From a growing demand for live streamers to a boom in online education, digital healthcare, e-commerce and cloud infrastructure – the digital technology sector in China saw significant expansion earlier this year despite crisis conditions. While this has further strained the sector’s severely candidate short market, it has also created opportunities as more companies broaden their requirements to consider candidates from a variety of backgrounds.

While organisations in China continue to brave against the hurdles presented by COVID-19, successful containment efforts have resulted in most businesses operating at full capacity for some time now.

China’s renewed focus on owning technologies and designing products rather than just manufacturing them has led to exciting developments in the space and enormous government support to attract more such businesses.

While most organisations in China have returned to work, returning to the workplace has presented many organisations with novel challenges such as having to redesign the layout of their offices to allow for social distancing, or reviewing the use of common areas such as meeting rooms, receptions, kitchens and toilets. Going forward, offices may not be able to accommodate all employees at once while maintaining adequate social distancing, leading to a large number of professionals continuing to work remotely.

The COVID-19 crisis has ushered in a new era in the world of work that is impacting both jobseekers and hiring organisations.

Strategy and management are essential to leading a company through crisis; but at the heart of any organisation is its people, and organisations around the world have been celebrating the pivotal role that employees have played in tiding their company through unprecedented challenges.

While the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak seems to have been overcome in China, the crisis remains a global concern that is impacting the way people live and work. Additionally, social distancing measures have quickly become the new normal for both businesses and individuals, and many employees are still required to work from home for an extended period of time.

Hays, the leading recruiting expert, has launched a free online training portal designed to help employers and teams in China grow the skills they need to function effectively and thrive in the wake of COVID-19.

The global COVID-19 crisis has already transformed the world of work, with much of its impact still unfolding. As the situation continues to develop and the road to recovery is expected to be a long one, business leaders and professionals must adapt and be agile to the challenges that are presented to them on a daily basis, with valuable lessons to be learned along the way.

As countries around the world continue in their battle against COVID-19 at varying stages, in China, the worst appears to have been overcome. Today, most of China’s businesses are gradually resuming operations, providing the world with an invaluable frame of reference as they prepare to return to work.

Even as most businesses in China have resumed normal operations, several countries around the world are moving to remote ways of working to battle the COVID-19 crisis. While employees may now be well acquainted with what this takes, working from home can also present challenges that are difficult to spot at times – such as feelings of isolation and loneliness.

While most businesses have resumed their normal operations, the current world of work in China is still operating more remotely than it ever has before. Remote working began as a crucial measure to maintain the health and safety of employees, but carries with it some obstacles that employers may find challenging. This includes work place culture, which is impacted when communication, collaboration, relationship building and accessibility becomes remote.

Uncertainty in the current world of work is posing a challenge to established hiring practices, particularly when it comes to interviewing potential candidates for a new role. Virtual recruitment methods like video interviews are invaluable in overcoming the challenges of remote hiring, while having the additional benefits of saving companies time and creating more efficient processes.

Great Place to Work®, ranked Hays as number four on the 2020 Best Workplaces in Asia list under the category of ‘Best Multi-national Workplaces in Asia’. More than 2.2 million employees participated in the survey studies that covered eight 8 Asia-regions and countries where Great Place to Work is represented.

Interviewing for a new role via video is only increasing, according to recruiting experts Hays, as our world of work evolves in rapidly changing times.

In a continuing trend of mismatched salary expectations, Chinese employees expect significant pay increases in 2020, while employers maintain a more measured approach, finds the latest Asia Salary Guide report by leading recruitment experts Hays. Additionally, focus on employee benefits continues to decrease despite emerging as a key element to talent retention when compared to previous years.

While 2019 began as a promising year for recruitment in Asia, the ripple effect of a slowing global economy has seeded uncertainty within the region. This has contributed to a more conservative outlook for hiring and compensation in 2020, finds the latest Asia Salary Guide report by leading recruitment experts Hays. However, both employers and employees in China continue to maintain comparatively high expectations for increments in 2020 comparing to Asia counterparts, albeit alongside growing concerns over skill shortages.

For the second year running, a global survey by recruiting experts Hays has revealed that men are more likely than women to believe their employer is committed to achieving gender equality in the workplace.

As the rate of technological change advances, it’s becoming increasingly important for professionals to learn coding to future proof their careers and plug existing skills gaps, says recruiting experts Hays.

Gamification has the potential to help organisations with employee participation and motivation, but some businesses are struggling to put it into effect, says recruiting experts Hays.

Senior and line managers are primary stakeholders of a company’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) agenda, according to Sophia Leung, Chief Information Officer for J.P. Morgan in APAC. The statement came after J.P Morgan was named ‘Employer of the Year’ at the Women in IT Awards Asia held in Singapore earlier this year, of which Hays was a proud sponsor.

Would you rather your boss praised your successes or offered you unwanted perks? According to recruiting experts Hays, most employees prefer the former, which is why organisations could forgo headline-grabbing perks in favour of a simple ‘thank you’ and recognition for a job well done.

Marked by continued digital innovation, business transformation and a slowing global economy, 2020 is lining up to be a year that will be as full of challenges as it will opportunities. One of the major effects of these market conditions in Asia will be slower and more cost-effective hiring processes across industries and functions – meaning that it has become more important than ever for candidates to be able to ‘prove their worth’ as the right fit for a role.

The average working age is increasing across the globe and as a result, employers should embrace the benefits of a more mature workforce, says recruiting experts Hays.

Hays was awarded the titles of “Best Workplace™ for Women” and as one of the “Best Workplaces™” in Greater China 2019 by Great Place to Work®, a global authority on workplace culture on the evening of December 5th, 2019 in Shanghai.