Enlightened recruitment
Thierry Poux, regional director of employment services firm Adecco Personnel Pte. Ltd., attributes high turnover to poor employee selection. “Very often, there is not a good fit between employees and companies,” he says.
Companies need to test candidates for three things: knowledge and skills (“can do”); motivation and attitude (“will do”); and work preferences (“will fit”). Poux says that candidates evaluated using these criteria enjoy higher rates of success.
Of the three, fit is the hardest to assess. Those who analyze it take a big first step toward managing loyalty. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), for example, has succeeded where many have floundered―in China―with an HR program that starts with focused recruitment.
HSBC starts its search in China by identifying top students at universities and putting them through an arduous series of tests and interviews. The trainees who pass these must meet the same standards as their colleagues in Hong Kong. The bank assigns management trainees to senior executives who act as their individual mentors. The bottom line: recruits know exactly what theyre getting into, and have a clear sense of where theyre going once theyre in.
Establishing explicit career paths
Mapping out career paths has helped other loyalty leaders, sometimes in unconventional ways. Motorola Philippines, because it competes with other Motorola manufacturing sites for business, needs to have a stable work force.
Ann Dalupan, manager for compensation and benefits, and staffing and career management, was understandably concerned last year when the companys turnover rate reached 7 percent, the majority of which were technical people. Though still below the industry average of 13 percent, it was enough to worry Dalupan, who was already starting to feel the pinch. “When I advertised a job opening, for every 100 résumés received, maybe only five would be promising,” she says.
After Dalupan and HRD manager Alfredo Gambol investigated the matter, they found out that the reason technical employees were leaving was because, unlike their peers in management, they were not sure about their career prospects. “Many technical people are not good supervisors,” says Dalupan, “but they still need career growth.” So a technical ladder program was put in place to address this information deficiency.
Ladders go a long way toward retaining high fliers at the Hong Kong-based holding company of First Pacific. The conglomerate is as renowned for its professionalized management as it is for its rapidly expanding business ventures. Both are important ingredients for loyalty.
“First Pacifics large range of businesses provides long-term stimulation, and employees are farmed out to operating companies,” says communications director Bob Sherbin. “The staff feel they have long career ladders at First Pacific, and thats the key reason for their staying on.
“With loyal employees, you generate a high degree of trust, delegation of responsibility is easier, and you even cut down the number of meetings,” says Sherbin.
CEO Manuel Pangilinan would not have it any other way. His goal is to develop businesses that stand up to international competition. Employee retention is integral to this objective.
Cultivating an ownership mentality
To attract good people, companies like HSBC, Motorola, and First Pacific can bank on their reputations. TNT Express Worldwide (S) Pte. Ltd., the Singapore-based courier company, couldnt count on a high profile, and relied on internal focus instead.
The company implemented a total quality program aimed at cultivating an ownership mentality among its staff. Employees formed Quality Action Teams (QATs) where they tackle specific problems, and suggest schemes to save time and cost. QATs who get their ideas implemented receive monetary awards.
“Empowering an employee by having people on the shop floor come up with suggestions and having those suggestions activated has helped with employee satisfaction,” says country human resources manager Sally Tang.
The company also modified its reward and recognition structure to include special achievement awards linking bonuses with performance. “These changes resulted in a breaking down of barriers between departments, and improved cooperation,” says Tang.
TNT Singapores efforts are paying off. Not only has the company cut staff turnover but it has produced tangible cost savings of approximately $35,000 from a combination of QAT savings, suggestion schemes, and the costs of non-retention.
“Ownership” is a word often heard at the Dusit Thani Group, Thailands premier hotel chain. Executive Director Chanin Donavanik uses it all the time to describe how the global chain operates without detailed operating manuals. “Local managers are empowered to assume ownership of their hotels,” he says.
Dusit managers try to create a similar environment for their staff. “By involving staff in the management process, we have cut two layers,” says Mark Van Ogtrop, general manager of Dusit Thani Bangkok. “This year, we phased out the position of supervisor.”
Creating communication-rich environments
A sense of ownership needs to be reinforced by open communication. Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems (M) Sdn. Bhd. turned to that approach as it faced an industry turnover rate of up to 25 percent.
The Malaysia-based IT manufacturer and solutions provider, realizing that a high turnover would limit its growth, began to constantly engage its staff in a mutually beneficial relationship backed by schemes for rewarding performance and promoting career development.
Recruits are immersed in a three-day induction program that introduces them to the corporate culture and fires them up with entrepreneurial work attitudes. “We bring in customers to give their views of the company,” says HR manager Ahmad Abdul Ghani. This drives home the point that the customer ultimately pays their salaries.
Performance appraisal runs both ways; staff assess the company through employee attitude surveys every two years. This provides the company a sense of being able to do something about unsatisfactory aspects of the job environment.
Ghani admits that their salaries are not the highest in the industry. But, he notes, salary increases are not asked for as often as opportunities for professional development and improvement in internal communication.
Open communication has helped the company reduce staff turnover from 25 percent in 1995 to 15 percent in 1996. Ghani expects turnover to be under 10 percent this year, says Ghani.
Communication plays a critical part of 3Ms global HR strategy. From its Web site to its practice of providing internship to its transparent operations, the American multinational strives to build its corporate image.
And its image has been one of constant innovation; 40 percent of the companys revenues come from products less than four years old. The company frees up 15 percent of its researchers time, which they can spend on personal projects.
But not all ideas come from the labs. At 3M Philippines, one of the secretaries came up with the idea of a baby bottle cleaner. “We test-marketed it and it worked, and now its part of our product line,” says Vedasto Arboleda, HRD manager. A marketing manager thought up the idea of a 3M booth permanently located in a big mall. “Before that we didnt have a venue to showcase our products. Now the booth has become a global standard,” adds Arboleda.
The company sets the standard, too, when it comes to turnover. At only 4 percent, its figure is well below its industry average of 15 percent.
(未完待续)