Doing Business in China For Dummies®

Managing Your Employees

Managing employees anywhere is challenging. In China, it’s even more so because the Chinese workforce is experiencing growing pains as it adjusts to a more market-based economy. To properly manage employees in China, you generally have to be more hands-on than in the West. For this reason, telecommuting isn’t usually an option in China for employees (nor for their bosses, unfortunately).

Setting your expectations for basic training

The first challenge with managing employees in China has more to do with yourself: You need to have reasonable expectations. In many cases, comparing Chinese workers to U.S. or European ones is unfair because of the differences in background and education. On the other hand, managers who’ve worked throughout Asia say that Chinese employees often compare quite favorably to those in some parts of Asia.

Don’t expect your employees to know all the basics that Westerners take for granted, such as proper phone etiquette, how to behave in front of customers, and appropriate workplace attire. Most of them are able to pick up the basics easily if you train them. Think about all the functions a new hire will perform — large and small — and be ready to instruct. You may have to offer training for even the most mundane tasks, such as taking phone messages.

Helping employees manage their work

One of the areas Chinese employees commonly need ...