During one of the recent HR forums, it became apparent that “knowing the business” has become a chief mantra of HR Heads in China. It is one of the prerequisites for getting a "seat on the board" and being recognized as a Business Partner by business managers.
So, what does it mean for the HR Head to “know the business”? Well, it means that he/she can answer the following questions:
• Who are three of our competitors and what are their competitive advantages?
• Who are the five major buyers in the markets that we serve?
• Which customers represent 80 percent of our revenues and profits?
• Whom do the customers perceive as "best" in our industry?
• Why do our target customers buy from us? What are their buying criteria?
• What are our future customers' needs and expectations?
• How do we ensure that our target customers have a positive customer experience?
• What do we do to build connectivity or intimacy with our target customers?
• Can you describe the culture of our organization?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of our organization?
• What are the economic, social, political, and technological influences that affect our industry?
• What future risks is our organization facing?
• What are the opportunities for the organization?
• What is the financial performance of our company and how has this changed over the past three years?
• Can you read a profit and loss statement?
Even if the HR Head can answer all of these key questions, it is still very important for them to apply this knowledge to their HR strategy and programs and to ensure proper execution with their HR team.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Recruitment Strategy and Execution
In-house recruiters in China aspire to do more and more strategic work while their individual execution is far from desirable. However, only a properly executed recruitment strategy will ensure a pipeline of high-quality Candidates and availability of helpful data for the HR team to increase operational efficiency and effectiveness of the department’s resource allocation.
Thus, recruiters must realize that in order for them to contribute to strategic decision making and an assessment of the recruitment strategy, they must start excelling at the execution role. To guide in-house recruiters on a path to success, ask them to incorporate the following activities in their daily work:
• Using established protocols in conducting recruitment.
• Observing all recruitment procedures rigorously.
• Assuring consistent collection of information.
• Maintaining cold call logs.
• Gathering and documenting all referral forms regardless of outcome.
After all, without sufficient and up-to-date information, strategic questions such as the ones listed below cannot be answered satisfactorily:
• Are we reaching the right talent?
• Are we in the right place?
• Is the right message being delivered?
• Are we delivering the message in the right manner?
Any strategy without proper execution is meaningless. In the same light, execution without a strategy is a mess.
Thus, recruiters must realize that in order for them to contribute to strategic decision making and an assessment of the recruitment strategy, they must start excelling at the execution role. To guide in-house recruiters on a path to success, ask them to incorporate the following activities in their daily work:
• Using established protocols in conducting recruitment.
• Observing all recruitment procedures rigorously.
• Assuring consistent collection of information.
• Maintaining cold call logs.
• Gathering and documenting all referral forms regardless of outcome.
After all, without sufficient and up-to-date information, strategic questions such as the ones listed below cannot be answered satisfactorily:
• Are we reaching the right talent?
• Are we in the right place?
• Is the right message being delivered?
• Are we delivering the message in the right manner?
Any strategy without proper execution is meaningless. In the same light, execution without a strategy is a mess.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Recruitment Strategy
A well-tuned recruitment strategy plays an essential role in improving and pushing overall performance. Hence, companies must invest sufficient time and resources to plan, implement, and assess their recruitment endeavors.
To formulate an effective recruitment strategy, take into account the following issues:
Target Group: Who is being targeted through the recruitment? What kind of Candidate is required?
A few suggestions:
• Hire from outside the industry on a routine basis for all levels.
• Hire Entrepreneurs to reinforce an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Hire Professors during slow periods of the academic year to bring in forward thinking approaches and systems.
• Hire people from the military or police for positions that require consistency, efficiency, and follow-through.
• Go after talented people that are considered non-traditional talent such as retirees, part-timers, and stay-at-home mothers.
• Introduce the usage of interim management to bring in fresh perspectives, unbiased advice, and top talent for tackling specific project challenges.
Advertising: Where should recruitment information be posted and distributed? Which channels should be used in regards to the different positions?
A few suggestions:
• Diversify recruitment channels.
• Assess the costs of each recruitment channel against the number of applicants, number of applicants hired, and number of high performers onboard.
• Standardize design formats for online and offline recruitment advertising.
Recruiters: Does the company have top-notch recruiters? What skills do in-house recruiters need to be more effective?
A few suggestions:
• Hire staff that are passionate about the recruitment profession and not people that view it as a stepping stone to the HR Manager position.
• Hire researchers/junior consultants from recruitment agencies.
• Reward recruiters in proportion to the value they create. Every time an in-house recruiter is used instead of an executive search firm, the company achieves significant savings.
• Keep recruiters busy with recruitment work only.
Selection process: What is the recruitment process in detail from start to finish? How many interviews should Candidates attend?
A few suggestions:
• Introduce role-plays in the selection process to see how Candidates react and think on the spot.
• Bring back the top 5 Candidates and have them work on a difficult team project for half-a-day; look to see what roles people flourish in and what the company's needs are.
• Ask Candidates to prepare a presentation or write a speech according to a brief to assess individual thinking style, communication skills, and persuasiveness.
• Test Candidates' creativity; this is all too often forgotten but is what every company is searching for in the battle to innovate. Also look for creative solutions that Candidates have contemplated and executed in their previous jobs.
To formulate an effective recruitment strategy, take into account the following issues:
Target Group: Who is being targeted through the recruitment? What kind of Candidate is required?
A few suggestions:
• Hire from outside the industry on a routine basis for all levels.
• Hire Entrepreneurs to reinforce an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Hire Professors during slow periods of the academic year to bring in forward thinking approaches and systems.
• Hire people from the military or police for positions that require consistency, efficiency, and follow-through.
• Go after talented people that are considered non-traditional talent such as retirees, part-timers, and stay-at-home mothers.
• Introduce the usage of interim management to bring in fresh perspectives, unbiased advice, and top talent for tackling specific project challenges.
Advertising: Where should recruitment information be posted and distributed? Which channels should be used in regards to the different positions?
A few suggestions:
• Diversify recruitment channels.
• Assess the costs of each recruitment channel against the number of applicants, number of applicants hired, and number of high performers onboard.
• Standardize design formats for online and offline recruitment advertising.
Recruiters: Does the company have top-notch recruiters? What skills do in-house recruiters need to be more effective?
A few suggestions:
• Hire staff that are passionate about the recruitment profession and not people that view it as a stepping stone to the HR Manager position.
• Hire researchers/junior consultants from recruitment agencies.
• Reward recruiters in proportion to the value they create. Every time an in-house recruiter is used instead of an executive search firm, the company achieves significant savings.
• Keep recruiters busy with recruitment work only.
Selection process: What is the recruitment process in detail from start to finish? How many interviews should Candidates attend?
A few suggestions:
• Introduce role-plays in the selection process to see how Candidates react and think on the spot.
• Bring back the top 5 Candidates and have them work on a difficult team project for half-a-day; look to see what roles people flourish in and what the company's needs are.
• Ask Candidates to prepare a presentation or write a speech according to a brief to assess individual thinking style, communication skills, and persuasiveness.
• Test Candidates' creativity; this is all too often forgotten but is what every company is searching for in the battle to innovate. Also look for creative solutions that Candidates have contemplated and executed in their previous jobs.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
CFO and HR Head Don't Mix
There are many industries in China where the CFO prides him/herself with overseeing not only Finance and Accounting departments, but also the HR department, the Admin department, and the IT department. At the same time though, the CFO does not seem to be entirely responsible and accountable for the quality and results of the HR function and the HR team they assemble. This is the status quo and even the most creative companies will not disrupt this bizarre and ill-advised reality.
For a deep-seated change to arise, shareholders and the CEO must understand the significant price of entrusting a numbers cruncher with power and authority over an HR department that is expected to drive leadership development, talent management, and a high-performance culture. Major issues include:
1. Mediocre Leadership
The CFO rarely has the time to guide human capital management. As their title suggests, the CFO is consumed with finance and accounting matters of an organization.
It is difficult for the CFO to successfully balance finance/accounting and HR/talent as these are diverging activities and require different knowledge and skills. Furthermore, the HR team's effort to develop human capital of the organization (investment) clashes with the Finance team's focus on lowering expenses (savings).
2. Mediocre Framework
The CFO rarely has the know-how of human resources management in areas such as hiring and selection, staffing, training, organizational structure, and employee engagement to drive an organization's people agenda. So, the CFO tends to ask one-dimensional questions and therefore lacks a talent-oriented perspective in many HR matters. Consider the different perspectives of the CFO and HR Head on the following HR responsibilities:
Hiring and selection
• CFO: How much does it cost to get the Candidate onboard?
• HR Head: Does the Candidate have the skills and talents required to execute our strategy?
Staffing
• CFO: How large is the total workforce budget?
• HR Head: Which segments of the workforce create the value for which we are most rewarded in the marketplace?
Training
• CFO: How big is the training budget?
• HR Head: What training does the organization need to garner skills and talents to deliver our strategy and what skills will we need over the next five years that we do not currently possess?
Organizational structure
• CFO: Do we really need additional headcount, can 50 percent of our workforce work 15 minutes harder each day?
• HR Head: How can I help my people be more productive?
Employee engagement
• CFO: Who will pay for it?
• HR Head: What programs shall we institute to increase employee engagement and involvement?
Consequently, HR departments in China are left with no guidance in the War for Talent and instead continue to do what the CFO does best, ensure legal compliance, save money when hiring, rewarding, and terminating people, and above all, administer, administer, and administer.
3. Meager Commitment and Accountability
In their own choice of words, the CFO tends to separate him/herself from the HR department by referring to the HR team as "they" and not as "we". Furthermore, the CFO does not fully accept responsibility for the HR department's focus on lower-end HR tasks and does not see him/herself accountable for HR function's lack of skills and capabilities to manage and optimize human capital.
4. Inferior ROI
The CFO's salary and perks is partly justified with his/her supervision of the HR function. However, the HR department is rarely managed to add value to the bottom-line. Thus, the HR function’s Return on Investment does not materialize. Thus, organizations would be better off by committing a share of their total budget to a skilled professional with 100% concentration toward the talent agenda.
No doubt, the CFO can oversee a HR department that focuses on rewards and benefits and HR operating efficiency. But, when it comes to people related strategic issues such as leadership development, talent management, and workforce productivity, the CFO needs to either go back to school or open the door for a talent minded HR Head that first and foremost represents “talent” in management meetings.
For a deep-seated change to arise, shareholders and the CEO must understand the significant price of entrusting a numbers cruncher with power and authority over an HR department that is expected to drive leadership development, talent management, and a high-performance culture. Major issues include:
1. Mediocre Leadership
The CFO rarely has the time to guide human capital management. As their title suggests, the CFO is consumed with finance and accounting matters of an organization.
It is difficult for the CFO to successfully balance finance/accounting and HR/talent as these are diverging activities and require different knowledge and skills. Furthermore, the HR team's effort to develop human capital of the organization (investment) clashes with the Finance team's focus on lowering expenses (savings).
2. Mediocre Framework
The CFO rarely has the know-how of human resources management in areas such as hiring and selection, staffing, training, organizational structure, and employee engagement to drive an organization's people agenda. So, the CFO tends to ask one-dimensional questions and therefore lacks a talent-oriented perspective in many HR matters. Consider the different perspectives of the CFO and HR Head on the following HR responsibilities:
Hiring and selection
• CFO: How much does it cost to get the Candidate onboard?
• HR Head: Does the Candidate have the skills and talents required to execute our strategy?
Staffing
• CFO: How large is the total workforce budget?
• HR Head: Which segments of the workforce create the value for which we are most rewarded in the marketplace?
Training
• CFO: How big is the training budget?
• HR Head: What training does the organization need to garner skills and talents to deliver our strategy and what skills will we need over the next five years that we do not currently possess?
Organizational structure
• CFO: Do we really need additional headcount, can 50 percent of our workforce work 15 minutes harder each day?
• HR Head: How can I help my people be more productive?
Employee engagement
• CFO: Who will pay for it?
• HR Head: What programs shall we institute to increase employee engagement and involvement?
Consequently, HR departments in China are left with no guidance in the War for Talent and instead continue to do what the CFO does best, ensure legal compliance, save money when hiring, rewarding, and terminating people, and above all, administer, administer, and administer.
3. Meager Commitment and Accountability
In their own choice of words, the CFO tends to separate him/herself from the HR department by referring to the HR team as "they" and not as "we". Furthermore, the CFO does not fully accept responsibility for the HR department's focus on lower-end HR tasks and does not see him/herself accountable for HR function's lack of skills and capabilities to manage and optimize human capital.
4. Inferior ROI
The CFO's salary and perks is partly justified with his/her supervision of the HR function. However, the HR department is rarely managed to add value to the bottom-line. Thus, the HR function’s Return on Investment does not materialize. Thus, organizations would be better off by committing a share of their total budget to a skilled professional with 100% concentration toward the talent agenda.
No doubt, the CFO can oversee a HR department that focuses on rewards and benefits and HR operating efficiency. But, when it comes to people related strategic issues such as leadership development, talent management, and workforce productivity, the CFO needs to either go back to school or open the door for a talent minded HR Head that first and foremost represents “talent” in management meetings.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Inconvenience of People Metrics
Even in a stagnant economy, top management rarely questions their responsibility to deliver revenue and profit. However, when it comes to people metrics, management remains reluctant to push for and overtake them and be held personally accountable for realizing improvements. For example, being responsible for voluntary staff turnover of over 40 percent seems bizarre to executives in China and instead they resort to common excuses as these: “This is normal for our industry” or “It is part of doing business”. Other questionable excuses include:
• (Regarding reasons for leaving) There is always a company that will pay more. We did not intend to keep them anyway; we do not think that they deserve any promotion or salary increase. Their expectations do not match their skills.
• (Regarding unsatisfactory employee satisfaction scores) We did not have 100 percent participation in the employee survey; so, we did not really get a full picture here and people probably did not understand the questions.
• (Regarding the low amount of training hours per employee) We train on-the job primarily. We have no time for in-class training. Our client meetings always overlap with training times.
Under such circumstances, a hands-on and strong HR function that tracks and calls for Managers’ co-responsibility for people metrics would create enormous headaches for one-dimensional senior management. Therefore, a weak and supportive HR function is preferred by many in power positions. In addition, a mediocre HR department is easier to staff and unable to measure people metrics in the first place. So, the problem is solved and solving problems is a Manager’s primary duty after all. Until of course, a bigger problem arises; the talent in the company has dwindled greatly, workforce apathy is all around, recruitment costs have gone out of control, and the company's reputation has suffered. Now, there are no more quick, easy, and cheap fixes; the competition has soared past your organization.
• (Regarding reasons for leaving) There is always a company that will pay more. We did not intend to keep them anyway; we do not think that they deserve any promotion or salary increase. Their expectations do not match their skills.
• (Regarding unsatisfactory employee satisfaction scores) We did not have 100 percent participation in the employee survey; so, we did not really get a full picture here and people probably did not understand the questions.
• (Regarding the low amount of training hours per employee) We train on-the job primarily. We have no time for in-class training. Our client meetings always overlap with training times.
Under such circumstances, a hands-on and strong HR function that tracks and calls for Managers’ co-responsibility for people metrics would create enormous headaches for one-dimensional senior management. Therefore, a weak and supportive HR function is preferred by many in power positions. In addition, a mediocre HR department is easier to staff and unable to measure people metrics in the first place. So, the problem is solved and solving problems is a Manager’s primary duty after all. Until of course, a bigger problem arises; the talent in the company has dwindled greatly, workforce apathy is all around, recruitment costs have gone out of control, and the company's reputation has suffered. Now, there are no more quick, easy, and cheap fixes; the competition has soared past your organization.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Design Talents in China
Article in Xin Wen Chen Bao, on February 19th, 2009
1. What are the effects of the global economic crisis on the future of design talents in China?
An economic slowdown calls for fewer people with better skills. People with excellent creative thinking abilities, graphic skills, and striving talent will have the upper hand. On an ever increasing level, design talents will need to ask "how" instead of answering yes or no, be comfortable with doing things that they have not done before, and embrace a variety of media with particular focus on any imaginable space between the brand and its consumers.
2. What is the career outlook for creative talents in China?
China's GDP is still expected to grow for many years to come. Secondly, marketing, branding, and connecting to the customers are essential to drive business. Therefore, I am positive about the industry's future and opportunities for creative talents with a strong work ethic and client orientation.
3. What are the major weaknesses of local designers in China?
The main weaknesses of local designers are relatively weak conceptual and English skills. These weaknesses can be overcome by studying and practicing different kinds of art forms, actively engaging in brainstorming sessions, and being committed to continuous learning. In the early career stage, local designers should concentrate on enhancing design skills, learning to manage time and project challenges effectively and efficiently, demonstrating high quality standards consistently, and striving to understand brand essence.
4. What does TBWA\Group\China do to retain creative professionals?
We provide our Employees with opportunities to work on fun, challenging, and exciting projects for world class brands and offer competitive salary and compensation packages with an environment conducive for initiative, creativity, and collaboration. Training and development are also strong pillars of our culture. Last year we launched many new initiatives including Performance Conversation Model, an Organizational Climate Survey as part of the Workforce Scorecard, and RedSlash Awards (employee recognition program). What's more, we create opportunities to build stronger bonds in the workplace. People that easily integrate into our culture are ambitious, open-minded, and honest; while disruption (our philosophy, methodology, and cultural glue) continuously helps us to attract them.
5. What role does Raffles Design Institute play in training creative professionals for the industry?
I appreciate all relationships that TBWA\Group\China has with the educational community in Shanghai. Raffles has been successful at identifying, educating, and inspiring new talent and is one of our key recruitment destinations. In the past, we have been very lucky to work with some of the best students from Raffles. Currently, nearly 10% of our Employees come from our UN-intern program which Raffles and other tertiary institutions partake in.
1. What are the effects of the global economic crisis on the future of design talents in China?
An economic slowdown calls for fewer people with better skills. People with excellent creative thinking abilities, graphic skills, and striving talent will have the upper hand. On an ever increasing level, design talents will need to ask "how" instead of answering yes or no, be comfortable with doing things that they have not done before, and embrace a variety of media with particular focus on any imaginable space between the brand and its consumers.
2. What is the career outlook for creative talents in China?
China's GDP is still expected to grow for many years to come. Secondly, marketing, branding, and connecting to the customers are essential to drive business. Therefore, I am positive about the industry's future and opportunities for creative talents with a strong work ethic and client orientation.
3. What are the major weaknesses of local designers in China?
The main weaknesses of local designers are relatively weak conceptual and English skills. These weaknesses can be overcome by studying and practicing different kinds of art forms, actively engaging in brainstorming sessions, and being committed to continuous learning. In the early career stage, local designers should concentrate on enhancing design skills, learning to manage time and project challenges effectively and efficiently, demonstrating high quality standards consistently, and striving to understand brand essence.
4. What does TBWA\Group\China do to retain creative professionals?
We provide our Employees with opportunities to work on fun, challenging, and exciting projects for world class brands and offer competitive salary and compensation packages with an environment conducive for initiative, creativity, and collaboration. Training and development are also strong pillars of our culture. Last year we launched many new initiatives including Performance Conversation Model, an Organizational Climate Survey as part of the Workforce Scorecard, and RedSlash Awards (employee recognition program). What's more, we create opportunities to build stronger bonds in the workplace. People that easily integrate into our culture are ambitious, open-minded, and honest; while disruption (our philosophy, methodology, and cultural glue) continuously helps us to attract them.
5. What role does Raffles Design Institute play in training creative professionals for the industry?
I appreciate all relationships that TBWA\Group\China has with the educational community in Shanghai. Raffles has been successful at identifying, educating, and inspiring new talent and is one of our key recruitment destinations. In the past, we have been very lucky to work with some of the best students from Raffles. Currently, nearly 10% of our Employees come from our UN-intern program which Raffles and other tertiary institutions partake in.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Internship Programs
Few organizations in China have Internship programs that are thoroughly conceptualized and implemented by the company. Instead, internships are approached on an ad-hoc basis and Interns are hired mostly to off-set headcount shortages. As a result, companies may face low Intern satisfaction scores and consequently high Intern turnover rates that invariably create disturbances to team effectiveness while training efforts do not pay off.
Therefore, it would be beneficial for organizations to design an Internship program that would help the company position itself as a good Employer and not as an exploiter of cheap labor, achieve consistent and quality experiences for Interns, and give Managers a roadmap for Internship arrangements. In order to do so, proper consideration must be given to the following questions:
• What are the expected benefits of the program to the company?
• What are the expected benefits of the program to the Interns?
• What are the objectives of the Intern program?
• How long should the Internship take to be recognized as a valuable experience?
• Who are eligible candidates? What are the minimum requirements?
• What could be the benefits of offering Internship positions to overseas Chinese or foreigners?
• What is the selection process for an Internship position?
• What sort of induction program would be helpful for the Intern to gain a comprehensive understanding of the department, team, and business?
• Should an Intern work on a specific project or help out with any added workload that emerges? What should be the Interns’ tasks?
• Should Interns work OT? How much OT is normal or permitted?
• Should Interns be allowed to use their personal computers at work?
• What level of remuneration appears to be fair for the value Interns create during their Internship?
• What are the expectations of Managers? To what degree will Managers be held responsible for creating a positive and rewarding experience for the Intern?
• What is the most appropriate approval process?
• What quality control tools will be instituted (e.g. Intern Satisfaction Survey, Intern Exit Interview)?
Therefore, it would be beneficial for organizations to design an Internship program that would help the company position itself as a good Employer and not as an exploiter of cheap labor, achieve consistent and quality experiences for Interns, and give Managers a roadmap for Internship arrangements. In order to do so, proper consideration must be given to the following questions:
• What are the expected benefits of the program to the company?
• What are the expected benefits of the program to the Interns?
• What are the objectives of the Intern program?
• How long should the Internship take to be recognized as a valuable experience?
• Who are eligible candidates? What are the minimum requirements?
• What could be the benefits of offering Internship positions to overseas Chinese or foreigners?
• What is the selection process for an Internship position?
• What sort of induction program would be helpful for the Intern to gain a comprehensive understanding of the department, team, and business?
• Should an Intern work on a specific project or help out with any added workload that emerges? What should be the Interns’ tasks?
• Should Interns work OT? How much OT is normal or permitted?
• Should Interns be allowed to use their personal computers at work?
• What level of remuneration appears to be fair for the value Interns create during their Internship?
• What are the expectations of Managers? To what degree will Managers be held responsible for creating a positive and rewarding experience for the Intern?
• What is the most appropriate approval process?
• What quality control tools will be instituted (e.g. Intern Satisfaction Survey, Intern Exit Interview)?
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