Business Setup
HR
The China workforce plan should follow the operating model rather than begin with isolated recruitment requests. Management needs to decide which capabilities must sit locally, who will employ and supervise each role, how compensation and performance will be managed, and how employee data, confidentiality and departures will be controlled.
Designing the China Workforce Model
01
Define the work before the headcount
Describe the outcomes, decision rights, reporting line and local interaction required for each role. This separates genuine operating capacity from titles copied from another market.
Role brief: Purpose / Responsibilities / Authority / Reporting line
02
Choose the responsible employment model
Confirm which entity or approved arrangement will employ, pay and manage the individual. Commercial convenience should not obscure responsibility for contracts, supervision and employee obligations.
Employment record: Employer / Work location / Manager / Service provider
From Hiring Plan to Employer Controls
03
Build consistent people controls
Recruitment approval, contracts, onboarding, payroll inputs, expenses, leave, performance and offboarding should connect through named process owners. Exceptions need documented approval.
Control map: Hire / Onboard / Pay / Manage / Exit
04
Align headquarters and local management
Set the boundary between functional direction from headquarters and day-to-day employer responsibility in China. Employees should receive one coherent line of authority.
Governance test: Decision rights / Escalation / Performance / Local accountability
People Decisions Before Recruitment
Guide
Guidance on workforce planning, recruitment, employment responsibility, onboarding, performance, employee records and offboarding.
Comparison
Comparisons of direct employment, service-provider support and other resourcing models across control, continuity, cost, capability and responsibility.
Review
Reviews of contracts, workforce data, approval processes, manager accountability, compensation governance, confidentiality and departure controls.
FAQ
Answers to leadership questions on hiring sequence, employment arrangements, management lines, compensation, employee records and workforce change.
Resources
Role briefs, approval forms, onboarding checklists, policy records, authority matrices and offboarding materials for a controlled HR operation.
Tool
Tools for headcount planning, role design, employment-model assessment, onboarding readiness and review of people-process ownership.
Case
Examples of how foreign companies built local teams, clarified management responsibility and strengthened controls as headcount increased.
News
Developments affecting employment administration, workforce planning, people management and the operation of HR processes in China.
How to Use the China HR Hub
Use Guide to frame the work, Comparison and Review to test alternatives and risk, and FAQ and Resources to prepare the working file. Tool and Case support the management recommendation; News confirms whether the underlying assumptions remain current.
Management should approve the workforce model, role priorities, employment responsibility and HR process owners before recruitment accelerates. The first hires should be reviewed as an operating test, with contract, payroll, reporting-line and onboarding issues resolved before the team scales.