Ms Dai, a Singaporean, will present a talk at this month's Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management annual conference titled Contributing to Business Success in China Operations 10 Years Down the Road.

Since the end of the 1990s, human resources in China has changed from being operation-oriented to strategy focused, and this has redefined how personnel are managed. HR careers are changing too, with more call centres, data management and a smaller population focusing on specific areas. There are three divisions in HR: operations, expertise and business management.

'There have been major and rapid changes in the role of human resources,' said Ms Dai, who is based in Shanghai. 'Since China opened up, more attention has been paid to administration, recruitment, payroll, and data management practices. This has not been a gradual process, it has been a very fast change.'

Most HR operations are now outsourced, with the general practices of multinationals being the guideline.

This means that the size of company HR teams are being reduced. The rate was one in 100 staff in the mainland. Now it is more like one in 200 or 300.

'Such organisational development reflects closer attention to the business agenda, and the need to understand employee behaviour,' said Ms Dai.

'There is a clearer understanding of the law and how to adapt. New labour laws to be introduced in January 2008 will have an impact on the legal rights of the employee, with emphasis on the protection of employee rights. For contract termination and compensation, the rules will be clearer.'

As the economy grows and the focus turns to more added value, the challenge of attracting and retaining staff is rising, and an evolving population demographic demands that new strategies be adopted. 'There has been a major change in labour force demographics with the lifestyles of those born in the '80s,' Ms Dai said. 'There is more focus on work-life balance, and people have more individual interests. They are choosing what they do with their time more carefully, with more focus on individual fulfillments. This is a creative generation, chasing their dreams.'

Despite reform and rapid development across many industries since China opened its doors in the mid-'80s, many companies still can't find suitably qualified candidates.

'The top companies are fighting for talent within a very small pool of people who have good English and exposure to commerce,' she said.

'It is highly competitive. The finance sector is a good example, where only 40 per cent of candidates accept the offer or even show for an interview. The top talent can receive multiple offers.'

With 5 to 6 million fresh graduates on the mainland every year, the optimistic picture is for 70 per cent employment. Of the top 10 universities, most can expect to reach 99 per cent employment.

'But for the rest, it is still very difficult to find employment in their field,' Ms Dai said.

'There have been three main trends over the years. The first is oversupply versus short supply. The second is that many companies assume that labour is cheap, but at the top end, costs are rising fast, with salaries increasing rapidly. The salary bend is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

'A third trend is that positions taken by expatriates in the past are being localised and new positions are being created. This means the old generation is being replaced by locals. Sales and finance, and research and development are two sectors that are opening up in this regard. The research and development sector especially is moving operations into China.'

As well as generating wealth, the growth of the economy has positively influenced education standards, attention to environmental protection and awareness of natural resources. Ms Dai said this was encouraging the development of leaders, with young people more aware of important issues and positive values.

As a scientific engineering graduate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ms Dai was not anticipating a career in HR. She discovered her calling through a divisional management position in Singapore. After nine years there she returned to Shanghai in 1998.

'I fell in with this work and realised how important it was going to be,' she said.

'With companies pumping money into the China economy, it became a major sector.

'HR as a profession requires that you have a deep understanding of the employee, the new generation, business and the working environment. More and more systematic thinking is being applied, with more focus on operational tasks, and judgment of an employee's point of view. Talent is so important and consequently HR is important. It is the demand for talent that makes HR necessary. If expertise is managed well, companies can get good results.'