Ms. Annie Cheung

Nowadays, IT is applied in every sphere of life. There is a shortage of IT talent in all industries. Specialized in gathering IT talent, Peoplebank has multiple channels to help organizations recruit suitable IT professionals and raise their competitiveness and loyalty. This maximizes the benefits for corporate clients, candidates and Peoplebank, resulting in a win-win situation for all parties.

Being awarded Outstanding HR Service Provider Award'for 2 consecutive years, Peoplebank is devoted to the provision of high-quality services by building strong IT talent pools to fulfill market demands via various sources and retention strategies. Ms. Annie Cheung, GM, said the award confirms the company and employees'efforts.

Established in 1990, Peoplebank is an Australian-based international HR consultancy, with the headquarters in Sydney and branches across Australia, and in Singapore and Hong Kong. Aiming to provide professional HR solutions for all industries, its services include; contract and permanent recruitment, payroll services and other value-added services. Its clients range from the public sectors, financial services, system integrators, telecommunications, retail corporations and SMEs.

Emphasis on Communication; Boosting Affinity

Besides supervising its internal employees, Peoplebank also manages over 1,000 contract staff in Hong Kong. Due to the increasing competitive demand of IT talent across all industries, the number of HR consultancy firms emerging in the market have also increased. To have a competitive edge, Peoplebank recognizes the importance of employee care and maintaining good relationship. Annie said "we regularly visit our contract staff to understand their work conditions. Personalized birthday cards and vouchers are given on their birthdays and during festivals, theyll receive small gifts. Recreational activities such as movie nights, charity runs, lunch gatherings, are held regularly for the staff and their family members. Employees with longer years of service are recognized and rewarded. This year, we will be hosting a banquet for approximately 70 staff who have been with the company for over 10 years." All of these can boost their sense of belonging as a part of Peoplebanks big family.

With technological advancement, employees are connected via emails or social media platforms instantly. Annie said it is also important to emphasize the importance of interpersonal communication and interaction as theyre working in a customercentred industry. On top of that, traditional communication channels are available to ensure there are comprehensive approaches to understand the employees'thoughts and fulfill their expectations.

Relieving Corporates'Stress in Recruitment

With technology constantly changing, more companies are investing in additional resources to upgrade internal systems, automation to reduce administration work and enhance service quality. Such a demand results in a consistent shortage for IT talent. In assisting companies to retain their existing IT pool, Peoplebank provides market analysis for clients regularly and collects employees'feedback on salaries, benefits and job satisfaction levels. Such information is valuable to clients as it can assist them with creating enhanced HR policies which reflect the current market. Annie added, "we draw up forecasts for clients to predict future trends about the demand and supply of IT talent. For example, cyber security has become a global hot topic and concern for many, therefore we advise clients to recruit and train professionals in the related fields so as to prepare for the foreseeable changes in the market.

Enhancing Training for Talent to Boost Their Competitiveness

It is widely believed that it is more difficult for contract staff to be promoted. Annie admitted that although most IT talent have excellent technical skills, it would be extremely beneficial to also enhance their skills in presentation and communication to meet clients'expectations. "We encourage them to further their studies and polish their skills in areas like leadership, management and communication strategies to prepare for their career goals." Peoplebank regularly invites external educational organizations to offer discounts for employees to enhance their competitiveness. In the past, banking and finance was the centre of interest.

Now, its taken over by technology. Annie encourages youngsters who are interested in IT to focus on cyber security, big data analysis and mobile app development as the market is in need of these skills.