China's Business Elite Attends SHL's LINK Conference in Shanghai

- Leaders from Gucci, Lenovo, McDonald's, Sony, and More Convene To Learn About Best Practices, New Technologies to Create World-Class Talent Strategies

ATLANTA, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SHL, the global leader in talent measurement solutions, today announced the successful launch of its first LINK (Learn. Interact. Network. Know.) client conference in Greater China, which took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Shanghai last Thursday, May 24. With more than seven years of successful LINK events spanning North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa, this marked the inaugural event in China. LINK brings together leading HR practitioners, executives and industrial-organizational psychologists to discuss current HR challenges and solutions, and to share tangible results from their own real-world experiences. The Shanghai event attracted close to 450 attendees, with HR leaders from 76 of China's top 200 organizations represented including Sony, Lenovo and Prada, as well as the Chinese divisions of leading global brands such as Citibank, Coca-Cola, Kraft, The Walt Disney Company, and many more.

LINK is renowned for spotlighting the latest talent acquisition and talent management tools and best practices, giving attendees a deeper understanding of how to leverage current data, analysis, assessment technology and overall talent measurement to make more informed talent decisions that improve organizational performance and increase workforce agility. For businesses in China, this insight comes at a critical time since according to SHL's 4th annual Global Assessment Trends Report, China's HR challenges are quickly outpacing the global average. More than half of HR executives surveyed indicated they would be recruiting for more open roles in 2012, compared with 39 percent worldwide, and more than 80 percent were concerned about recruiting and hiring, compared with 64 percent of respondents globally. SHL has already seen demands for assessments in the region grow, with employee and new hire assessment usage in China having more than doubled in 2012, year on year.

"This conference came at a critical time, when talent management and talent acquisition are of utmost concern and importance to top CEOs in China," commented Eddie NG, SBS, JP, Co-chairman of China and International HRM Committee. "Led by a group of seasoned professionals on the cutting edge of HR, and held in a strategic location within Shanghai, this event afforded the opportunity to network with and learn best practices from the world's top business leaders."

The event opened with a discussion on People Intelligence led by SHL's executive team, looking closely at the three essential components of talent decisions that drive business results. Subsequent sessions went in-depth on topics including how to measure the effectiveness of your talent investment, identifying strengths and gaps in your talent management strategy, managing talent strategies across a global workforce, social recruiting, and the newest innovations in assessment technology. Many clients shared their real-world experiences, including tangible results as well as best practices and lessons learned. Speakers included industry leaders from Deloitte China, Henkel, Royal Phillips, Global Energy Enterprize, ICIS, Reed Elsevier, and more.

"Finding good leaders to manage today's mix of exiting Boomers, maturing Gen X-ers and up-and-coming millennials is a serious challenge for HR," said Benny Wang, China HRD, McDonalds. "SHL's LINK Conference in China provided a platform for attending practitioners to learn from real-life case studies and international industry best practices to help them improve overall organizational performance."

LINK Greater China 2012 also featured extensive networking opportunities, allowing attendees to interact directly with their peers as well as industry experts, exchanging ideas, experiences and strategies for improving talent, productivity and efficiencies.  The importance of the event was also clear by the sheer number of press members in attendance.  Among the nearly 25 journalists hailing from outlets like CBN Weekly, International Finance News and Staffers Magazine was Mr. Anson Tang, Chief Editor of Human Capital Magazine.  Mr. Tang commented, "Human resource executives in Chinese organizations are facing critical challenges, and need to identify new areas of growth in the current economic downturn, uncover new talent to help them achieve their organization's global talent strategy, and explore new business opportunities leveraging the latest people intelligence data to make better business decisions than ever before."

For more information on the LINK Conference including a complete program and speaker information, visit www.shl.com/link/gc.

About SHL - People intelligence. Business results.

SHL is the leader in talent measurement solutions, driving better business results for clients through superior people intelligence and decisions - from hiring and recruiting, to employee development and succession planning. With a presence in over 50 countries, SHL delivers more than 25 million assessments annually in over 30 languages - allowing over 10,000 business customers to benefit from both global expertise and local insight. Along with its world-class consulting practices and 24-hour support center, SHL clients can access over 1,000 assessments through an easy-to-use technology platform. Headquartered in London, UK, the company has offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia/New Zealand. For more information, visit www.shl.com.