Much has been written about the rise of emerging markets and what they can offer in terms of talent pool. But no emerging market is the same, and an HR strategy may not fill every market. In a changing environment, human resource strategies used to manage people in one country are sometimes ineffective in another, and what worked in one country may not work in another.

That is the reality that many companies in emerging markets are currently facing due to a lack of preparation, anticipation and adequate talent strategies.

Generally speaking, there is no right or wrong human resource management strategy. However, as an HR professional, you need to be aware of the cultural differences and various HR issues that arise in the destination country before attempting to implement anything. It goes without saying that developing the wrong talent strategy in a BRIC country can be one of the costliest mistakes for a company. Not only in terms of money, but also in terms of actual and potential talent losses.

To avoid these kinds of mistakes, you need to know what the hottest HR issues, issues, and trends in emerging markets are that could be holding your business back. To help you with this task, here is a list of 4 critical HR challenges emerging from some BRIC countries. Memorize them? Will you gain time and efficiency?

HR Challenge #1: Attract and retain talented workers

BRAZIL – One of the biggest problems in Brazil is the shortage of skilled labor. Are companies operating in Brazil demanding more qualified workers than those currently offered by the labor market? The shortage is especially pronounced for companies that need English-speaking technicians, engineers and managers. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to retain talented workers with 5 to 10 years of experience because they tend to change companies to advance their careers and earn higher salaries.

RUSSIA – Russia has considerable intellectual capital made up of engineers, scientists, and many other well-qualified people. However, many companies reported that it is getting harder to find great people as the quality of staff and the level of education are continually declining. In fact, job candidates from Russia are well educated, but often by universities that don’t give them practical skills. In addition, an increasing number of talented Russians have left the country for Israel and the United States. As a result, only 20% of Russian professionals are currently considered employable by companies.

INDIA – Despite the huge pool of talent available in India, companies are having trouble recruiting skilled workers because the quality of talent is not as good as it could be. Taking a closer look at the available workforce, it is estimated that only 25% of Indian professionals possess the skills required by companies. As for the qualified candidates, they are highly attractive, mobile and willing to change industries to fill different roles and increase their salary. As a consequence, HR teams lose a lot of money and time due to this flow of people in and out of companies. Furthermore, foreign companies operating in India have to compete not only with Indian companies, but also with companies from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, which are attracting top Indian talent. As the population of these three countries is aging very fast, many of the companies there are turning their attention to the Indian workforce.

CHINA – Even though China has a population of more than 1.3 billion, companies are struggling to find and retain employees. Although millions of university graduates enter China’s job market every year, only a small number of them are capable of working in a multinational environment. The reasons include a lack of strong English language skills and no prior work experience. Furthermore, only a quarter of these graduate candidates live in a city or region where the companies are located. As labor mobility is restricted by the government, few young talents currently live in urban areas? Foreign companies operating in China face an additional problem that explains the talent shortage: more and more graduates and senior executives are willing to work for domestic Chinese companies rather than foreign companies.

SOUTH AFRICA – An estimated 10% of companies operating in South Africa had difficulty filling jobs in 2011. Compared to other BRIC countries, this number is low. However, there is a real shortage of talented people, particularly engineers, legal workers, technicians, teachers, and finance and accounting workers. The main reason is that South Africans who have or acquire these skills tend to migrate to other countries that will offer them better job opportunities. This brain drain has a high impact on companies’ businesses and must be addressed now if the country is not to face a greater talent gap in the future.

HR Challenge #2: Develop Effective Leaders

CHINA – Developing leaders is a difficult task in any market, but in China HR teams struggle to adapt their talent management strategies to the country’s unique business culture and values. Additionally, potential Chinese candidates for leadership positions often lack international experience, innovation, and the ability to assimilate into a Western business culture.

Due to their cultural background, they are not used to taking risks and managing change. As a result, about a quarter of Chinese leaders are weak in the skills most critical to success in their roles, and more than half are inadequately prepared for their roles. There is another thing to keep in mind: working for a Chinese company seems to be becoming the preferred career choice for Chinese executives, as well as for expats immersed in the market.

SOUTH AFRICA – It is extremely difficult to fill executive and senior management positions with a top quality leader. Many of today’s leaders working in leading companies are nearing retirement and there is a lack of suitable 40/50 year old candidates with strong managerial experience to replace them. To overcome this critical situation, many companies promote young talent to leadership positions and offer accelerated careers to retain the best of them. Since these new young leaders do not have enough work experience and are not prepared to handle such responsibilities, most of them fail or underperform. It is vital to the success of companies operating in South Africa to invest in leadership programs to develop a generation of truly talented leaders.

HR Challenge #3: Dealing with Tough Labor Laws

BRAZIL – The Brazilian labor code makes it difficult to use expatriates to fill the shortage gap. The Ministry of Labor seeks to protect the national labor market as much as possible by limiting the hiring of foreign workers. As a result, trying to obtain work permits for foreign employees is a very difficult task for any human resources team. When possible, the maximum duration granted for a temporary work permit is 1-2 years, but the reality is that many foreign workers can only stay 90 days in the country. Regarding Brazilian national workers, the labor code is very pro-employee and provides extensive protection to the employee at the expense of the employer. President Dilma Rousseff recently passed a law requiring companies to pay overtime rates for calls or emails outside of business hours. This regulation reflects an existing trend in Brazilian courts: employees sue their bosses for working outside the office.

RUSSIA – The Russian labor code is extremely employee friendly and it is almost impossible to fire an employee. However, it allows any employee, regardless of seniority or nationality, to quit a job after just 2 weeks’ notice and go to work for a competitor immediately. Furthermore, Russian labor laws apply to all nationalities, which means that foreign employees (including expatriates) have the same rights as Russian employees. This is standard practice in some EU countries required by EU labor law.

HR Challenge #4: Managing the Career Expectations of Gen Y

INDIA – Generation Y is writing the new code in the Indian workforce. Mature enough to play crucial roles in companies, however, they can be a nightmare for HR teams, as they are more inclined to leave companies than any previous generation. Aside from attracting and retaining Indian Gen Y, the biggest challenges today are communicating with them and offering them rapid career progression. In fact, the typical Indian Gen Y worker wants success to come fast and money faster.

With the majority of India’s high-potential workers (around 64%) and middle managers (around 55%) belonging to Generation Y, the future of India, as well as that of the companies operating there, it depends on your ability to engage this generation.

CHINA: Chinese Generation Y makes up about 50% of China’s current workforce. Raised to succeed, they are more educated, talented, and ambitious than previous generations. As a result, their demands, values ​​and behavior at work are different from those of their parents. For example, their expectations for rapid advancement and career mobility are high and they place great emphasis on salary. If their company cannot offer them an exciting career path, they will move to another company for a better career opportunity and increase their compensation as well. Getting promoted is the biggest motivating factor in your career. Unfortunately, it is not always possible. Therefore, it is imperative that HR teams find new ways to motivate them.

Of course, as a global HR professional, you will never be asked to solve ALL of these problems alone! However, does your company rely heavily on your HR team to anticipate any people risks that could impact your development? By having a clear view of the issues facing other HR teams in emerging markets, you will not only improve your global HR knowledge, but also become aware of the HR differences and similarities between these different countries in terms of human resource challenges. As a result, you will be able to suggest better ideas and solutions to your HR team. Developing a global mindset will also help you become an integral part of the leadership team looking for ways to de-risk people in emerging markets.

Remember what Ulrich says: “Modern human resources must take on many roles to demonstrate competence and effectiveness.” And I’m pretty sure, like any HR professional, your goal is to be better at what you do and show people that you can be a strategic business partner.