Planet HR

Eric Bohm, CEO, WWF-HK reveals how he brought HR back from the brink of extinction and transformed it into the backbone of the organisation.

Scoping out the world’s best talent on a shoestring budget

In 2004 the WWF-Hong Kong was almost bankrupt, HR policies were practically non-existent and there was little, if any, room for manoeuvre when it came to staff. Eric Bohm, CEO of the WWF in Hong Kong explains how he helped establish a set of integrated HR policies alongside a strategic business model to help the organisation navigate through these troubled waters. We look at strategic HR functions under the NGO umbrella and how HR can start with almost nothing and yet quickly become the backbone of an organisation’s survival.

Stage 1: crisis mode
By 2004 the WWF in Hong Kong had shrunk to a shade over 53 employees—primarily focused on education. Bohm quipped, “You can tell times are tough when ‘Directors’ become ‘Directors of various business functions’. These multiple titles can include Director of Finance and Administration, Director of Conservation and Education, Director of Marketing, Fundraising and Communication—effectively fewer people covering more ground.” He added, “There were disaffected donors, a disaffected public and the Government was also ticked off with us. It was a difficult time and the staff were very demoralized. A decision was made not to reduce the headcount but instead to cut the salary burden.”

Bohm explained that, at that time, there was no plan, nor was there any concrete HR policy. The organisation lacked a strategic plan to develop employees and he conceded the modus operandi was very much: let’s survive day by day. The top priority was simply to get enough cash to meet the payroll and keep the organisation afloat. The HR function that existed at this time was tasked with basic back-office functions such as ensuring MPF contributions were being paid and that medical insurance policies were in order. However, there was little—if any—focus on career development or training programmes which could enable staff to enhance or learn new skills.

Stage 2: metamorphosis
Implementing new ideas to build a more strategic HR function did not phase Bohm. As he put it, “No matter what you did, it was bound to be better.” It was time for a HR shakedown of epic proportions and Bohm came up with a series of five key goals to help lift WWF Hong Kong back on its feet again.

Bohm’s primary goal was to re-establish WWF as the premiere conservation organisation in Hong Kong, South China and indeed the whole Asia Pacific region. Employees were told to step back and take a broader view of what they wanted to achieve. Number two on the wish list was to morph the organisation into the NGO employer of choice—attuning the organisation’s HR to the business model and turning HR into a strategic tool.

The HR function set a KPI which revolved around reaching the point at which somebody, who WWF had not advertised for, would come knocking on their door saying that they’d heard of WWF and would like to work for them. Bohm predicted that this would occur in two years, in reality it took three, but the thing that was most important was that it actually happened.

Stage 3: performance management
A performance review system was installed to help understand where learning gaps existed. Bohm pointed out that it was important for the organisation to question: what do we have to offer our employees for them to be able to fulfil their function and to get that sense of achievement? The missing link was training, and several programmes were established alongside a two-way appraisal system. In this way, it became much easier to establish what managers felt employees needed and what employees felt they needed to fill skills gaps.

Earth Hour 2009—WWF, Hong Kong

Performance appraisals were designed to consider both short-term training needs and long-term strategic objectives. Bohm noted that introducing appraisal forms can be worrying for employees—with many hitting the panic button, and conceded that some managers might be tempted to use them as a tool of intimidation. Bohm worked for the Bank of Montreal in Canada when they first introduced Mckinsey & Co’s performance appraisals and at that time they came with a rating system which panicked many employees.

He cautioned against simply handing appraisals to employees without explaining anything to them. Bohm advised HR to ensure that appraisal objectives are always outlined and that it is always made clear to staff how the appraisal and its rating system fits into the corporate culture and how they will help the employee achieve their own objectives.

Bohm added that the NGO and corporate worlds are driven by completely different ethos—the NGO is driven by consensus while corporation tend to be driven by market forces and shareholders. In the NGO world, the biggest fear is often not that employees have their performances appraised, but rather where is the box that allows the employees to appraise their boss.

A 360-degree appraisal won’t work in a consensus-driven organisation. Bohm explained, “This frequently means that the ‘perceived threat’ is simply moving upwards. I didn’t want to do that as it’s premature when you’re trying to bring an organisation along.” The fact that WWF-Hong Kong now has over 100 members of staff is evidence enough that the goal of becoming an NGO employer of choice is now a reality—largely due to these HR practices.

When asked why the Hong Kong talent pool was special, Bohm asserted that the SAR has a huge pool of well-trained talent with a wide stream of skills and people who are driven to succeed. WWF-Hong Kong’s new-found ability to attract such people is cause alone for celebration among the HR team. Bohm commented, “I’m the luckiest CEO in Hong Kong and the reason is I have the best staff. I don’t have to spend a penny on making my employees brand passionate—it’s a given.”

Stage 4:beyond the workplace…CSR

Bohm clearly has at least one thing in common with the people of Hong Kong—he is driven to succeed. CEO of WWF Hong Kong was clearly not an easy job as there was a revolving door of CEOs in and out of the organisation around the start of the millennium. Bohm was the fourth CEO in three years—but his battle plan was clear cut—he stated, “I love a good fight and the most underrated thing in management today is a keen sense of humour.” The ability to fight for what he believes in and yet still be able to step back and laugh at himself has allowed Bohm to stand up to corporations whohe felt needed to develop a more mature approach to corporate social responsibility. In terms of what HR can do to help, in this regard he advised, “Be aware of your footprint. Corporations need to take the consequences of their actions into account.” Bohm cited an example where, at a recent international conference, delegates were complaining about the steep airline taxes required to fly into the EU, he asked the audience how many had flown into Hong Kong to be there—around 60 out of 100 had done so. However, when asked if they had purchased carbon offsets—less than five raised their hands. The name of the conference: Greener skies. Q.E.D.

Stage 5: succession planning
Unless your personal evolution has left you under a rock for the last 20 years, it is hard not to have noticed the revolution currently occurring with social media and how HR teams are beginning to harness this as a means of leveraging talent pools both within and outside their organisations.

Bohm stressed the importance of investing in people who know how to communicate using these tools. Social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube can now merge as one and HR needs to invest resources in training people on how to make the most of these dual-message pathways.

Bohm concluded, “One of the greatest flaws an organisation can have is to treat staff costs as an expense. Investing creates longer relationships, changes mindsets and makes people feel that they’re an asset. If you fail to invest—don’t sit around and wonder why your competitors are beating you—it’s a huge missed opportunity.