SHANGHAI - About 97 per cent of the employers surveyed in China plan to increase investment in human capital in the next 12 months, trying to retain employees, according to a research report released by Randstad on Wednesday.

"This is because 60 per cent of the employees surveyed are expected to leave their jobs over the next year mainly due to a lack of opportunity for career development or uncompetitive salary," said Wang Guisheng, managing director of Randstad China.

The Randstad World of Work Report 2011/2012, a result of survey of 2,252 people in China, is part of Randstad's annual Asia Pacific study of 8,200 people that gathers perceptions of employees and employers to better understand the human capital challenges existing today.

"On the employer side, attracting new talent is this year's biggest human capital challenge, with business leaders looking to fill critical vacancies resulting from both employee turnover and business expansion," said Wang.

"Therefore, employers need an integrated human capital strategy if they wish to find and retain top talent."

Sun Haining, marketing director of Randstad China, said the survey revealed hiring intentions are generally optimistic for the year ahead in China.

"The vast majority of employers plan to maintain or increase headcount and also find that qualified professionals are in greatest demand," said Sun.

Wang said the foremost challenge for employers is to deal with high employee mobility and staff retention is a key issue.

"Sixty-seven per cent of the employers surveyed see this as the primary risk in the rapidly evolving market and 34 per cent anticipate an increase in staff turnover," he said.

Sun added that almost half of business managers intend to leave their job in the coming year and 68 per cent of all employers surveyed will hire more middle and senior managers.

"It is therefore little surprise that 35 per cent of the employers surveyed regard the attraction of top talent as the single biggest human capital," he said.

Thirty-five per cent of the employers surveyed believe a strong organization reputation is the single biggest reason they are able to attract top talent. But interestingly, 79 per cent of job seekers say inspirational leadership is the most important workplace attribute they look for, the report said.

"The need for strong leadership is evident in this year's report. Ninety-nine per cent of employees rated inspirational leadership as the most important workplace attribute," said Wang.

He said leadership is high on the agenda for employers, with 50 per cent of rating developing leadership skills for the next phase of growth as a key productivity challenge.

"Addressing this challenge will be critical to driving a high performance culture in an increasingly competitive marketplace in China," Wang said.

He said interestingly, it seems employers are up to the task with 56 per cent increasing investment in leadership and career development over the next 12 months.

The report said against the backdrop of inflation in China, salary is not only a reward for performance, but also important for employees to keep pace with increasing living costs.

Over the next 12 months, two per cent of respondents expect a salary rise of up to four per cent, 21 per cent a five to 10 per cent increase and 73 per cent more than a 10 per cent rise, it said.

"This data is indicative of the fierce competition to attract and retain talent in China," Wang said. The research provides valuable guidance for business and HR managers, highlighting that employers, who focus on HR strategies that offer meaningful benefits and tailored career development programs, will be best placed to win the talent war, he said.