Hiring from Vietnam is attractive, but employers should plan around several recurring risks.
The biggest is the Tet attrition spike. The period after Tet is Vietnam's highest voluntary resignation season, as employees use visits home to accept offers from family-endorsed employers or to negotiate departures. Mitigate this by paying competitive Tet bonuses, running stay interviews in November and December, and communicating career-growth plans before Tet.
A second risk is the speed of regulatory change. The government issues labour and tax decrees with short implementation timelines; the Social Insurance Law 2024, the Decree 293 minimum wage, and the Decree 13 data-protection rules all changed within about 12 months. Retain active local legal counsel and subscribe to official gazette alerts.
English proficiency variance is another trap. Strong written English can mask weak spoken English, the HCMC–Hanoi gap is real, and older professionals are often weaker. Run a mandatory spoken English assessment using structured, scenario-based questions rather than casual chat.
There is a genuine talent shortage at the senior end. Senior IT talent such as cloud architects, site reliability engineers, and AI/ML engineers is scarce, and competition from Samsung, FPT, Grab, Shopee, and global remote employers is intense. Offer USD compensation, provide cloud certification budgets, and create a clear senior individual-contributor track alongside management.
Face-saving communication gaps can cause silent failures: problems may not be escalated, a "yes" may only mean acknowledgement, and deadlines can be missed without warning. Build structured asynchronous blocker reporting and weekly one-to-ones for early warning.
Data protection compliance matters too. Decree 13/2023 requires consent-based processing of Vietnamese citizens' data, including HR data handled by foreign employers, so ensure explicit consent mechanisms and review cross-border data transfers.
Finally, there is some macro and political risk. Vietnam faces significant US tariff pressure as a major export economy, with garment, electronics, and furniture sectors most exposed, and the concentration of party and state power in one individual reduces collective checks and may increase regulatory unpredictability. For supply-chain-linked roles, monitor trade negotiations, and where possible place governing law and dispute clauses outside Vietnam.