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Charles Chen is DELTA’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), based in Delta’s Headquarters, Neihu, Taipei. Having joined DELTA as an HR officer in 1995, he gathered extensive international experience in China and Thailand before returning to Taipei in 2016. Charles Chen has been involved in developing DELTA’s employer branding, and is one of the masterminds of the “Keep Exploring” campaign (在台達 永續發展你的未來).
DELTA has garnered several awards for its outstanding HR achievements over the years, the most recent one being the 2022 Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award in the Talent Development Leadership- category.
On 14 December 2022, Mr. Chen was interviewed by Doris Teng and Stefanie Eschenlohr from Taiwan Tech Office of International Affairs in his office in Neihu, Taipei.
Q: DELTA is a global electronic manufacturing company with operations in all five continents. Could you please describe DELTA’s international workforce needs?
Regarding our international staff, we are mostly looking for graduates with a master’s degree as minimum qualification. We prefer to hire more experienced graduates because they will usually be sent out to explore new markets and they will need to make full use of their strong sales skills. We are hiring talent from different fields, but ideally, candidates should have an engineering background – from almost any engineering discipline - even if they wish to join the sales team. As a high-tech company with a highly diversified product and solution portfolio, we need sales people who are able to think beyond the boundaries of their own field.
So, like all global companies, we want to recruit young people with certain core abilities: Robust analytical skills, strong critical thinking, and a solution-oriented mindset. DELTA employees should be proactive and innovative in their approach to problem-solving, considering all available resources and options in order to provide the most effective and efficient solution for the customer. That is demanding, but it also makes DELTA one of the most exciting places to work. As an internationally operating company, DELTA does not require applicants to have Chinese language skills, but the formula “English is a must, Chinese is a Plus” also holds for DELTA. We would like to see more people learning a new language, so we offer financial support for language exchange classes.
Q: How do you generally assess the prospects for foreign graduates to develop their careers in Taiwan?
I would say that foreign graduates generally have very attractive career prospects in Taiwan, if they hold a degree in the “right field”.
That means that they need to have expertise in an area where Taiwan’s industry needs human resources – i.e. a wide range of engineering disciplines, especially the electronics and power systems industry. Another factor is demographics – with the declining birth rate, the competition for bright minds will become even fiercer, which is an excellent chance for foreign graduates.
Q: If you compare local Taiwanese and international graduates. What are their respective strengths and weaknesses?
As I just mentioned, our sales personnel should understand our products and solutions and their respective technical features in sufficient depth. That requires extensive communications skills, which is, from my observation, one of the areas where international graduates often outperform local Taiwanese. International students should have a good command of English language, as well as familiarity with Taiwanese culture. This will make it easier for them to communicate with local people and to understand what is happening around them. International graduates are often very mobile and independent, which can be a both, good and bad.
On the one hand, they are able to move around and find work easily. On the other hand, they may not be used to living in a traditional society and may not be able to adjust as easily. Furthermore, some foreign students are lacking confidence to stand up for themselves or to ask for what they want. This can be seen in their CVs or in their presentation skills. More training should be offered to boost their abilities and confidence, by universities but also by their employers.
Q: What are typical international career paths within DELTA?
As I mentioned, we would often recruit international graduates and send them to one of our branch offices abroad, depending on their professional skills and their cultural-linguistic backgrounds. However, we also have established schemes which are open to all our employees, namely the Expatriate Rotation Acceleration (ERA) program, which offers the chance to work at different branch offices worldwide. In addition, we started a new program: Global Elite Mingle (GEM) for international talent who, after one year of training at the headquarters in Taiwan, will be sent to one of our branch offices abroad. There, they will have the opportunity to learn from experienced managers and gain hands-on experience through a variety of real-world projects and assignments.
Q: What are Delta’s recruitment plans and strategies for the near future? 
Currently, our international workforce in Taiwan stands at 0.8%, i.e. 51 employees from 10 different countries. We are planning to increase this figure to 1%, and eventually to at least 2%. As for recruitment channels, we recruit about 70% through “classical channels” like job platforms, and 30% though other methods, such as university co-operations, internships, on-campus career-fairs, or referrals. We are closely working with leading universities in Taiwan, such as Taiwan Tech. The Delta–NTUST Joint Research and Development Center, established in 2020, is one of the biggest joint research centers with a Taiwanese university. This cooperation will be very valuable for recruiting future R&D workforce.
Q. DELTA is famed for its Employer Branding Campaign and its slogan "Develop Your Future Sustainably at Delta". Could you elaborate on this strategy?
DELTA has developed a centralized employer branding campaign which is being deployed in different regions. We believe that “sustainable development” should not just be a slogan, but be embedded in our business model, and thus, applied to our staff as well. If the objective is to retain talent, we have to support people and help them to grow professionally. We are very proud of our successful Employer Branding campaign and the various Best Employer Awards that we have won. We continue to work hard to maintain and improve our Employer Branding program so that we can continue to attract the best talent in the industry. Though not often mentioned, one of the most powerful promotion tools is “Word-of-Mouth”: Most of our employees are satisfied with their work lives, and will recommend us to their family and friends. That is what builds our reputation at the end of the day!
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台達預見國際人才需求，將充實國際人才庫
採訪日期：111年12月14日週三
採訪：國際事務處鄧雅仁行政組員及徐言專案副教授
攝影：國際事務處李祿鴻行政組員（採訪側拍）
台達與本校多年共同投入研發，師生透過各項產學合作和產業密切互動，亦強化學生實戰經驗，不僅減少學用之間的落差，也培育更多企業所需人才，更挹注資金提供國際實習與研發獎學金等方案，吸引更多國際學子來臺就學與投入電子科技產業。
此次專訪台達陳啟禎人資長，讓我們得以從全球化企業的角度一窺將來國際人力的需求及趨勢，與人資如何為公司覓得一手好牌。談及台達之後的國際招聘策略時，他表示：「台達將充實國際人才庫，超前佈署各單位所需人才，活化國際人力資源。」
台達亟需擁有跨部門思維的國際人才
台達有近200個研發中心、生產基地和銷售據點遍及全球五大洲，全球共約有8萬至9萬名員工，為積極因應國際佈局，對於技術員、工程師及研發人員的需求大幅增加，台達期望能招募已有工作經歷並具碩士學位的國際人才加入行列。
就臺灣的產業發展趨勢來看，若國際學生在電子科技產業領域相關科系取得學位，留臺發展的前景可期，且隨著臺灣出生率下降，各產業的競才需求會愈加激烈，對於外籍學生來說是值得把握的好機會。
台達的員工除基本的工程背景外，應具備精準的表達技巧、良好的問題分析能力與批判性思維，目前尤其亟需擁有跨部門思維的國際人才。他舉例，如同專業的銷售人員往往不只擁有優異的銷售及溝通技巧，還能熟知台達眾多產品的特性與運用情境，因此能看見客戶需求以外的潛在機會，並結合各領域的專業知識，能具備跨界應用與整合的思考模式才能提供最佳解決方案。
人資長提到，國際學生赴臺求學時通常已做好在異地生活和工作的心理準備，因此具有較佳的心理韌性與獨立性，在臺求學也讓他們熟悉臺灣的工作文化，更懂得職場上的應對進退及善於傾聽意見，再融合原本的文化背景，展現出更彈性多元的想法。
不過，他也觀察到，國際學生提供的履歷內容及口述技巧上仍缺少自信，他建議學校及雇主方可針對這方面提供更多的培訓，以增信他們的信心。此外，台達雖未強調國際員工需具備中文能力，但若能運用簡單基礎中文溝通，勢必更有助融入職場與執行工作，因此台達樂於補助外籍員工參與中文課程，也藉此提升學習動機。
積極推動人才招募計畫以提升國際人才比例
台達歷年來持續晉用國際人才，目前在台灣有51名來自10個不同國家的國際員工，比例佔總人數0.8%，有相當大成長空間，計畫至少增加至1%，最終期望達到2%，為達此目標，台達持續推動全球人才招募計畫。
其一是「人才發展加速方案」（ERA），依據國際員工的工作性質、專業技能及語言文化背景提供派外機會，讓優秀人才可快速成長晉升，並確保發展空間；另一則為「全球人才儲備專案」（GEM），每年延攬各國人才來臺受訓一年後派往海外，藉此提供各地區所需人才與促進人力資源流動。
人資長分析，目前台達透過求職平台招聘的國際員工約7成，其餘3成則透過大學就業博覽會、師長推薦，或學生實習等途徑聘得。為尋得研發人才，台達更與臺灣多所頂尖大學合作設立聯合研發中心，如2020年成立「台達台科聯合研發中心」，鎖定 5G、雲端、人工智慧（AI） 等技術研究發展，也落實人才培育。
近幾年台達在雇主品牌的成就有目共賭，運用社群媒體及整合校園資源，透過各項活動及員工之間的口耳相傳，獲得良好的成績，大多數的員工都對他們的工作生活感到滿意。人資長陳啟禎在採訪結束前自豪表示，台達制定了相當嚴謹的人力資源策略，認為「永續發展」的概念不應只適用於環境保護，也可擴及工作層面，因此台達提供各項支援制度，幫助員工在專業上有所成長，不僅為了留任優秀人才，更希望在台達工作的所有員工，都能永續發展！