Hanoi Businesses Are Still “Thirsting” For Talents

According to the Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs (“MOLISA”) in Hanoi, since the beginning of this year, the city has created jobs for 153,523 workers, an increase of 33.7% compared to August 2021. Despite showing some positive signs, the labor market in Hanoi is still facing labor shortage. According to Mr. Le Van Thanh – Deputy Minister of the MOLISA, some localities, regions, and industries are still experiencing short of up to 120,000 workers in just the first quarter. 

Hanoi is one of the top destinations for foreign investors, attracting 37.9 billion USD in foreign direct investment (“FDI”), ranking no.3 in the country (according to Talentnet’s report). However, the popularity of Hanoi has also brought significant challenges for HR in the capital side. Many large businesses are going to expand their operations to the north. Foxconn – a large electronic products supplier has built a 50.5-hectare-factory in Bac Giang, which expects to create jobs for more than 30,000 workers. Meanwhile, Samsung announced an 920-million-USD investment to expand their operations in Vietnam. The above figures show that the demand for labor in Northern Vietnam is showing a strong acceleration, which will become a “battlefield” to find and attract talents. 

According to Ms. Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hương – Deputy CEO of Talentnet, salaries and benefits are two prerequisites for businesses in Hanoi to attract and retain talents. However, it is not just about high salaries and good benefits. To compete with Ho Chi Minh market and others, Hanoi businesses need to catch up with employee trends, understand the remuneration trends to redesign and personalize their HR strategy according to different groups of employees and their needs. 

According to Mercer’s report, which is announced at the 2022 Talentnet-Mercer Total Remuneration Survey Report Announcement (“TRS”), a deep understanding of salaries and benefits will strengthen the connections between employees and business 5 times more than providing a competitive salary. Moreover, up to 69% of employees value pay and compensation transparency. This requires HR and business leaders to pay special attention to developing a straightforward salary formula and transparent payroll payment, and on the other hand, building a clear communication strategy to let all employees know and understand all the work behind it, thereby improving pay and compensation transparency. 

Also, Ms. Hương believes that “total well-being” (including physical, mental, financial well-being and sustainable growth) is an experience that everyone desires to possess. In the past, employees focused more on whether their jobs are meaningful or not, whether their dedication are recognized or not, etc. However, employees nowadays require businesses to respect their lifestyle as well as provide them with better life with more happiness and joys. 

According to Mercer’s report, employees are currently facing many different types of pressure. For example, the stress of taking care of their children can cost working parents up to 2 productive working days, Gen Z is concerned about their future and career, while millennials are concerned about their physical and financial parents 

“Empathy will be an important keyword for businesses to attract and retain talent nowadays. Understanding employees’ expectations and needs will help businesses redesign their approach in personalizing benefits mode” – Ms. Thanh Hương concluded. 

Ms. Hương also advises that Hanoi businesses can take advantage of their deep understanding of the culture, lifestyle, and needs of the workforce to develop appropriate strategies to attract and retain talents as well as combine salary reports have better perspectives about the market trends to compete with other markets. 

Source: VnExpress