Q&A • ANDy BENTOTE, MICHAEL PAGE INTERNATIONAL
Michael Page’s managing director of northern and eastern China on the challenges of recruiting top- notch talent
New recruits A
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ndy Bentote is managing director of northern and eastern China for Michael Page International, a global recruit-
ment consultancy. With more than 16 years of experience in recruitment, Bentote first joined Michael Page in the UK under its graduate trainee scheme. Moving up the ranks, he held several management positions and was previous- ly regional director for Michael Page engineer- ing and supply chain before taking on his new position in China in 2009. Bentote spoke with China Economic Review about the strong state of China’s job market and the challenges this may pose for companies looking to attract top talent.
: How would you describe China’s job mar- ket right now?
: Certainly in terms of the number of jobs that are available and the growth that com-
panies are looking to achieve, it’s very strong. In the first quarter, job vacancies were up 40% from the fourth quarter of 2010, and 61% of companies said they were planning on significantly increasing their staff numbers. I expect the second quarter to be even busier, as there aren’t any major public holidays then. From a global perspective, there are issues due to the terrible
earthquake and tsunami in Japan, unrest in the Middle East, as well as the slower pace of the recovery in Europe and the US. But generally,
China hasn’t been affected – and in fact, it’s just getting stronger. Internally, there are potential issues with wage increases, inflation and food prices rising, but from everything we’ve seen in the first quarter, it’s very active.
Q
: Why do you think China
hasn’t been affected by these global issues?
A 10 China Economic Review • May 2011
: I think you have to
look at Asia as a whole region, which is clearly
FINANCIAL GROWTH: Banks are making a bigger push into China, but the country is short on expertise
strong. While economic conditions are looking pretty tough in the rest of the world, companies are putting more effort and investment here. China is clearly a key player on the continent. Te country’s domestic demand is so huge, and companies are still trying to catch up with that demand.
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: Given all the job opportunities coming into the market, how high has turnover
been so far in 2011?
: I wouldn’t say turnover has been high; it certainly isn’t like 2009. But companies are
being forced to pay as much attention to hiring as they do to retaining staff. I think there has been a push to improve employee training and coaching, and to offer employees better career development opportunities. As always, salaries and packages are a big consideration – there is increasing demand for higher basic salaries and more performance-related packages, bonuses and share options in order to hold onto people.
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: How have candidates’ expectations of their employers changed?
: What’s changed a little bit is, if you look at the situation pre-financial crisis, generally
candidates were focused on money and getting a higher salary. It was very common for people to move jobs quickly to get a pay rise. But then, those who moved around a lot suddenly found it increasingly difficult to find a job. I think candidates still see salary as a priority, but there’s more of an emphasis on ‘Where’s this job going to take me? What kind of coaching am I going to get?’
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