Major senior executives congregate to discuss global senior executive talent needs in first-ever high-level forum in China.
Over the course of the past decade, the eyes of the international community have all been trained on China. With this vast country’s meteoric rise to global economic prominence, and the growth and expansion of internationalism in Chinese corporations, the potential workforce and talent pool which China has to offer has been the focus of much speculation and discussion. Nearly 400,000 Chinese students studied abroad in 2012, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education, an increase of nearly 20% from the previous year. With the continued globalisation of Chinese talent, corporations from across APAC and the rest of the world are looking to China for answers to talent and retention issues.
For the first time, China recently hosted an event focused on senior executives and high-level management talent needs. A collaboration between the China Global Talents Society (CGTS) and the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), the forum brought together more than 100 senior executives from across the world. Representatives and leaders from major international organisations, including Microsoft, Baidu, Maersk and McKinsey, were in attendance to discuss key executive talent issues across the globe.
In the bull pen
The forum, held in Beijing on 11 November, was placed squarely in the middle of the landmark third plenum of the 18th Central Committee, which has been hailed throughout the media as a revelation and historical starting point for China’s new economic growth. Amongst this setting of reform and resolutions, the forum allowed executives the exceedingly rare opportunity to share their views with key government officials. The gathering brought senior executives together with academic experts from both China and abroad to discuss with government entities the challenges in recruitment, development and retention of executive talent, with particular focus on China and its pursuit of global ambitions.
Peter Felix, President of AESC explained, “This was a first for the executive search profession to come shoulder to shoulder with key players in China’s burgeoning quest for globalisation. A very frank exchange of views by both Government and corporate executives was encouraging and indicated that there is a determination to upgrade key environmental and cultural aspects of the recruitment proposition in attracting senior executive talent to China.”
Taking the bull by the horns
Over the course of the forum, panellists discussed the myriad issues surrounding the recruitment of executive talent to China. Topics from tax law to pollution, retirement policies to HR management—and everything in between—were examined. While the discussion naturally focused primarily on the challenges and issues of senior executive talent and recruitment, some forum participants emphasised a more positive outlook. Rachel Zhang of McKinsey, for example, turned the direction towards a rosier future by indicating that the global demand for top talent would mean brighter prospects for globalised candidates.
Such candidates were a continual focal point of the forum discussions, particularly in regards to the retention of Chinese nationals returning to China from abroad. According to recent statistics released by the Centre for China & Globalisation, approximately 70% of overseas Chinese students returned to China in 2012, an increase of nearly 50% from 2011. As more and more overseas Chinese return, it is up to corporations to utilise this new pool of diversified and globalised talent.
Bill Farrell, Partner at global executive search firm Boyden commented, “If the individual is unable to have personal impact, they will look elsewhere. It’s important for firms to live up to the expectations they set.”
Hitting the bull’s-eye
By gathering together such a diverse range of experts in the field of senior executive talent, the forum presented a unique opportunity for the sharing of insight and potential collaboration on policy and corporate change. Zhou Guolin, Deputy Director General, Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Science Park indicated that the event had been a great success in providing a platform to communicate and establish a much-needed bridge between Chinese businesses and international search firms in the discussion of talent issues.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
