The passing of the Employment Contract Law, drafted by the National People's Congress of China, will go into effect in 2008. The law, the first of its kind, allows the AFTCU (All-China Federation of Trade Unions) to have a say in many company policies including how employees are evaluated, termination of employees, and the procedures published in employee manuals. The law also restricts companies from laying off more than a certain number of employees at any one time.

This new law not only impacts current employees, it also impacts new hires who expect competitive wages, job security, and fair treatment from supervisors and others. China and other countries in Asia are still considered new territory for many medium to large companies trying to establish themselves in the international marketplace. So, what new obstacles will there be for those who have to find qualified candidates to fill positions as they become available?

New markets, same concerns
As a recruiter, you face the same recruiting challenges when recruiting in Asia as you would in your own country. Some of these challenges include:

• Hiring qualified candidates
• Finding innovative candidates
• Developing skills assessments
• Interviewing
• New hire evaluations
• Measuring HR metrics
• Training
• Maintaining productivity

But many of these challenges are amplified by outside factors such as:

• Language barriers
• Social customs
• Differences in work ethic
• Differences in education
• Less control over employee evaluations, procedures, and employee termination

It is these secondary challenges that make recruiting in China and other Asian countries difficult. Being able to adapt to these challenges can help your company cope with these issues and hopefully allow you to hire more qualified candidates over time.

Overcoming recruitment obstacles
If your company has decided to send recruiters to Asia, one of the best ways to overcome these obstacles is through training recruiters beforehand. Topics should include:

• Teaching local and social customs
• How to relate to potential candidates
• The importance of background checks to make sure the education candidates have received is comparable to what is expected on the job
• Providing information and updates about changes to laws that are passed or altered
• Offering foreign language instruction

Preparing recruiters to work in foreign countries can help reduce the time spent on the hiring process by finding qualified candidates quickly.

Hiring recruiters who reside in China and other Asian countries is another way companies can fill open positions. While this practice cuts down on training recruiters and sending them to Asia, finding top recruiters and making sure they are being productive is an ongoing issue. This is the main reason why many companies are sending over one or two representatives to find candidates and oversee the hiring process.

Impact of the employment contract law
Even though the employment contract law was created to protect employee rights, recruiting in China may become more difficult due to the limitations companies will face. Some new challenges employers will face include: terminating employees who fail to produce, the ability to downsize by reducing the number of employees, the employee evaluation process, and the amount of control companies have when enforcing procedures in the workplace.

While hiring the best candidates possible is your goal, a bad hire will slip through the cracks every so often. But under the new law, you may not be able to terminate employees as easily as you would have in other countries. As a result, more effort and focus will have to be placed on:

• Recruiting
• Training
• Supervision
• Methods to increase productivity
• Investigations into why employees are not performing well

Since there could be more than one reason as to why employees are not being as productive as they should be, you may have to examine your recruiting methods, employee training, and any other factors involved.

Recruiting metrics
Creating metrics that measure common recruiting practices, percentage of candidates who pass assessment testing, the amount of time it takes for new hires to begin, new hire performance, and turnover rates can help overcome many recruiting challenges in China.

It is through metrics that you will discover secondary challenges that lead to larger obstacles down the road.

For example, if you have difficulty communicating with applicants, they may not fully understand the qualifications of the job. And while they may have the educational background, they may not have the prior work experience needed to perform day to day tasks.

Creating a more efficient screening process by finding better ways to communicate with applicants can reduce the number of bad hires. Many times, the ability to write and speak English is a requirement, especially in customer service positions. By prioritizing your job requirements, you can begin reducing the number of applicants who are not qualified by simply moving English language skills to the top of your list.

Metrics used in new markets like China may be different from previous metrics because of secondary issues such as miscommunication. Tracking how often this happens and developing new procedures for recruiters will help alleviate this problem.

Markets continue to grow
There is a lot of potential for companies that want to operate in China. Once recruitment issues have been taken care of, you will find a workforce that is filled with talented people who are looking for work in many industries. As the laws in China and other countries change, the way you recruit and maintain your workforce must also change through analyzing, adapting, and improving recruitment methods that have worked well in the U.S. and in other countries.