Marked by trade tensions, continuous digital transformation, financial innovation and regulatory changes, Hong Kong’s job market is geared for significant changes in the coming year, says recruiting experts Hays, as part of the city’s top 10 talent trends for 2020.

One of the biggest talent trends observed for the coming year is the city’s move towards a more flexible recruitment model, owing to a significantly slowing economy that has brought cost control to the forefront. Contracting and temporary workers can expect plenty of opportunities in the new year, particularly those with demonstrated experience in project management, stakeholder management and digital transformation.

This move is partly fuelled by the emergence of virtual banking, that is set to transform a number of traditional roles. Much of the hiring focus within banking and finance is likely to be in this space, particularly for senior-level executives from digital banking sectors who will be most sought after. However, the entrance of virtual banking has also impacted job role requirements, as more companies open their minds to candidates with diverse background and experience.

Other trends involve the rising importance of soft skills across industries, as more companies realise technical or ‘hard’ skills must be equally accompanied by ‘soft’ skills to successfully navigate uncertainty and ensure complete efficiency. E-commerce will also play a vital role in the hiring of sales professionals, while insurance will be yet another industry significantly impacted by ongoing digital transformation.

“The rapid pace of change in Hong Kong has laid the way for a new set of challenges and opportunities in 2020,” says Jack Leung, Regional Director for Hays in Hong Kong.

‘However, the country’s movements towards a more flexible, agile workforce equipped with soft skills is well in tune with global movements. Digital transformation will only continue to disrupt industries and may ultimately result in a welcome change in mindset towards flexible recruitment solutions; while driving more candidates to continue upskilling in a bid to stay relevant.

‘Open-minded organisations who can offer stability as well as opportunities to develop and train their employees will find themselves at an advantage amongst competitors. For candidates, those ready to embrace the impending digitisation of all industries and equip themselves with the change management skills needed to weather transformation will be best placed for the year ahead.”

Hays Top 10 Talent Trends for 2020 in Hong Kong are:

1. Companies prioritising cost efficiencies & change management

The recent onslaught of trade tensions, off-shoring, regulation change, automation, and digital transformation will culminate in major changes in Hong Kong’s recruitment market. These range from prioritising cost efficiency and restructuring entire businesses, to a focus on skill sets that can both promote and weather change, particularly in digital areas. Project-based roles have also seen an increase in the market for this reason, a trend that is likely to continue into 2020.

2. Flexible recruitment solutions surge in popularity

According to data from the Hays Asia Salary Guide 2019, 91 per cent of companies in Hong Kong employed temporary or contract staff in the last year, up from 83 per cent in 2018. This a trend that is likely to continue owing to the slowing economy and rapid pace of change that has created a need for companies to have better cost and headcount management. Flexible recruitment solutions are seen as the solution to provide companies with agility, flexibility and cost management.

3. Soft skills increasingly paramount to weather change

Skills are the currency of the future, and the bulk of these will soon be soft ones such as collaboration, inductive reasoning and agility. In today’s world of work, roles and technologies are consistently changing and what exists today or five years from today may cease to do so because of automation. People hired into a specific set of experiences may not have the skills to adapt or change when those experiences are no longer required, but workers who are adaptable and inquisitive will be able to upskill and cross-functionally move into these new positions.

4. Balance between technical and soft skills

Many line managers are also becoming increasingly conscious of the importance of striking a good balance between doing business and being compliant with regulations. As a result, stakeholder management skills have joined the ranks of technical knowledge and business acumen as skills that are essential to business efficiency.

Candidates with strong project experience in Agile Scrum, RPA (robotic process automation) SAP S/4 HANA implementation, and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) ERP (Enterprise resource planning) implementation will remain in high demand. which includes highly qualified individuals who are as flexible and adaptable as they are specialised in a domain.

5. Virtual Banking shaking up the finance sector

Hong Kong’s eight new virtual banking licenses are set to impact workforce dynamics. As companies begin implementing virtual banking programs, the employment of finance, digital, and project management professionals is set to see a boost. The perfect candidates for this nascent sector would be those who are seeking a new challenge but also want to maintain and utilise their existing industry knowledge in e-banking or digital banking. To reap the boundless opportunities that virtual banking presents, candidates would do well to be open minded, adaptable, tech savvy and passionate about the sector.

6. Broadening talent selection of C-Suite hiring for virtual banks

Many virtual banks have traditionally taken a ‘top down’ approach of focusing on senior hires like Department Heads and above. However, due to the relative newness of the virtual banking industry, there is very little talent that has real experience within this space. As a result, companies are no longer restricting hiring to C-level professionals with over 20 years of experience. Instead, they have been more receptive of candidates with fewer years of experience sometimes even five to ten years of experience will suffice.

7. Insurance to see major digital transformation

Automation, AI, Digitisation will be key aspects for insurers in 2020 as they seek to attract, retain and impress customers. As one of the most competitive insurance markets in Asia, digital enhancements will become a growing area for Hong Kong and will likely be visible across operations, distribution, products and even internal processes. Consequently, employers are now seeking candidates who can adopt and adapt to the integration of technology into their daily tasks.

8. Trade tensions put pressure on the procurement industry

If 2019 sparked concerns in Hong Kong about the potential impact of the US-China trade war, 2020 will likely see many of these concerns realised in terms of salary, job flows and turnover rates. Consequently, the intensifying pressure on companies to implement cost control and manage risk has raised the demand for highly skilled procurement and purchasing professionals. This is particularly the case for those with solid knowledge of third party risk management, global supplier management and identifying the cost down to BOM level.

9. E-commerce sales take-off

As e-commerce continues to disrupt traditional retail, sales positions within the sector will likely be in high demand in the coming year. E-commerce platforms are relatively new in Hong Kong, resulting in a limited pool of candidates and heightened competition to hire them. For this reason, companies are more willing give flexibility and better offers for skilled sales candidates, particularly those with strong retail and large corporate connections. Additionally, most MNCs in the space are now looking to boost their online sales and expand in Greater China, raising the demand for trilingual candidates with Mandarin language skills.

10. Conservative approach towards recruitment

Employers are becoming more conscious of the cost pressures involved in bringing in new headcount, pushing them to extend recruitment processes and consult with all parties to ensure a candidate is a perfect fit before they hire. On the candidate side, motivations to change jobs are still running high, although the reason has changed from ‘seeking new challenges’ to ‘seeking stability’ owing to recent geopolitical tensions.

For further workplace insights, visit hays.com.hk/advice-services or get in touch with us here.

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Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

Hays is located in Hong Kong at 6604-06, 66/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong.

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About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2019 the Group employed 11,500 staff operating from 265 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2019:

– the Group reported net fees of £1,129.7 billion and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £248.8 million;
– the Group placed around 81,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 254,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 18% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 32% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA