Grace Wong
VP, HR, HAVI Supply Chain Solutions, APMEA
Topic: Recruiting to enhance financial leadership
Grace Wong shared the challenges she faced along with her team during a recent search for senior finance leadership talent in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Initial consultations with key stakeholders highlighted a previously unknown reason for high attrition, low morale and disciplinary issues—a stakeholder review in early 2013 showed that expectations of behaviour, key responsibilities and even the necessity of certain roles were mismatched. In other words, leaders were being driven out as they struggled to work under opposing viewpoints.
To deal with this power struggle, Wong and the regional CEO had to go back to the drawing board, define their key competencies—their non negotiables—go back to the stakeholders, state their case and hold their ground. No compromise.
Wong found herself up against a host of challenges: the scarcity of talent with the necessary skills, budget issues—due in part to unrealistic benchmarking estimations—low brand visibility, negative industry perception, remote location, time pressure and the perception of limited career development.
The search itself was aided by external providers. Wong advised that when employing search partners you must do your homework—it is essential to find a firm that recognises and respects the needs of your search, and has the capability to seek and identify the competencies you are looking for. She acknowledged that outsourcing the recruitment process helped HAVI as it enabled them to get their name to the masses. Although the company provides B2B supply chain logistics to a great deal of household names, the public is generally unfamiliar with the brand. HAVI entrusted their search partner with the task of getting their name 'out there', generating interest and communicating the opportunities available.
Due to Wong and the regional CEO’s steadfastness, explaining that the company would have to pay well to stand a chance in the market and due to the good relationship they built with their search partner, within two quarters they were able to place individuals in whom they have supreme confidence—having seen them withstand keen scrutiny during the recruitment and onboarding processes.
Wong advised, “There’s no magic wand. Stay on course and do not compromise. Do not hire for today but for the future. Our success took hard work and persistence, not luck.” Her final warning: once you have found the right candidate—do not leave them to flail, support them and help them to be the successful worker you need them to be.
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Paul Arkwright
Publisher
