Hong Kong Career Blog

Amplified salary pressures and climbing attrition rates as employees lured by better remuneration packages.

Despite Q3 reporting cautious approaches to remuneration, Ambition‘s recent survey indicates that salary increments and bonuses are now firmly back on the corporate agenda.

Q4 poised to bring bonuses that could exceed 30% in Singapore

In Ambition’s quarterly client survey of more than 450 respondents from across Asia, it was encouraging to see that market confidence is returning, particularly so in Singapore. In Singapore, only 2% of respondents indicated that there would be no salary increment, whilst a very positive 86% of respondents in Singapore indicated that salary increments would be 2% to 6%.  

Continuing with the positive news, it is also likely that the market will see an increased number of employees receiving a bonus this year. In fact, 69% of respondents in Singapore stated that the average employee can look forward to a bonus of up to 20%, encouragingly higher than the market has seen for some time. And at Director level the good news continues with 39% of respondents indicating that bonuses would be up to 20%, 51% of respondents indicating above 20% and 24% even indicated that bonus payouts could exceed 30%.

Attrition threat continues to climb for nearly 50% of Singapore-based businesses

On the downside, H2 2010 has seen a considerable shift in candidate’s confidence in the market as the number of candidates looking at opportunities outside of their current employment continues to increase. This has meant that the market is seeing a much higher level of attrition, reiterating the importance that employers need to ensure they are doing all they can to hold onto their best employees.

The survey results revealed that almost 50% of respondents in Singapore indicated that their attrition rates increased in 2010. 67% of which indicated that the main reason for this was due to employees being lured by better remuneration packages by competitors. This is a very real threat in what has quickly become a talent short market. However, the run up to Christmas offers some reprieve as employees wait for their bonus payout (normally in February/March time), but given growth is firmly on the agenda through 2011 for over 70% of respondents, the trend is set to continue.

Training, development and career progression key to employee retention

Paul Endacott, Managing Director, Singapore elaborates, “It is encouraging that the vast majority of employers are paying out salary increments and bonuses this year based on improved business performance. Nevertheless, given that the overwhelming reason employees have given for changing jobs is the lure of more attractive remuneration packages, employers need to focus on retaining their best people.

“As such, we expect most companies will offer a salary increment of between 2% and 6%, but based on our previous survey, candidate’s switching jobs will get an average increment of between 8% and 15%. It would be unrealistic and indeed unsustainable for companies to offer all employees salary increments of this size, so there needs to be a focus on retaining people through training, development and career progression. An increased attrition rate, coupled with the difficulties of attracting high caliber talent in a talent short and hugely competitive market like Singapore is possibly the greatest threat to business growth.”

Reuters has reported that hiring in Asia is really heating up as Investment banks are targeting top talent by offering up big pay packages that rival pre-crisis levels. For example, several prominent bankers have changed firms, one reason for which is the chance to obtain guaranteed compensation packages that some say are as high as $10 million a year.

However, Reuters points out that there may some backlash:

‘‘’I am against guaranteed bonuses,’’ U.S. ‘pay czar’ Kenneth Feinberg told Reuters on Wednesday, when asked about the latest wave of these on offer. ‘We have said guaranteed bonuses are a bad idea so we’ll see what those banks do.’’

Shareholders of certain banks such as HSBC have fought against executive pay, and regulators have taken steps to bring compensation more in line with long-term performance. But so far, guaranteed pay packages have largely stayed out of the radar of the public. The banking industry says that guarantees are necessary to attract and retain top talent, and may even reduce risk-taking. Proponents say in many cases they are used sparingly and only for top executives.

A flurry of investment-bank hiring has occurred at top levels lately, with a large chunk occuring in Asia, where competition for talent is growing as upstart banks expand in the region. According to bankers and headhunters involved, the movement of dealmakers here involves favourable guarantees, some worth several million dollars for two years and others hitting eight-digit numbers.
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In most cases, a responsible banking professional on a guarantee would seek to perform well, create value for the bank, and help the bottomline. The worry about guarantees is that a banker is paid a lot but not incentivised to outperform. In a worst case scenario, the person could feel that underperformance is not a worry because it won’t impact pay, which could result in a riskier decision that costs the bank.

Alan Johnson, a Wall Street compensation consultant, said the industry has an opposite view. ‘‘The view of the industry is that if you take a guarantee you are going to take less risk and not work as hard,’’ Johnson said.
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Investment banking compensation is formulated the same across the industry. Base pay is set, usually with a limit of $250,000 per year for the top executives. It’s the bonus that matters, with top managing directors routinely earning $1 million per year in bonus pay. At the high end, some top rainmakers are getting up to $15 million for two years in guaranteed pay packages, accounting for a roughly 20-50 percent jump over the previous year.
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What has stoked the pay and talent battle in part is that more banks are now building out investment banking capabilities. Barclays plc and Japan’s top brokerage, Nomura Holdings, are among those entering the competitive world of investment banking to take on the Wall Street giants. Headhunters and industry sources say two-year guarantees are rare and only a few top dealmakers get them. Rose Marie Orens, senior partner at New York-based Compensation Advisory Partners, said guaranteed bonuses are more likely to come into play when someone is being hired late in the year and does not have an opportunity to get a bonus — or if they are leaving money on the table from an old job.”

Despite the potential public outcry over bank bonuses, it’s clear that hiring across all finance related industries is bouncing back and the need for top notch talent is rising.

To take advantage of the rebounding recruitment market and to view some of the open positions in key fields, please visit Ambition Hong Kong

The always on top of things people at Mashable have some keen insight into how job seekers can enhance their chances of landing their dream job…use social media. While the statistics are a bit old, they still support that job seekers in today’s economy need to get every advantage they can while job hunting thanks to the following state of affairs:

“In 2008, there were 1.2 million job lossess, unemployment is currently at 6.5%, and the largest companies are shedding as much as 10% of their workforces. There will be 1.5 million college graduates this year, yet the job growth ratee is at a six year low, at 1.3%! The amount of jobs posted online is decreasing at over 13%, which has all led to the ratioo of 3.3 job seekers per each job.

Social networks are starting to become part of the criteria that both hiring managers and college admissions officers are using to weed out applicants. One in fivee hiring managers conduct background checks using social networks (primarily Facebook),”

We could not agree more, and in fact have a couple of favorites from the 7 tips that Mashable shares:

 7. Subscribe to blogs that have job listings

We all subscribe to blogs to receive information based on our interests, at least I hope. Over time we rely on these sources for information to keep us updated on what is happening in certain industries or different trends that are developing. In the past few years, the larger blogs have started to integrate job banks into their own websites, using software/hosting from companies such as Job-a-matic.”

And last (and technically 8th) but certainly not least:

 “Integrate the traditional and social media approach.  These seven secrets are extremely important in your next job search. The most successful job searches come from those who have already built up strong networks, both online and off. You need to integrate this new-age approach with the traditional approach you’ve already been using, in order to be consistent, so there are no surprises from the recruiter’s perspective. They want the candidate they see on paper or online.”

Perfectly put.  We have obviously adopted some social media tools to connect with and communicate with clients and candidates, but there is no substitute for some of the old job hunt skills that people needed to succeed in a pre-Facebook world. 

You can read the full article here and please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong to search our job listings and get more job search tips.

Leaving a job can often result in an employee needing to sorts more than a few complicated issues, and this is especially true for expats working in Hong Kong.  Before leaving your current job, you will need to give your employer the contractually required termination notice or even payment in lieu of notice.   And of course, your employer must do the same if the termination of contract was initiated by them.  And that’s the simple part.  Next you’ll have to determine whether or not you can get certain termination or end of year payments, as well as how and when you shall receive them.  As always, one of the first places you should go for information about employment regulations for expats in Hong Kong is the government website, which has plenty of useful links to help guide you through the job changing process.  Below are just a few:

Frequently asked questions about termination of contract of employment: http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/faq/cap57d_whole.htm

Frequently asked questions about end of year payment: http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/faq/cap57j_whole.htm

Frequently asked questions about severance and long service payment: http://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/faq/cap57l_whole.htm

Another thing you’ll have to consider is how you’ll manage your Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) benefits.  You may handle accrued benefits  by transferring them to a contribution account under your new employer’s MPF scheme, or you may want to transfer them to a preserved account under an MPF scheme of your choosing.  You can even keep them in a preserved account under the original MPF scheme for continuous investment. This can all be daunting, and especially so at a time of already high stress, but your options are set out at the government website:

Managing your MPF benefits when changing jobs (including request form for preserved account details):

http://www.mpfa.org.hk/english/abt_mpfs/abt_mpfs_fms/abt_mpfs_fms_cep/abt_mpfs_fms_cep.html

Request for fund transfer form (pdf file):

http://www.mpfa.org.hk/english/leg_reg/leg_reg_gui/leg_reg_gui_p4/files/Annex_A_to_IV_3_e.pdf

And then, of course, there is the issue of your visa and sponsorship.  If you have been issued a visa to work in Hong Kong and leave your job, you need to inform the Immigration Department of the termination immediately as you are not allowed to change jobs or work at a part-time job without the permission of the Immigration Department.  For more information, visit the link below:

Termination of Sponsorship of Overseas Employees:

http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/faq_es_vnpr.htm#e

As always, if you have questions or comments, please do visit us at Ambition Hong Kong.

With brightening economic prospects and improving employment news in Hong Kong, we have been receiving a growing number of requests to search for candidates recently.  Each week, we will continue to feature some of our latest, most attractive job opportunities.   Below are some of the newest positions for which we are seeking high-caliber professionals:

1. Finance Director – FMCG Giant

Our client is a global market leader in the FMCG industry. Around the world, the business is growing strongly driven by a decentralised organisation that places responsibility in the hands of local business units. They are now looking for a committed and motivated finance professional to lead their HK Finance Team.

Reporting to the Regional CFO, you will be responsible for all aspects of financial control in the Hong Kong market and will also be expected to make a key contribution to the strategy and direction of the business. Initially you will lead and develop the Hong Kong finance team to deliver robust financial reporting including financial modelling, forecasting, corporate reporting and ensuring all business financial risks are quantified and accounted for. Working across all business functions you will also be closely involved in sales and trade analysis.

The candidate must have the following:

• Qualified accountant with 8 years’ international company experience. SAP experience is preferable
• Prior experience in the FMCG / consumer or retail industries would be a distinct advantage
• A hands on style and someone who can work in a small company environment
• Experience of managing a small team
• Fluent Cantonese and excellent English language skills are essential

2. VP, Tax Manager, Regional Role

Our client is a top-tier Investment Banking group with established businesses in Asia including Corporate & Investment Banking, Asset Management and Private Banking. As part of continued growth in Asia, an outstanding opportunity has arisen for an experienced Tax Advisor to join the Regional Team, based in Hong Kong.

Reporting to the Regional Head of Tax, you will be part of the Asia regional team, supporting on Tax Advisory and Tax Compliance primarily for the North Asia region. On the Tax Advisory side, you will have active involvement on the businesses including equities, fixed income and corporate finance by providing advices on business transactions and new products across local and global issues. You will participate in investments structuring, product approval, product development, tax planning, risk mitigation, transfer pricing and corporate restructuring. On the Tax Compliance side, you will review tax returns, manage tax audits, follow up on issues / queries from internal / external parties and tax authorities. In addition, you will work closely with regional and country Finance teams and review tax reporting, tax balances, tax accounting, ledger and financial statements related issues. This role offers high interaction with the business and requires a solution-orientated tax professional with strong business acumen.

To qualify, candidates must possess the following:

• Minimum 8 years relevant Tax experience gained from a Financial Institution, Big 4 and / or Law Firm Knowledge of Investment Banking and Financial Markets products
• Asia Tax knowledge with exposure to China, Taiwan and / or Hong Kong Tax would be highly advantageous
• Strong business acumen and solution-orientated
• Excellent communication skills with fluency in English and ideally with Mandarin

To find out more about these jobs and to search for other openings, please visit our job search page at Ambition Hong Kong.

Anyone considering taking a job abroad will have to first and foremost calculate how much they’ll need to earn in order to maintain the standard of living that they are accustomed to.  If you underestimate your expenses, even if you are getting a relocation package, your “raise” may not be enough to make it worth moving you and your family to another country and you may in fact end up barely making ends meet.  One of our main goals is to help expats make informed decisions about their career choices, including whether or not they should relocate at all.  One thing to consider is whether you will be paid based on your local market rate or those of the country to which will be moving.

The Business Times has recently reported that many expatriate compensation packages could be reduced as more international companies in Singapore, and other Asian markets, set their rates against local and foreign rates rather than salaries in their home countries.  

According to the story, one in five expatriates is currently receiving packages based on Singapore market benchmarks.  These benchmarks can be based on what other expats are paid or even on local rates.  This represents a 6% increase compared to the prior year.  This trend seems to be due to an effort on the part of foreign companies to reduce costs and also because firms are assigning workers to Singapore on longer-term contracts.  However, recent surveys have indicated that local salaries in Singapore remain at nearly 80% of those of similarly qualified expats and therefore any adjustments would have a fairly limited effect.  Nonetheless, a 20% differential in compensation may be enough to make many expats reconsider engagements abroad.

However, these changes in compensation were largely aimed at allowing firms to get through the economic downturn, and with the slight resurgence of the Asian economies, we expect that this trend will likely not continue its upward swing.  Further, ‘home-based compensation’ is still the rule of thumb, as more than 60% of expats in Singapore are receiving salaries based on home rates and this will likely remain the dominant compensation model, especially for high level executives.

This is not limited to Singapore, as Hong Kong the number of multinationals using local benchmarks rose from 16% to 25%, while the Asian average is 8% and the global average is 11%.

To help candidates assess the state of the job market in Hong Kong and Singapore, Ambition publishes bi-annual reports on the current market trends within Accounting & Finance, Banking & Financial Services and Sales & Marketing recruitment.

To view these reports and to check out more of resources for job seekers, please visit us at Ambition Hong Kong or Ambition Singapore.

We recently came across some articles discussing whether or not it’s okay to “cheat” on your recruiter or whether most job seekers need to use a recruitment firm at all.  The answer is…it depends.

Like other recruiters, we have plenty of  candidates who have already reached out to employers.  Some articles posted by headhunters have scolded candidates for applying for jobs directly and also working with a recruitment firm to apply to the same company.  Correctly, they discuss that job seekers will often assume that they can improve their odds by applying through as many avenues as possible and deliberately not telling their recruiter that they have already applied to a particular company. We agree that this often actually hurts a candidate’s chances, but we also know that in a climate such as we have seen for the last year, people are sending out scores of resumes and often simply have not kept track of every single company that they submitted their CV to.  This is especially true when there are countless job boards and it is quite easy to simply click “submit” when someone requests your resume.

The key, however, is to do your best to keep a record of what positions you have applied to (a simple Excel or Google spreadsheet will do the trick). Using a recruiter will help you in your efforts to keep a handle on to whom and for what jobs you have applied. No matter what, if you still have any doubt about previous submissions when asked, simply say that you are honestly not positive and we will proceed accordingly. Most companies have regional and global HR databases and if your resume shows up multiple times, they will know it and it may be a check mark against you.  That brings us to the question of whether or not you need a recruitment firm at all.

According to a recent NatWest Quality of Life Report, a majority of British expats living and working abroad say that they enjoy a better quality of life, including higher salaries, more leisure time and less stress than their counterparts at home.  1,306 expats living in Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Singapore, Spain, UAE and USA participated in the survey which was conducted between October and November 2009.

19% of those surveyed said they plan to return to the UK, as  compared to 26% of respondent’s in the 2008 survey.  89% say their quality of life is better than it was prior to relocating.   About 90% said they are more financially secure, while the salaries of expats are an average of 20% higher than those of similarly qualified professionals in the U.K. They also say that work hours are reduced and that they have a better balance between work and leisure time with their families.  Not only that, but most say that while they expected the result, their expectations have been exceeded.

Dave Isley, Head of NatWest International Personal Banking commented:

“It seems the grass really is greener for Brits living abroad as our study shows… Our latest UK expatriate study has revealed that despite the global slowdown affecting everyone, the potential to earn more money abroad is clearly one of the main benefits that UK expats are experiencing…The fact that fewer expats say they will return to the UK in the future, compared to three years ago, proves that the pace of life, work life balance and earning potential abroad means life as an expat is sunnier in more ways than one and that they are weathering the financial storm.”

The average  expat salary is generally about £20,000 higher than their UK counterpart’s compensation.  They also earn higher salary increases, with Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates leading the way at 19% and 17% per year respectively. The majority surveyed claim that their main achievement was developing a successful career and most believe that their future job prospects have been greatly enhanced by living abroad.

By the numbers:

• 91% believe they have a better quality of life in the country they currently reside in
• 90% of expats consider themselves to be better off financially now they are abroad
• 68% say they live healthier lifestyles abroad
• 61% say the cost of living abroad is lower than at home
• Nine in ten (98%) say they made a good decision when deciding to move abroad
• About six in ten expats (63%) left the UK with less than £5,000 in savings – 64% now have a net worth between £250,000 and £1 million.

To discover a great position that might make you part of this happy bunch of expats, please visit Ambition in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

The HR manager at a large company receives hundreds of resumes each week and has very limited time to sort through the mass of submissions to find the handful of candidates that they will consider inviting to interview.  Keeping this in mind, you need to ask yourself a few questions:  “Will my resume stand out?”, “Does it successfully convey my strengths?”, and “Have I done everything I can to maximise my chances of landing an interview?”

The HR manager has limited time to glean relevant information from all of the resumes that they receive, so in order to make sure that you can answer the above questions in the affirmative, you need to first ensure that your resume doesn’t include mistakes that will immediately send it to the no pile before the recruiter can really assess your qualifications.

If your resume is too long, too short, badly presented or illegible, it will quickly find its way into the no pile. And if the reader can’t easily see what they are looking for, your resume will suffer the same fate. In this case, you may have the perfect skill set and education for the position, yet you will be culled from the pool of potential candidates, and both you and the employer may be missing a great opportunity.

There are numerous things to consider in order to avoid resume mistakes, but the most important is this:  proofread, proofread and proofread again.  This does not mean simply using spell check, since that won’t catch mistakes such as using “your” when you should be using “you’re.”  Nor will spell check catch the all too common occurrence of using a form letter and forgetting to change the name of the company when you are applying to numerous potential employers.

Of course you should still use spell check every single time you send out a new resume or cover letter, but proofreading is essential.  Most people can become blind to their own writing mistakes, especially after sending out scores of resumes in search of a job.  Read your cover letter before sending it, step away for a while and come back and read it again.  Even better, have a friend go over your resume and letter with a fresh set of eyes.  Not only will they be more likely to catch obvious mistakes, but they may have one or two simple suggestions that may result in a significant improvement in the clarity and persuasiveness of your application materials.

Remember, catching that one tiny mistake on your CV may not get you the job, but it will get you that much closer to staying out of the no pile, which is half the battle!

To get more career management advice and to see some of our open positions, please visit us at My Ambition, Ambition Hong Kong and Ambition Singapore.

In a recent interview with Media Asia, Steve Rubel, SVP, and director of insights at Edelman Digital, discussed the impact tbat the growth of online media has had on PR agencies.  Rubel explains how many of them are having to lead the way in coordinating a variety of marketing initiatives among different agencies and across an increased number of marketing platforms.

“In an exclusive interview given to Media, Rubel who recently visited Singapore, said: ‘I do think having all the right agencies around the table is important. We are not the ones to say that ad agencies are not going to be important, we are not the ones to say interactive agencies won’t be important but someone has got to be the ringleader and we are increasingly finding that PR agencies are best suited for that.’

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‘We can now do things that are unmediated and that’s tremendous. [Digital] is more content driven which PR professionals know quite well – to create content, shape content and how to tell stories. At the same time it is more out of control. That’s something we have always dealt with. We know how to deal with the uncontrolled spaces.’

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‘There is paid, earned, owned and social. You can lump social with some others but I think there are four spheres including social media. [Marketers] have to look at these together. They can’t think of these as silos. The problem is some of it is managed in silos. So you have to think how your paid media can drive attention to your social media and you have to think how social and earned interact back and forth. What’s the play there? How does your earned media drive social awareness? I think the secret in integrating those four together is that they are timed to integrate in a powerful way.’

For more insight from Steve Rubel on the development of online marketing, see the interview video HERE.