Employee Retention in China 2006–2007—The Flight of Human Talent

By Ann Howard, Ph.D., Louis Liu, Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D., Steve Williams, PH.D., SPHR

DDI and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed HR professionals and workers in China to find out why Chinese employees stay or leave — and what organizations can do to retain talent in China's burgeoning economy.

The study reveals that:

  • 38 percent of the HR professionals surveyed in China indicated that turnover in their organization had increased in the past 12 to 18 months;
  • 73 percent of employees had resigned from previous jobs, and 24 percent had already held three or more jobs, despite their relative youth. 22 percent said they were likely to leave their positions in the next year.
  • The top two turnover reasons were lack of growth and development opportunities with the current employer and the availability of better career opportunities elsewhere.
  • Compensation is overrated as a retention driver.

This is DDI’s first study of retention in China. Survey respondents included 215 human resource professionals and 862 employees in a wide range of organizations operating in China.

Download the study:

Employee Retention in China 2006-2007 Full Report
Employment Retention
in China 2006 - 2007
Full Report (PDF)		 Employee Retention in China 2006-2007 Executive Summary
Employment Retention
in China 2006 - 2007
Executive Summary (PDF)