Leadership: China Hot Seat

China is the worlds factory floor.  Not only do global retailers source from China, but Chinese manufacturers source from the world in terms of finding competent managers to run factories. 

Especially rare are Human Resources executives who can help in screening, hiring and managing local talent in China. Chinese HR departments work hard at hiring western talent, as well as adopting western measurement skills in order to evaluate employees.

clipped from www.workforce.com HR on the Hot Seat in China Not only do HR departments at multinationals face intense challenges when it comes to leadership talent matters, but HR executives themselves are among the most sought-after professionals. By Ed  Frauenheim China these days, human resource leaders are on the hot seat—in more ways than one. Not only do HR departments at multinationals face intense challenges when it comes to leadership talent matters, but HR executives themselves are among the most sought-after professionals. Helen Tantau, senior partner with executive search firm Korn/Ferry International in Shanghai, says HR leaders and procurement officers are at the top of the list of the managers that companies in China need most. She says that overall, local Chinese leaders with good track records can expect salary increases in the 10 percent to 20 percent range. But talented HR managers are seeing raises of 20 percent to 30 percent. Part of the reason is a dearth of good business-focused HR professionals in China, Tantau says. Another factor is that companies are locating their Asian headquarters in China, and need regional HR executives. "Even for just the China roles, there are not enough good people to go around," Tantau says. Trouble finding and keeping capable HR execs exacerbates tricky leadership-related tasks at China operations—jobs that typically fall to human resource departments. Last year, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai surveyed 274 U.S.-based companies with operations in China and found that the No. 1 business challenge in China was "human resource constraints, including attracting and retaining managers and workers." In the survey, 43 percent of respondents said the issue of recruiting capable Chinese managers had a strong negative impact on their business operations in China.