Rapid reform and development in China bring new challenges
Seasoned HR professional Daisy Dai Qing understands well the voracious demand for talent on the mainland and sees careful management of expertise as the key for doing successful business in China.
Having overseen the management of human capital for the mainland operations of Accenture, Unilever, L'Oreal, and now Taobao.com of the Alibaba Group, Ms Dai has a unique perspective on the mainland's economic boom.
Ms Dai, a Singaporean, will present a talk at this month's Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management annual conference titled Contributing to Business Success in China Operations 10 Years Down the Road.
Since the end of the 1990s, human resources in China has changed from being operation-oriented to strategy focused, and this has redefined how personnel are managed. HR careers are changing too, with more call centres, data management and a smaller population focusing on specific areas. There are three divisions in HR: operations, expertise and business management.
'There have been major and rapid changes in the role of human resources,' said Ms Dai, who is based in Shanghai. 'Since China opened up, more attention has been paid to administration, recruitment, payroll, and data management practices. This has not been a gradual process, it has been a very fast change.'
