Private Practice - Business Support
Recruitment in 2022 remained active despite unexpected market and economic changes.
Candidates opting to move into new roles were driven by factors including emigration, business restructuring or expansion of specific practice areas (like banking and finance practices) within private practice. New headcounts were also created within China-focused teams or businesses.
Opportunities & Challenges
There was a surge in demand for mid-level staff (specifically for those with 3-8 years of experience), even though candidates with this experience expected a higher compensation package than in previous years. Salary increments to move roles ranged from 20-30% were observed amongst candidates with 3-8 years of experience in 2022 due to the high demand.
Talent shortage was a challenge in recruitment in 2022 as a higher-than-usual number of people left Hong Kong, and fewer came into the territory. To overcome this, companies took a more open-minded and creative approach to their hiring criteria and recruitment strategies. Examples included considering talent with high potential from different industries. Emphasis was also put on employee branding, corporate culture and staff well-being to attract talent.
Outlook for 2023
While the macro environment will continue to influence business decisions and strategies, we foresee recruitment activities will remain active in 2023. As China reopens to the world and itself, we expect this to impact hiring in the region positively.
Fatigue is an issue for several candidates due to the intensity of the past three years. A sizable candidate pool within the business support space is open to considering a move in 2023 to seek for better work-life balance, offering greater flexibility that doesn’t jeopardise maintaining current remuneration.