Background
A US-based retailer seeks to expand its business in Hong Kong and China with several outlets across America. Aware of the highly competitive market in Asia, they recognise the need for a trustworthy and highly-skilled team in three (3) months to execute their go-to-market strategy in the region.
Challenge
As a new player in the region, they need a team with local retail experience and people management skills to hit the ground running when they launch the brand. However, the regional headquarters is not familiar with local regulations and employment ordinances to complete recruitment in a short time. They need an HR partner in Hong Kong to recruit new team members, from senior management to entry-level staff and handle the human resources management.
Solution
The US-based retailer partners with Zebra – a trusted provider offering a full-service HR management solution to support the retailer in its Asia market expansion. Zebra specialises in HR consulting and outsourcing services; therefore, giving the client more time to focus their resources on achieving business objectives.
In three (3) months, Zebra supported the client in setting up its business and helped to build its team in Hong Kong to kickstart the Asia market expansion. As a leader in executive search, Zebra recruited senior managers for the Hong Kong office, ensuring that they were well-equipped with the skills and experiences to lead the brand’s launch in the region. The client also availed of the contract staffing services to commence staff recruitment to support the senior management team.
Moreover, Zebra deployed the use of its eHRIS system, which is a cloud-based solution accessible anytime via a web browser to support and manage the following functions:
- An online portal to accept new applicants in the recruitment process
- Payroll, tax compliance and benefits management for onboarding employees
- Attendance and leave management
- Employee expense claims management
- MPF processing and tax-return filing
The eHRIS system is equipped with advanced security features and full backup service, eliminating an in-house IT team to manage local servers and storage. End-users also have complete control of the software, including email routing features and configurable access rights.
Results
The retail brand successfully built the team from the ground up to help complete its market expansion in Hong Kong and China. Moreover, the HR service provider used Zebra’s Report Writer, a default reporting function that allows the company to request reports at any given time in eight (8) easy steps.
Today, Zebra continues to provide world-class, end-to-end HR management for the client to help take over an initially uncharted market.
