Nowadays, a lot of companies in Vietnam are having a common problem about recruitment and retention. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, on average it costs between 6 and 9 months’ salary to recruit and train good quality replacements. Thus, choosing the right people to keep the retention rate high is extremely important for a company. This is even much more vital when it comes to senior roles like directors or general managers. However, these days the retention rate in Vietnam is reported to be not that high. In this article, we will discuss the reasons why employers in Vietnam are having a headache about this issue.

1. The unfit between employees and company culture

Everyone is born in different ways and has various characteristics. Some people are open while some are reserved. Some are introvert when others are extrovert. Those personalities are neither good nor bad, they are just the way people are. Companies are exactly the same. They all have different personalities and cultures that each candidate needs to fit in. If a person who is introvert and lacks competitiveness works in a socialising and highly competitive environment, he will get stressed, bored, even depressed and sooner or later will try to escape.

However, it is not until he quits that it is considered a “Loss”. If an employee is thinking about leaving the company, he will start to gradually work less efficiently which basically is creating a loss over that period of time. Thus, it is extremely vital to choose the right person that not only satisfies the requirements on the job description but also the fit of their personalities into the company culture and working environment.

2. Unwillingness to discuss compensation and benefits scheme

The compensation and benefits scheme of the company may be found to be not satisfying and the managers tend to be not bothered to explain or negotiate with the candidates. This puts off a lot of people during the recruitment process which leads to a huge reduction in talented candidates going forward with the process. For example, some prefer a wage of $70,000 rather than $50,000 with benefits like company cars, phones, insurances. This should be discussed and negotiated to reach mutual agreement and satisfaction to avoid losing the potential talented candidates.

3. Carelessness in assessing candidates

Another reason is that the Vietnamese recruitment market tends to focus too much on collecting CVs and checking if they match the job requirements or not. This is really dangerous as it only stops at the screening process or just initial interview. It does not dig deeply into the candidates’ personalities and how they fit in the company’s culture they are applying for. Some jobs need people that are risk-taking and quick in making decisions, while others prefer risk-averse and thoughtful people. Hence, assessing a candidate fully from his ability to personality, from IQ to EQ and many other aspects like creativity or problem solving skills that are remarkably important.

Summary

All in all, the big problem of recruitment and retention among companies in Vietnam is mainly resulted from the very beginning phase, which is the recruitment process. Thus, assessing candidates carefully is extremely crucial to avoid wasting time and effort as well as finance and reputation of the company.

 

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Article written by Trung Nguyen, Senior Consultant AIMS International Vietnam

AIMS VIETNAM