Last year, hiring for HR in the financial and commercial sector was solid, driven by positive growth prospects in the industry with a large number of Mainland companies setting up new operations or expanding offices into Hong Kong.

This trend has created demand for tri-lingual HR generalists and business partners to fill roles with regional responsibilities.

The 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide predicts the trend is likely to continue this year.

Many large firms are also creating graduate attraction programs targeted at both local and Mainland candidates.

“As the region continues to grow, we are seeing skill shortages across all HR functions, but in particular for well-rounded generalists with regional exposure that speak multiple languages,” said Dean Stallard, Regional Director of Hays in Hong Kong

“In order to keep costs low, we expect learning & development departments to play a larger role as companies look for ways to retain staff and develop high potential talent into management positions,” he added.

The report anticipates hiring rates and salary levels for HR to remain steady across all sectors in 2016.

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Since last year, a growing number of organisations showed greater willingness to be flexible with compensation in order to secure the right HR candidates across all levels of seniority.

“We predict this trend will continue next year placing strong, immediately available candidates in a good position to advance their careers,” said Stallard.

As the local hiring demand for HR becomes more reliant on Mainland firms, recent downturn of the economy had many business owners feeling less bullish about hiring demands.

Christine Wright, Managing Director of Hays in Asia believes there is no cause for concern at the moment.

“China’s slowing economy has created a gloomy sentiment and sparked fears about job losses, company collapses and loan defaults. But I firmly believe this pessimism is disproportionate. Economic growth may be slackening, but a year-on-year expansion of around 7%, or even slightly lower than that, is still very positive in a global context,” she said.

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