By Ma Zhenhuan and Xiao Zeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-23 10:04

Randstad Group, a human resource solution provider based in the Netherlands, is seeking to expand its foothold in China through its new headhunting channel.

The company, which acquired a controlling stake in Shanghai Talent Co last May, also has a Beijing office with more than 20 consultants tackling the North China market.

"We are seriously considering opening an office in Hong Kong and expanding into second-tier cities in the foreseeable future," Randstad's Managing Director Paul van de Kerkhof said.

Unlike conventional recruitment companies and headhunters, which usually find candidates through job fairs or telephone interviews on a random basis, Randstad offers a sector-based recruiting mechanism to meet clients' specific needs. The company assigns two of its consultants to form a unit focusing on a specific market segment - engineering, automotive, finance, sales and marketing - and to work for clients with vacancies in these sectors. Each unit would manage an active database for both clients and candidates.

"When a client comes to us with a vacancy, we can screen in our databases to find out whether there are such candidates matching their requirements," van de Kerkhof said. "Such upfront databases and working units will greatly shorten the time cycle of recruiting, which usually costs three to four weeks."

Van de Kerkhof, an HR specialist with more than 20 years' experience, explained that jobseekers in China often consider higher pay their first priority, and some ignore factors such as career development and employer competency.

To address this dilemma, Randstad uses its own unique criteria, namely "5C" - CV, character, company click, competence and career plan - in selecting potential candidates from its database.

Randstad holds that soft skills, such as character and competencies, are as important as hard skills. "We often explain to our clients that they should be open to candidates with different backgrounds. If the criteria are only based on hard skills, the potential development will be limited," van de Kerkhof said.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, the Randstad Group entered the Chinese market three years ago, becoming the only foreign recruitment firm to hold both staffing and recruitment licenses in Shanghai.

Upon buying into Shanghai Talent Co last May, the company obtained Shanghai Temporary Staffing Services, which focuses on HR outsourcing and payroll systems within and outside of Shanghai.

Van de Kerkhof agreed that working with local companies is of vital importance for foreign HR firms in China.

"Teaming up with Shanghai Talent first of all provided us with a broad knowledge of the local market," he added.