China's war for returning talent hots up
The China of the early 1980s was not a place Gong Li imagined he would re???-turn to for more than a brief visit. It was emerging from the dark days of the Cultural Revolution and though Mr Li was a student at one of the country's best universities, Shanghai's Fudan university, he decided to grasp an opportunity to leave the country and study in the US.
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After completing his studies in Houston, he joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in 1985. Partners there had high hopes for him. Mr Li says: "They told me, 'You will be ideal to go back to China. There will be a market out there, but we don't know when.'"
But he has come full circle. Today, the 48-year-old is chairman of Accenture in greater China, where he leads 2,400 consultants.
Mr Li is an example of a hai gui, or "sea turtle", the Chinese term for those who left China to study and work overseas but are now "swimming home" to take high-level positions at multinational companies.
These "returnees" are sought after by large companies not only for their fluency in Mandarin but also for their understanding of China's complex history, political system and cultural and social mores - which can mean the difference between success and failure in one of the most important markets of the future.
In contrast to the days when multinationals readily parachuted western expatriates into China on packages that cost as much as $1m, they have been aggressively filling top management positions in China with "local" talent. This broad term includes mainland China returnees, ethnic Chinese from countries such as Taiwan and staff hired and cultivated in China.
The task of hiring top Chinese executives is made more challenging by a dearth of qualified candidates. A report from executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles gives several reasons for this: education and work opportunities of many now aged 50-60 were disrupted by the Cultural Revolution; the local talent pool was depleted by the "brain drain" of the 1980s and 1990s; there are few strong business schools in China; and local Chinese executives often lack global know-how.
"Companies want to localise but the majority of people who are local mainland Chinese don't have experience with global business principles," says Joy Chen, principal at Heidrick & Struggles.
The "war for talent" in China reaches to the highest management levels. Morgan Stanley this month poached Wei Christianson from Citigroup to head its China business. Microsoft sued Google when its senior researcher, Kai-Fu Lee, in 2004 defected to head the search engine's research and development centre in China.
Executive search firms are using unconventional means to identify qualified Chinese, who are not well documented in formal company rosters. Heidrick & Struggles 18 months ago began building a database of potential candidates by tapping networks used by Chinese émigrés, such as alumni associations of Chinese universities, civic associations, churches and recreational clubs.
Ideal candidates often attended university in China and graduate school in the west, have five to 25 years of career experience overseas and hold senior mid-management to executive level positions in multinationals.
This group is the cream of the crop: just after the Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s, less than 1 per cent of Chinese high school students were admitted to university. And of those who graduated, only those with the strongest academic and political connections went abroad for further study.
As a result, the lucky few can command sky-high salaries. Pay packages for top-level managers in China are comparable to those of their counterparts in the US, easily running into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Even when qualified candidates are located, it is not certain that they would be willing to return to China. But in the past five years there has been more interest from overseas Chinese as big potential for career development in China beckons.
This is especially true if in America someone has hit the "glass ceiling", said to keep women and minorities from reaching upper-level management. "Maybe they speak English with an accent or weren't in a fraternity in college. Those kinds of things can lock them out of management jobs in the US," says Ms Chen. "But it's those bicultural attributes that can be a big advantage going back."
Haoyu Shen, a vice-president at American Express in New York, feels the allure of China's boom. Mr Shen, 35, fits the profile. He was born in Shanghai, attended Renmin University in China and received his MBA from the University of Iowa.
After working for McKinsey, the management consultancy, as well as AmEx, Mr Shen says: "There is much more excitement in China and more upside than working in the US, but there is also more risk." He also acknowledges that "you can have a comfortable life in the US but unless you're really, really good, it is hard to advance professionally."
In response to demand for executive re???-cruitment in China, Korn/Ferry, a recruitment firm, moved its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Shanghai last year.
Charles Tseng, president of Korn/Ferry in Asia, says the ideal manager can bridge the cultural gap between local Chinese and western managers - but this requires understanding of their different leadership styles.
According to a study conducted by Korn/Ferry and Peking University, Chinese leaders were more inclined to use "task-oriented" and "intellectual" management styles than their western counterparts. These styles focus on "rules and procedures"; and "demanding goals and strong opinions supported by data". By comparison, western managers and leaders from Asia's "four dragons" - Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea - emphasised "participative leadership", which relies on consensus, team-building and "social leadership", or en???-gaging others in a positive way.
Managers typically adopt participative and social leadership as they move into more demanding roles, while task and intellectual styles tend to be found at the entry level, says Korn/Ferry.
When these conclusions were shared at a conference attended by mainland Chinese business leaders last year, "they were totally astounded there was this difference", says Mr Tseng.
Once a top Chinese manager is hired, companies face the challenge of retention. Turnover is high and it is not uncommon for Chinese executives to leave a company to bump up their salaries. At Pepsi???-Co's 400-strong sales team in Guangzhou, turnover was about 50 per cent in 2000. After setting up better systems for staff feedback, the company cut attrition in half over three years.
Also recognised is the need to develop local people who have not lived outside China. "The mindset needs to be less about acquisition," says Andrew Grant, a director who leads McKinsey's greater China practice. "It needs to be more about commitment to building your own talent."
Companies are recruiting from China's top 10 universities. Mr Grant emphasises hybrid teams of locals and expatriates. He notes that McKinsey sends someChinese recruits to Frankfurt for a year or two to ex???-pose them to experiences such as opera and wine-tasting.
For all the scrambling for Chinese talent, recruitment firms and consultancies cautioned against assuming an ethnic Chinese background guarantees success in China.
Highly westernised mainland Chinese returning to China may encounter great difficulty understanding the environment, while an ad???-aptable, resilient westerner could be highly successful.
"It is dangerous to say there is only one way in China," says Mr Grant.
中国“高级海龟”争夺战
经
历过上世纪80年代的中国的李纲，难以想象自己还会回到这个地方，顶多也就是做短暂停留。当时，文化大革命(Cultural Revolution)的黑暗时期刚刚过去，尽管李纲就读于中国最好的大学之一――上海复旦大学，但他还是决定抓住机会，离开中国，赴美留学。
在休斯敦完成学业之后，他于1985年加盟安达信咨询(Andersen Consulting)。现名为埃森哲(Accenture)。那里的合伙人对他抱有很高的期望。李纲表示：“他们告诉我，‘你最好是回到中国。那里将有一个市场，但我们不知道何时出现。’”
兜了一圈 回到原位
但他走了一圈之后，又回来了。目前，48岁的李纲担任埃森哲大中华区主席，统领着2400名咨询人员。
李纲是“海龟”（sea turtle）的一个代表人物，这是一个中文词，指那些出国学习和工作，但现在正“游回祖国”，在跨国企业中担任高层职务的人。
大公司纷纷追逐这些“海归”( returnees)，不仅因为他们普通话流利，同时因为他们了解中国复杂的历史、政治体系，以及文化和社会习俗。在未来最为重要的市场之一，这些因素可能决定着（业务的）成败。
与过去跨国公司乐意把薪酬高达100万美元的西方管理人员空降到中国相比，它们目前正大举使用“本土”人才，充实在华高层管理职位。“本土”人才这个词比较宽泛，包括大陆海归、台湾等地华人以及在中国雇用和培养的员工。
合格候选人才的匮乏，加大了雇用中国高管的难度。高管猎头公司海德思哲(Heidrick & Struggles)的一份报告，谈到了出现这种情况的几个原因：许多目前处于50至60岁年龄段的人，其教育和工作机会因文化大革命而受到了影响；上世纪80年代和90年代的“人才流失”(brain drain)令当地人才储备枯竭；中国优秀的商学院为数寥寥；当地中国高管往往缺乏全球经验。
海德思哲负责人Joy Chen表示：“企业希望本土化，但多数员工是大陆本土员工，不具备全球商业准则方面的经验。”
人才大战触及最高管理层
中国的 “人才大战”(war for talent)已触及最高管理层级别。摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)本月从花旗集团(Citigroup)挖走孙玮(Wei Christianson)，负责其中国区业务。2004年，微软(Microsoft)起诉Google，因为该公司高级研究人员李开复(Kai-Fu Lee)转投Google，出任这家搜索引擎中国研发中心主管。
猎头公司正通过非常规的手段寻找合格的中国人才，公司正式名册中对这些人没有详细记录。18个月前，海德思哲开始利用海外华人使用的网络，构建潜在候选人数据库。这些网络包括中国大学的校友会、民间协会以及教堂和休闲俱乐部等。
理想人选通常是在国内接受大学教育，在西方接受研究生教育，拥有5年至25年海外工作经验，并在跨国公司担任中高级管理职务。
这部分人是佼佼者：上世纪70年代末，文化大革命刚刚结束时，只有不到1%的高中生有机会上大学。而在大学毕业生中，只有那些在学术和政治关系方面最硬的人方可出国深造。
因此，这些少数幸运儿可以要求天价薪水。中国高管的薪酬堪与其美国同级员工媲美，可轻松达到数十万美元。
即便发现了合格人才，仍不能保证他们愿意回国。但过去5年，由于中国职业发展方面的巨大潜力，海外华人回国发展的兴趣日益浓厚。
尤其是当某人在美国遇到了“玻璃天花板”(glass ceiling)时更是如此。所谓“玻璃天花板”，即妇女和少数族裔被挡在高级管理层之外的现象。“可能他们的英语有口音，或者上大学时没有参加一个联谊会（fraternity）。在美国，这类事情会将他们关在管理层岗位的大门之外，”Joy Chen表示，“但回国后，那些二元文化特点能成为一个很大的优势。”
驻纽约工作的美国运通(American Express)副总裁沈豪宇(Haoyu Shen，音译)感觉到了中国崛起的吸引力。现年35岁的他就有这样的背景。他出生在上海，曾就读于中国人民大学，并在美国爱荷华大学(University of Iowa)取得了工商管理硕士(MBA)学位。
沈豪宇曾在管理咨询公司麦肯锡(McKinsey)和美国运通供职。他表示：“与美国相比，在中国工作乐趣更多，也有更多升迁机会，不过，风险也更大。”同时他也承认，“你在美国可以过舒服日子，但除非你确实非常非常优秀，不然在业内晋升是很难的。”
由于中国在高管招聘方面存在需求，猎头公司光辉国际(Korn/Ferry)相时而动，于去年将其亚洲总部从新加坡迁至上海。
在中国管理和西方管理间搭起桥梁
光辉国际亚太区总裁郑家勤(Charles Tseng)说，理想的管理者能够在不同文化的中国本土管理者与西方管理者之间架起沟通的桥梁，不过这需要理解他们各自不同的领导风格。
光辉国际与北京大学联合进行的一项研究显示，与西方领导者相比，中国领导者更倾向于采用“任务导向型”和“智力型”的管理风格。这类风格注重“规则与程序”，“苛严的目标，以及有数据支持的强力观点”。与之形成对比的是，西方管理者和来自亚洲“四小龙”（台湾、新加坡、香港和韩国）的领导者强调的则是“参与型领导”，这种领导风格注重内部共识、团队建设和“社交型领导”，即积极引导他人参与。
光辉国际表示，管理者在升至更高职位时，通常会采用参与型和社交型的领导风格，而任务型和智力型领导风格往往被初级管理者所采用。
在去年的一个有中国大陆商业领袖出席的研讨会上，光辉国际与大家分享了这些结论。郑家勤表示：“这种差异使他们彻底震惊了。”
一旦雇用中国高管，企业就会在留任问题上面临挑战。中国高管不仅流失率高，而且他们为高薪而跳槽的情况屡见不鲜。百事公司(PepsiCo)在广州的销售团队有400多人，2000年其流失率高达50%左右。在建立更完善的员工反馈体系后，该公司在三年内将流失率降低了一半。
培养自己的人才
外国公司还认识到，培养那些从未旅居海外的中国本土人才颇有必要。麦肯锡上海分公司主任高安德(Andrew Grant)表示：“应该少着眼于挖取人才，而是要更加致力于培养自己的人才。”
各大公司正在从中国10家顶尖高校招聘员工。高安德特别推崇中外混合型的团队。他指出，麦肯锡将一些中国新员工派遣至法兰克福呆上一两年，让他们体验歌剧及品酒等各种经历。
一些猎头公司及咨询机构警告称，在中国人才抢夺战中，不要想当然认为华人一定会在中国取得成功。
高度西化的中国海归可能很难熟悉环境，而适应能力强、性格开朗的西方人可能在这方面非常成功。
高安德表示：“在中国只有一条路可行的说法是很危险的。”
