brazil and Mexico
companies tend to have staffing specialists,
but in other countries "there is no one in
the HR group dedicated to staffing," Currie
says. And few companies outside of Brazil
and Mexico have their own web sites,
although they will use job boards.
"There's more testing and assessment in
Brazil and Columbia. In Mexico, the boss is
the critical part" of the hiring decision
process, he adds.
A big difference is employee referral
systems. Although the concept of employee
referrals is well received, "in Latin
America there is a resistance to paying
employees for referrals," Currie says, and,
in several countries, "there are laws or
strong policies against hiring relatives. In
the Unite States we offer monetary rewards
but in Latin America the feeling is that the
company has a strong enough image" that it
shouldn't need to offer recompense.
Resources:
• Interamerican Federation of Human Resource
Management Associations/ Federación
Interamericana de Asociaciones de Gestión
Humana (FIDAGH). President: Paul Rosillon of
the Asociación Venezolana de Gestión Humana
(ANRI), telephone: +582-762-2043 / 8355,
e-mail: paul.rosillon@fidagh.org.
• Mexico: Asociación Mexicana Dirección de
Recursos Humanos, telephone:
+52-55-5140-2200, e-mail: jsanchez@amedirh.com.mx,
web site: www.ameri.com.mx.
• Brazil: Associação Brasileira de Recursos
Humanos (ABRH), telephone: +55-11-3256-0455,
e-mail: abrh@abrhnacional.org.br, web site:
www.abrhnacional.org.br.
United Kingdom
U.S. companies may find recruiting easier in
the U.K., but they'll likely find it more
costly as well. That's because recruitment
at all levels is usually done through
agencies.
Although U.K. employers have been pushing
for direct sourcing, "we are forced to use
agencies. That's the only job searching
[candidates] do," says Stephen Carr, a
recruitment manager for T-Mobile (UK) Ltd.
In Australia and New Zealand too, "agencies
are almost the sole source of candidates."
"The good news is that it removes an awful
lot of the workload. The agency will do a
lot of the running," Carr says. The bad news
is that agency fees are 15 percent to 25
percent of the employee's first-year base
salary. That applies at all levels.
To find a reputable agency, Carr recommends
checking the Recruitment and Employment
Confederation.
Another difference, according to Carr, is
that U.K. companies advertise for jobs in
newspapers much more than U.S. companies do.
There's also "a lot more" employment
legislation in the U.K. than in the United
States, but recruiters in the U.K. don't
have to worry about the definition of an
Internet applicant, Carr says. "We bring
everyone into the candidate interest base.
You don't need to differentiate."
Resources:
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD), telephone:
+44-20-8612-6431, e-mail: f.wilson@cipd.co.uk,
web site: www.cipd.co.uk.
• The Recruitment and Employment
Confederation, telephone: +44 20 7009 2100,
e-mail: info@rec.uk.com, web site:
www.rec.uk.com/rec/home/index.aspx.
Western Europe
It really isn't a good idea to lump European
countries together. "Everybody is patriotic
about his own country," and, in many places,
recruiters should go through local contacts,
says Alexandra Buytendijk of WCC Smart
Search & Match in Utreacht, Netherlands.
One generalization that can be made is that
government job boards won't prove to be much
help. "They're very big in Europe but the
boards are meant for the unemployed. You
will not find a lot of white [collar] jobs,"
says Buytendijk.
Thomas Belker, managing director, human
resources and administration for OBI in
Wermelskirchen, Germany, agrees that
government jobs boards "are not useful."
Private internet job boards are a better
bet, according to Belker, especially "if you
do a good job of employer branding, if you
go to job fairs, and go to universities. That
way people know your company."
Workers at the beginning of their career
especially want to know what advancement
possibilities a company offers and what
leadership or special management programs
are available, so Belker says it pays to
highlight those opportunities.
In Germany newspaper advertising is down, he
says. Companies use agencies to fill
executive positions but sometimes "also
mid-level positions, down to specialists,
even without line management
responsibilities."
Employee referral "is not popular. Here if
you recommend someone, you don't get any
incentive. Just a few companies have job
referral systems," Belker adds.
Buytendijk sees "a fair split between
classical newspaper advertisements and job
boards and staffing organizations," adding
that in the Netherlands staffing
organizations are well established.
Companies that have their own web sites
"don't use it as a single way of recruiting.
They use ads and agencies and place
[openings] on job boards as well, she says.
Older candidates often don't want to fill
out application forms online so "it's
important that web sites do more for the
convenience of the candidate."
"In the Netherlands and Belgium we speak a
lot of languages. In Germany, France, Spain,
Italy you need the local contacts who know
the languages," Buytendijk says. So when
recruiting in Rome, you know what to do.
Resources:
European Association for Personnel
Management (EAPM), President: Mike
McDonnell, CIPD (Ireland) Director,
telephone: +353-1-676-6655, e-mail: info@cipd.ie.
By
Stephenie Overman - Editor of Staffing
Management.
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