How to attract and retain highly-skilled talent in Hong Kong

The most recent Hays Quarterly Report for the period October to December 2014 showed that it's not only the banking and IT industries that are experiencing healthy jobs growth in Hong Kong.

Demand is also strong in many other sectors such as accountancy & finance, construction, HR, insurance, legal, office professionals, property, and sales & marketing.

These findings are supported by the 2014 Hays Global Skills Index, which shows that wages in Hong Kong's high-skill industries are rising much faster than in low-skill industries.

Higher wages indicate that employers are competing for highly-skilled professionals in high-skill industries. But salaries and benefits are only part of the big picture when considering staff attraction and retention.

Jobseekers are conscious of the limited scope that companies have for increasing salaries. Certainly salaries remain competitive, but job seekers are increasingly looking at a range of other factors when they are in the jobs market.

One of these is career advancement. The top candidates in particular are aware of the demand for their skills and are looking to take advantage. Job security is still important, but given our more positive jobs market skilled professionals are now focused on finding an employer that will offer them career advancement.

As a result, they look for a role where they can either step up, or where they can develop their skills and expertise in order to help achieve their career ambitions.

Highly skilled professionals are also looking for more engagement. They want to work for an organisation that will genuinely engage with their employees and where there is mutual respect.

For employers and HR professionals, this means not only creating a workplace where employees are committed to the organisation's objectives and to meeting those goals, but also where the needs of employees are met, understood, and respected. If they get this right, employees are more happy, productive, and motivated in their job.

To do this, HR professionals must be aware of what makes staff satisfied at work and then meet those needs. This means seeking out the opinion of your staff and allowing open and honest communication flow back to HR, such as via employee engagement surveys.

Finally, in terms of social responsibility, many candidates want to work for an ethical organisation that has a positive relationship with broader society. Most organisations have made social responsibility part of their business model by taking into account the social and environmental impact of their business.

As a result, job seekers who want to work for socially responsible organisations are able to do so.