changing talent dynamic within greater china
Companies in hospitality have restructured their team to be more centralised by shifting some of the roles from Hong Kong SAR to either Shanghai or Singapore, where their regional teams are based. These locations offer a more competitive workforce and pro-business policies to companies that are planning to expand their footprint in Asia.
Combining the ill-effects of COVID-19 and the political unrest, the Hong Kong labour market has inevitably experienced some significant changes. According to the COVID-19 Workforce Sentiment Survey conducted by Randstad Hong Kong, 49% of employees were looking for a new job in 2020. However, job seekers have different expectations compared to before. Many are looking to join an industry that is considered to be more recession-proof for better job security, such as life sciences and technology.
digital marketing specialists are sought-after
Due to the rapid changes in the skills demand, employers are facing challenges in finding candidates for specialised digital marketing roles, such as in data-driven customer relationship management (CRM). CRM is not a new skill, but it has evolved in many ways to be more automated and responsive to customer intentions over the past few years.
Digital marketing teams need to collaborate with IT departments to increase engagement and generate better conversions. They will be expected to work together to use data for customer segmentation, predict market trends, and develop unique experience journeys.
Customer service lines are also replaced by chatbots to provide on-demand and round-the-clock services for a better customer experience. Due to the many advantages of analysing CRM data, many companies are looking to set up their own CRM loyalty teams, which require talent with in-depth knowledge and technical data analysis skills.
setting up regional marketing teams to consolidate resources
Many companies are setting up their regional offices in mainland China to build their presence in Greater China, leading to an increasing demand for talent who has the flexibility and capacity to adapt to a different ecosystem.
China’s social media landscape and e-payments processes as well as consumer behaviours are vastly different from Hong Kong SAR’s. These stark differences make China’s social media and digital landscape significantly complex to navigate, and marketing professionals entering this market would need to build their capabilities from scratch.
Chinese consumers have a strong social tendency and highly value key opinion leaders and influencers rather than corporate consumer brands. Chinese companies are constantly coming up with innovative strategies for consumer engagement, such as live streaming and using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to build closer relationships with consumers. Brand marketing campaigns also tend to have a stronger social media focus as it has proven more effective in reaching and engaging their target audiences.
Comparing the scale and the current growth potential in the market, many companies have chosen to relocate or consolidate their marketing resources to cover the Greater China or Asia markets. This heightens the demand for talent who are proficient in the Chinese language and who is familiar with all the digital and social media platforms to successfully navigate the vast local consumer market.
Many companies have a preference to hire locally as these candidates tend to have an in-depth understanding of the cultural nuances and language expertise to support the role. At the very least, they would require someone who is trilingual or bilingual (English and Mandarin) to properly manage the end-to-end experience and tailor customer solutions.
surplus of marketing candidates in lifestyle and consumer industries
COVID-19 has resulted in a candidate surplus of eligible marketing professionals in the hospitality, tourism and retail industries. These candidates tend to be experienced in areas such as branding, storytelling and event management. However, companies are increasingly trying to digitise such traditional roles to have a stronger online presence. Candidates who are able to think outside the box and have a willingness to learn and adapt in the ‘new normal’ will receive more interview opportunities during this time.
On the other hand, there is a shortage of marketing talent in the enterprise industries, especially in technology. Candidates in these fields are equipped with skills such as lead and demand generation, as well as return on investment strategy development. Job seekers who are looking for new opportunities must demonstrate a strong pulse on digital marketing trends and a proven track record in creating unique and positive customer experiences. Enterprise employers are faced with even more challenges when hiring experienced marketing specialists, as there still exists a shortage of local talent who possess technological, digital and strategic skills.
However, due to the current pandemic, candidates have revised their expectations on both the job requirements and salary. Many job seekers are willing to take a pay cut or accept a parallel position for roles they have not tried before as a way to gain more exposure and experience.
longer interview processes with higher expectations
Marketing professionals are also becoming more open to new opportunities, due to the higher demand for digital marketing skills in an evolving market. Similar to other industries, there are two types of candidates in the job market. The first being those who were made redundant due to poor market conditions but are immediately available to work, and the second are those who are looking for a new avenue to further develop their digital marketing prowess.
As the job market shifts towards one that is more employer-led, many organisations are expecting candidates to possess multiple skill sets to meet the growing demands in their roles. With such increasing expectations, it’s no surprise that interview processes have gotten longer and more stringent.
To stay competitive and employable, marketing professionals will need to constantly improve on their digital skills and knowledge to keep up with the pace of the ever-changing labour market. The existing skills gap is more prevalent on the digital side, particularly in the areas of below-the-line marketing, online advertising as well as community engagement. Technical data roles typically seek candidates who can use specific software, which would require them to obtain qualifications from service providers such as Google, Hubspot or Salesforce.
Strategic marketing roles such as branding and content marketing, would involve more on-the-job training as well as a strong brand and product knowledge. As these job roles continue to evolve to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape, the marketing talent pool in Hong Kong SAR is expected to be more specialised in the future.
Despite the opportunities present in the marketing space, there are still candidates who would reject an interview or job offer if they are made aware of the company’s poor financial health. In the 2020 Randstad Employer Brand Research, corporate financial health is ranked the fourth most important employee value proposition factor that job seekers look for in an ideal employer. A company’s financial performance is a good indicator as to whether the firm is able to afford training opportunities and offer higher salaries to their employees. A financially strong company is also more likely to tide through COVID-19 without needing to implement major cost cutting measures.
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