Are you looking to hire a full time direct permanent employee in Korea? Do you have a business entity in Korea already? Or is this your first? This article can help you have a comprehensive overview of hiring for Korea. In the first section, the job scene and hiring trends in Korea will be explained. Subsequently, the best hiring tips for companies will be discussed.
Overview of Korean job market and recruiting trends
Recruiting War
South Korea is expected to see a substantial decline in the working population within the next three decades due to record-breaking low birthrates and an increasingly aging population (Yonhap News, 2022). In other words, the number of youths entering the labour market will significantly decrease over the coming years. Additionally, the Korean workforce is notable for its high levels of education. It is therefore anticipated that employers will encounter fierce competition with regards to recruiting the best talents.
Something More Than The Money And Job Security
Over the course of COVID-19, it is said that young Korean job seekers are paying less attention to job opportunities in big conglomerates and civil service sectors. Previously, recruitment for these positions was highly competitive. Working at a big conglomerate traditionally comes with a good compensation package and public sector jobs guarantee job security and a stable income. However, this trend is rapidly changing. According to the recent research by the Korea National Youth Policy Institute, young Korean job applicants are choosing small and medium-sized enterprises over conglomerates as a career path in 2022.
Data from the Ministry of Personnel Management also demonstrates that the competition rate for civil service exams is significantly decreasing as a result of the generation gap and conservative working environment in the public sector.
In turn, younger Korean workers are giving higher priority to careers which allow for a more habitable work-life balance. The survey conducted by Job Korea illustrates that over 80% of employees prefer to work in a hybrid mode, which is a blend of office and remote work. Also, candidates are more attracted to the organization which represent environmental, social and governance (ESG) values. In light of these changing attitudes toward employment, this article will outline hiring advice and best practice for employers hoping to recruit top-tier talent.
Hiring Advice for Employers
The aforementioned current trends indicate that Korean job seekers are actively pursuing better working conditions and a positive working culture. In light of this tight labour market combined with the reshrinking pool of highly educated workers, employers must take careful consideration when recruiting. What is the most effective way to attract the best talent?
Employer Branding Is Critical
In a sufficiently challenging labour market, organisations need to find the way to differentiate themselves from others and make themselves more distinctive whilst cultivating a reputation for a specific kind of employment experience. This is known as ‘employer branding’ (Walker, 2008). To be more specific, employee value propositions such as rewards, product quality, growth plans, and leadership style can be viewed as employer branding. Having their own special values and employment culture will also allow potential employees to feel assured that they will be able to perform their best if they were recruited by this employer. Many studies show that extrinsic factors such as compensation, benefits packages and pay level positively correlate to the size of the talent pool and acceptance rates. However, it requires higher costs and there is little variability amongst companies in these factors. In this respect, Jones et al (2014) propose that companies with strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) are more likely to have a higher organizational attractiveness than corporations without CSR.
Companies are reflections of their founders and when their values are well demonstrated on their webpage, potential candidates can better perceive whether they are the right fit for the organisations. They can also anticipate a certain level of pride as a member of the corporations. In this regard, employers can expect higher organizational attractiveness. Furthermore, combined with the fact that a number of job seekers are paying more attention to organisations with ESG practices, it is advised that employers take into account their unique and sophisticated CSR strategies.
Optimizing The Candidate Experience
It is highly critical that employers see selection as a two-way process. In other words, selection is the process by which both applicants and employers make selection decisions. This is because when candidates have bad experiences during the recruiting process, the following negative impacts can be seriously detrimental. To give an example of a real case, candidates may also be valuable customers, a bad candidate experiences can have a significant impact on the overall reputation of a company. A lack of awareness of this issue has previously resulted in a $5m annual loss for one company. Additionally, if more and more candidates post their dissatisfactory recruiting process on the job search platform, employers will end up losing the best candidates in the long term. Furthermore, the recruiting process is the first time for both employers and candidates to be closely connected and compare their expectations. At this stage, hiring managers thoroughly evaluate candidates based on their criteria to hire the best talent and the candidates can have a glimpse of their future working environments. If they were well treated, they are more likely to be attracted to the organisations. Therefore, matching expectations and providing positive candidate experiences will doubtlessly increase the offer acceptance rate. Moreover, owing to the fact that a number of interviews are happening virtually with the impact of the pandemic, more attention is needed for the optimization of the virtual interview process. (How to Assess & Evaluate Candidates for Virtual Interviews).
Choose The Right Fit
In the recruitment and selection process, no one would dispute the fact that hiring the right person is always a vital matter for employers. This is because poor selection brings about poor performance, additional training, demotivating other employees, and high absence rates. To choose the right fit, it is important to understand the value of the employment lifecycle and the type of fit. Firstly, Schneider’s (1987) Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) model shows how people make the place and determine organizational behaviour. To elaborate, individuals are attracted to firms where they find more similarities in their personalities, values, and attitudes (Attraction). Also, organisations select talent based on their knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as their values and they tend to hire someone who is similar to them (Selection). After the hiring and onboarding process, if employees are not the right fit for the organisation, they are highly likely to leave the organisation (Attrition). In other words, ASA decides the type of people in the organisation and organizational structure, culture, and policies are determined by people. With that in mind, HR and line managers can assess who would be the right fit for the organisation. When it comes to the type of fit, Kristof (1996) suggests two key types of fit, namely person-job fit (P-J fit) and person-organisation fit (P-O fit). P-J fit is about whether the person can do the job, including candidates’ knowledge, skills, and ability; and these are demonstrated in the job description. Thus, when employers provide them with detailed job descriptions, job seekers can gain a better understanding of the job and make a more informed decision for their application. P-O fit explains whether the goal and value of the organizations are aligned with candidates’ goals and personalities. For example, there are many HR practitioners who might do similar jobs, but they choose different companies depending on their values. All in all, understating of ASA employment cycle and the type of fit will help you to choose the right fit for the organisation.
To sum up, the key to hiring the best talents in a highly competitive job market is establishing employer branding, providing positive candidate experience, and lastly considering the employment cycle and the type of fit.
Then How Can We Help You?
We fully understand the importance of recruiting and we are the experts in helping global companies hire the right people, especially in HR, Finance, and Marketing. A number of experienced workers are passive job seekers which means that they are not actively looking for a new job. That is why our service is recommended. We check our talent pool and introduce them to a potential opportunity as we regularly update our talent pool and we know their history and who might be interested in a new role. Before delivering the shortlist, we thoroughly check whether the candidate has a high potential for the job and shares similar interests and values as yours. The process is conducted in Korean and English, and we take serious consideration to building a close relationship with clients and candidates.
If you are looking for bi-lingual candidates with a global mindset, we can certainly help you. We also provide value add services such as leadership coaching, team building, and sales training. For more information, please contact rdi@gordon
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long does it take to see the shortlisted profile?
A: We ideally deliver it within 14 Days.
Q: How big is your talent pool?
A: Our Korean talent pool coverage is 80%+
Q: What if the placed candidates decided to leave?
A: Our retention rate in a year is 93% and we guarantee 100% replacement up to 90 days
Author: Doyoung Heo