China Uncovering the secrets of success

Transcription

1 Winning in China Uncovering the secrets of success What every Multi-National Company should know about their China strategy >>

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3 Contents Executive Summary 1 Challenging China 2 Looking beyond the surface 3 The challenges just keep coming 5 How to win in China? 8 Focus of Winning in China 13

4 00 Winning in China China offers enticing opportunities to foreign companies...their future can be promising if they build a discipline around strategy alignment and building organization capability. - Wayne Chen, Managing Director, Hay Group, Greater China 2007 Hay Group. All rights reserved

5 1 Executive summary The Chinese economy continues to power ahead two decades after opening its doors widely to welcome foreign investors. As foreign direct investments continue to pour into the country, little attention has been paid to how foreign Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) are coping in this fluid and exciting market. To this end, Hay Group conducted an executive survey to assess the performance of these foreign companies. Our survey shows that over a third of foreign firms report that they are struggling to meet revenue, profit and growth objectives. They also identifed the shortage of talent as the biggest roadblock to better performance. Even though the shortage has been widely reported, this problem is more severe than most global company leaders based outside of China realize. This Winning in China report will also share some insights based on Hay Group s research and client work to help foreign MNCs win in China.

6 00 2 Winning in China Challenging China In global business, few would argue the fact that China is the centre of attention. China is the world s largest factory, attracting about US$230 billion of foreign direct investment over the past four years and expecting to export US$ 1 trillion worth of goods in China is poised to be the world s largest single consumer market: it has more than 350 million cellular subscribers; it is the world s third largest car market and is becoming the biggest market for PCs, broadband telecom services, digital TVs, and numerous other goods. As Wayne Chen, Managing Director of Hay Group, Greater China notes, China offers enticing opportunities to foreign companies. The unique environment in China has given foreign companies a hard time where they are confronted with numerous challenges. However their future can be promising if they build a discipline around strategy alignment and building organization capability. In anticipation of just this state of affairs, many foreign companies rushed into China over the past two decades. It is now timely to examine how these foreign firms are coping with the unique Chinese business environment. How many foreign companies are actually winning? 2007 Hay Group. All rights reserved

7 3 Looking beyond the surface To get a true picture of their performance in China, Hay Group conducted a survey of over 4,432 Multi- National Corporations (MNCs) based in China. In addition to analyzing responses, we conducted face-to-face interviews with their top executives to seek more insights to their responses. Our survey revealed some surprising results. More than a third of the MNCs polled admitted that they are underperforming in the areas of revenue, growth and profit expectations (Figure 1). Most of interviewees also predicted that Winning in China will become even more challenging in the years ahead. They also identified a wide variety of market-driven challenges, with shortage of local talent, fierce competition, and protection of intellectual property rights topping the list. However, when we asked how successful they were in dealing with these challenges, we found that foreign MNCs cope least well with the shortage of local management talent (Figure 2). More importantly, while China s talent shortage has been a hot topic in the past decade, our study shows that it is more severe than most MNC executives realize. Further analysis of our data revealed that: Figure 1: Over the past three years, to what extent has your company achieved business objectives (e.g. profits, market share, revenue growth?) On objectives 37% Beyond objectives 26% Far from objectives 10% Close to objectives 27%

8 00 4 Winning in China Figure 2: Top 3 challenges for MNCs in China and how well they are coping Shortage of local management talent 32% Widest Gap 76% Fierce competition in the Chinese market 49% 83% Protection of Intellectual Property 34% 57% 0% 100% Key: How important is this issue in your company? How well is your company dealing with this issue? the longer the company has been in China, the more significant the shortage of local talent becomes. In short, the China honeymoon is two years there is a direct corelation between the size of a company and how significantly the talent shortage affects them 37% of foreign multinational (MNCs) firms admit that they are under-performing in the areas of revenue, growth and profit expectations (Figure 2). In effect, the severe talent shortage is curtailing growth of MNCs in China. That China presents a unique challenge is undisputed. As Michael Drake, Managing Director of TNT Greater China, sums it, At this moment, being somewhat new to the China organisation, I have my head down looking at operational issues - talking to employees, reviewing processes and so on. I hope this will change relatively soon so that I can turn more of my attention to more strategic issues. Although this pressing issue of talent shortage has been discussed in China over the past ten years, our survey shows that it is more severe than non- China based company leaders realize. Are things going to get any better in China? First let us take a look now at how the lack of local talent is affecting the MNCs ability to perform to expectations Hay Group. All rights reserved

9 The challenges just keep coming According to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (2006), many American firms are still enthusiastic about doing business in China but are facing stiffer competition from a number of directions. While they face pressure from domestic competitors, the rapid rise in Chinese wages (amongst other factors) has eroded their profit margins. In fact, while the profitability of half of the firms surveyed proved positive, most firms saw less than a 10% increase in profits between 2004 and And things aren t going to get any easier. For instance, the corporate tax rate will be changed, leveling the playing field between foreign and domestic companies. MNCs will have their tax increased from 15% to 25% while domestic firms will see an 8% reduction from 33% to 25%. In short, foreign companies will face increased competition from their local counterparts. The lack of Chinese management talent is an issue that cannot wished away. As observed in the previous section, 76% of our respondents stated that their top-most challenge is finding the right talent, but only 32% of them think they are managing well in this area (Figure 2). So even though the fierce competitive environment is the number one challenge faced by MNCs, addressing the shortage of local management talent is where they tend to have the most difficulty. This dovetails with another Hay Group survey conducted in February 2007, which found that foreign banks in China need to increase

10 00 6 Winning in China 5 their manpower pool by 890% over the next four years in order to meet the demands, and take advantage of a deregulated banking sector. Yet, based on current data and forecasts, the industry will not be able to boost its talent pool eight-fold in four years. Will the lack of local talent inhibit the growth of this sector? Poaching is one way that companies use to fill the talent pool. This, of course, adds to the spiralling wages (discussed later). We have even encountered cases where entire teams are poached by competitors a costly exercise indeed for the recruiting company and, of course, very detrimental operationally for the losing firm. More than in other developing markets, finding the right manager is often the tipping point of a company s growth plans in China. For instance, the mantra in opening a bank branch in Hong Kong or Singapore is location, location, location. However, our Banking and Finance survey showed that the mantra in China should be talent, talent, talent, that is, hiring the right person is even more important than the location of the branch. Hire the wrong branch manager and the branch will cease operations entirely within a few months. In an interview with China Economic Review (March 2007), Mr Bartholomew Ng, China Country Manager for ING Asia Pacific Insurance said People in China still think very short term. You tell them that next week you will set up a new branch and they say, Okay, tomorrow I will recruit people. But would these new people really understand the company s business objectives? No. If you want to expand into a new market you need the people at least 6-12 months beforehand. Other companies try a different tack. Taking their cue from David McClelland, an acclaimed psychologist, some companies have taken to hiring a turkey to climb the tree, if they can t find a monkey. Some of the MNCs we surveyed have found this to be untenable and 2007 Hay Group. All rights reserved

11 More than in other developing markets, finding the right manager is often the tipping point of a company s growth plans in China. resorted to chopping down the tree that is, cutting up the job into manageable sizes for the functional teams to deal with. However, our interviewees admit that this is not a viable long-term solution. As Ms Carol Zhu, OD Manager of Astra Zeneca China notes, Shortterm, it will have an impact on the compensation budget because you have to continue to pay more to get good people, but over the long-term, you can lose your competitiveness in the market if you fail to retain high performers and this can have very serious business consequences.

12 00 8 Winning in China How to win in China? The talent situation and how it impacts business sustainability and growth is more serious than most global heads based outside of China realize. Thrown into China, foreign managers quickly realize that what works in other markets do not always work in China. So what can MNCs do to ensure that their China strategy becomes a reality? Based on our research and work with foreign firms in China, we propose two radical approaches focusing on strategy alignment and talent management. Are you in sync? Our data shows that establishing clarity within an organization is the key success factor in China. Not surprisingly, companies who outperform their counterparts have a clearly articulated and communicated strategy, clear individual and team roles in addition to a detailed implementation plan (Figure 3). Establishing clarity does not sound like a difficult thing to achieve. However, our respondents tell us that while clarity of roles may be taken as a given in developed markets, MNCs assume this to their peril in the quick-shifting environment of China. Upon further investigation, we found that what hindered the process was not just structural design or lack of leadership. It is more complicated than that. Figure 3: Top 5 Differentiators between high-performing and low-performing MNCs in China Clear roles for top managers in strategy execution 23% Widest Gap 63% Have a clear China strategy 35% 73% A detailed implementation plan Clear team goals for top executives 26% 24% 56% 64% Clear individual goals for top executives 19% 52% 0% 100% Key: High performing MNCs Low performing MNCs 2007 Hay Group. All rights reserved

13 One of our clients, the head of China operations for a large MNC, voiced his frustration when his corporate headquarters moved from a decentralized to centralized organizational structure. He said, We used to have a clear China strategy. I could make decisions based on our agreed China strategic priorities. However, now different strategic business units are driving our China business from the head office. While it is good that we get global best practices, it is also very challenging to reach consensus and clarity about our China strategy due to geographical distance and cultural differences. Another China head had the same challenge but in a diametrically different environment. After moving from a centralized model to a more decentralized one, he was given more power and accountability in overseeing different business units. our China operations and the different business unit leaders at our corporate headquarters. Whether centralized or decentralized, whichever matrix model is adopted, it is apparent that leaders in China need to be skillful in negotiating and juggling the different demands from local stakeholders vis-à-vis corporate headquarters. And in a timely manner as well! The good news is that based on Hay Group research and client work, these competencies can be learned with the help of a good coach. Furthermore, based on our work with MNCs in China, we have developed a Top Team model to help companies achieve strategic alignment and clarity, which forms the subject of an upcoming report. Suffice it to say for now, this Top Team is one with clearly defined roles and targets and has complementary competencies that will support the organization s China business. Even though I have more power and accountability, it still takes time and patience to reach consensus between

14 00 10 Winning in China One dilemma is that if we invest too much time and money in training, then we risk losing our staff to other companies. -John Dryburgh, General Manager, Aeroflex Microelectronics (Nanjing) Talent management = risk management Furthermore, it is imperative to realize that talent management in China is all about risk management. As one of our respondents, John Dryburgh, General Manager of Aeroflex Microelectronics (Nanjing) observed, One dilemma is that if we invest too much time and money in training then we risk losing our staff to other companies. While such a dilemma is not unique to China, the severe lack of talent here means that our challenge is more acute and that it is a risk that we must deal with in the best interest of the company. Consider the following facts from Hay Group s PayNet data: when a Chinese employee is lured away from his current job, our data shows that, not only does he get a promotion, he also pockets at least 40% more in base salary. (This compares with an average of 24% in Singapore and 21% in Hong Kong) many companies in China also struggle to keep an employee in the same job for more than two years local Chinese managers are about five years younger than their counterparts in Asia Hay Group. All rights reserved

15 (PayNet is one of the world s most comprehensive sources of compensation and benefits data.) What does this all add up to for MNCs in China? In practical terms, this means: moving your Chinese employees more quickly up the ladder than in other markets. They must strike a fine balance between readiness of the employee for more responsibilities and retention. Otherwise, your competitor will promote your employee for you by luring him away identifying the mission-critical roles within your China operations and protect the key people in these roles from being poached and offering better benefits, clearer career paths etc. Without these employees, not only will growth be affected, it is highly likely that your business may cease entirely not assuming that your product or operations managers in China has the same experience, skills and maturity level as their peers throughout your global company. Do take the time to coach them when necessary. Many business leaders in China complain about the high wage inflation for local management talent, and yet ironically, they feel that they are not getting enough value for their money. The root of this mismatch lies in the connection between pay and performance. Our survey also shows that 78% of low performing companies do not have a clear link between compensation and performance. These companies tend to spread their annual salary increment across the board - like peanut butter - regardless of individual performance. We d like to point out that companies who adopt this approach are missing out on an opportunity to take advantage of the salary phenomena in China. With annual salary increments standing at a robust 8% per year, CEOs have a unique weapon to enforce performance discipline and send clear signals to employees. Indeed, that is what the best companies are doing in China: giving twice - if not three times - as much increment to their high performers than average performers. Poor performers are often given nothing more than an inflation rate rise and in extreme cases, no increment at all. In this way, managers will be able to

16 00 12 Winning in China separate the sheep from the goats and generate higher performance. Considering culture Finally, a word on organization culture. Rather than view it as a fluffy intangible, consider it as another weapon in your arsenal in the war for talent in China. At the end of the day, beyond perks, salaries and bonuses, people don t leave jobs, people leave people. According to a Hay Group Organizational Climate survey in 2007, from the employee s point of view, we found that: only 30% of managers (all local) have created a high performance or energizing environment 10% of managers are not adding positive value in leading their people 60% of Chinese managers have created a de-motivating environment about 70% of the managers are either not adding value in motivating people or are adding negative value in motivating people. Leaders are all responsible for creating a positive work environment to motivate their employees to stay and give their best. As Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric says, Building a strong corporate culture and developing leaders are the key duties of any CEO. Winning companies are meritocracies, and meritocracies demand both rewards and punishments. Winning companies give people a future. Hay Group s inaugural Winning in China study has found that the bedrock of an organization s success in China lies ultimately on its people. As the Economist Intelligence Unit s report The CEO s Role in Talent Management found, the management of a company s pool of talent is too important to be left to the HR department alone and has become the responsibility of the CEO. Nowhere is this more true than in China Hay Group. All rights reserved

17 The management of a company s pool of talent is too important to be left to the HR department alone and has become the responsibility of the CEO. - The CEO s Role in Talent Management, The Economist Intelligence Unit Focus of Winning in China The focus of our inaugural Winning in China report has been to take a broad look at how effective foreign MNCs have been in terms of strategy execution. Over 4,432 foreign MNCs in China were invited to take part in our survey in July and August After the initial data analysis, face-to-face interviews were conducted for qualitative responses. In , we will examine the Talent Management issue by industry so as to deliver more insights to the challenges and triumphs of each sector.

18 00 14 Winning in China For more information, please contact either: Wayne Chen Managing Director, Hay Group, Greater China e wayne_chen@haygroup.com t Goh Hern Yin Country Manager, Reward Information Services, Hay Group, China e hern_yin_goh@haygroup.com t w Hay Group. All rights reserved

19 Shanghai Suite 617, Shanghai Centre 1376 Nanjing Road West Shanghai People s Republic of China t f Beijing 307 & 308 B, Office Tower C2 The Towers, Oriental Plaza No.1 East Chang An Avenue Beijing People s Republic of China t f Shenzhen Units 2307 & 2308 Excellence Times Square Juncture of Yitian Road and Fuhua Road Futian District Shenzhen Peoples Republic of China t f Hong Kong 27/F 3 Lockhart Road Wanchai, Hong Kong Peoples Republic of China t f

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