Survey: International talents reverse the trend of automotive returnees returning private enterprises

While the Chinese auto market is undergoing further changes, its internal talent flow has become a new trend.

In March 2010, Liu Zhigang, President of the original Brilliance Jinbei Cup and General Manager of Huachen Automobile Sales Company, switched to Huatai Automobile; former Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Technology Center Yu Sangfang, Shuanglong Li Jinghao of Korea, and Huang Xiaodong, General Manager of Changhe Automobile Sales Company, defected to Gio; The private company Gio Group has served as vice president of the group and president of the Automotive Research Institute.

Just a few years ago, private automotive companies were distressed because some of their highly skilled technical talents and competent management talents were most likely to go abroad or invest in foreign companies and state-owned enterprises. However, with the rapid development of the domestic automotive industry in recent years and the growing strength of private enterprises, senior professionals with expertise have gradually turned their attention to domestic and even private enterprises. Before and after this, Geely has also won over some “foreign” talents from foreign companies and state-owned enterprises.

A trend of “counterflow” by top management talent is forming a new climate. For this trend, the 21st Century Business Herald Automotive Research Institute and Gasgoo.com conducted surveys. The survey was conducted from July 23, 2010 to July 30, 2010. The survey focused on the trends in the flow of talent market, the reasons for the changes, and the impact they had.

Switch to private enterprise trends

A total of 1845 industry participants participated in the survey. The results of the survey showed that the industry’s insiders who voted up to 40% (with 738 employees) believe that the “backflow” trend of this talent is likely to turn into a trend. Some senior executives who have previously held senior positions in foreign companies or SOEs have begun to It favors the private car enterprises whose development momentum is increasingly fierce. Another 35% of people in the industry are uncomfortable with whether the current personnel changes will gradually become a trend, saying that it is still "difficult to say."

A person in charge of a domestic consulting agency said in an interview that for companies already listed or preparing for a listing, especially for private companies with significant expansion ambitions like Geely and BYD, the talent strategy is a must for auto companies to become bigger and stronger. One step in the game, and the concept of employing these companies is undergoing earth-shaking changes, "that is to introduce high-end talent at all costs." "The flow of such talent changes will certainly become a trend." The person in charge stressed that.

In addition, 25% of industry insiders expressly dismissed the “counter-current” trend of talents. It is believed that the transition of executive talents of some foreign companies and state-owned enterprises to private enterprises since this year is only a phased fluctuation of the industry personnel, not the general trend.

In 2002, there was a new round of explosive growth in the Chinese auto market, with sales reaching 1.1 million vehicles. In the market soaring at that time, private car enterprises exposed Xiao He's sharp corner. Following 2002, the Chinese auto market began to flourish in 2003. It is in this context that a wave of returnees from the automotive industry has begun to set off.

In March 2003, Xu Min resigned from Visteon who had worked for 12 years and joined Chery as president of the Institute. In 2004, Gu Lei also resigned from the 11-year-old Ford and returned to China to enter Chery’s post as Beiqi Futian. Dean of the Institute. Subsequently, Zhao Fuquan, Wang Dazhan, and other talents who currently enjoy certain influence in the Chinese auto industry have also returned home. Although the fields they are good at are different, the background of studying abroad is not the same, but one thing is the same, that is, the first choice of car companies for their return to China is state-owned enterprises.

Time passes. After the development of Chinese self-owned brand cars in recent years, the market share in the domestic market has occupied half of the country, and among these, the private car companies represented by Geely, BYD, and Great Wall Motor have made remarkable achievements.

In the past two years, private automakers have begun exporting abroad and at the same time set up factories overseas to seek expansion. In this process, a large number of high-quality talents are needed, especially those with overseas market experience. At the same time, after the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008, the predicament of car companies in the mainstream markets such as Europe and the United States has become increasingly precarious. Private car companies have taken the opportunity to achieve overseas mergers and acquisitions, and the demand for “international” talent has increased significantly.

Tengzhong Shuangmao Hummer, Geely's acquisition of Volvo, BYD and Daimler, etc., made China's private car companies famous in the international arena. After realizing the “transformation” of self, some talented people in the automotive industry have gradually begun to gather with these private car companies.

Causes of complex changes

Compared with state-owned enterprises and foreign companies, what kind of advantages can private car enterprises have to attract this talent?

The survey shows that the development space and remuneration package are two major attractive factors for the current flow of executive talent to private enterprises. Among them, 16%, 14% and 16% of the votes for "Development Platform", "Promotion Space" and "Actual Power" respectively accounted. In addition, the percentages of votes for “salary benefits” and “profit dividends” were 16% and 15%, respectively.

For the executives who value the personal development space more, the three aspects of the company's prospects, company system, and employment mechanism are also the main considerations. The proportion of votes is 6%, 3%, and 5% respectively.

Han Zhiyu, a former R&D manager at Ford Motor Co., who joined Great Wall Motors and became the dean of the company’s technical institute, said in an interview that “I have visited Chery, Dongfeng and other companies before joining Great Wall Motors and I was very enthusiastic. The reception, but compared to Great Wall Motor's system is more in line with my system of foreign companies (Ford)."

In the negotiation of Beijing Auto's acquisition of part of Saab’s intellectual property rights, Shu Chang, the vice president of Beiqi, which was honored as “the number one hero,” handed out his resignation after completing the acquisition of some Saab production platforms. For this reason, Shu Chang sighed in an interview that mergers and acquisitions could not be facilitated by the active promotion of one chairman. The following departments do not promote and will also affect the process of mergers and acquisitions. Moreover, the chairman of the board is subject to the board of directors. The board of directors is subject to the SASAC and the procedures are cumbersome.

However, as a private company that is pursuing the maximization of profits, it is not a time when all senior management personnel can enjoy a lasting well-being. An industry analyst who declined to be named suggested that some private enterprises, through high-salary rewards to attract a portion of talents who are good at returning to the sea or who are skilled in a certain area of ​​technology, will grasp and absorb their skills. Will use the way of dismissing the other party and "trampled" this part of the talented person. "Moreover, this phenomenon is common in some domestic private enterprises."

This can be viewed from the relatively frequent high-level personnel changes in private enterprises. Some organizations have statistics that the flow of talents of outstanding companies has remained at about 15%. However, the turnover rate of talents in domestic private enterprises is close to 50%, and the rate of brain drain of some private enterprises has reached 70%.

At the same time, the survey shows that “corporate management” and “technical R&D” are still the two types of talents that currently have the largest gap in private auto companies and are most in demand. Their voting proportions are 17% and 24%, respectively. According to 11% of the respondents, the talent for compound auto talent is the key to the implementation of the talent strategy for private enterprises, and the polling ratio is second only to the two categories of “enterprise management” and “technology research and development”. "If you want to succeed in an automotive project, you need 70% of management and 30% of technology, and professional management professionals who understand technology are in short supply at home." said Guo Guojun, who has already joined Gio. In addition, there are also 8% and 11% of votes in auto finance and marketing.

Judging from this survey, foreign companies and state-owned enterprises that do not always worry about the shortage of talents are eager to retain talent now. The competition for talent strategy between car companies will become increasingly intense as local car companies continue to grow.