Concerning career opportunities for creative talent in Advertising Agencies in Mainland China, I am upbeat about their prospects. People with excellent creative thinking abilities, graphic skills, a strong work ethic, and client centric outlook will always jump ahead of the curve.
In the early stage of one's career, young designers should concentrate on enhancing their design skills, learning to manage time and project challenges effectively and efficiently, and demonstrating superb standards of quality on a consistent basis.
Given the fact that the vast majority of local designers have relatively weak conceptual and English skills, I would also suggest that young designers undertake a frank self-assessment and if needed, commit to devising and implementing a workable plan for personal improvement in these areas. A few tips include studying and practicing different kinds of art forms and actively engaging in brainstorming sessions.
Now, once a designer begins to climb the career ladder, they will need to demonstrate confidence and comfort with doing new things all the time and exemplify an attitude that embraces a variety of media; not only the traditional ones but also any imaginable space between the brand and its consumers.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
When to Embark on a Career in the Account Service Department of an Ad Agency?
This post addresses a recent enquiry from a young Chinese professional.
"After my graduation, I started working at a Company in their Marketing department. Now, after three years, I think that I would prefer to work in an Advertising Agency in the long-term. I heard that the most common career path is to first start out at an Ad Agency and then to switch to the client side. Do I still have the chance in an Advertising Agency?”
First, Advertising Agencies are constantly on the lookout for talent with the ability to establish strong relationships with colleagues and clients, quickly grasp an understanding of the Agency's processes and internal project management principles, and adapt to their matrix reporting structure and multidisciplinary nature of projects while working well in large teams. So, if you are this kind of person, then chances are good that you will get noticed.
Second, Advertising Agencies are oftentimes more demanding, ambiguous, and faster paced than in-house Marketing Departments. Many professionals also experience difficulty thriving in such an environment after spending too much time on the client side. Consequently, it is best for you to get your hands dirty at an Ad Agency as soon as possible.
At any career level, it is easier to exit an Advertising Agency and move to an in-house Marketing Department than vice-a-versa. But, the time spent in an Agency is always fruitful for one’s career in the Marketing field. It allows you to familiarize yourself with the Agency's processes inside and out and apply this experience in any future dealings with them. Agencies like to joke around that Ex-Agency staff makes for the worst most demanding clients.
"After my graduation, I started working at a Company in their Marketing department. Now, after three years, I think that I would prefer to work in an Advertising Agency in the long-term. I heard that the most common career path is to first start out at an Ad Agency and then to switch to the client side. Do I still have the chance in an Advertising Agency?”
First, Advertising Agencies are constantly on the lookout for talent with the ability to establish strong relationships with colleagues and clients, quickly grasp an understanding of the Agency's processes and internal project management principles, and adapt to their matrix reporting structure and multidisciplinary nature of projects while working well in large teams. So, if you are this kind of person, then chances are good that you will get noticed.
Second, Advertising Agencies are oftentimes more demanding, ambiguous, and faster paced than in-house Marketing Departments. Many professionals also experience difficulty thriving in such an environment after spending too much time on the client side. Consequently, it is best for you to get your hands dirty at an Ad Agency as soon as possible.
At any career level, it is easier to exit an Advertising Agency and move to an in-house Marketing Department than vice-a-versa. But, the time spent in an Agency is always fruitful for one’s career in the Marketing field. It allows you to familiarize yourself with the Agency's processes inside and out and apply this experience in any future dealings with them. Agencies like to joke around that Ex-Agency staff makes for the worst most demanding clients.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
How to Get an Advertising Career Going in Mainland China
Over the last year, I received regular career inquires from (non-Asian) foreigners about job prospects in Advertising Agencies in Mainland China.
Clearly, many Agencies have switched to localization as their primary recruitment strategy because of high employment costs associated with foreign staff. However, these Agencies will still continue to hire foreigners because the local talent pool is too small and Agencies have demonstrated a strong reluctance to invest in and develop the local talent. Consequently, a gap and opportunity exists.
As a result, the odds of being hired are positive. But, there are several issues to be aware of:
1. Foreigners are seldom employed in positions lower than "Director" level. Thus, candidates should have enough experience and expertise to join at least at the level of an Account Director or Creative Director.
2. Multi-Media, Digital Marketing, and Integrated Campaigns are the current key words of the Modern Advertising World. So, if you are passionate about digital and have completed excellent digital work in the past, then highlight these points in your CV.
3. Foreigners are hired primarily because of their unique professional skill set and not their Mandarin fluency. Hence, starting to study Chinese should not be your "unique selling point" in your application. It will make your everyday life a lot easier in China though.
4. Almost always, hiring managers worry about an applicant’s lack of knowledge and experience in the Chinese marketplace. So, if you have already worked and/or lived in another country for some time and have shown flexibility and adaptability and proved intercultural awareness and interpersonal skills in the past, then emphasize these points. At the same time, you must allocate time to research, read, and learn about Chinese culture and the Chinese market; advertising campaigns, the players, etc.
Other things to consider include:
1. "Make a mark at home first" until you are in a higher level position and then look into being transferred within your Company to Mainland China as an Expat; it will be less frustrating and more financially rewarding.
2. Target smaller and faster growing international newcomers in Mainland China who do not have the budget or time to grow local talent and instead prefer to tap into a pool of highly qualified international talent.
3. Connect with Recruiters; introduce yourself, hear first hand current hiring trends, and get a few leads.
4. Arrive in Mainland China for a "trial period" and take on a few freelance projects. This approach will provide an opportunity for you to show your skills in practice and get a taste of what life is truly like here.
5. If you are a Creative, try to meet with a few Creative Directors for an informational interview and use this opportunity to show them your portfolio.
Lastly, if you have the desire to show up in Mainland China early in your career, then go for it but expect to receive dismal replies or minimal interest because of lackluster concern for green foreigners. Be also aware that compared with your home country, companies in Mainland China will likely offer you less mentorship and training opportunities and compensation. This is why you must consider the impact of coming here on your long-term career and personal goals. Finally, be willing to sacrifice on more than a few points to fulfill your dream of working here and have the endurance to stick around long enough until an opportunity opens up.
Clearly, many Agencies have switched to localization as their primary recruitment strategy because of high employment costs associated with foreign staff. However, these Agencies will still continue to hire foreigners because the local talent pool is too small and Agencies have demonstrated a strong reluctance to invest in and develop the local talent. Consequently, a gap and opportunity exists.
As a result, the odds of being hired are positive. But, there are several issues to be aware of:
1. Foreigners are seldom employed in positions lower than "Director" level. Thus, candidates should have enough experience and expertise to join at least at the level of an Account Director or Creative Director.
2. Multi-Media, Digital Marketing, and Integrated Campaigns are the current key words of the Modern Advertising World. So, if you are passionate about digital and have completed excellent digital work in the past, then highlight these points in your CV.
3. Foreigners are hired primarily because of their unique professional skill set and not their Mandarin fluency. Hence, starting to study Chinese should not be your "unique selling point" in your application. It will make your everyday life a lot easier in China though.
4. Almost always, hiring managers worry about an applicant’s lack of knowledge and experience in the Chinese marketplace. So, if you have already worked and/or lived in another country for some time and have shown flexibility and adaptability and proved intercultural awareness and interpersonal skills in the past, then emphasize these points. At the same time, you must allocate time to research, read, and learn about Chinese culture and the Chinese market; advertising campaigns, the players, etc.
Other things to consider include:
1. "Make a mark at home first" until you are in a higher level position and then look into being transferred within your Company to Mainland China as an Expat; it will be less frustrating and more financially rewarding.
2. Target smaller and faster growing international newcomers in Mainland China who do not have the budget or time to grow local talent and instead prefer to tap into a pool of highly qualified international talent.
3. Connect with Recruiters; introduce yourself, hear first hand current hiring trends, and get a few leads.
4. Arrive in Mainland China for a "trial period" and take on a few freelance projects. This approach will provide an opportunity for you to show your skills in practice and get a taste of what life is truly like here.
5. If you are a Creative, try to meet with a few Creative Directors for an informational interview and use this opportunity to show them your portfolio.
Lastly, if you have the desire to show up in Mainland China early in your career, then go for it but expect to receive dismal replies or minimal interest because of lackluster concern for green foreigners. Be also aware that compared with your home country, companies in Mainland China will likely offer you less mentorship and training opportunities and compensation. This is why you must consider the impact of coming here on your long-term career and personal goals. Finally, be willing to sacrifice on more than a few points to fulfill your dream of working here and have the endurance to stick around long enough until an opportunity opens up.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Critical Talent in Advertising Agencies
Critical or strategic positions are positions that are essential for delivering the firm’s strategic capabilities. Critical talent therefore refers to the people who create the value that an organization needs to succeed. For example,
• In large pharmaceutical organizations, it is the researchers and clinicians who drive the development of “blockbuster drugs”.
• In the oil industry, it is the geologists and petroleum engineers who find and extract oil.
• In manufacturing, it is the machinists who perform precision manufacturing to Six Sigma standards.
• In retail, it is the inventory managers who get the right goods into the right stores at the right time.
• In a courier organization, it is the couriers who pick up and deliver packages.
• In a Disney amusement park, it can be the street sweepers who are in touch with millions of customers every year.
According to Becker, Huselid, and Beatty (The Differentiated Workforce), the process of identifying critical positions begins with two questions:
1. How will we compete (the firm’s strategic choice)?
2. What must we do exceptionally well to win (the firm’s strategic capabilities)?
For Advertising Agencies, the strategic choice (operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy) tends to be unclear whereas creativity is the most frequently referred to strategic capability.
Hence, for an Advertising Agency, Creatives (Copywriters, Art Directors, and Creative Directors) that are particularly exceptional in originating new concepts and ideas are the critical talent.
As a result and in line with Becker, Huselid, and Beatty recommendations, Creatives enjoy differentiated access to resources, development opportunities, and rewards. A few examples include:
1. When resources are short, there is usually an extra budget for a Freelancer to join a Creative team.
2. Account professionals are often told to keep Creatives' happy, inspire them, and make their jobs easier.
3. Creatives get to go to international Award Shows.
4. A Creative Director may receive as much as twice the money that an Account Director or Planning Director.
Do you know any Agencies that would perceive Strategic Planning or Account Servicing as their strategic capability? Are there any Agencies that would view their Planners (who devise the strategies for clients' brands) or Account Service staff (who have direct contact with the customer and must make continual decisions that impact not only the client's satisfaction but also the efficiency and effectiveness of the project's delivery) as critical talent?
• In large pharmaceutical organizations, it is the researchers and clinicians who drive the development of “blockbuster drugs”.
• In the oil industry, it is the geologists and petroleum engineers who find and extract oil.
• In manufacturing, it is the machinists who perform precision manufacturing to Six Sigma standards.
• In retail, it is the inventory managers who get the right goods into the right stores at the right time.
• In a courier organization, it is the couriers who pick up and deliver packages.
• In a Disney amusement park, it can be the street sweepers who are in touch with millions of customers every year.
According to Becker, Huselid, and Beatty (The Differentiated Workforce), the process of identifying critical positions begins with two questions:
1. How will we compete (the firm’s strategic choice)?
2. What must we do exceptionally well to win (the firm’s strategic capabilities)?
For Advertising Agencies, the strategic choice (operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy) tends to be unclear whereas creativity is the most frequently referred to strategic capability.
Hence, for an Advertising Agency, Creatives (Copywriters, Art Directors, and Creative Directors) that are particularly exceptional in originating new concepts and ideas are the critical talent.
As a result and in line with Becker, Huselid, and Beatty recommendations, Creatives enjoy differentiated access to resources, development opportunities, and rewards. A few examples include:
1. When resources are short, there is usually an extra budget for a Freelancer to join a Creative team.
2. Account professionals are often told to keep Creatives' happy, inspire them, and make their jobs easier.
3. Creatives get to go to international Award Shows.
4. A Creative Director may receive as much as twice the money that an Account Director or Planning Director.
Do you know any Agencies that would perceive Strategic Planning or Account Servicing as their strategic capability? Are there any Agencies that would view their Planners (who devise the strategies for clients' brands) or Account Service staff (who have direct contact with the customer and must make continual decisions that impact not only the client's satisfaction but also the efficiency and effectiveness of the project's delivery) as critical talent?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A, B, and C Players (The Differentiated Workforce)
Adding on to my previous post on A, B, and C positions, here are some thoughts on the concept of A, B, and C players.
1. People believe that they give their best effort and deliver good performance. While self-confidence is abundant in China, self-awareness is scarce. As a result, staff has difficulty to realize that their performance is simply not good enough and hence often revert to blaming their Managers for partiality.
2. People prefer to be treated better than others or at least equally. Usually, high performers are proponents of high performance management systems, while low performers are against them. Nonetheless, when ambitions are incommensurate with skills, employees still expect healthy rewards. So the story goes, if you give one person a one month bonus, another person would expect a one month bonus as well. If you decide to recognize the two good performers out of three employees working in the same role, then you have a problem on your hands in China.
3. People will resign if they feel disappointed about the lack of appreciation/recognition or dissatisfied with staffing decisions. Resignations are an opportunity for the Company to upgrade the skills of their workforce. Though, in industries where most companies pursue stealing talent over training and developing it, one can find themselves without many Candidates to choose from. As talent is hard to find, it may be still better to have a poor/mediocre performer onboard instead of a vacant position. Then, a job done slower, less efficient, or with less quality is still better than no output at all.
4. People tend to be very protective of one another. Employees tend to be immune toward the weak performance of colleagues, particularly if they maintain a close social relationship. Thus, for some staff, execution alone and showing up to work already constitutes good performance. Consequently, performance-based terminations are viewed as a display of lack of sympathy toward the fired individual and not a result of their poor performance.
Finally, several questions arise regarding the implementation of A, B, and C positions:
• As real people, individuals have a high self-concept. How do you go around labeling someone a C player?
• Top talent wants to team up with top talent. Do A players really want to collaborate with B or C players (since A players in B and C positions are not affordable)? How do you keep A players motivated when you ask them to work together with B or C players as in this example, Creative Director (A player) works with relatively junior Account Service team challenged by high turnover rates and low professional capabilities?
• Can your company outsource all of the C positions?
1. People believe that they give their best effort and deliver good performance. While self-confidence is abundant in China, self-awareness is scarce. As a result, staff has difficulty to realize that their performance is simply not good enough and hence often revert to blaming their Managers for partiality.
2. People prefer to be treated better than others or at least equally. Usually, high performers are proponents of high performance management systems, while low performers are against them. Nonetheless, when ambitions are incommensurate with skills, employees still expect healthy rewards. So the story goes, if you give one person a one month bonus, another person would expect a one month bonus as well. If you decide to recognize the two good performers out of three employees working in the same role, then you have a problem on your hands in China.
3. People will resign if they feel disappointed about the lack of appreciation/recognition or dissatisfied with staffing decisions. Resignations are an opportunity for the Company to upgrade the skills of their workforce. Though, in industries where most companies pursue stealing talent over training and developing it, one can find themselves without many Candidates to choose from. As talent is hard to find, it may be still better to have a poor/mediocre performer onboard instead of a vacant position. Then, a job done slower, less efficient, or with less quality is still better than no output at all.
4. People tend to be very protective of one another. Employees tend to be immune toward the weak performance of colleagues, particularly if they maintain a close social relationship. Thus, for some staff, execution alone and showing up to work already constitutes good performance. Consequently, performance-based terminations are viewed as a display of lack of sympathy toward the fired individual and not a result of their poor performance.
Finally, several questions arise regarding the implementation of A, B, and C positions:
• As real people, individuals have a high self-concept. How do you go around labeling someone a C player?
• Top talent wants to team up with top talent. Do A players really want to collaborate with B or C players (since A players in B and C positions are not affordable)? How do you keep A players motivated when you ask them to work together with B or C players as in this example, Creative Director (A player) works with relatively junior Account Service team challenged by high turnover rates and low professional capabilities?
• Can your company outsource all of the C positions?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A, B, and C positions (The Differentiated Workforce)
In their latest book, “The Differentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact”, Huselid, Becker, and Beatty continue to promote differentiation as the key to successfully managing the workforce. In particular, they suggest that managers and HR pros identify truly strategic roles in their businesses and then focus on managing the variability in employee performance (A, B, and C players).
Identifying strategic roles might be a challenge for many companies that have traditionally tended to label senior jobs as such and instituted differentiated pay, development opportunities, and working conditions. Standard perks to underline the importance of those strategic roles have included assigned parking spaces, training retreats, and enclosed office spaces (or at least “wooden” floors as opposed to linoleum).
It goes to show that companies have also been successful in differentiating between front line and back office employees. After all, the lack of a direct link to business strategy and focus on servicing “internal customers” has created many opportunities for underinvestment in Traditional HR, Admin, IT, and Finance. For example:
• Physical isolation from the revenue departments. Did you ever need to walk through a dark corridor or turn your hips to make your way between cabinets to reach the HR or IT department?
• Second-hand equipment and furnishings. Did you ever see back office staff sitting at their old desks and on their old chairs even after the Company’s move to a new office whereby everyone else received new stuff?
• Unsophisticated and uninspiring interior design. The grand lobbies and waiting areas abound and at the same time 2m by 2m cubicles for sales professionals have defined “what’s normal” in corporations worldwide. But, did you ever leave behind the brightly painted walls in the front office area and step into the grey painted world of the back office?
While no changes are to expect for back office (sorry if I am too pessimistic here), front line should be reshaped by the new kind of differentiation. Companies should differentiate between positions based on their strategic significance while recognizing that an entry-level, customer-facing position may be more strategic than the obvious C-suite jobs. I am looking forward to more progressive HR departments' that not only intend to create a workforce that competitors cannot easily copy but also guide this process forward.
Identifying strategic roles might be a challenge for many companies that have traditionally tended to label senior jobs as such and instituted differentiated pay, development opportunities, and working conditions. Standard perks to underline the importance of those strategic roles have included assigned parking spaces, training retreats, and enclosed office spaces (or at least “wooden” floors as opposed to linoleum).
It goes to show that companies have also been successful in differentiating between front line and back office employees. After all, the lack of a direct link to business strategy and focus on servicing “internal customers” has created many opportunities for underinvestment in Traditional HR, Admin, IT, and Finance. For example:
• Physical isolation from the revenue departments. Did you ever need to walk through a dark corridor or turn your hips to make your way between cabinets to reach the HR or IT department?
• Second-hand equipment and furnishings. Did you ever see back office staff sitting at their old desks and on their old chairs even after the Company’s move to a new office whereby everyone else received new stuff?
• Unsophisticated and uninspiring interior design. The grand lobbies and waiting areas abound and at the same time 2m by 2m cubicles for sales professionals have defined “what’s normal” in corporations worldwide. But, did you ever leave behind the brightly painted walls in the front office area and step into the grey painted world of the back office?
While no changes are to expect for back office (sorry if I am too pessimistic here), front line should be reshaped by the new kind of differentiation. Companies should differentiate between positions based on their strategic significance while recognizing that an entry-level, customer-facing position may be more strategic than the obvious C-suite jobs. I am looking forward to more progressive HR departments' that not only intend to create a workforce that competitors cannot easily copy but also guide this process forward.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Improving Recruitment Work
For recruiting the "best" talent, good is never good enough. Continuous improvement is mandatory to outsmart the competition. There are several key points to evaluate and redesign for greater in-house recruitment results. These include:
Industry Knowledge – If the recruiter fails to name the company’s competitors, is unable to describe the service offerings inside and out, or misunderstands competency models, then their performance will suffer. To close this sort of gap, the recruiter must, for example, research the industry, browse the company’s website, review all marketing collaterals, and talk to colleagues just about everything concerning the Company.
Recruitment Channel Management - Recruitment channel management entails tracking, analyzing, and forecasting application and candidate flows from all internal & external recruitment channels. It helps the HR department to evaluate channels, allocate their recruitment budget, and make more informed decisions. Therefore, recruiters should collect data on how candidates find out about open positions and look for correlations between the channels used and performance of new hires.
Candidate Sourcing – In-house recruiters tend to prefer and rely on screening over sourcing. After all, being reactive is much easier than being proactive. Nonetheless, recruiters need to overcome their barrier to cold calling and ask every candidate for a candidate referral.
Interview Skills – Hiring managers and even recruiters are often untrained to perform meaningful job interviews and as a result are frequently anxious about making a poor and expensive hiring mistake. During the interview, interviewers should try to get to know the person instead of just verifying information on the CV. Importantly, an interview is the recruiter’s chance to voice their major concerns and have them addressed by the candidate. In a talent short market, recruiters must unequivocally identify candidates that will deliver stellar performance and not ones that look good on paper. Thus, instead of looking for reasons to reject the candidate, try to find reasons why the candidate could be a good hire.
Candidate Assessment/Evaluation – More often than not, hiring managers and recruiters settle down for intuitive hiring decisions based on "gut" feeling and employment history. Surprisingly as well, references are not checked regularly in China and therefore may lead to hiring candidates for positions (or even higher) that s/he has already been fired at. Furthermore, a recruiter's reliance on the candidate's experience and having done it before can be ill-advised since it does not necessarily mean that the candidate knows how to do it right.
Report Design and Analysis – Since statutory reporting does not apply to soft HR, report design and analysis has been quite a sluggish and underdeveloped art. To start, HR pros need to determine:
• Which metrics help them the most to guide execution of the business strategy,
• Which parameters can be constituted as key performance indicators,
• Which items can ensure high quality of the recruitment process, and
• Which points will demonstrate the strengths of the company as an employer in the talent market.
Examples worth considering include:
• Percentage of candidates considered high performers after 3 months.
• Number of cold calls made, how many CVs were secured, and how many interviews were held per week.
• Diversity as a measure of candidate quality.
• Percentage of candidates that come from key competitors.
Company Culture Promotion – Company culture promotion starts by posting a recruitment advertisement and for hired candidates it never stops. In China, trying to learn about the company culture in an interview setting is sometimes just impossible. The recruiter may not be able to deliver a meaningful introduction about the company's services, clients, mission, and values either. It is vital then to take the time to prepare the recruiter fully and check their work and progress regularly to “keep them on their toes".
Team Work – The greatest inefficiency of the recruitment function is the lack of team work and closed down communication. What happens is that a recruiter keeps searching for a candidate even though the position has been either put on hold, cancelled, or a suitable candidate was already identified by the hiring manager but the recruiter was never informed (even though the HR Manager was). This sort of process is embarrassing, confusing, and highly inefficient. Making sure that everyone is abreast of the latest is the prerequisite for HR to look competent.
Industry Knowledge – If the recruiter fails to name the company’s competitors, is unable to describe the service offerings inside and out, or misunderstands competency models, then their performance will suffer. To close this sort of gap, the recruiter must, for example, research the industry, browse the company’s website, review all marketing collaterals, and talk to colleagues just about everything concerning the Company.
Recruitment Channel Management - Recruitment channel management entails tracking, analyzing, and forecasting application and candidate flows from all internal & external recruitment channels. It helps the HR department to evaluate channels, allocate their recruitment budget, and make more informed decisions. Therefore, recruiters should collect data on how candidates find out about open positions and look for correlations between the channels used and performance of new hires.
Candidate Sourcing – In-house recruiters tend to prefer and rely on screening over sourcing. After all, being reactive is much easier than being proactive. Nonetheless, recruiters need to overcome their barrier to cold calling and ask every candidate for a candidate referral.
Interview Skills – Hiring managers and even recruiters are often untrained to perform meaningful job interviews and as a result are frequently anxious about making a poor and expensive hiring mistake. During the interview, interviewers should try to get to know the person instead of just verifying information on the CV. Importantly, an interview is the recruiter’s chance to voice their major concerns and have them addressed by the candidate. In a talent short market, recruiters must unequivocally identify candidates that will deliver stellar performance and not ones that look good on paper. Thus, instead of looking for reasons to reject the candidate, try to find reasons why the candidate could be a good hire.
Candidate Assessment/Evaluation – More often than not, hiring managers and recruiters settle down for intuitive hiring decisions based on "gut" feeling and employment history. Surprisingly as well, references are not checked regularly in China and therefore may lead to hiring candidates for positions (or even higher) that s/he has already been fired at. Furthermore, a recruiter's reliance on the candidate's experience and having done it before can be ill-advised since it does not necessarily mean that the candidate knows how to do it right.
Report Design and Analysis – Since statutory reporting does not apply to soft HR, report design and analysis has been quite a sluggish and underdeveloped art. To start, HR pros need to determine:
• Which metrics help them the most to guide execution of the business strategy,
• Which parameters can be constituted as key performance indicators,
• Which items can ensure high quality of the recruitment process, and
• Which points will demonstrate the strengths of the company as an employer in the talent market.
Examples worth considering include:
• Percentage of candidates considered high performers after 3 months.
• Number of cold calls made, how many CVs were secured, and how many interviews were held per week.
• Diversity as a measure of candidate quality.
• Percentage of candidates that come from key competitors.
Company Culture Promotion – Company culture promotion starts by posting a recruitment advertisement and for hired candidates it never stops. In China, trying to learn about the company culture in an interview setting is sometimes just impossible. The recruiter may not be able to deliver a meaningful introduction about the company's services, clients, mission, and values either. It is vital then to take the time to prepare the recruiter fully and check their work and progress regularly to “keep them on their toes".
Team Work – The greatest inefficiency of the recruitment function is the lack of team work and closed down communication. What happens is that a recruiter keeps searching for a candidate even though the position has been either put on hold, cancelled, or a suitable candidate was already identified by the hiring manager but the recruiter was never informed (even though the HR Manager was). This sort of process is embarrassing, confusing, and highly inefficient. Making sure that everyone is abreast of the latest is the prerequisite for HR to look competent.
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