Hai (pseudonym) worked in a big Taiwanese electronics factory A company for six and a half years. He witnessed A company’s engineers team growing from 2,000 men to 7,000 men. His software department had gotten dozens of patents which he himself was the main inventor. Leading many programs and integrating numerous departments, Hai had been promoted fast and achieved many career successes at a rather young age. Despite having numerous titles and high payment, not to mention his good future in the company, Hai chose to leave after all.
2013 was a good year for both A company and Hai. However, he still put his resume on LinkedIn and planned to set off aboard. Before long, Apple, Amazon and Intel all wish to have an interview with him. They even talked about sending him to work in Europe, America or China. But he eventually went to Soul, Korea and got a job in Smart phone department in Multinational Corporation B company.
Although everyone believes that Hai was only attracted by high salary, but he replied, “I am worried about the future of the big environment. Plus, I am afraid I will lose my competitiveness.” What he had observed is that although Taiwan’s technological power is as strong as any others, the smart phone industries had already appeared to be highly homogenized. Fierce competition will cause lower profit and 5G is only possible to be commercialized in 2020. He believes it is time for him to learn something beyond technological engineering. So he left.
Hai explained that he doesn’t like American food and culture, plus the department inviting him is not his preferable choice. So he rejected the job which everybody wants in the middle. As for rising China, Hai thinks that he cannot gain real international experience due to share cultures and language. Therefore, he eventually went to Korea, a country which he did not interested at first.
Since B company is hiring international talents under a long term plan, they actually has a specialized department to deal with visas for their foreign employees and education subsidy for their children. Hai said that other companies’ foreign employees might face many problems, but here in B company it is impossible.
“B company had many foreign employees back in the days. But it get lesser and lesser during previous economic downturn… They employ two kinds of foreign employees. One is someone that can do what local employees cannot do, whom they seldom laid off. The second group is almost like local employees, but for B company they are here to help their office culture more international while changing the stiff Korean working culture. They changed their office culture strategically, and that is what B company is better compare to Taiwanese companies.
Although in reality, the ones changing more may be foreign employees from the influences of Korean office culture. After all, Koreans are famous for their strong collective consciousness and hierarchical social system. However, Hai thinks that B company has advantage on their high-level strategic thinking. At least they are deliberately import foreign resources to strengthen their company. A lesson worthy of being learned by Taiwanese companies.
Not just for formal employees, B company had also been recruiting students (mostly MBA) from 19 top Universities around the world by using high offers for them to come to work as employees and interns. For B company, their contacts in universities, professional skills and familiarity toward different markets are all worthy of researching and making use of. Moreover, these excellent interns have a high chance staying in the company. Hai thinks that it is really unfortunate that Taiwan hadn’t had this king of system.
At first, Hai believed that he can be seen by international company was because his technological skills and numerous patents he hold. But when he entered B company, his job was more like company’s contact person for China and Taiwan. He feels like his talent has been wasted.
“Before I came, I thought I need to learn many things. After I came, they didn’t make use of my talent which I think useful. I panicked a bit because I am afraid that I couldn’t learn some professional skills. But then I change my mind. If I am just learning new skills, then I might as well staying in Taiwan. Learning project managing is the same, it only adds more title for me. So I change my thoughts. What I cannot get in Taiwan is the advantage of multi-languages. If I learn my Korean well, then I will have more advantages in Taiwan. A person with multi-language ability is better than a person with only skills.”
“Actually, learned less technological technics in B company than in Taiwan. I am just a small gear inside a big company. While in Taiwan I must learn everything and we Taiwanese are always afraid that we hadn’t learned enough. But B company is just too big. Staying here gives me a feeling that I am staying in a State-owned enterprise in which I will work until my retirement. They do not worry much for the future. It is kind of like working in ITRI where you work under stress and long hours yet you won’t quit and will continue to work for many years. There are no worries about losing jobs because you had not learned enough. They believe their company will always find a suitable job for you. Our worries and manager’s requirement are all different. Taiwanese manager requires you to think more and learn more while B company only gives you command. It comes with pros and cons.
Currently in B company, most foreigners are Indian and Chinese, Japanese may on third. According to Hai’s observation, Taiwanese engineers are no less in talent and experience than engineers from those countries or Korea. And we work hard enough so there is nothing to worry about.
But he also pointed out what Taiwan really lacked is someone with innovative and strategic thinking. If Taiwanese companies wish to strengthen themselves through recruiting international talents, then they must first find these people. You do not need another Indian engineers here in Taiwan. He then switched the conversation subject and said in worries, “What Taiwan doesn’t have is integration. We have enough people in intermediate level. But it is only useful if we find those on the highest level and put them on the right place.”
“Our thinking of strategy is not grand enough. More like soldiers at battlefield. We only know tactics and understand nothing on strategic level. It is not something can be fixed by finding foreigners.” From changing its office culture through strategically hiring foreigners to integrating resources within departments and sharing information, Hai thinks that Taiwan can learn very much from B company in the scale of strategic thinking, openness to international talents, protection of local companies in Korea and the highly integration of both the entire industries and infrastructures (from software to platform). It is right for Taiwan to welcome international talents, but putting those people on the right place is only step one. We have so many systems need to be changed so that we may able to compete in global market.
“We all talk about how innovative businesses attract talented people. I think there is one important thing. Korea has strong protection for their local businesses and industries. For example, Taiwan once had KIMO but it became foreign company soon. We use LINE and Facebook. Everything we have is hold by foreign companies. While in Korea, they use only local stuffs. They have their own NAVER and on-line map service. Many businesses and services are local enterprises. That is very important.
Hai believes that Taiwanese companies are used to fighting alone without a basic platform to integrate. There are so many things hold by foreign companies. We are vulnerable in modern technological warfare. Compared with Korea, our weaknesses are many. We dare not to dream big for survival is hard enough for us.
“When business scales are not big enough, many things cannot interlink. Without integration there is no value for startups nowadays. That is the most important reason why Taiwan is unable to raise innovative businesses. Korea encourages innovation even when their ideas may be bought by big corporation, at least they have this kind of business model.” He emphasized that both lacking of high-level strategic thinking and integration platform is the weakness of Taiwan except talents. If we don’t solve those problems we cannot create new value, and thus makes us unable to get rid of low salaries while having a chance to develop. The main reason is still the same. We have little attraction toward international talents.
Hai said that Korea not only has better payment but also good living environment and infrastructures. So to attract foreigners, we must know what impression Taiwan gives to the world. “It is very important. Foreigners don’t understand Taiwan, they only know us through impressions. So we must build better images both on software and hardware. Like many Koreans, they originally believed Taiwan is just like Southeastern Asia, but when they actually came they changed their views. However, they may just refuse our invitation at first. So it is important to build our international image.
