Back in the days when most
of the world made its living by growing its own food under an agricultural
model, hunger drove our motivation. If a field lay uncared for, people would
starve and communities would collapse. Therefore, farmers needed little
motivation to get up each morning and work from dawn to dusk to provide food
for their families. As society progressed and resources were organised more
effectively by the industrial model, motivation did not evolve in a
corresponding fashion. While the responsibilities of workers became more
complex and varied, their motivation stayed fixed in their bellies. A miner's
or mechanic's motivation to work remained unchanged from that of their
agricultural predecessors. If they fell short of their employer's production
expectations, they would be fired. Without a job and its requisite pay,
industrial workers faced the same circumstance of starvation as the farmers of
the past faced when harvests failed.
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.
On the morning of March 21st, I felt as though I had fallen into a black hole. The March/April edition of Network HR had just arrived at the door of my office in Tianjin, and there were obvious problems. The arrival of each new edition fresh off the press is usually a moment of great pride for me. However, this time it was different. Even though we had one of the best selections of articles ever (as I am sure many of you may have noticed), there were also some glaring mistakes that deflated my usual sense of pride very quickly.
Blogging is a popular pastime in China … and it is growing fast. Reports from China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) estimate that there are over 70 million blogs written by almost 50 million bloggers in China at present. These impressive statistics are despite the first Chinese blog appearing as late as 2002. However, currently, most of us think of blogging in a personal context. Few organisations seem to have realised the potential blogs can have for HR.
You may not have noticed, but we have entered a bright
new era of health and wellness. The buzz around Hong Kong, Mainland China and
much of the world is one of feeling staying well and feeling healthy. People
are talking about organic cotton in their clothing, natural plant extracts in their
facial cream and moisturisers, and non-GM food in supermarkets. There are still
many areas in which our and living environments are very polluted, but it seems
that at long last we are trying our best to reverse this. Many of us share
common fears about keeping our bodies healthy and in trim, but we also share
the common problem of increased stress and long working hours.
In the last issue of Network HR, Allan Nee of Baode Law in Tianjin wrote a detailed and insightful article about the ways in which your organisation needs to adapt to China's new Labour Laws. Allan offered a myriad of fantastic advice. However, there was one factor he mentioned that really captured my attention - transparency.Read More
Benefits
The Power of Acknowledgement
he seeds of this article were sewn as I put together the last edition of Network HR. First, as I edited the Training & Development section, I read the following prophetic words from Jennifer Peterson, "If you want your customers to feel cared for, you must care for the employees that serve them." This started me musing about the way organisations across China treat employees.Read More
Training
Synchronicity for Success
A single droplet of sweat trickled down my neck as the glowing amber sun beat down on us. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw our competitors lined up alongside us. It was the moment we had been preparing for over the last 5 years. Our goal was crystal clear and I had visualised this very occasion countless times.Read More
Recuitment
War, what is it good for?
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
In the last issue of Network HR, Allan Nee of Baode Law in Tianjin wrote a detailed and insightful article about the ways in which your organisation needs to adapt to China's new Labour Laws. Allan offered a myriad of fantastic advice. However, there was one factor he mentioned that really captured my attention - transparency.Read More
he seeds of this article were sewn as I put together the last edition of Network HR. First, as I edited the Training & Development section, I read the following prophetic words from Jennifer Peterson, "If you want your customers to feel cared for, you must care for the employees that serve them." This started me musing about the way organisations across China treat employees.Read More
A single droplet of sweat trickled down my neck as the glowing amber sun beat down on us. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw our competitors lined up alongside us. It was the moment we had been preparing for over the last 5 years. Our goal was crystal clear and I had visualised this very occasion countless times.Read More
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
