Tag Archives: RMG Selection

Career Builder: Exceptional Talent

Friday, 11 March 2016 03:19

What is a rising star? What does Talent truly mean?

In a competitive market for white-collar workers in China’s Eastern Coastal cities and now second and third tier cities, we hear a lot about the word ‘talent’. Talent, in the vernacular of the white-collar masses is casually taken to mean people who are very good at their jobs. We hear a lot of phrases like “Discovering Talent” “Asia Talent Conference” etc.However in truth, when people use the word talent in this casual way, what they are really referring to is ‘above-average’.

Q1: Firstly, can you describe what you mean by exceptional talent?
A1: Examples would be Sajid Javid a 47 year old British Cabinet minister, who at the age of 25 became the youngest Vice-President of Chase Manhatten Bank, and was a multi-millionaire soon after. An extreme example would be Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and an obvious example would be Jack Ma in China. Steve Jobs of course would be a particularly good example (if you’ve read the books and films about him).
Q2: So in your view and experience [Robert], what are some of the characteristics, which are unique to people who have exceptional talent?
A2:Work hard; have a good education; turn up on time; get good reviews.

Follow-up questions:

Do we want exceptional people then if they’re so difficult to manage?
Do we want exceptional talent if it comes with an exceptionally poor attitude?
Should we build companies with a mixture of talent levels? And if so why?
How do we motivate exceptional talent?
What if you do not fit into the “exceptional talent” box? How can you still stand out and be (above average)?
Is exceptional talent something you are born with or is it related to the way you are raised / childhood? – Is it “trainable” (quite Chinese parenthood question)

Dealing with Stress in the Year of the Monkey

Thursday, 25 February 2016 08:58

It could be that the economy is booming and there’s pressure to drive a better car, live in a better house and wear more expensive clothes. It could also be the case that the economy is tanking and there is pressure to stay put and maintain a quality of life. There is even a possibility your family is encouraging you to “take it easy” and “have a rest”, even though this may not be practical. It is hard to dispute that in modern China, competition and pressure abound. In this edition of career builder, we address a number of issues surrounding:

Pressure, what is reasonable, and when does it become stress?
Should we take drastic action to deal with pressure and stress?
Is pressure and stress part of the normal pattern of working life?
What can we do to relieve stress?
What are the benefits or relieving stress?

Notice Period

Thursday, 21 January 2016 04:57

A special period in your career is the notice period which is the time after you submit your resignation letter to your boss but before you leave your company. We will focus on this special time and give you guideline today. CEO of RMG Selection, Robert Parkinson is going to share some valuable suggestions.

How long should it usually be? Is it important for your career development?
What’s the employer’s expectation during the notice period?
What should the employee do in the notice period?
What shouldn’t the employee do in the notice period?

Grasp the Remuneration Report

Wednesday, 13 January 2016 10:42

很多公司都在2015年感受到了一丝寒意。根据国家统计局的报告，2015年全国GDP增幅继续下滑，更令人担忧的是北、上、广、深这些一线城市的GDP增幅下降幅度将近30%（见图1）。面对员工涨薪的迫切期待，面对预算及有效激励员工的双重压力，制定新一年的薪资方案就显得尤为重要。

为什么要借把“尺子”说话

或许很多人会问，决定调薪的首要因素应该是企业经营状况。效益好可以调高，效益不好可以调低，为什么还要收集、整理甚至是花钱购买外部数据呢？

其实，涨薪也好，降薪也罢，这些都是企业自主经营的理性选择。但是，作为年度调薪过程中德一把标尺，“外部数据”丈量出的不仅仅是收入的增减幅度，同时也可以丈量出人心聚散的距离。

通过解读外部薪酬数据，人力资源工作者（以下简称“HR”）能够全面了解本地区人力资源市场，特别是同行业中德薪资行情。在企业确定薪酬总额标准时，适当调整薪资结构，将企业实际支付能力与员工基本生活状况相结合，兼顾雇主与雇员的利益，保持企业在市场的竞争力，达到最佳的薪酬福利激励效果。

可以帮助企业了解本地区劳动力市场中、特别是同行业中的普遍的薪资行情。企业在确定薪资总额标准时，可以参照薪资报告中当前本地区同类型、同行业企业的有关指标，如，平均薪资总额、平均薪资水平和职位薪资信息等，与企业实际支付能力以及员工基本生活费用状况相结合综合考虑，兼顾企业与雇员的利益，最后确定出一个合理而明智的薪资总额标准，并保持公司在市场上的人才竞争力，同时进行薪资结构的调整，达到最优薪酬福利激励效果。

知己知彼，内外兼收

“知己知彼百战不殆”，这也是薪酬福利调整设计的一句真理。在开始分析报告数据之前，先将本公司目前的状况理清十分必要。这是因为数据是外部的，而设计出的调薪方案却要作用于企业内部，不管外部数据多花哨，都要与企业内部实际状况正相关。此外，外部薪酬数据一方面体现在是否与公司现状相吻合，另一方面则利于内外薪酬水平的比较。

对这项工作，HR便需要全面掌握公司内部具体信息，包括：人员总数、薪酬总数、薪酬预算、层级与部门划分、具体岗位职与绩效指标，公司所在区域，企业性质、本年度的公司利润、下一年度的经营目标等。

需要注意的是，内外部数据综合比较得越详细，调薪方案的误差就会越小。在参照外部薪酬水平时，不妨针对不同职级，选取不同分位的外部薪酬数据进行横向比较。在确定薪酬各级级幅、薪档时，还应体现出对员工的激励性，既要让优秀的工作有上升空间，又要为新员工定薪留有余地，要尽可能多地将员工现有薪酬也包括其内。

外部数据，去粗取精

磨刀不误砍柴工这句话用在薪酬福利调整设计上一点儿不假。在大规模分析计算之前，HR应反复盘点一下已经掌握的材料，尤其不能遗漏一些关键信息。比如：被调企业的基本状况、薪资和福利保险政策、人事聘用制度、职位薪资水平。其中被调企业的基本状况应注意：企业的类型、企业的规模、企业所在地、以及样本企业、职位的数量。职位薪资水平应包括：所调查的每个职位的数量及简要职位说明、薪资范围即薪资最高和最低值、以平均数或百分位数来体现的薪金数额，如果涉及薪资涨幅制定，则报告中也最好有相应的涨幅信息。

以上各项基本内容有任何一项不准确或者被忽略都有可能对最终的分析结果造成重大改变，例如笔者曾经与一家美资500强企业讨论年度调薪的方案。笔者提出根据薪酬报告该行业普遍的涨薪幅度平均为7.8%，但该公司人力资源部提供的数据却为10%，人力资源总监和财务总监都对这样的误差提出了质疑。于是，我问人力资源总监：“请问您的报告的调查样本公司是否包括行业内的国企呢？”，不出我所料，他们的报告主要是针对外资企业的，而我们的报告是不分区分企业类型的全方位的资料，当把这个情况解释出来之后，全场的与会人员都表示出了理解和认同。

通过这个小例子我们可以看出一个属性的改变对于一份数据的解读会产生巨大的偏差。所以准确地提取、使用内外部薪酬数据对于整个年度调薪的效率至关重要（见图2）。

数据分析，确定调薪策略

做好了之前的准备工作就，就可以着手薪酬数据分析了。

首先，将已经收集和了解到的岗位进行分级排序，列出职位矩阵，用于确定岗位间的相对价值，级别越高就越应该适用于较高市场水平的薪酬。

其次，将收集到的岗位数据进行薪酬水平取值分级，每个不同岗位都至少应该分三个等级，即：市场较高水平（75分位）、平均水平（50分位）、中下水平（25分位）。由于收集到的原始数据都是一些零散样本，会存在个别样本过大或过小而影响均值的情况，所以要清除外部数据中偏离度较大的数据，然后将这些岗位与企业内部岗位等级相对应，并按照从小到大的顺序排序分级、记录（见表1）。

在收集薪酬数据时，并不能够对所有类型的职位进行调研，即不能涵盖企业内部的所有岗位，为了进一步验证薪酬的可靠性，就需要对这些数据进行回归分析。这里有两点需要注意：

第一，要绘制外部数据的散点图，坐标轴上每一个外部数据都对应一个职级。

第二，根据散点的分布，绘制出散点的指数分布曲线，求出指数分布公式和方差。这样，就能得出一张完整的外部薪酬曲线分布图，从统计学角度看，当方差大于0.7时，相关数据既可以被采用（见图3）。

这样进行回归分析之后，可以大大减少单个数据带来的误差，同时可以根据拟合出的薪酬曲线公式，求出任意职级的外部薪酬水平的分布值，这样就可以弥补外部薪酬数据调查过程中取样的不足的缺陷（见表2）。

如果仅仅靠做数据分析就能得出最优的薪酬策略，那么HR大概就可以被计算机所取代了。设计定制化的策略师HR的一项重要工作，它的好处就是可以根据公司发展的不同阶段、外部环境的不同变化、预期制定最适合的薪酬体系。

同时，在同一个组织内，也可以采用多种薪酬策略。不同的业务单元可能处于不同的生命周期。因此，不同的业务单元或职能部门也应制定不同的薪酬策略，如薪酬领先型策略、跟随性策略和混合型策略。比如：有的公司愿意整体对标市场中高位值，以保持人才的整体竞争力，比如谷歌、苹果，也有的公司倾向于一般员工对标市场较低分位以控制人工成本，中高层管理者与核心人才对标市场中位值或较高分位，用以吸引保留优秀人才。

“高”与“低”，并不是薪酬策略的全部内容，它还包括薪资福利结构的调整，比如总体薪酬中各种成分的比例关系，包含职位的基本工资、各项补贴、变动奖金、中长期激励、各项福利等。随着市场竞争日趋激烈，越来越多的企业寄希望于通过薪酬结构来进行人员激励，针对不同的职能类型也可以有不同的结构和激励模式。例如，通常高级核心员工的薪酬中加入中长期激励的部分，销售人员的总体薪酬中变动奖金的比例就会比较大等。有的企业甚至针对销售团队设置专门的激励设计岗位，专人专职负责这一部分的薪酬激励体系。

通过对外部薪酬数据的解读，企业也可以窥见行业内都在采取哪些薪酬策略，以此保持公司整体薪酬在市场上的竞争力，当然你也可以选择在某一个部门或某一个环节（如研发）的采用有竞争优势的薪酬策略，以及体现公司各职位间的价值差异以及良性竞争性。

本文作者：RMG Selection （罗迈国际）运营经理

RMG Recruitment Insider Report on China

Wednesday, 13 January 2016 04:23

The RMG Recruitment Insider Survey is a quarterly project to help the public gain more insight into the recruitment market of different businesses in mainland China. The data is collected from more than 1,600 respondents who are working at ten different types of companies in ten cities and 20 industries. All the results collected come from HR managers, linemanagers or “C level” executives.

The data includes headcount, salary package, salary rise and employment demand. At the end of each quarter, we publish the results of the survey. In this updated second quarter survey, we have focused on the salary level of new graduates whilst most of the enterprises have finished their campus recruitment.

According to this second-quarter Recruitment Insider Survey where over 1,600 domestic corporations in the mainland of China participated, the recruitment demand in the second quarter has remained more or less constant with the previous figure received from Q1 (Q1: 92%; Q2:90.8%).

In addition, this quarter’s research has demonstrated higher salary rises compared with the research result from last quarter. The maximal salary increase range has risen from 0%-5% to 5%-10%.

Compared with the 9% sharp decrease in the recruiting rate from third-tier cities, the second-tier cities’ hiring demand has blossomed and they are supplying more than 10,000 job opportunities, reached a hiring rate of 93.1%. The data also illustrated a stable talent demand and wage level in the first-tier cities’. It is also shown in the Recruitment Insider that pharmaceutical & medical, logistics and internet sectors are on the automotive industry, over 14% of new recruits could have large pay rises (more than 20%).

On the other hand, the sales discipline keeps the highest demand for talent (63.4%). Marketing and product management are the other two of the top three job categories in demand.

Nonetheless, the talent demand in automotive and internet industries varies from other industries. The former had highest hiring needs in product departments and the later recruited most marketing professionals among all the positions they had hired (63.4% of automotive companies had recruitment needs for the product department and 49.9% of internet companies hired marketeers in Q2).

RMG Selection will keep on striving to deliver the best China-wide quarterly view on hiring. This Recruitment Insider Survey from the second quarter includes more than 40 charts regarding eight types of questions that aim to provide a clearer insight of the Chinese talent market.

As the founder of RMG Selection, Robert Parkinson comments: “The original intention of conducting this Recruitment Insider Survey is to record the current recruitment situation. “Other than the research which focuses on making speculations, we want to deliver the most authentic recruitment survey simply based on real facts.”

“From this survey we have seen a more formalised recruitment market and changes of recruitment demand among different job categories and cities in China.”

“Moreover, the hiring needs in the Chinese various manufacturing industries still remains at its lowest level, 20% of them do not have any new hiring positions”

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