Commentary

Building smarter Hong Kong retail with in-store AI

Behind the bright facades of their shop windows, there is a darkening gloom enveloping Hong Kong retailers. And it's no wonder: August 2016 was the 16th consecutive month of declining sales in the sector.

Commentary

Building smarter Hong Kong retail with in-store AI

Commentary

Busting myths about background screening – what Hong Kong companies should know

Any business leader will tell you the importance of attracting and retaining quality hires in a company – after all, we're only as strong as our weakest link. In spite of this, research by Robert Half International revealed that many companies still made poor hiring decisions. In fact, it is estimated that supervisors still spend 17 percent of their time managing bad hires in the company – precious time that could otherwise be used more productively.

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Hong Kong needs to get ready: Pokémon Go is a sign of things to come

Who could have imagined that in 2016, millions of Hong Kongers from 6 to 60 would be walking for kilometers together to find a Ditto, Aerodactyl, or Snorlax? – Yes, I’m talking about some of the hardest-to-find creatures in Pokémon Go, the augmented-reality game that has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of fans here. Many public parks, formerly deserted in the evenings, are now crammed full of groups of families and friends hoping to catch the next creature.

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Developing successful customer relationship in Hong Kong

Not long ago, Hong Kong businesses were in full agreement that the keys to success were a good quality product, a low price, and excellent customer service. Suddenly it seems that these rules have changed – today, success is reliant on providing the best ‘customer experience’.

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The hottest IT jobs in Hong Kong

The IT industry is a vibrant and active market, with strong hiring activity within both financial services and commerce. We have also seen an increase in the number of temporary and contract roles on offer, particularly within financial services.

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The face of the Internet of Things in healthcare

As the development of Internet of Things (IoT) continues to mature, we see these new technological advances are shaping the healthcare industry. In March, Apple launched different health-focused apps, including CareKit which is an open-source framework for making health apps.

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An invisible innovation is a successful innovation

Innovations should be seamlessly invisible. Not invisible as in it can’t be seen with the naked eye, but invisible so that it’s not noticed if people don’t look for it purposefully. This is especially crucial for Hong Kong’s slow innovation-adopting businesses.

Commentary

A smart Hong Kong needs to invest in smart skill development

In 2013, the UBM’s Future Cities report ranked Hong Kong the smartest city in Asia Pacific. In the past three years other regional centres ranging from Singapore with its Smart Nation vision to Dubai with the Smart Dubai initiative have attracted the interest and investment of the global community.

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OTT, taking plays out of TV/Broadcasters playbook

With Over-the-Top Internet-based programming having changed and adapted to TV viewing behaviour, quality-of-service is becoming the online TV industry's biggest challenge.

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What skills are in demand in the life sciences industry?

Life sciences has proved to be a relatively buoyant market in 2016, as government healthcare policies, drug regulations, and merger and acquisitions contribute to hiring activity in the sector. The richness of a company’s product pipeline matched with the government’s healthcare policy is expected to have a major impact on hiring intentions in the upcoming quarter. In Hays’ latest July to September Quarterly Report, we have identified some key skills which will be in demand this quarter.

Commentary

Selling effectively: harnessing the power of big data

Effective sales is a very simple concept to describe: a company finds customers and then sells its products and services to them. But to put this concept into practice is much more difficult – it was not easy in the past and it is certainly not any easier today.

Commentary

The future of cybersecurity in Hong Kong

Cybersecurity has been an increasingly hot area of discussion, with the emergence and proliferation of big data, cloud computing, and data analytics. As more and more information is being collected, ensuring the security of such data is crucial to both businesses and consumers.

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Spending your advertising budget wisely

A recent report by admanGo focuses on some recent Hong Kong advertising spending figures. Confirming everyone's suspicions, the total ad spend in the city in January and February of this year was HK$6.01 billion – representing a 13 percent drop compared to the same period last year, and the first double-digit decrease since 2000.

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Overview and challenges of trade shows in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is famous for its crowded streets, its great transportation network, and its incredibly expensive apartments. But those aren't the only things Hong Kong is famous for: it is also at the very heart of Asia Business Events industry.

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Are you doing enough to encourage flexible working?

Nowadays, the traditional nine-to-five workplace routine has been slowly replaced by the growing trends of remote/flexible working and work-sharing. In fact, a great number of well known multinational companies, such as Facebook, have already put "flexible working" in place, encouraging employees to work on-the-go so as to boost productivity and friendly workplace culture.

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Time to kick off your ESG reporting journey

Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) released consultation conclusions regarding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting Guide last December, announcing the upgrade of ESG disclosure requirement from recommended best practice to "comply or explain" in two phases.

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5 trends driving job creation in Hong Kong's insurance sector

Hong Kong was recently ranked 70th globally in Mercer's Quality of Living survey, making it the 3rd highest-ranked Asian city after Singapore and Tokyo. As Hong Kongers pursue better standards of living and more comprehensive health and wealth planning, we have seen strong growth in the insurance sector as consumer demand increases.

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