Exploration and Thinking on the Development of Human Resource Service Industry in Shandong Province
Li Haoran1,2, Rozilah Abdul Aziz1*, Narehan Hassan Drnarehan1, Wang Qing2
1Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
2Shandong Youth University of Political Science; Jinan, China
*Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Accepted: 15 April 2023 | Published: 30 April 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ijbtm.2023.5.1.36
___________________________________________________________________________
Abstract: Human resource is the first resource to promote social and economic development, and human resource service industry is an important part of modern service industry. Focusing on the development of human resource service industry in Shandong Province, this study analyzes the development and problems of human resource service industry in Shandong Province and provides new ideas for promoting the coordinated development of human resource service industry.
Keywords: Human Resource Service Industry; Shandong Province; Development
___________________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
Talented personnel are "strategic resources" to fulfil the Chinese dream of national renewal and win the initiative in international competition. Therefore, human resource management has been paid more and more attention. The development of human resource service industry is not only the need of the times to serve the national strategy, but also the endogenous demand to accelerate the development of the industry itself.
2. Evolution of human resource service industry in China
As early as 1954, the concept of human resource was put forward by Peter F. Drucker, the father of modern management, in his book The Practice of Management (Peter F. Drucker, 1954). In 1960s, American economist Schultz defined human resource while discussing the theory of human capital. He proposed that human resource is a kind of tangible human capital, which can be measured by the quantity and quality of workers. Factors such as the physical condition, knowledge structure and work skill of workers directly decide the levels of human capital (Schultz, 1961). At present, Chinese scholars generally agree with the views of the above two scholars (Liang Xu, 2020), and hold that human resources refer to the sum of the labor ability of the population within a certain range (Tao Jinli et al., 2007); Or refers to the sum of the people who can promote the economic and social development (Zhang Jiliang, 2008).
With the maturity of human resource management theory and the continuous development of world economy, human resource service industry has emerged (Sun Jianli, 2017). After the 1970s, when the economic crisis occurred in the west, the employment services played an
important role, creating jobs and helping the unemployed to find jobs. The human resource service industry was gradually accepted and recognized by the public (Wang Yi, 2007). With the third tide of the industrial revolution, the human resource service industry entered a rapid development stage in 1990s. In developed countries, the research on human resource service industry mainly focused on influencing factors (Lai Youwei, 2016). For example, Richard pointed out that the satisfaction of human resource service should be measured according to the satisfaction of various human resource management activities (Richard et al., 2004). Hanlon found that when the level of human capital is improved, a new supply-demand relationship will be formed. In the process of achieving the balance between supply and demand, the industrial structure also spontaneously adjust and upgrade (Hanlon, 2008). Wiblen found that digitalization and automation have an impact on the workers of human resource service industry (Wiblen Sharna et al., 2021).
China's human resource service industry developed slowly, and experienced "germinating period", "forming period" and "rapid-developing period" (Hong Liu, 2020). At the end of 1970s (germinating period), China's economic system changed from a planned economy to a market economy, which broke the human resource allocation system of "unified recruitment and assignment". Labor service companies, employment service agencies and talent service companies began to appear (Zhou Zhenhua, 2005). In 1990s, the human resource service industry entered a forming period, in which the market played a major role. With the deepening of market-oriented reform, the demand for human resources rose drastically and the public service system formed (Li Zhen, 2003). In the 21st century (rapid-developing period), the shortcomings of marketization are found. Many problems have appeared in the development of the industry. During this period, a vast scope of theoretical studies theoretical studies and academic achievements on human resource service have been made (Xiao Mingzheng, 2020).
In China, the first paper with the title of "human resource service industry" was New Thinking on Shanghai's Human Resource Service Industry published in November 2002 (Gu Jiadong, 2002). After that, China scholars studied the related issues of human resource service industry from many perspectives. Some scholars have predicted the developing trends of human resource service industry: The human resource service industry will be mobile and platform- oriented; China's human resources service industry will gradually go out to the world (Xiao Mingzheng, 2016). Some scholars have expounded the development path of human resource service industry, and believe that Internet technology has a positive impact on new service models and service contents (Xiong Ying, 2018). Li Yanping et al. studied the impact of human resource policy on the development of human resource service industry under the background of epidemic prevention and control (Li Yanping, 2020).
In 2019, China's National Development and Reform Commission published the Guidance on Industrial Restructuring, which separated the human resource service industry from the
reaches 7312.9 billion yuan (Statistical Bulletin of National Economic and Social Development of Shandong Province, 2020).
For a long time, Shandong Province has been in a strong position. However, with the regional economic competition, the gap between Shandong Province and the first two provinces has widened on the one hand, and its development speed is obviously lower than that of some up- and-coming provinces on the other hand. In addition, the economic structure of Shandong Province is irrational, and its economic growth mainly depends on agriculture and traditional manufacturing industries. The output value of high-tech industries accounts for only 33.8%, which is 7.7 and 6.3 percentage points lower than that of Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province, respectively, and 1.1 percentage point lower than that of Henan Province (Report of the Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, 2018).
In 2018, the Chinese State Council officially approved Overall Plan for the Construction of Shandong Comprehensive Industrial Transformation Area ([2018] No.1), and agreed to set up Shandong comprehensive industrial transformation area. In 2014, Shandong Province clearly listed the development of human resource service industry as the key point, formulated policies to promote the development of human resource service industry, and invited a large number of well-known institutions to settle in Shandong Province for cooperation. By 2020, the annual income of human resources service industry in Shandong Province has reached 98.7 billion yuan, a total of 7615 human resources service institutions have been set up, the number of employees in the industry has reached 96200. and more than 30 distinctive human resources service industrial parks have been built in various cities. At present, the development of human resource service industry has become an important channel for Shandong to achieve high- quality development.
4. Development of Human Resource Service Industry in Shandong Province
Basic Situation of Human Resource Service Institutions in Shandong Province
In the five years from 2016 to 2020, the total number of human resource service institutions in Shandong province increased from 1,892 to 7,615, with a rapid growth momentum, which shows that investment and social participation in human resource service industry in Shandong Province have greatly improved, and the market is optimistic about the development trend of the industry. Among them, the number of private human resource service agencies and their proportion in the total increase year by year. In 2020, there were 7,030 private human resource service institutions, accounting for 95.31%, and the largest number among all types of institutions. Private human resource service organizations are still the backbone of human resource service development in Shandong Province.
Figure 1: Total Number of Institutions in Human Resource Service Market in Shandong Province (2016- 2020)
Employment Information
In the five years from 2016 to 2020, the total number of employees in the human resource service industry in Shandong province increased from 40, 283 to 96,211, with a rapid growth in the number of employees. Among them, the number of employees in private human resource service institutions accounted for 84.94% of the total number of employees, accounting for the highest proportion among all types of institutions.
1892 2178
2660
3295
7615
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
40283 42079
48849
69799
96211
40000 60000 80000 100000 120000
master degree is the lowest, accounting for 1.55%. The data show that in the five years from 2016 to 2020, the total number of graduates in the human resource service industry in Shandong province increased from 10,337 to 21,730, with a year-on-year increase of 110.22%. This shows that the overall quality of the talent team in the human resource service industry in Shandong Province is gradually rising, the talent team structure gradually tends to be reasonable, and the number of highly educated practitioners increases rapidly.
Figure 3: Education Background of Service Staff (2020)
Operating Condition
In the five years from 2016 to 2020, the annual operating income of human resource service industry in Shandong province increased from 3,800, 289 million Yuan to 987,288,493 million Yuan, achieving a rapid growth in operating income. In 2020, the annual revenue of human resource service industry in Shandong Province increased by 39% compared with the previous year, and the industry structure was gradually optimized.
40283 42079
48849
69799
96211
0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Figure 4: Annual Revenue of Human Resource Service Market in Shandong Province (2016-2020) (ten thousand Yuan)
Construction of Human Resource Service Industrial Park
Human resource service industrial park is an important platform for gathering human resources and accelerating the development of human resource service industry. It undertakes the functions of gathering enterprises, upgrading industries and employment serving. In recent years, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Shandong Province, in accordance with the idea of "applying advanced experience according to local conditions", has promoted the construction of the human resources service industrial park by offering policy support, improving management services, innovating operating mechanisms, organizational measures and other high-end activities. Shandong Province has vigorously supported the establishment and operation of human resource service industrial parks, with a total of more than 60 million Yuan of support funds. At present, Shandong province has built 2 national human resource service industrial parks and 21 provincial human resource service industrial parks, and 16 cities across the province have realized the full coverage of provincial human resource service industrial parks. In 2020, human resource service industrial parks at provincial level and above in Shandong province achieved revenue of 25.2 billion Yuan and tax revenue of 690 million Yuan, creating a good driving effect.
5. Problems in the Human Resource Service Industry in Shandong Province
3800289
4698316.049
5341096.127
7112505.439
9872884.93
0 2000000 4000000 6000000 8000000 10000000 12000000
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Annual Operating Income ( ten thousand Yuan)
Table 5: Development status of human resource service industry in some provinces and cities of China in 2020
Province Number of Institutions Number of Employees (10 thousand people)
Operating Income (100 million yuan)
China 59100 103.15 24600
Zhejiang Province 5085 8.49 2288
Shanghai 2278 7.23 3891
Shandong Province 7615 9.6 987
Liaoning Province 1806 3.9
Anhui Province 1184 3.86 573
Chongqing 2868 459
Fujian Province 2155 2.56
Guangdong Province 4000 7.0 4000
Sichuan Province 2278 3.57
Unreasonable Product Structure
Generally speaking, the human resources service in Shandong Province is still in the stage of inefficient and blind development, and the homogenization competition becomes a universal problem. Despite the rapid development of various sub-businesses, traditional services such as labor dispatch and job fairs still dominate, and most human resource service companies have weak ability of developing middle and high-end service and products, and their product structure is unreasonable. In addition, it is difficult for them to provide differentiated and personalized services for customers, resulting in low customer satisfaction.
Low Utilization Rate of New Technology
In recent years, under the influence of the government and the market, Shandong's human resource service industry has gradually integrated "recruitment + internet" and "training + internet", and the construction of human resource service industry has made great progress.
However, government human resource service agencies are still dominant, lacking professional platforms for information sharing and communication with other agencies. The human resources information database and network construction of human resource service agencies need to be improved. Only a few human resource service institutions know how to apply new technologies such as big data, blockchain and cloud computing. The main reason lies in the lack of professional talents. On the one hand, the talents are low-skilled; On the other hand, it is difficult to introduce new talents.
Low-skilled Staffs
According to the survey data, many practitioners of human resource service in Shandong Province are low-skilled. They are mainly junior college graduates, and postgraduates account for a small proportion. In addition, a large number of employees with bachelor's degrees and above worked in public human resource service institutions. In addition, most employees do not have professional knowledge of human resource management and do not understand the development trend of the industry, relevant laws, regulations, policy changes, etc.
Small Scale of Private Human Resource Service Institutions
Most of the private human resource service institutions in Shandong Province are in the stage of primary development, which are small in scale and weak in strength, lacking in high-end products. In addition, the overall level of human resource services is not high. Among the existing private human resource service institutions, 90% have fewer than 10 employees, mainly engaged in job introduction, labor dispatch and other services. They can only provide basic services for companies but cannot provide high-tech and added-value service products such as high-end headhunting service, management consulting and talent assessment.
Compared with the developed cities in coastal regions, Shandong Province has fewer strong and well-known enterprises of human resource service, especially the leading enterprises such as Zhaopin and JOBS.
Lack of Supervision
In recent years, the local government departments in Shandong Province have issued relevant policies to promote the standardized management of the human resource service industry, and constantly strengthen the supervision of the human resources market. Local human resource and social security departments and jointly and regularly carry out actions to maintain a good market order. However, under the supervision of the government, there are still many illegal employment agencies, which is difficult for supervisory departments to crack down on. These illegal employment agencies offend on the rights and interests of job seekers and damage the image of human resource service industry.
6. Development Strategy of Human Resource Service Industry in Shandong Province
Improving the structure of human resource service industry
It is necessary to analyze the market situation. Under the background that China actively promoted the development of human resource service industry, relying on Shandong's own advantages, we should explore the characteristics of Shandong's economic development, change the old development model with low service level and serious product homogeneity, constantly improve the industrial development pattern, and promote the transformation of the industry.
Supporting private human resource service institutions
It is necessary to provide policy and financial support. This is also the successful experience of the current construction and development of China's human resource service industry. For example, Shanghai has incorporated "employment consulting, entrepreneurship consulting, human resource training and other services" into the key development businesses of the human resource service industry. Based on this, Shandong Province can learn from the successful experience of these cities and formulate corresponding support policies.
Specifically, first, a special fund for human resource service industry should be set up. For qualified human resource service institutions, government departments at all levels should give financial support. At the same time, rent reduction, loan discount, government procurement and other measures should be taken to support the development of human resource service industry.
Second, it is necessary to focus on the long-term driving effect of human resources on economic
Shandong Province has its regional and resource advantages and has the foundation to establish human resource service industrial parks. The government should provide support to the construction of human resource service industrial parks. Governments at all levels have issued effective support policies, learned from the experience of industrial parks in developed regions, implemented relevant strategies such as introducing enterprises to the park for registration, rent reduction, and preferential treatment for reduction of or exemption from taxes, so as to attract more enterprises and talents and promote the regional economy.
Strengthening the construction of talent team in human resource service industry
The human resource service industry is highly professional and service-oriented, which requires employees to possess professional knowledge and quality. At present, in the human resource service industry of Shandong Province, the low quality of the employees is the main factor hindering the development of the entire industry. Therefore, it is necessary to attach importance to the training of the human resource service professionals as soon as possible, focus on establishing and improving the human resource service project, and introduce excellent talents at home and abroad, so as to build a human resource industry chain in Shandong Province. At the same time, it is also necessary for human resource service institutions to strengthen the cooperation with scientific research institutions in the province, establish and improve a series of websites conducive to communication and service, so as to improve the professional level of human resources.
Promoting the construction of industry standards and credit system
In order to regulate the development of the human resources service market, China has successively issued documents such as Service Standard for On-site Job Fair and Service Standard for Talent Evaluation, which effectively standardized the development of the human resource industry. Of course, the government should also treat the differences between different enterprises reasonably, formulate the Shandong Human Resource Service Standard, and establish local standards that conform to the actual situation of Shandong Province. For those service measures that do not meet the standards, the government should ban of improve them and reasonably regulate enterprises' behaviors in the industry.
In addition, it is necessary to further establish and improve the credit management system, build a credit evaluation system for human resource service institutions, establish supervision institutions, collect relevant credit information from these institutions, and build a punishment system. At the same time, it is necessary to give rewards to institutions that provide good services, issue the list of these institutions, and accelerate the reform and transformation of relevant government departments from management-oriented to service-oriented. With the purpose of providing a better service system, the government should actively develop industry associations, give play to the self-discipline ability of associations, and create a good space for the sustainable development of the human resource service industry.
References
Xiong Ying. Analysis of the development situation and path of human resource service industry in China [J]. Human Resources. 2018 (01): 85-87.
Xiao Mingzheng. Chinese Blue Book of Human Resource Service Industry (2020) [M].
Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2021.
Tao Jinli. On the measurement of human resource value [J], Journal of Jinling Institute of Science and Technology, 2008(1), 42-44.
Zhang Jiliang. Research on regional competitiveness of China [M]. Nanjing, Southeast University Press, 2008, 3-8.
Lai Youwei. Features and policy suggestions for the development of human resource service industry [J]. Development Research, 2010(5), 80-82.
Richard, O.C., Johnson, N.B. High performance work practices and human resource management effectiveness: substitutes or complement? [J]. Journal of Business Strategies, 2004, 21(2), 133-148.
Wang Yi. Research on the Construction of Shanghai Global Science and Technology Innovation Center [J]. Scientific Development, 2017(4), 5-14.
Zhou Zhenhua. Theoretical Meaning and Practicality of Global City [J]. Shanghai Journal of Economics, 2020(4), 99-108.
Li Zhen. The human resource service industry is becoming mature in the rapid development [J]. Human Resources Development of China, 2003(10).
Li Yanping, Chen Wen. The development and transformation of China's human resource service industry in the post-epidemic era: text analysis of human resources service policy under the background of epidemic prevention and control [J]. Human Resources Development of China, 2020(10),18-32.
Peter F-Drucker. The Practice of Mangement [J]. New York. Harper & Brothers, 1954.
