German and Austrian manufacturers of plastics & rubber machinery have seen a steady growth in their staff in China, according to the latest figures published by the German mechanical engineering association VDMA.
Marking the sixth consecutive year of growth, VDMA’s salary survey showed that that the number of staff was mostly above 100, up from 10 registered in 2013.
Published ahead of Chinaplas in May, the survey was conducted by Fiducia Executive Search and tracks salary, recruitment, retention, and HR trends in China within VDMA member companies.
Alongside growing number of employees, the survey also found a “continuously low staff turnover rate of less than 5%”, VDMA said in a 5 June release.
The turnover figure, according to the association, compares with an industry average of 21%.
“The key to low staff turnover is the more mature and established organisations of the VDMA member companies in China, many of which now have their own capable HR teams,” said Thaddaeus Mueller, director at Fiducia Executive Search.
Companies with in-house HR who look after HR development achieve higher employee satisfaction and retention, he added.
The survey also found that there had been an “overall increase in salaries” for both blue- and white-collar workers since 2017.
The increase was linked to higher living costs, more recruitment competition especially from domestic companies and a general increase in minimum salary requirements.
The developments highlighted by the survey, confirm the shifts that are being witnessed in China’s plastics industry today, according to VDMA market information expert Florian Mikulasch.
“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”, Mikulasch explained, “This proves the successful engagement of our member companies in China and their steady HR development.”