How going Local (Expat) can
help businesses in China, especially during the current global economic
slowdown and in light of the new LCL.
Foreign Nationals have been
working in China and Asia for decades. Most of them were originally on expatriate contracts, but a growing
number of them have decided to stay in Asia now that their contracts have been
successfully completed. Step in
IMS (Interim Management Solutions), part of the J.M.Gemini Group of Companies
to pick up the best C-level and senior level executives and managers and
establish a high quality China experienced resource pool.
The use of Interim Managers
is a common business tool in Europe and the USA, but is just starting to gain
acceptance in China. There are
many different situations where businesses can benefit from using Interim
Managers including the obvious one of flexibility. China is about to enter a sustained period of business
restructuring, mergers & acquisitions and rationalisation. This is where experience really does
count. Interim Managers from IMS
have lived through and managed growth, efficiency drives, cost savings, large
scale change. They have the
T-shirt plus they have adapted culturally.
The new 2008 Labour
Contract Law (LCL) has significantly reduced flexibility in the work
place. The knock-on effect will
make MNC’s much more cautious when recruiting Senior Executives and
Managers. This is where using an
experienced Interim Manager can be a real bonus, filling assignments for 3 to 6
months while the company takes its time to find the right permanent executive.
There are also many cases
where Interim Managers are deployed for longer periods, typically 12-18 months
in order to restructure a business, or relocating a plant & leading
employee training programmes. Business models in China are also changing from one relying on vast
amounts of cheap labour to more efficient western systems based
businesses. A good example of this
can be appreciated in the case of Interim Manager Joe Zink.
Joe is an American citizen
and a highly experienced IT Professional, providing IT Project Direction and
Management, with over 15 years experience in the IT field of which 3 years
working in China (mainly Beijing & Shanghai). He has vast experience with Microsoft Systems and has even
managed the relocation of an entire IT division to a new facility in the
US. Joe speaks Mandarin at a
conversational level and he is continuously improving his mandarin skills.
His current assignment for
IMS is as Director of Information Technology for a textile company based in
Suzhou, about 1 hour outside of Shanghai. He is now into the 7th month of a 12 month contract where his main KPI is to specify and
deliver a new ERP system.
Joe’s hands-on experience
has been invaluable in bringing the company’s IT infrastructure up to the
required standards necessary prior to rolling out a successful ERP
platform. Being able to adapt and
provide solutions not in the original assignment are all part of the skill set
of the Interim Manager
General Manager of the
textile company, Geoff Newman comments, “Joe’s prior experience from the IT
industry and working here in China has meant the project is running smoothly
and to budget. The new ERP system
has been specified and the next steps are the rollout and staff training (both
operators and systems maintenance). Once the project has been completed, local staff will take
responsibility for the systems. The use of an Interim Manager is exactly what our company requires to
ensure the project is a cost effective success. I can see that Joe’s skills will be much in demand”
Joe Zink adds “It was very
challenging especially in the beginning as I had to put new processes in place
and re-organize the IT structure of the company. I got support from the
management and the IT team members and once the IT department was stable we
could start with the ERP system implementation.”
Using an Interim Manager
provides businesses with flexibility and experience without additional
head-count. IMS takes care of all
the visa, insurance and payroll administration to provide a simple outsourced
solution.
For more information log on
to http://www.jmgemini.com/ims
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