วันศุกร์ที่ 19 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2555

HR expert explains link between staff engagement and organisations' success


Smiles on the faces of your staff could mean productivity and sustainable business for your organisation, said human-resource consultant Chaitawee Senawong.

Speaking at a seminar on "How to Make Staff Love Their Organisation" held by the Thailand Productivity Institute, the former Siam Cement Group HR practitioner said the "happy workplace" had become a popular concept. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, for example, considers this matter seriously when it plans to send astronauts into outer space.

"In the present era, HR can no longer simply enforce the rules and regulations as it did in the past. Gen Y workers do not like to be forced, and they will leave the company," he said. Generation Y is usually defined as those born in or after the late 1970s.

To be loved by their employees, Chaitawee said firms must act first in giving "love" and happiness to their staff. This requires "good people management", a broad concept that can be applied variably in different organisations, depending on their uniqueness, culture, and the type of employees they're seeking.

For example, to serve the Gen Y desire for cash, some companies are now paying bonuses every quarter, or raising the cash portion of the total remuneration packages designed specifically for younger workers (at the expense of benefits valued less by young staff such as health insurance and allowances).

While there is no single solution fit for all companies, it is also crucial for firms constantly to find new ways and methods to keep their staff engaged. This is comparable to the love affair of a couple, Chaitawee said.

"Psychologists have discovered that in love, the 'glue' that has bound two people together can deteriorate over time. Couples need to keep applying 'new glue'" to sustain the love.

"Similarly, staff will sooner or later disfavour [an engagement programme] if their companies stick to their old techniques," he said.

Companies must take a holistic view on people management, meaning they take care not only of their staff's physical and monetary well-being, but also their intellectual and spiritual needs. Walmart, for instance, was able to trim its exorbitant staff turnover rate after it abandoned its mandatory staff uniforms.

"Thai Gen Y also don't like uniforms and captivity. Don't turn them against you by blocking their Facebook usage [at the office], because they can use their iPhone or they can install an Aircard [in the firm's computer] to surf their Facebook pages anyway," he said.

Managers will sometimes try to give their Gen Y staff a format to follow, since they have had success in the past with that methodology. But since Gen Y staff normally don't like to be ordered around, Chaitawee said, they might respond like this: "Brother, why don't you just tell me what you want?"

He continued: "Because they would also speak like this to their parents. Who are you that they should give a damn?

"And this implies they already love you. Because they're still talking and telling you [what they think]. If they don't, they won't say anything, and will just prepare to leave" the company.

Unlike in the old days, employees no longer enjoy taking part in their companies' activities held after work such as sport and game contests, since they would rather preserve their free time for their individual preferences.

The most popular activity currently held by many Thai firms after work, nevertheless, is a meditation course or a dharma practice club.

Gen Y staff's individualism goes so far that some will quit their firm simply because they don't have their individual e-mails used for contacting clients, he said.

Companies cannot survive in today's competition without the ability to innovate, and to sustain productivity. And these elements cannot be achieved without engaged workers, Chaitawee concluded.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/HR-expert-explains-link-between-staff-engagement-a-30187925.html

Adventure academy in Kanchanaburi helps business leaders find 'sweet spots'


Top executives from some of Thailand's major companies shared their experiences from attending the Rai Jai Yim leadership academy, where adventurous activities help individuals and their teams unleash their potential..

Kris Ruyaporn, a trainer who runs the Kanchanaburi academy, said adventurous activities could be used as tools to reveal the "happiness sweet spots" of an individual or a team.

"Before one can unleash his potential, he has to find his true self. Quite often during our work, we lose our true selves. Many people reach a 'mid-life crisis' despite succeeding materially," he said.

Inspired by friends including Vitidnan Rojanapanich, the first Thai to conquer Mount Everest, and Rawat Leepaisomboon, IT infrastructure and operation director at Minor Information Technology, Kris said he started to undertake some adventurous outdoor activities such as mountaineering and mountain biking. He then decided to develop the Rai Jai Yim academy, which offers 16 "mission impossible" activities.

These include "cross the lake with creative paper boats", "Indiana Jones mountain trekking", innovative catapult building, "Blue Ocean" fishing, rock climbing, rope challenges, leadership subconscious painting, back-to-nature farming, "sharing among the stars", and corporate social responsibility targeting schoolchildren.

Tawatchai Cheevanon, executive vice president and chief information officer at Siam Commercial Bank, said that despite having a chance to climb to the top at IBM, he decided to quit the global technology firm after 15 years. He attended a self-development course and discovered that a person could find happiness if he knows himself, and what he wants to achieve in life.

"Every person has a work side and a personal side. Before one can do well in his job, he or she has to do well in his or her personal life. If we can help every staff member find his true self, the organisation's productivity will improve immensely," he said.

The SCB executive said organisations preparing to excel in the Asean Economic Community and become global champions needed the right leadership spirit. These include an "attitude of a champion (being bigger than any obstacle), "engaging the brave heart" (a champion never gives up), and "commitment to excellence" (champions do whatever it takes at 100 per cent).

Kettivit Sittisoontornwong, president of Leo Global Logistics, said that while climbing a rope, everyone would try hard to reach the destination, and would listen carefully to other people's suggestions.

"At that moment, everyone will give his advice sincerely. No one wants us to fall from the rope. In real working life, if everyone, either from the same unit or different ones, is united and assisting others, giving advice and listening with a positive mindset, the company will eventually achieve its target," he said.

Rawat said the Minor Group's theme for this year was "Unlock the Impossibilities". Likewise, he himself earlier set and achieved a goal to cycle to the top of Doi Inthanon, without ever leaving the bicycle's seat during the trip, and is now preparing to ride from Thailand to Vietnam later in the year.

"To drive yourself to the top, you need to prepare, and the most important thing is 'self-encouragement'. You need to turn pressure into spirit. Don't think negatively; search for the positive spots," he said.

Bunprasit Tangchaisuk, chief executive officer of Application Hosting Services, said that as a founder of the company he felt like a single locomotive that had to pull the whole train, starting from zero, to 5 kilometres per hour, 10km/h, 20km/h and faster.

"The locomotive began to lose steam, plus it's getting older. This awakened me to finding a balance in my life. I started biking and it feels [as if things are] getting better," he said.

Rawat said he loved cycling because in every job there are two parts, destination and journey, and usually people enjoy only the destination for 5 per cent of the time while spending most of their time on the journey.

"I would like to remind leaders that while trying to achieve your goal, they should not forget the journey: accept the experiences, stay with the moment, open up your happiness sweet spots all the time, and you will work happily," he said.

Ekaphol Phongstabphon, managing director of Tipco Foods, said that in the present era, leaders could not just point their fingers. Like Harry Potter, a leader cannot do everything by himself, but he needs help from other people.

"In the end, the most important thing is to understand each of our subordinates. 'Each,' I do stress. What are his or her strengths and weaknesses that we can bring out of them? In modern management, organisation doesn't matter much; what matters is how we can unleash and maximise the potential of people in the organisation," he said.

As with the popular quote "Culture eats strategy for lunch," Ekaphol said any beautiful strategy would fail to reach its goal if the organisation's culture were not supportive, as staff are not aligned in the same direction and office politics prevail.

Viriya Chongphaisal, general manager of GlaxoSmithKline (Thailand), said the moment that a leader can cross the line from colleagues to trusted friends was an important turning point.


Source:  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Adventure-academy-in-Kanchanaburi-helps-business-l-30190591.html

Spotlight on leadership of mix cultures


Assoc Professor Siriyupa Roongrerngsuke, head of the human resources programme at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, is launching her book "Unlocking Leadership in Thailand" at the BookExpo today.

Co-written by Andreas Liefooghe, assistant dean and head of the organisational psychology department at the University of London Birkbeck, the work is one of the first in English in Thailand that offers real-life, in-depth case studies of nine Thai business leaders.

They are Boonsithi Chokwatana, CEO of Saha Group; Chanin Vongkusolkit of Banpu; Prasert Bunsumpun, the former CEO of PTT; Praphan Phornthanavarsit, of Thai Yamaha Motor Co; Vichit Suraphongchai and Kannikar Chalitaporn of Siam Commercial Bank; Wichien Emprasertsuk of Toyota Motor Thailand; Dhanin Chearavanont of Charoen Pokphand Group and William Heinecke of Minor Group.

Published by Nation News Network, the 224-page tome has seven chapters: Review of Modern Leadership Concepts, Cultural Background of Thailand and its Impacts on Thai Leadership, Leader as Entrepreneur (Boonsithi and Chanin), Leaders Who Makes Changes (Prasert and Praphan), Leader as Brand Maker (Vichit, Kannikar, and Wichien), Global Leaders (Dhanin and Heinecke) and Conclusion and Future Leadership.

Siriyupa told the "Business Talk" programme on Krungthep Turakij TV last night that all of the nine leaders were found to possess some common traits like ambitious and strong drive, and determination to achieve.

These top executives have finely combined the eastern and the western concepts of leadership and made them work well in the Thai context.

"The western principle of performance management had to be brought in since the eastern philosophy heavily emphasises protocol and seniority and there's a lot of cronyism," she said.

Joining the show, Toyota's Wichien said leadership could be built.

"Because doing business requires having the same DNA or shared belief. At Toyota, we have applied the same western management concept taught at MBA schools in the western world as a basis and 'top up' with our unique approach known as the 'Toyota Way'."

"This blending has equipped us with the capability to overcome difficulties successfully," he said.

The expo is being held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Source:  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Spotlight-on-leadership-of-mix-cultures-30192602.html