Employer and client FAQ

We want this page to be a community resource for employers in Bangkok, across Thailand, and beyond. So please find answers to key questions we often get asked, and be sure to share with us any other questions you need answering. We hope this helps you make the right hires and achieve your business goals.

Use the quick links to get the answer you need, or scroll through to find answers to questions you may not have thought of:

– How do I conduct a successful job interview?
– What is probation and how long should it be?
– Is talent acquisition different to recruitment?
– What is a head hunter?
– How do I set the right salary for a vacancy?
– How do I keep remote workers engaged with the business?
– How do I help an employee improve their performance?
– How do I attract the best talent ahead of my competitors?

1. 1. First, you should know what you need, which is essentially understanding the outcome your business requires. If you need to develop an app, then you need a programmer who specialises in apps. Speak to line managers, project managers and anyone who needs the support of the new hire, get their view on the skills needed.
   2. Next you need to know what skills, qualifications, experience and personality to look for in candidates. Again, speak to stakeholders to get requirements.
   3. Do your research on each candidate that’s lined up for a job interview. Search your network for connections, reach out and find out. This will not only help you ascertain who’s a good fit for the role, but also give you deeper questions to ask in the interview.
   4. Keep the interview conversational, put the candidate at ease and give yourself plenty of time to listen. Be in the moment, not thinking about what to ask next. It’ll help you naturally know what questions to ask to find key pieces of information.
   5. Wrap up the interview by explaining what happens next, this is not only professional, but it manages the candidate’s expectations well and keeps them engaged.
   6. Give feedback to any candidates that don’t make it to the next stage. Most importantly, get their feedback on the interview process and your business. This gives them a chance to vent if needed, rather than going on social media or sharing frustrations with their network.

Probation, also known as a probationary period, allows an employer to terminate an employee’s employment if they turn out to not be right for the role. It’s an agreed period of time that starts on the new employee’s start date and ends on a stipulated date.

Typical probationary periods in Bangkok, Thailand are 1, 3 or 6 months, usually depending on the seniority of the position. You should include the length of your probation period in your employment contracts, so that employees legally agree to the timeframe.

Yes. Although some recruitment agencies in include acquisition as a service-line. RECRUITdee provide each service. 

Recruitment is the filling of vacancies that arise. You tell a recruitment agency in Bangkok what the vacancy is, and they would begin the process of finding candidates.

Talent acquisition is more of a strategical process, one that is ongoing whether postions are avalable or not. It has more of an eye on the long-term goals and direction of the business and what talent will be needed to support that. An agency would be constantly searching and connecting with potential candidates that would support the business’s goals, ready to pitch a position when it becomes available.

Talent acquisiton is also more associated with hiring highly skilled individuals, who may not be in the job market. In this case, it’s about building relationships – selling the opportunity and the ’employer brand’.

There are four things you can do to make sure the salary you’re offering is right for the role:

1. 1. Look at wages for similar vacancies currently being advertised. Of course, you’ll need to factor in budgets, the level of talent you need, and how desperate you are for the skills, but doing this will ensure you’re in the right ballpark.
   2. Use a wage band instead of just one figure. This is particularly useful if you’re open to applications from people with varying levels of expertise. So it could be ‘140,000 – 200,000 THB depending on experience’.
   3. Consider if the role is performance-dependent, or if it can be, then factor in a basic wage supplemented through commission or bonus payments.
   4. Think about all of the factors at play: living-costs in Bangkok, benefits package, CPD offerings, office location and add it to the mix when deciding on a salary. It may be that you can offer less compensation due to additional employee benefits that make the role particularly attractive.

If you’re struggling with this, don’t let it hold up advertising your job. You can put ‘Competitive’ and get on with your recruitment, while you come up with the figures that suit you and the market. See here for a guide to average salaries in Bangkok.

Whether they’re contractors, freelancers or work-from-home employees, keeping your team members engaged and bought-in to the employer brand and culture is essential for the long-term quality and quantity of output. Here’s how to engage remote staff:

1. 1. Prioritise employee wellbeing by ensuring they are safe and happy in their remote working environment. Let this be at the centre of all decisions you make regarding engagement with the brand.
   2. Create working processes that embody your company culture. Even though the staff won’t be experiencing the togetherness of the workplace, it doesn’t mean they can’t experience the culture of your business. Look to your mission, vision and values and flow them through everything you put in place.
   3. Use technology to leverage messaging and connect workers around the world. Tech can give you an incredible level of engagement with remote staff, with only a minimal drain on Human Resources in the office.
   4. Keep communicating. On email, intranet, social, mobile, whatever channels you have, ensure you’re putting out content that’s aligned to the brand mission and focused on keeping remote staff in the loop and feeling part of the team.
   5. Take the time to get personal. Ask individual remote workers what their difficulties are in working away from the office and provide bespoke support to help them. Everyone deals with lone-working differently, by avoiding a complete blanket approach, you engender trust, respect and engagement.

Having an underperforming member on the team can cause more than just a problem for a line manager, it can have a negative knock-on effect on projects and goals, both in terms of success and morale.

There are four key steps to supporting improvement in an employee’s performance:

1. Define how the employee is underperforming
Be clear on where they’re coming up short. Monitor their behaviour and output and write down issues, it may sound formal, but you want to have an honest and fact-based conversation with them, with no opinions.

2. Understand what’s causing the underperformance
Ask your employee questions, ensure they know you want to help them improve, and let them know they can speak freely. Get to the root of the problem, whether it’s work-related, a skillset issue or to do with their personal life.

3. Deliver support
Now you know what’s causing the underperformance, research and deliver real help to the employee. Whether that be training courses, integration support or help with personal problems, such as a specialists’ details, helpline number or time to deal with the issue.

4. Set clear targets
This focuses the employee on what they need to achieve to get back on-track. It also allows you to show you did everything you could to help them improve, should the relationship not work out.

It all starts with your employer brand. Gen Z and Millennial talent wants to work with companies that align with their personal beliefs. Take your company vision, mission and values and flow them through your employer brand to create a workplace culture and experience that represents what your company believes in. Then, the very best talent will feel the crucial alignment and come work with you for more than a wage.

Next, write job descriptions that embody your culture and brand. You should be able to write so that any candidate could tell it’s your business without looking at the employer name. Then you’ll be standing out from your competitors. For the description, start with the company mission, then the department goal/project and how the person you need will help the team achieve success.

Recruit smart. Use tech and online experiences however possible, from application processes to video walk thorough of the department, team and office. The best talent will be busy working for someone else, so you’ll need to make the interview process slick and on their terms. Consider going completely digital with this via video calls, and keep physical interviews casual in the initial phases. Coffee shops are always a winner. 

Keep candidates engaged. Treat your candidates like your customers, keep in touch and update them regularly. Consider live chat, WhatsApp or an online portal through which they can easily track their progress. Don’t keep them waiting around – your competitors will be waiting if you do.

We hope this FAQ helps you make the right hires, achieve your goals and grow your business. If you need any recruitment advice or support with talent acquisition, please get in touch.