A problem sea turtles can't solve

But it comes with a warning. A constant headache for companies in China, both foreign and domestic, is how to retain their "rising stars". Many of these "rising stars" in China, particularly young ones, expect their careers to grow in tandem with the explosive growth of the economy.

That is not to say that there is a plethora of middle managers in the second- and third-tier cities, and there are many companies competing for their services. Being in such high demand, there are few workers who fit this profile who are either unemployed or active job seekers, making recruitment methods of HR departments and traditional recruitment agencies largely ineffective.

As a result, most multinationals return to the tried and tested solution of importing an expatriate to take on the challenge of running the Chinese operation.

It is no secret that another cause of China's executive talent shortage comes from how jobs are actually secured. The labor market in China sometimes goes through a "closed door" route where having the right connections is often the fastest path to successfully finding the right job. Of course this happens in every country and in every industry.

This tendency creates a distinct disadvantage for foreign companies in China that are trying to recruit qualified, high-level Chinese candidates because foreign companies simply often don't have the personal networks running through the local population that Chinese companies have. This also damages Chinese companies as the hiring process becomes more about who you know than what you know.

During my time supporting multinational companies, talent acquisition strategies, one of the constant battles with local Chinese hiring managers has been one of cultural diversity.

In the West we have been quick to identify that if we want the best employees for our country we must go outside and attract a permanent immigrant workforce.

I appreciate China would need to reform all of its scant immigration policies and even if that happened you would still face the problem I have faced convincing Chinese companies to install a foreigner to run the business. The fabric of Chinese society does not allow for Indians, Malaysians, Singaporeans or many others from Southeast Asia to enter the boardrooms of Chinese companies.

China is producing some of the world's brightest minds, and in time the shortage of executive talent will be overcome. The Chinese government has already developed initiatives to send its brightest political and industrial minds overseas not just to Europe and America but also to Africa and beyond.

This new band of executives will have a global approach to business, will have all the guanxi to survive a Chinese boardroom and all of this without having to hand over the keys of power to any old jolly foreigner.

The author is CEO of Column Associates, an independent executive search & human capital consultancy. The opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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