Bó Lè Associates
- HKGCC Membership No. :
- HKB0343
Connoisseur of Talent
In Chinese, Bó Lè means is a horse connoisseur, and also someone who is a good judge of talent. Louisa Wong may not be a horse connoisseur, but she is an extremely good judge of talent. The Executive Chairman of Bó Lè Associates founded the executive search company in 1996 with only 10 employees. Today, the company employs over 550 staff in 26 offices worldwide.
Quantum leap
According to Wong, executive recruitment is a constant process. “Each client wants to find a candidate who can bring a quantum leap to the company. In a fast-paced business environment like Hong Kong, clients often want their staff to do more with less and multitask. Jobs often outgrow the people doing them, so there is always a need to hire more talent.”
To get a clear picture of companies’ needs, Bó Lè staff spend time getting to know their clients and use their experience to see how we can best fulfil their requirements. “Potential candidates’ ability to fit into a company’s culture is important as various companies have different structures and hierarchy. We look at possible candidates and we often make companies’ seemingly impossible criteria possible,” she said.
Young man’s game
With technology growing in importance in every industry, social media is emerging as a significant trend in talent recruitment. For Bó Lè, social media presents more of a challenge than that of its other competitors, but the company is managing to maintain its leading status in Asia by helping companies find the quality talent that they need.
“We nurture our in-house consultants, and every year recruit around 100 graduates, all of whom will undergo five years of training. The first two years focus on desktop work – research and assisting seasoned consultants – before they move on to on-the-job training,” she said. “After the five years, staff may be able to handle cases independently, but this is just the start, because it takes a very long time before they can become independent consultants.”
Wong believes the industry is suited to young people as it requires long hours and lots of energy, so young people who are dedicated to their job often excel. She also said young people tend to be very tech savvy, which keeps them tuned into the latest trends and developments around the world, which are essential skills for the industry.
Good old-fashioned training, however, is still essential and Bó Lè provides intensive training to perfect staff’s skills, right down to cold calling. “We invest so much time and energy into nurturing our talent, which in turn allows them to better serve our clients in the long run,” said Wong.
Over the years, Wong has found that to maintain a long lasting relationship with clients, impeccable service and first-class results are essential. She doesn’t rely on advertising to attract new clients, instead, “Word of mouth is our key marketing tool. Through recommendations from one client to another, we get a viral marketing effect.”
Company: Bó Lè Associates
HKGCC Membership No. HKB0343
Established: 1996
Website: http://www.bo-le.com
Contact: 2525 4339
