As a SME business owner who does business in China for over ten years, I witness the great progress of Mainland employees and how they gradually replace many Hong Kong staffs in the China. Their rapid growth in capability in recent years and comparatively low cost is compelling to many employers. The fact is, according to governmental statistics, the number of Hong Kong residents having to work in China as required by their jobs is gradually decreasing. There are also many people, especially the youngsters, are unwilling to work in China as affected by the negative news from the media. Over the years, many of my MNC customers shift their human resource focus from Hong Kong to the Mainland. Instead of hiring Hong Kong residents, many management and operational positions are gradually replaced with Mainland employees. All these are warning signals and it’s time for us to think out of the box on how we can keep ourselves competitive in the global market.
According to a government report, the Special Topics Report No. 57, about 5% of total employed persons in Hong Kong had worked in the Mainland over the 12 month period. The number of Hong Kong residents who work in mainland doubled between 1995 and 2004 and then gradually decreased 30% in 2010. Majority of these people are from manufacturing, import/export trade and wholesale sectors. In addition, the median age of these persons is 47, which coincide with the findings that most of them engage in management and professional work.
From my perspective, majority of Hong Kong employees can respond fairly quickly to challenges and problems. Nonetheless, their solutions to problems are sometimes creative, too. I also like about Hong Kong people’s flexibilities in dealing with company systems and handling daily operations. In general, most Hong Kong employees, especially professionals, have fairly good work ethics. I believe this is why many Hong Kong managers and professionals are still welcomed by MNCs who have offices in the Mainland. However, these days, I notice that many people are keen on short term rewards and benefits that an employer can offer rather than thinking how they can contribute to create their value within a company.
In China, compare to a decade ago, the number of graduates is six times more to nearly six million. As we can imagine, the job market in the Mainland is frightfully fierce. My observation is that Mainland employees are mostly aggressive in terms of taking every chance to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. As many of them are very well educated, plus their aggressiveness, employers, including myself, are often impressed. This is something that many Hong Kong staffs lack. In addition, Mainland employees are usually more “obedient” than Hong Kong employees. What I mean here is that most Mainland employees can follow corporate policies and rules quite well but sometimes lack flexibilities when changes occur in the operational environment. For those employees who work for MNCs and larger corporations in China, their English skills are just as good, or sometimes even better, than Hong Kong employees.
Many Hong Kong employees, particularly the younger generation, might have false perception about the working environment in China. I always encourage the people around me to try to view China from a different perspective rather than just blindly believe the news from the media. If there is a job opportunity in China, try it even if the compensation is unattractive because experience, which takes years to accumulate, is a precious asset throughout our career development. Moreover, Hong Kong people should also broaden their scope by being more adventurous. That is, to look for opportunities not just in China but also in the Asia-Pacific or even around the globe. Globalization triggers many MNCs welcome employees around the world. So, do not just stay in the comfort zone. Regardless whether you are a business owner, or an employee, opportunities are everywhere and it is just a matter of whether we are willing to step out of our comfort zone.
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