The Chapman Consulting Group and Deloitte Host Quarterly TA Heads Session in Shanghai

The Chapman Consulting Group (ChapmanCG) were delighted to co-host their second quarterly TA Heads session in Shanghai last week. Hosted by Deloitte, it was a room full of Recruitment and Talent Acquisition leaders. Ben Davies, a Managing Director with ChapmanCG chaired the discussion and Paul Ferrari, a Director with ChapmanCG (focused on Greater China) was also present. Also in attendance was the China HR Head for Deloitte, as well as Talent Acquisition Leaders from Dell, Huntsman, Deloitte, Stryker, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, AIG, Mondelez, Infosys, BP, Philips, Johnson Controls plus many others.

We were treated to the following three presentations that were led by attendees:

• Is There a 'Best Model' for Recruitment Functions? Deloitte
• An example of How to Drive Transformation Through APAC. Stryker
• A case study example of How to Relocate Asian Talent Outside Asia, Back to Asia. Mondelez

The topics triggered plenty of discussion, some of the key insights gained are summarised below:

• Including an operations (budget, data and effectiveness) lead in the recruitment function embeds excellent data and efficiency. This function needs to be initiated by an individual who has the skills required to improve processes rather than by a recruitment specialist. It was agreed that this particular profile assists in driving better productivity.
• Transformation can be handled in a way that means people want to be involved not just 'head on'. A great example shared was one that focused on the operational elements and areas that no one else was passionate about. This helped foster 'quick wins' and set up the function for bigger changes as it provided credibility.
• Moving talent from Asia outside the region back again has to be a top agenda item alongside traditional recruitment. It was agreed that this can be costly and complex, but will be effective if partnered with the local HR team in order to establish cultural understanding. It was suggested that this be a focus of research universities and cities with a high talent pool.
• Using Kaizen and Lean principles in the recruitment function can bridge the gap between HR and business, as well as help diagnose process issues. Only a small number of attendees had used this method, but they all felt that it was something other leaders should invest some time in.

The next TA Heads session will be held during the last quarter of the year and we will share details closer to the time.