What are Vietnamese workers like as people?

Hello,
I am planning to open a small factory in the Asian region and would like to learn more about what Vietnamese people are like.
How do they generally behave or perform as workers?
In comparison to Chinese workers, what are the main differences in work ethic or behavior on-site? - @Rudi2255477

Picking only one thing that's important to know, Vietnamese workers will usually drop everything and attend to the needs of their family, which may sound like workers in any country.

But in Vietnam that may mean that they will simply take off if there is a major illness or death in their family.

They also won't think twice to take care of a sudden problem with their family and come to work late or not at all and simply tell you they had something important to do.

From what I've seen so far with foreigners starting a business here, it never succeeds unless there is a strong and trustworthy Vietnamese manager to control the workers.

Even then, your strong and trustworthy manager can leave you in the lurch if they suddenly have a family problem.

I personally don't think anybody should think about starting a business here until they've actually lived here at least one year and experienced the seasons and the lives of the people during the changes of the year.

Family comes above everything, and God forbid constant problems... But do Vietnamese people recognize what quality is, and what it means to follow precise instructions in order to meet standards...?

@Rudi2255477

depends on what you kind of factory you plan to open. Electronics one you might attract the educated smart employees types, if you open a cement making factory you get the laborers to that trade. The gist is you can’t generalize them. Describe what the hell you gonna do in vn then you get a better reply.

@brianAFSER73

Alright, let me put it plainly:

I want to rent a production hall in Vietnam, about 600 m² in size. Then I need two male workers. These workers will produce a product that's made in three steps:

    Step one: The product consists of three parts, and these three parts need to be glued together.

    Step two: The glued part is then assembled with another glued part.

    Step three: The final product needs to be packaged.

All in all, it's a very simple job. Two workers should be able to produce my monthly demand.

The whole thing could also be done by two women, but that would be borderline. That would be the optimal setup.

Less ideal would be if I needed a third person to supervise them... but it’s still an option.

@brianAFSER73
Alright, let me put it plainly:
I want to rent a production hall in Vietnam, about 600 m² in size. Then I need two male workers. These workers will produce a product that's made in three steps:
  Step one: The product consists of three parts, and these three parts need to be glued together.

  Step two: The glued part is then assembled with another glued part.

  Step three: The final product needs to be packaged.

All in all, it's a very simple job. Two workers should be able to produce my monthly demand.
The whole thing could also be done by two women, but that would be borderline. That would be the optimal setup.
Less ideal would be if I needed a third person to supervise them... but it’s still an option. - @Rudi2255477

Yeah you probably need to hire that third person as a supervisor.

Also hire a security guard to watch the supervisor

OceanBeach is correct. You are going to want a supervisor and a security guard…the employment of a security guard is standard practice in Vietnam.

From my experience hiring one huge cultural difference I see is just generally such a chill attitude and relaxed thinking about time and deadlines. Im an architect and my wife and I run an architecture firm between the two of us. We have tried to hire quite a few people here and these are consistent issues I have seen all around. Keep in mind below I am only mentioning negatives. There are of course major positives of hiring here. This is not meant to say anything negative about Vietnamese in general, just giving you a heads up of what I have personally noticed.

Being on time has been a constant issue. Sometimes people would just show up an hour late and act like its nothing to worry about.

With deadlines I always made it clear the deadline was important. I even asked them how long they needed and they always agreed the deadline was reasonable. On the day of it rarely got done. I could understand if it was due to emergencies but it never was. It was always something just not important like "I got tired", "my girlfriend wanted to go out", "friends birthday". Those are actual real reasons I was told. Now keep in mind I would have been fine with some things if they told me ahead of time but they just didnt. Even when I checked the day before they still said they were good and never mentioned something going on later that would get in the way. When I told them they couldnt do this and just miss deadlines they seemed genuinely confused and unsure of why I thought it was so important. Again I think this is just a massive general cultural difference about the importance of timeliness and deadlines.

Ive also noticed the same things when we have worked with GCs and subcontractors here. When we renovated our apartment about 50% of the time people just didnt show up when they said they would or even the same day they promised and when a home is under construction it makes this super difficult with different trades coming in and out. Its critical to time things right. We wouldnt even get a notice or a call. Again same issue. We would have to contact them and ask where they were and most of the time they would just respond saying they will be here tomorrow or just later.

Hello. From personal experience in hotel management. The staff is quite serious, but to keep them, you should not contact the minimum wage because in this case, they will not hesitate to drop you without warning or at best a few hours before to tell you that they have found a better job. You will have to put in place benefits that they will find difficult to find elsewhere (health insurance, 13th or 14th month of salary during holidays and Tet, daily meals within the company, etc.). As for family celebrations, this is an important point to respect because, in any case, they will not come to work (anniversary of death of a loved one for example and, family support of a sick person) so it is up to you to plan as much in advance as possible. You must then integrate the notion of subordination (social position comes before age because they owe respect to the elderly) Learning to speak Vietnamese will teach you a lot on this subject. When you give an instruction, it is imperative to ensure that it is understood by indirect means and correct it if necessary without getting angry, without shouting and by suggesting that doing otherwise is better. (given your position as a business leader, the Vietnamese will never tell you no or that they have not understood, in their way of thinking that would be a lack of respect for you)

Hello. From personal experience in hotel management. The staff is quite serious, but to keep them, you should not contact the minimum wage because in this case, they will not hesitate to drop you without warning or at best a few hours before to tell you that they have found a better job. You will have to put in place benefits that they will find difficult to find elsewhere (health insurance, 13th or 14th month of salary during holidays and Tet, daily meals within the company, etc.). As for family celebrations, this is an important point to respect because, in any case, they will not come to work (anniversary of death of a loved one for example and, family support of a sick person) so it is up to you to plan as much in advance as possible. You must then integrate the notion of subordination (social position comes before age because they owe respect to the elderly) Learning to speak Vietnamese will teach you a lot on this subject. When you give an instruction, it is imperative to ensure that it is understood by indirect means and correct it if necessary without getting angry, without shouting and by suggesting that doing otherwise is better. (given your position as a business leader, the Vietnamese will never tell you no or that they have not understood, in their way of thinking that would be a lack of respect for you) - @berpasfrvn

After travelling through Asia since 1977 Turkiye, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand,Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, I can confirm that citizens in these countries seems genetically built to be unable to say NO to a foreigner

.they will tell you yes and then send you in the completely opposite direction you want to go (and I mean that literally and figuratively).

So you should stress again and again at every meeting with your team that it is OK to say NO, that this is not possible in the timeframe required for such and such reasons. Tell them that if the reasons are valid then they should not be afraid to express themselves l, that you are not the CCP (LOL)

@rogergarinmichaud

LOL!

I spoke with my VN girlfriend a few times over the years about precisely that. VN people will give you an answer/directions, even if they don't know the answer/directions.

Though I at first had my doubts, nowadays I don't think it's malicious. I believe they want to be viewed as being open to contact with foreigners, and of being helpful.

@rogergarinmichaud

I would say this sums up the issues I have had as well. Their enthusiasm is through the roof but its difficult to know what can and cannot be done or what is realistic because they say yes to everything.

@rogergarinmichaud

I don't think this is about foreigners....in India in particular, we use to make a practise of never saying, 'is that the way to our destination , but rather, simply ask which direction it is to a place.  That usually gave you a chance to watch them and calculate whether they were being helpful or helpful

I’d like to share my personal experience in setting up a factory and how the operational dynamics unfold.

If you're planning to establish a factory far from major cities like Saigon or Hanoi, there are significant benefits. In my case, I chose a location 100 km away from Saigon. Finding workers is very easy if you connect with the right person—someone who can help manage the recruitment process and ensure smooth operations. You don’t necessarily need an English-speaking expert to handle everything; instead, the core management should be based in Ho Chi Minh City (HCM). (It doesn't matter big or small business)

Factory workers tend to start early, but they prefer working in their own style. If you make a huge investment and maintain strong oversight behind management, operations generally run smoothly since workers respect established rules and regulations. However, if you frequently change policies based on shifting workloads, they may not take them seriously.

It's worth noting that workers often take breaks for smoking and coffee, which can sometimes lead to slight delays in productivity. They appreciate foreign business owners, but earning their genuine respect takes time. Once trust is fully established, they become highly dedicated, prioritizing work over personal matters.

When it comes to machinery and tools, local manufacturers may claim they can produce what you need. However, this can involve lengthy timelines and additional costs, often leading to recurring issues. Regardless of their capability, opting for Chinese-manufactured equipment is generally a safer choice due to their extensive experience in the industry.

Renting factory space away from the main city is quite manageable, as there are ample options available at reasonable prices, allowing for flexibility in scale and expansion.

Hello,
I am planning to open a small factory in the Asian region and would like to learn more about what Vietnamese people are like.
How do they generally behave or perform as workers?
In comparison to Chinese workers, what are the main differences in work ethic or behavior on-site? - @Rudi2255477

Please do keep in touch and let us know how it goes with you new factory ! Thanks

Usually the location of your factory will depend on what kind of resources you need (wood, metal, etc) and corresponding labor skills. The mindset is very similar and yet very different at the same time depending where you are in Vietnam

Get some good advise on that, because there are also economic zones with costs and benefits to be considered.

600m2 and 2 workers sounds extremely minimal to me.

But like said above about the supervisor:

Every factory will need a Vietnamese factory manager. I've never seen a factory in Vietnam function successfully under foreign management.

It might also be worth looking into buying an existing factory, because that saves you a lot of hassle in getting all required permits and licences.