Navigating the realm of business development across borders for more than ten years, I have amassed a wealth of experience in establishing operations and recruiting local expertise in novel markets. Among these, China stands out as an exceptionally intriguing and demanding landscape. Boasting an immense labor force and an intricate tapestry of business customs, steering through the human resources labyrinth in China demands not only a receptive mindset but also a nuanced understanding gleaned from within the trenches.
When I first embarked on establishing an R&D center in Guangzhou, I knew labor wouldn’t be hard to find with China’s huge population. What caught me off guard was how relationships and connections tend to take priority over skills and experience during the hiring process. I quickly learned that having mutual friends or contacts at a Chinese company can override impressive CVs when it comes to getting job interviews and offers.
This was contrary to the structured, standardized HR practices I was accustomed to in the US and Europe. Hiring someone because my business partner’s cousin knew her father seemed very strange initially. However, I soon understood it was because of the level of trust and accountability already established through that connection. Once I adapted and began developing my own trusted relationships and networks in China, I had a much easier time building out my teams.
The Chinese also have a cultural tendency to perceive foreigners as casual, less hardworking or short-term focused. As a foreign manager, you may find promising candidates hesitant about commitment or longevity. To overcome this, I learned to clearly communicate opportunities for career growth, training and advancement to build longer-term credibility. Getting existing Chinese employees to help convey such messages as insider advocates also worked wonders compared to just making the claims myself as a non-Chinese outsider.
Regardless of skill, another key cultural characteristic to understand is Chinese employees tend not to openly voice doubts, disagreements or constraints to managers. Whether due to hierarchy, harmony or saving face, I learned not to necessarily take silences as signs of comprehension or agreement. Being careful not to interpret lack of pushback as passive confirmation became an important adjustment I had to make. Proactively soliciting ongoing feedback and encouraging questions ended up being crucial to bridging such communication gaps.
Between disparate HR practices, indirect communication norms and foreigner perceptions, China indeed took some recalibrating for me to penetrates as a business development lead. But an openness to learn rather than judge mainland Chinese work culture allowed me thrive. The personal relationships I built not only enabled forming top-notch Chinese teams but also became the foundation for many of our most critical and long-lasting partnerships in China. And for that, navigating China’s opaque hiring dynamics proved well worth the effort indeed!