IT and telecoms will bounce back quickly in Hong Kong

Companies are likely to keep their hiring activities on hold in Hong Kong as they focus on dealing with the negative impacts of slower growth. More than six months of protests, violence and disruption has taken its toll on the city.

However, not all industries will suffer heading into next year. In Randstad’s Hong Kong Market Outlook & Salary Snapshot 2020, it calls the city ‘’a turbulent market environment’’.

But the report finds that the information technology (IT) and telecommunications sectors have seen positive growth, mainly due to the government’s agenda to drive the city’s technological development.

This trend is expected to continue into 2020 as Hong Kong plays catch-up in the tech space with neighbouring mainland Chinese cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

The resilience of the IT and telco sectors spell good news for HR professionals, the Randstad report states. ‘’As a result, we expect to see a surge in demand for HR and business support talent who have previously worked in technology firms’’.

Digitalisation will continue to be a top priority for many industries such as financial services, healthcare and supply chain. For HR, automation has increased the efficiency and effectiveness of its functions and will free up professionals from performing routine administrative tasks in recruitment and onboarding.

‘’This gives them the time and capacity to take on more strategic responsibilities, such as driving organisational change, spearheading business restructuring and strategic workforce planning’’.

Randstad predicts that HR professionals in generalist roles can expect a salary increment of 8% to 12% when changing employers. Specialised HR candidates equipped with in-demand skills like strategic business partnering and human resources information system can command up to 20% more.