HRM practices in Vietnam can be divided into two main stages. The first stage from 1975-1990 is considered a "command" personnel administration with the dominance of the state-owned companies in the economy while the second period from 1990 up to the present is characterized as “ learning and building a HRM system” which indicates a striking development of the private and foreign-invested sector (Kamoche 2001). In the state-owned sector, little improvement has been made to HRM system due to the incompetence of management levels and high resistance to changes from employees.
According to a study conducted by Quang and Vuong (2002), the management styles in this sector were found to be “bureaucratic, familial, conservative and authoritarian”, which highlighted clear reporting relationships, formal communication and strict control. On the contrary, many small and medium enterprises in the private sector are run by dynamic entrepreneurs who are willing to learn but lack capital and especially experience in the field of HR. King-Kauanui, Ngoc and Ashley-Cotleur (2006) studied private firms in Vietnam and found that 76% of these companies did not have a formal HR department though an increase in the use of HRM techniques was observed. After 1990, it is noted that the growth of the private sector and the foreign-invested sector has an important impact on the HR practices in general in Vietnam. When the flow of foreign investment increased to a certain point, the knowledge transfer has come along to support the local partners. In joint-ventures, expatriates from developed countries
have room to exercise their style of personnel management. As foreign direct investment (FDI) increases to a certain point, companies, especially wholly-owned foreign companies, import their native HRM practices into the host country with proper modifications (Thang & Quang 2005). Despite the fact that foreign expatriates had much to offer, Kamoche (2001) warned international joint ventures not to adopt such practices without counting the national and organizational culture, work values and the role of political and administrative structures.
The term E-HRM has not appeared in Vietnam until a few years ago with the emergence of ICTs and the increasing importance of the HR role. It is a new topic not only to researchers but also to those who work in the HR area. Bartram, Stanton and Thomas (2009) found out that despite the positive attitudes towards IT applications, most firms in Vietnam were just taking the first step in establishing a HRM system with the support of advanced technologies. The application of web-based technologies in each function of HR varied from companies to companies depending on the demand and the priority of the firm. However, it is estimated that the HR functions that frequently used IT tools to handle daily tasks include recruitment and training. The usage has been reported to be at the operational level rather than managerial level. It is also predicted that in the next decade, more effort will be concentrated on other areas such as performance management and HR planning.
• Recruitment and selection: A number of studies relating to HRM in Vietnam confirmed the preference of social networks in recruitment of new staff (Kamoche 2001, Thang & Quang 2005). A possible explanation of this phenomenon is the influence of cultural factor. In a collectivism society like Vietnam which relies on and values so highly social relationships the recruitment through social network’s referral, for i.e. the recommendations of employee, family, friends are believed to be more efficient. Accordingly, recruitment procedures begin when an applicant is introduced by word-of-mouth and his/her family background will be an advantage in the selection process which Kamoche (2001) called a “social control mechanism” because it is based on social criteria rather than business related criteria. However, this does not stop applicants from using internet to seek jobs. In effect, more and more
companies capitalize on the internet as a means of recruitment where they can post hiring information and get the quick feedback. Most MNCs in Vietnam possess a recruitment system which enables job-seekers to send their application online. Computerized tests have become more and more popular replacing inconvenient paper-and-pencil manual tests. Other channels of recruitment such as job advertisements in the media, offering internship opportunities, outsourcing agencies, etc. are still seen as alternates to attract talents in Vietnam.
• Training and development: According to Quang and Thang (2005), training and development are perceived distinctively by sectors. State owned enterprises try to minimize the budget for training since they see it as an expense and fear that well-trained employees will leave the company for better jobs. On the other hand, managers at the other two sectors realize the importance of building the competitive edge by investing in human resources and tend to view it as a motivational tool, for i.e. abroad training opportunities. Training types are diversified ranging from seminars, workshops, (video) conferences to (online) training (E-learning), in big companies more advanced and standardized techniques such as job rotation, simulation, orientation, etc. are applied in training and development. In addition, specialized IT tools facilitates HR practitioners to investigate the training demands, evaluate the success of training programs, store the results for the future use in performance management and career orientation. It can be considered as one of the most potential areas for bringing ICT tools into practice.
• Performance appraisal: In his study, Kamoche (2001) discovered that only one in four organizations reviewed their staff performance against predetermined criteria and targets. In foreign invested companies, the performance evaluation was adopted from parent companies and carried out regularly based on predetermined criteria, especially on the achievement of targets. State owned enterprises preferred to evaluate their employees’
performance based on central guidelines called Emulation Standards. Two common forms of evaluation included self-evaluation and face-to-face dialogue between subordinates and managers (Quang & Dung 1998). Moreover, peer evaluation was not effective because of the cultural concept of “face-saving”.
This explains why 360-degree-feedback is not in frequent use and the electronic performance monitoring is still rare in organizations in Vietnam. Private enterprises pursue a more informal and simpler procedure in performance appraisal to save time and effort and partly because of the lack of expertise in this field (Vo & Dinh 1997).
• Compensation: As the war for talent becomes more fierce, companies in three sectors offer a wide range of award programs involving salaries and non-monetary benefits such as health care, insurance, transportation fees and other allowances though there is a difference in applications between regions and industries. There is a small likelihood of using advanced technologies in this area except for simple software to process data mainly because of the high cost and troubles following the setup of computerized systems such as training, IT support and so on.
In conclusion, the literature reviewing HRM in Vietnam revealed that the implementation of ICT tools in HR and the transformation of HRM practices thanks to those are yet intriguing. Specific national institutions and cultural influences create challenges and invisible barriers to HR specialists who design and exercise HRM policies and practices in Vietnam since among the management domains “HRM is the most sensitive to the local context” (Brewster 2005). It is important to consider the extent to which these factors may affect E-HRM implementation as well as the level of adaptation to the e-environment of users.