The call for financial talent has become a matter of urgency on the mainland,
Since most financial companies are located in major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the talent hunt there is especially intense, according to a report issued by bankhr.com, a leading recruitment website in the financial sector.
"The supply-demand ratio for high-level financial professionals is 1:9 in those cities and will be 1:11 in the second half of the year," says Bao Hua, of bankhr.com.
Compared with the same period last year, the demand for financial talent increased by 55.3 per cent nationwide in the first half of the year.
The top-five financial positions, in terms of a rise in demand, were stockbrokers, futures managers, fund managers, client managers at banks and investment managers. Demand for stockbrokers has risen by 141.5 per cent from last year. Methods considered as ways to relieve supply pressure include finding talent in related industries, investing money and time on training newcomers, and searching for overseas professionals directly.
Scientific hiring workshop
The Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management will conduct a workshop on scientific recruitment in September.
The workshop on September 13 will deal with issues such as identifying and matching competencies with organisational development, using personality tests, ability tests, competency-based interviews and group discussions, and the pros and cons of psychometric tools. The fee is HK$2,300 for members and HK$2,900 for non-members. The course will be conducted in Cantonese. For details, visit http://www.hkihrm.org.
Recession hits staff morale
The willingness of workers to go the extra mile at work took a big hit during the recession and has not bounced back, CFO Innovation Asia reports.
Research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Federation of People Management Associations reveals a global engagement problem that is most severe among middle managers.
The report is based on a survey of executives from more than 100 countries and an analysis of BCG's database of more than one million responses from employees about their level of engagement. It found employees are dissatisfied with their companies in performance management, recognition and people management capabilities.
Co-author Jean-Michel Caye, of BCG, says companies should start reconnecting with their employees. "The best place to start is with the middle managers, who historically have not received adequate support or authority and yet play critical roles in the company."
