China’s War for Talent

In my recent and forth trip to the two largest cities in China…Shanghai and Beijing, I visited Target Corporation, Sunjoy Industries, APL, and Nielsen Company. I met with leaders from each of these organizations and my friend who works abroad at Personnel Decisions, Inc. The one topic that resonates with me from my meetings about the economy (China’s growth), infrastructure, and the neo-capitalist government is Talent Management. When one thinks of China, they think of cheap and plentiful labor. However, in the two largest cities in China wages for professional employees are soaring and the war for talent is on! The leaders I met struggle with defining retention strategies and developing their highest potential talent. Often the best employees use wage increases to negotiate with other organizations looking to recruit them. In the US, this is not the case for many organizations. So…what is China doing? They are doing what they do best which is take what American does best and make it their own. Chinese people working in American companies in China are changing their names to Stan, Carla, Ringo, and Sheila and taking our best practices in talent management and making them work. They are energized and excited about opportunities to learn and grow from our knowledge. They are passionate about education. They recognize that education is the key to prosperity in this new global economy. They do not give lip service to Talent Management, they are working to create initiatives that attract, retain, and develop talent that will help them meet the demands of a global marketplace. To that end, what are you doing to drive your Talent Management Strategy? Are you energized and excited about helping your employees and the US compete in a global market with countries like China, India, and Brazil? The winners in this global economy will be organizations that effectively manage their talent locally and globally.