HR2B began life in 2003 as an idea of Tom Vovers to bring human resources management practices to Vietnamese organisations. Back then our core business was consulting, however, clients kept coming to us with the same need; to find them talented Vietnamese managers and professionals who would add value to their business.

In July 2003 we began executive search as a service with a small team of two staff and version 1.0 of our current Executive Search and Selection Information System (ESSiS). Our focus was on general director / director level positions. Our first ‘multi-job’ client was Avon (Vietnam) Ltd where we placed 5 out of 7 directors against stiff competition from Ernst and Young. By the end of the year we had picked up Metro cash and carry and AIG (AIA) Life insurance as multi-job clients.

During 2004 we continued to add international clients such as Coca Cola, DHL, Unilever and Prudential and began to serve large Vietnamese organisations such as FPT, Sovico, Thien Long Pen and Dong Tam tiles.

In 2005 we completely revamped our executive search and selection methodology. The ESSiS was upgraded to version 3 and rewritten to fit with our new methods. Our client list continued to grow and we opened our Hanoi branch office with two staff in a small rented service office in the North Star building.

In 2006 some of our long term staff left us to join our clients (a continuous problem!). We re-organised the Ho Chi Minh City team and adjusted our bonus system to have our team’s motivations more closely aligned to our client’s demands. We started doing payroll services for Swinburne University of Technology.

In 2007 as the Executive Search service continued to grow at a fast pace, we decided to use our reputation for quality and customer service in the area of payroll process outsourcing. We built a team of talented professionals led by an experience manager and took time to select an information system the would fit with the Vietnamese environment and our own passion for having the latest technology on hand to solve our business problems. At the end of 2007 we chose to partner with Corigo on their web based product.

2008 has been a year of expansion for Executive Search. We have hired over 5 more staff and handed over leadership of the team to a new experience manager from the USA. Payroll has attracted a wider range of clients than we initially expected from manufacturing to education companies. All staff have attended formal training in customer care as we seek to continuously improve our level of service. ESSiS version 5 is in design and is expected Q1 2009.

Our Ho Chi Minh office with triple in size as we move to new, purpose built premises in November. Our plans for the future include ways to get closer to our customers and our candidates to find out their real needs. Executive Search and Payroll will remain the core services, and we plan to expand our contracting business as the legal framework in Vietnam becomes clearer. The Vietnamese business environment is changing and we are now being called on with real projects for Human Resources Management Consulting and we expect this line of service to grow. We are big enough now to have our own full time marketing staff. All of our growth so far has been by word of mouth referrals. You will see more of HR2B in the coming months as we try to shed the title of “Vietnam’s best kept secret in executive search and selection, payroll, and consulting”.