On the day prior to the Chinaplas opening, a newly released Salary Survey found that German and Austrian machinery manufacturers in the plastics and rubber industry saw the staff size of their Chinese entities grow steadily over the last six years. Similarly to 2017, the majority of respondents have a staff size of above 100 employees, up from 10-50 employees in 2013 and 2015.
The survey, conducted for the fourth time by Fiducia Executive Search in cooperation with the German mechanical engineering association VDMA, tracks salary, recruitment, retention, and HR trends in China among the association’s member companies.
Alongside growing staff size, the findings also showcase a continuously low staff turnover rate of less than 5% (compared to an industry average of 21%) as well as an increase in the use of mobile marketing for recruitment.
“The key to low staff turnover are the more mature and established organisations of the VDMA member companies in China, many of which now have their own capable HR teams.” Fiducia’s Executive Search Director Thaddaeus Mueller describes. “Companies with in-house HR who look after HR development and retention programs achieve higher employee satisfaction and retention.”
Another finding of the survey is an overall increase in salaries for both blue- and white-collar workers since 2017, which can be linked back to higher living costs, more recruitment competition especially from domestic companies and a general increase in minimum salary requirements.
“These developments confirm the shifts we are seeing in China’s plastics industry today: despite the downward trend in China’s automotive sector and the fading environmental reputation of plastics worldwide, new opportunities are opening up in other segments in China”, explains Florian Mikulasch of the VDMA. “This proves the successful engagement of our member companies in China and their steady HR development.”
The complete findings of the 2019 Salary Survey of Plastic and Rubber Machinery Manufacturers in China were presented to VDMA members on May 20th during the Chinaplas exhibition in Guangzhou.
About Fiducia Management Consultants
With four strategic offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, and 120 dedicated consultants, Fiducia has been supporting international companies in their Greater China set-up and expansion since 1982. Fiducia provides executive search and outsourced services to market leading Machinery, Plastics and Rubber players, as well as companies in other industrial sectors. More information at www.fiducia-china.com
About VDMA
The German mechanical engineering association VDMA represents more than 3,200 companies in the capital goods industry. With more than 6,700 companies and 1.35 million workers (2018), it is Germany’s biggest industrial employer in mechanical engineering. Also, total turnover of EUR 220 billion (2016), makes it one of the leading branches of industry in Germany. More information at www.vdma.org/en
