HCM CITY — Enterprises are facing challenges in hiring and keeping employees as a result of competition from multinational corporations expanding their businesses in Việt Nam, with many recruiters saying they cannot find enough qualified candidates for jobs.

Local media recently reported that taxi service provider Vietnam Sun Corporation (Vinasun), for instance, had 8,000 employees, including drivers, who quit in the first six months of the year.

Taxi operator Mai Linh Group cut its personnel by more than 20 per cent in the first half of the year. Representatives of two companies said the problem was due to the competition of two new tax service providers, Uber and Grab.

Trần Bằng Việt, CEO of DongA Solutions and former CEO of the Mai Linh Group, said that drivers were important in helping taxi companies attract customers.

Việt spoke at a forum titled “How to Keep Peace as Employee Retention Fluctuates” held on Thursday by Saigon Times Group in co-operation with ManpowerGroup Việt Nam.

Việt said that if one driver asked for leave because of illness, spare drivers would replace him, but 5 per cent of all the drivers were available. Now, the proportion has fallen further at these companies.

The decrease in taxi personnel has led to a shortage of drivers.

“In the past, taxi drivers had to make a deposit worth two months of salary. But, now, taxi companies have rolled out the red carpet for drivers. At this time, discipline is not high. It is dangerous because service quality could be affected,” he said.

"When quality is affected, taxi companies attract fewer passengers and their profits fall, leading to more drivers quitting," he added.

According to a recent survey of the HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information, the turnover rate at many companies is more than 10 per cent.

Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Huệ, head of human resources at AEON Việt Nam Co Ltd, said that recruiting employees in the retail sector was difficult as many people were not used to working on weekends or holidays

Huệ said demand for employees is so high that recruiters have difficulty finding suitable candidates.

Nguyễn Xuân Sơn of ManpowerGroup Việt Nam said the turnover rate was caused primarily by startup trends.

Employees also want bonuses and allowances, he added.

Cao Thị Ngọc Dung, chairwoman of the board of directors and general director of  Phú Nhuận Jewelry Joint Stock Company, said that companies should maintain a good working environment and offer training to staff so they can update their skills.

Lê Thị Kim Thúy, HR director at Bosch Vietnam, said that enterprises should devise workforce plans and have a talent pipeline, which is a critical part of a proactive recruiting strategy that helps to retain and replace staff.

“Fluctuation of employees is inevitable,” Thúy said, adding that such changes could help them restructure their HR systems and employee welfare policies.  — VNS