Learn About Employee Retention in China
China has a significant issue with low employee retention for companies in different industries. A high percentage of employees left their company in recent years. Also, there is low employee engagement.
Hiring and employee retention seems like an achievable and simple undertaking considering that some strategic approaches and methodologies are available. However, it is not the same in China.
A lot of informed entrepreneurs know about the substantial investment potential in China because of its fast-growing economy. However, you must know how to increase employee retention if you want to set up a business in China.
How to Increase Employee Retention in China
- Perform an Internal HR Audit – The HR managers must go over their current policies, procedures, and all documents to make sure they are complying with the recent regulatory and legal developments, and align their HR strategies with it.
Most of the time, a questionnaire can be useful in gathering information that is unavailable and can be crucial in acquiring insight in making critical decisions.
It could help with the causes of why employees are not content, operation gaps, and improvements that can be made.
- Leadership – The employees in China are used to different styles of leadership compared to the West. Based on various surveys, Chinese employees mostly respect leaders that show a lot of care, power, authority, and strategy. Even if a lot of Chinese employees want to be independent, they are mostly reliant their leader’s guidance and direction.
Western companies might fail to adapt to the leadership style of the Chinese culture, and will most likely face a vast employee retention problem.
- Competitive bonus system – International companies employ locals and foreigners. It could promote employee retention, especially the locals can receive a competitive salary package. It could also motivate employees to stay if there is a bonus system that gives them opportunities to increase their salary based on how they perform.
- Chinese company culture awareness – Traditional Chinese culture is still being practised in the workplace regardless if there are rapid changes in recent decades. The foreign employers must be at the same pace as the local employer customs. On holidays, employers usually give employees gifts. If it is the Mid-Autumn Festival, employers give their employees mooncakes, but some employers provide money in a red envelope instead.
- Employee recognition – It is essential to make sure that there is a system for employee recognition. Since the job market is very volatile, goal setting is necessary on the performance criteria. It makes sure that they always keep their priorities and the goals are adjustable anytime.
There are reliable and genuine methods that employers can adapt to that can help with goal setting.
- Work-life balance – Your company must be careful not to encourage a culture that is all about rewards and available 24/7. Do not expect employees to work long hours regularly yet available every time you call them as this will not help employee retention. Your company culture must promote a healthy work-life balance because it is vital to job satisfaction. Employees must know that the management understands they have a life outside work. Encourage staff to take a vacation. For late-night work, you can allow them to arrive late at work the next day if extended hours were needed to finish the project during the previous day.
You must take note of these employee retention strategies if you want to set up a business in China.
