Hong Kong News

Hong Kong recruitment—brighter future

A new three-year large-scale recruitment programme by China Resources Group aims, by the end of 2021 to recruit 1,000 new employees from Hong Kong, and reach their target of 2,000 new Hong Kong employees by 2022. The Group is hoping to recruit and invest more in outstanding Hong Kong talent via this recruitment plan.

Wang Xiang-ming, Chairman, China Resources Group, "The Greater Bay Area provides Hong Kong with a broader platform for development. The newly announced Shenzhen reform measures have opened up a new area of cooperation between the two cities. Hong Kong should utilise its unique advantages to support growth and create a win-win situation with the larger Greater Bay Area. Specifically, there is an opportunity to work closely with Shenzhen in creating a "dual city economy", both cities acting as a double engine to drive the development of the Greater Bay Area."

Applicants to this recruitment programme are expected to come from a wide variety of backgrounds so as to create a more diversified organisation. For management trainees, there are positions available in the company’s financial, real estate, pharmaceuticals, legal, design and other sectors, of which local talents are known to excel in. Some of the other positions are to support the company’s future business needs, such as life sciences, semiconductors, innovation technologies and materials science.

Wang added, "China Resources has been deeply rooted in Hong Kong for more than 80 years. Hong Kong has experienced many challenges in the past, but we overcame them and emerged even stronger. China Resources has confidence in Hong Kong’s growth prospects. We are launching this three-year large-scale recruitment programme, Join Us And Strive For A Brighter Future, to meet the group’s strategies and the needs of the core business units’ development, as well as to reserve and nurture more outstanding talents for the future. This programme also helps to relieve unemployment and fulfil our corporate social responsibilities." n

Better lifescapes

For many people, the ongoing COVID-19 situation has had an impact on their mental health and psychological well-being. According to a survey by Mind Hong Kong, over 40% reported that their mental health had worsened during the pandemic, and half of the respondents reported feeling lonely. This further raises HR concerns for employee welfare.

Mental health projects implemented by organisations have included organising a series of initiatives to promote healthy living and psychological well-being. Sino Group implemented initiatives such as aromatherapy workshops, ‘laughter yoga’ webinars that share tips on relieving stress and photo sharing sessions for focusing on any happy moments during the pandemic to encourage the return of long-lost smiles.

Committed to creating better lifescapes, the Group structures their services in a way that respects six areas of focus: Green, Wellness, Design, Innovation, Heritage and Culture, and Community. Subcommittees have been established around the six focus areas and among which, the sub-committee of ‘wellness’ is taking the lead to ensure a healthy working and living environment for colleagues and customers. An integrated green project called ‘Farm Together’, which exemplifies the Green focus area, allows colleagues to enjoy the healing power of farming at six urban farms. Sustainability is integral to business and operations.

Ms Elaine Liu, Associate Director & CHR Officer, Sino Group said, “Employees’ well-being and health are our top priority. Happy staff, means happy customers. If we take good care of our staff, they will be able to take good care of our customers with outstanding service. We hope to drive awareness of mental health and psychological well-being and offer support to our colleagues.’n

0.6% salary increase forecast for Hong Kong

Workers in Hong Kong experienced a reduction in salary growth in 2020 as an unfavourable economic situation adversely impacted businesses due to both the city’s socio-political tensions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The average rate of salary growth for workers in Hong Kong was 2.1% in 2020 pulled down by two in five employees getting no rise at all, almost half the 4% rate of increase provided in 2019. However, businesses are hopeful of an economic recovery in 2021 and expect salaries to increase by 3.0% on average in 2021 though one in four employees will get no salary increase. These figures and research findings were provided by The Annual Salary Trends Report by ECA International.

Lee Quane, Regional Director, ECA International, Asia said, “The expected rebound to 3% in 2021 shows that employers are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for recovery in 2021. However, the fact that 2020 rates remain lower than 2019 reveals that any recovery is likely to be gradual.” Additionally, real salary increases, which reflect increases in employee incomes after inflation is taken into consideration, will be relatively low in Hong Kong in 2021, at 0.6% after taking forecast inflation of 2.4% for 2021 into consideration. Quane added, “Real salaries for Hong Kong residents, forecast to be 0.6% next year, will be amongst the lowest in the region. This may hinder the extent to which the Hong Kong economy may recover from the current recession.”

There is expected to be a major drop in the number of Hong Kong-based companies implementing salary freezes in 2021. Close to half of the Hong Kong organisations applied salary freezes in 2020 amid the pandemic and the devastating effect it had on the economy. However, in the face of a possible vaccine being rolled out, only one-quarter of companies expect these freezes to last in 2021—giving hope of better times to businesses and employees based in Hong Kong. n