The June 2013 Asia Pacific Series of HR Leaders Meetings Finishes in Manila, Philippines

​The Chapman Consulting Group’s Asia Pacific Series of HR Leaders Meetings has just finished with a great meeting in Manila, hosted by Accenture and attended by the company’s Global CHRO, Jill Smart. Other attendees included senior Philippines-based HR decision-makers from companies such as ANZ Bank, Avon, Citi, Del Monte, Deutsche Bank, DHL, Diageo, JP Morgan and Xerox to name just a few.

In order to preserve the anonymity of the information shared from these sessions, we will not be reporting on all of the findings discussed. However, below is a short summary of some of the most interesting points raised:

1. The group discussed the difficulties in motivating employees using standardised talent management strategies, since only a small number of employees can be designated as ‘top talent’. The group shared the challenges of dealing with the 50%, 60% or 70% of employees who may, by definition, be ‘high performers’ but who still need to be classified as just ‘meeting expectations’. When bonuses are linked to performance, companies simply can’t afford to label more people as ‘top talent’, but neither can they afford to alienate the bulk of their workforce by labelling them ‘average’. There were no clear answers to this problem. In some cases, companies decided to use a different nomenclature such as ‘meet expectations’ or ‘4 out of 5’ so that being classed as ‘average’ didn’t make talented employees feel that they were being overlooked. However, using numbering systems or different phrases didn’t make any difference in how employees felt, especially if bonus allocations remained unchanged. The group eventually agreed for now that their similar talent management systems were a ‘necessary evil’, but that there were other non-monetary methods such as systems of recognition that can help mid-level employees feel more rewarded and engaged.

2. In one financial services company, the sub-regional Head of Human Resources shared their experiences in improving the business partnering skills in the Philippines HR team. They did this by focusing on the key area of Strategic Workforce Planning, which helped the HR team to frame their thinking into being more focused about the outcomes of their HR strategies and about their particular impact on the business, both now and in the future. Just giving the HR team this new language has helped them gain more credibility with the business. It’s rare to hear about success stories in how to change operationally-minded HR employees into business-minded ones, so this was an inspiring story to hear.

3. The Philippines HR Leader for an industrial company discussed the secret behind how their internal HR communication and branding ideas had helped to bring the employee satisfaction levels to an astounding 92%, the best levels globally for this European multinational. The examples ranged from customised greetings to simple information blasts over email. These small measures were simple yet were hugely appreciated. In other companies, different techniques were used depending on industry and demographics. In one example, a different message was given to people depending on if they were working in the field, in the factory or in the HQ. In another example, the method of delivery was customisable — some employees opted to receive news by engaging in a company portal, while others preferred to receive it through email. In both examples, the method and content might be customised, but the secret was in delivering a consistent message, and one that feels ‘authentic’ no matter which employee is receiving it.

4. Finally, the group discussed annual surveys. The HR Director of one consumer goods company shared their experiences with engagement surveys and the importance that the company places on them. Meanwhile other HR leaders vented a little frustration with the practice, because it can sometimes take three months to collate the results of these surveys, and a further three months to develop action points, by which time the results themselves may no longer be relevant. One HR leader discussed how their organisation had switched to just using very simple system where employees selected one button from three listed ‘happy’, ‘moderate’ or ‘unhappy’ on a console every quarter. This unscientific approach still gave the company a good pulse on current levels of morale and allowed them to discuss whether further actions were necessary. In another company, the whole system of annual surveys were dispensed with, and managers were just asked to have regular meetings with employees to get more qualitative, rather than quantitative, results. In all cases, there is a constant balancing act between scientific detail and ‘gut feel’, and the approach taken can depend on the extent to which a company prefers to use metrics upon which to make decisions.

We have enjoyed the interaction with our network of HR leaders in the Philippines and look forward to holding another such meeting in Manila in the near future.