The most significant challenge that the project faced was the transition of staff who had previously been employed by ZHH prior to the transfer of responsibilities to the Project Company. The Project Company was required under the PPP contract to continue to employ all staff, and to ensure the employment conditions were compliant with national standards. Although this had been agreed, the ZHH staff were nonetheless anxious about the change. These concerns were related to differences in management style which they might not be able to adapt to, their long-term career development, as well as the pay and benefits they would receive.

The Project Company managed these concerns in a variety of ways. It focused on communication at management-level, as well as conducting training to enhance the employees' relevant technical skills. In addition, the Project Company introduced an incentive scheme to strive for continuous improvement in service performance and enhance employee morale. This scheme consisted of, for example, measuring the water and energy consumption of each heat station and calculating the cost savings achieved by the reductions in its water and energy consumption over a period of time. Those cost savings were then shared with the staff at the relevant station. There were also bonuses paid to the staff of the station which achieved the greatest savings. In addition, it was agreed in the PPP contract that Project Company employees' salaries should be higher than the average level of the whole central heating sector of the Zhangjiakou Municipality, and that employees protected by specific employment regulations, e.g. veterans, should be offered a long-term employment contract if they do not violate the rules of the Project Company.