Network HR spent much of the last month struggling with time zones in China and California to bring you this interview with eBay’s Dennis Ho, who is based in sunny San Jose. However, it was certainly worth it as Dennis shared some fantastic insights into recruitment on both a China and global level.
How did you get into HR? I have been working in the recruiting field for 14 years. I started recruiting in-house around 4 years ago, when my former manager brought me to eBay.
What are the major differences between the HR sphere in the US and in China? Are there different recruiting challenges in each region?
Basically, the mission for both countries is the same when it comes into recruiting. We want to hire the best talent available in the shortest time. Although, there are different kinds of challenges in each region: The skill requirements are different. eBay has very complicated computing platforms, so we deal with large ranges of IT imperatives everyday. We host 100 million concurrent listings, which are updated 500 times per second and searched 3,800 times per second and we have more than 233 million users. Because of this, buying off-the-shelf technology usually isn’t an option for us – we build many applications from scratch. This means there are software development tools we employ in the US that developers in China might not have heard of. Some other examples are culture differences and language barriers. Our engineers in Shanghai work closely with the engineering teams in San Jose, California. English communication skill is important to us. Our work environment provides a very good training venue for engineers to picking the latest technologies in the market, as well as an effective way to practice their English.
Is there anyone who has had a profound influence on your career?I worked in search firm environment for the last10 years. My former manager who brought me to eBay offered me a chance to complete the whole recruiting spectrum bridging my outside consulting experience and corporate staffing needs. In-house recruiters face different challenges to outside consultants. I learned a lot from my manager about how to be successful working in a corporate environment. My current manager influences me on how to take talent acquisition to the next level.
Working in California, how do you keep up to speed with your team in China?Being flexible with work hours is the key. Technologies offer great assistance. I use Skype extensively either messaging with my work colleagues or calling them whenever is necessary. I basically work on two shifts due to the time difference between California and China, no matter which office I am in! I work closely with my work colleagues in both locations. I stay late at night when I am in San Jose, so my team and business in Shanghai can interact with me during their normal office hours. When I am in Shanghai, I go to the office early in the morning so that I can participate in meetings with the San Jose office.
What are the biggest challenges facing HR in the future, both on a global level and in China?In recruiting, the biggest challenge will be attracting top talent. This is especially true in China. Shanghai is a big magnet. More and more MNCs are setting up business/operations here. The demand for talent is getting enormous and competitive. As a result of the continuing demand for talent in this region, employee retention would also be a challenge for many companies. Offering the right remuneration package is not easy in China because it is an emerging market and Salary is quickly catching up to the global standard.
EBay is famed for some of its innovative benefits, and was recently voted into Fortune’s Top 100 employers. Does this help in your recruiting role?Yes, it does help in some degrees, but we still need to think of creative ways to attract talents. In China, being one of the top Fortune employers doesn’t mean much to many candidates although eBay was ranked 15th top-paying company and the 68th best company to work for in 2008. Candidates like our work culture and our office environment. The way we treat our candidates really impresses them. Another key to our successes in attracting talent is offering employee a platform to develop their career. One of our best eBay practices is to “Keep it Human” that really makes people want to join eBay!
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I believe I can bring the War for Talent to a peaceful end. I came to this realisation two
months ago after I was invited to present at the ‘Corporate Travel and Technology
World' conference in Shanghai. The topic, "Selecting Potential Leaders and Turning a Company from Good to Great", was
provided some months earlier, giving me time to source opinions from
around China. Read More
