China HR has to prepare for global recession
China is not yet feeling the full effects of the global recession, but some HR managers in Shanghai and Shenzhen already are. As more and more international HQs order hiring freezes - or worse, headcount reductions, HR managers in China are going to feel the pain.
Dr. John Sullivan of ERE.net recently posted an invaluable article on the subject of hiring freezes and recruiting.
He warns about some obvious - and not so obvious - ramifications of a slowdown in hiring.
- The danger of hurting profits by reducing salesmen and other revenue-generating staff.
- Harming employee morale and burnout
- Missed chances to hire potential high-performers
How will this affect us in China? One thing that Chinese HR managers are acutely aware of is that the US and European recession have not yet hit China full-on, so many industries and corporations are experiencing business as usual.
Another unusual stress for HR departments is the push to localize management. That process usually requires a degree of redundancy and overlap in the implementation phase.
China HR managers and directors had better make sure that they are communicating their concerns, priorities and ideas to the global head of HR in HQ. These people are probably a little stressed right now, but it’s a great time to remind them that when times get tough that they can count on their China HR.
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[...] here but if you can’t see the economic decline in China from the graph, you might get a strong sense of it by watching the news. All you have to do is take your calculator and add up the total number of [...]