As well as the opportunity to engage freelancers for specific projects, which has been the core activity of Crayfish.io to date, now the platform will enable users to post job advertisements on our site and to seek expert help to fill bilingual roles.
Finding highly skilled bilingual people is a challenge, whether you want to enter the Chinese market, already have an established presence in China, or simply wish to attract Chinese customers to your business. Now Crayfish.io – the first and only online marketplace platform dedicated to English-Chinese bilingual project work – has launched a new recruitment service, offering companies a flexible alternative to traditional recruitment activities.
"Language and cultural barriers are significant for any company wanting to trade with or operate in China," says Ting Zhang, CEO and Founder of Crayfish.io. "And our experience shows that attracting and, importantly, retaining skilled bilingual staff is increasingly difficult.
"That's why we have launched a service that gives businesses the opportunity to find and vet individuals who have already passed pre-qualification on our website, and to employ them flexibly in full-time, contract or temporary roles.
"UK/international companies doing or seeking to do business with China, and Chinese companies engaging in opportunities in the UK, need people for a range of tasks who understand not only their technology and business, but also the Chinese and European markets, language and culture. Through Crayfish.io, they have access to talented linguists who may also offer industry specialisms – for example in healthcare, IT, sourcing or manufacturing.
"As well as the opportunity to engage freelancers for specific projects, which has been the core activity of Crayfish.io to date, now the platform will enable users to post job advertisements on our site and to seek expert help to fill bilingual roles."
She says the Crayfish.io team has already succeeded in identifying a bank of multilingual Mandarin speakers living and studying in the UK to fill the vacancy of a TMall global e-commerce specialist, which the Cambridge-based client described as “an ambitious, entrepreneurial individual – capable of thinking creatively and keen to grow our business in China”. The company sought one person, but it was so impressed with the applications from Crayfish’s network that it ended up recruiting two.
Another recent appointment was for a project manager to assist with a new mobile training app roll-out in China over the course of six months. It required the candidate to have previous experience in Chinese B2B sales and training as well as fluent language skills and offered the chance for a permanent role for the right candidate. Crayfish was able to fill the role in the tight three-week timeframe. Now the successful candidate is into the third month of his work for the London-based client.
A current vacancy is to assist a new company in tourism, which requires several individuals to act as co-ordinators/hosts for customers from China. "Our client in this case welcomed the flexibility of our approach," says Ting. "And it is likely that one or several of the people we identify to start on temporary contracts or flexible hours will eventually be offered a full-time role.”
For any business, finding the right people is crucial. "But you need to be able to find them in a timely and cost-effective way," adds Ting, "and that's where we come in.”
Find out more at www.crayfish.io