[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/28\/chinas-most-valuable-resource-might-surprise-you\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/28\/chinas-most-valuable-resource-might-surprise-you\/","headline":"China’s most valuable resource might surprise you","name":"China’s most valuable resource might surprise you","description":"There are\u00a0around 385 million millennials in China, accounting for 28.4% of the population, and they will soon become heirs to what will become the world\u2019s largest economy.","datePublished":"2016-06-28","dateModified":"2021-08-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/from-the-editor\/#Person","name":"Guest Author","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/from-the-editor\/","identifier":94,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c698be6a776e35914e3028986f2457b010d30e43e02febc549a01bb5b64a123b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c698be6a776e35914e3028986f2457b010d30e43e02febc549a01bb5b64a123b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/thumbnail-d109b670c40a3bf861251c1836f27ced.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/thumbnail-d109b670c40a3bf861251c1836f27ced.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/28\/chinas-most-valuable-resource-might-surprise-you\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/intelligent-enterprise\/","name":"Intelligent Enterprise","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Intelligent_enterprise","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q6044119"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":680,"keywords":["China","HR Trends","Millennials"],"articleBody":"There are\u00a0around 385 million millennials in China, accounting for 28.4% of the population, and they will soon become heirs to what will become the world\u2019s largest economy.In that respect China\u2019s millennials are akin to the post-war \u201cbaby boomer\u201d generation in the United States with whom they share a distinct preference for individuality over conformity. Their much more urban life experiences and education would have been almost unimaginable to their parents.High expectationsSo what\u2019s does this challenging generation hold in store? Well for one thing, they are increasingly valuable in \u201cNew Normal\u201d China \u2013 and to the economic transformation that implies \u2013 but they\u2019re not easily bought.Deloitte\u2019s fifth annual Millennial Survey (of university graduates) published in January found that 65% of Chinese respondents expect to be working for someone else by 2020 and there\u2019s a good chance they may start their own business: according to previous Deloitte findings 82 percent of millennials in emerging markets like China see themselves working independently at some point in time.What I find fascinating, and heartening, is that this attitude to current employment does not reflect a lack of interest in business as such but, rather, a deep skepticism about the way companies are currently run.According to Deloitte\u2019s multi-year research\u00a073 percent of millennials believe business is having a positive impact by generating jobs and increasing prosperity but they think it can do much more to address what they identify as society\u2019s biggest concerns: resource scarcity, climate change and income inequality. In the latest survey almost nine in ten millennials believe \u201cthe success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just financial performance.\u201dValues and innovationThose are global figures but, given the China\u2019s sustainability challenge, there\u2019s every reason to believe China\u2019s millennials are aligned with this. My own experience running SAP in China for the last couple of years is that millennials want to find a job that aligns with their values; one where they can make an impact on the world. The corollary to this is that the organizations that attract them most are those with an ability to innovate. Indeed, according to Deloitte\u2019s research, a reputation for innovation is important to 90 percent of millennials in China when choosing an employer.This augers well for China as a whole as it steers a new economic course that encourages and rewards innovation in order to increase the country\u2019s value-add in global markets.For many Chinese enterprises, however, there\u2019s clearly work to be done to transform themselves into organizations that millennials wish to be involved with.At\u00a0SAP, of the 5,700 employees of SAP Greater China, 74 percent are millennials. We have an Early Talent program called SAP Sales Academy which aims at attracting, inspiring and developing talent to help grow the company. Through a comprehensive\u00a0learning experience over 9 months, the program helps transform early talents into the next generation of high performing SAP professionals. This program has proven successful in supporting our talent acquisition and development strategy for past few years.Career developmentIn the IT sector competition for talent is intense and that\u2019s increasingly the case in other sectors. Talent is the single largest constraint on business growth which is why we go to great lengths attract and retain millennials, with regular training on the latest tools and technologies being a significant component.Being much in demand, China\u2019s millennials are also very keen on career development pathways but here again research suggests Chinese businesses need to do a lot more. The Workforce 2020 study found just 4% of Chinese employees felt their company considered their leadership potential to be important and absolutely none of the Chinese executives covered by the survey reckoned it was something they looked for in employees.I have no doubt China\u2019s millennials will enjoy a thriving future. Whether current businesses in China can survive this most demanding generation seems a little less certain.  The future of business is calling.RISE to the occasion.This story, written by Mark Gibbs, was originally published on Forbes SAPVoice."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"28","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/06\/\/28\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"China’s most valuable resource might surprise you","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/06\/28\/chinas-most-valuable-resource-might-surprise-you\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]