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CONTENTS OCT-DEC 2013
PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE
Why are You in HR? A Hint – It Shouldn’t be Just About the People
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Jun Kabigting, MBA/MS/HRMP JHRS COMMUNITY NEWS
Navigating the World’s Largest HR Conference
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The HR Agenda
"Taking the Next Step" at WIN Conference
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Elizabeth Handover F E AT U R E S TO RY
Global Mobility Systems: Tempting Top Talent into Target Markets Abroad
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Hilda Rosca Nartea KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON
Why External Hires get Paid More, and Perform Worse, than Internal Staff
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HR LEGAL CLINIC
Without a Union What Approach Does Management Take?
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Atty. Jiro Oyama ASK HR
"Can I Move to Japan to Work in HR?"
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Andrew Manterfield & Yoshiharu Matsui PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
A Positive Approach can be Contagious
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Brett Anthony Bedard O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L B E H AV I O R
Go With the Flow: Energize and Focus Your Workplace
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Tetsuji Ohta TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Think Global, Think Nomad! Business Transformation Through Territory Mapping
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Anthony Willoughby EDITORIAL
Talent Mobility: Don't Mention the War Annette Karseras
To provide up-to-date and relevant sources of HR information and resources affecting and influencing the HR profession in Japan, and to become a bridge between Japanese and nonJapanese HR management systems so that we can facilitate the exchange of information and HR best practices, standards, and HR body of knowledge.
The HR Agenda Mission
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THE
, Japan s first bilingual
The HR Agenda magazine is Japan’s first and only bilingual human resources (HR)-focused magazine, published quarterly by The Japan HR Society (JHRS) and produced by the HR Learning & Publishing Division of HR Central K.K. (The JHRS Secretariat).
AGENDA
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PUBLISHER'S MESSAGE OCT-DEC 2013
Why are You in HR?
A Hint – It Shouldn’t be Just About the People Jun Kabigting, MBA/MS/HRMP Chief Community Officer, The Japan HR Society (JHRS) Originally written in English
Everyone has a story to tell about why and how they have chosen to work in HR. It seems, however, that only a few really understand the right reasons to pursue a career in this field.The HR role may be difficult to define in the midst of a constantly shifting business landscape, but the function of a true HR professional remains: to add value to the business. One of the things I really love in my work as an HR consultant and a recruiting professional specializing in HR is that I get to meet and have lots of discussions with HR professionals. In those discussions I've asked the question: "Why are you in HR?" hundreds of times. People give a myriad of answers but I would categorize them into five general responses (see graph):
Five Reasons People Choose to be in HR “Because I’m a “I like to make ‘people’ person.” people happy or to be of service (Translation: “I love to talk to or be with to others.” people.”)
(Translation: “I’m approachable, warmhearted, empathetic, etc.”)
“I need to “I want to help earn a living.” achieve business (Translation: “I’m on job (Translation: “I’m here results through rotation” or “I didn’t plan for the money” or “HR is people.” (Translation: “I am in HR by accident.” it and got stuck in HR.”)
the job of last resort.”)
“I’m a business person first, then an HR person.” or “I mean business.”)
SERVICE
People 3
Service-provider
By Accident
Money
Business-focused
Most of the HR professionals respond that they consider
• By accident: This is probably the worst reason to be in
themselves “a people person” and only a few say they are in HR
HR. It simply means that you are not responsible enough
because they understand the “inconvenient truth” about business
to take care of your own career/destiny and became
and HR, i.e., HR exists because of business and not the other way
a bystander in the game of life. Do yourself and your
around. As HR guru, David Ulrich, aptly put it: “HR must give value
organization a favor and find out what you really want
or give notice.”
to do. Life is too short to do something that doesn’t bring out the best in you or doesn’t leverage your natural talents. Choose to be in HR by design, not by chance. Do
The challenge is how to fill the HR department with people who can think and act like business people and then accomplish business needs through people solutions.
yourself another favor and read this article: “Growing Into Our Potential: Like Bamboo in the Wind,” The HR Agenda, July-Sept. 2013. • Money: Well, this is a hard necessity in life but how many HR professionals do you know who are filthy rich? If money drives your internal engine, be an investment
HR’s Raison D’Être So what’s the right reason for being in HR? Before you answer, consider these arguments:
manager, a broker or an entrepreneur! If HR is the only job you think you can do, you have a narrow and limited understanding of yourself. Every person is born with a
• People-person: If you think you must be in HR because
set of qualities and natural strengths that can make life
you are “good with people,” why not pursue a career in
truly worth living. Find your life’s mission or calling with
sales, marketing, public relations, mass communications or
the help of a trained coach. Make that investment. After
even enter politics? These career options need a lot of
all, it is for you.
people interaction to be successful and your desire to be always with people will surely be satisfied. (Refer to our Kevin Reynolds interview to learn the “6Rs” principle.)
• Business-focused: This group of HR professionals gets it. A company or an organization is like an automobile composed of different parts and pieces that need to
• Service provider: If you want to make people happy,
work together and individually so that the automobile
why not consider a career as an entertainer, an idol or
can accomplish its mission: to run and carry passengers.
a clown? If you want to serve others, you can become a
Why do you think sales, marketing, finance, engineering
health-care professional, a public servant, volunteer, or a
and production are highly-revered functions within the
member of the clergy or the military. There is nothing
organization? Because people know that they add value
wrong with making people happy or serving others but
to the organization. If HR can truly show that it is adding
if you are in HR for this reason, be sure to link back the
value just like the other departments, then HR becomes
benefits of making people happy and serving them to
a must-have function in the company. The challenge is
your own organization’s bottom line. Think about return
how to fill the HR department with people who can
on investment, payback period, etc. Show that your
think and act like business people and then accomplish
efforts are creating value to your organization. Talk with
business needs through people solutions.
numbers and you will get respect and perhaps your boss will stop asking you to organize year-end parties for your company.
Again, what is the best reason to be in HR? (Click here to participate in a quick poll.) Whatever your answer was in the
that HR’s primary reason for existence is to add value to the business. That value should then naturally flow back to benefit the organization, its people, and the society as a whole. Without this paradigm shift, your reason for being in HR does not really matter because quite frankly, you make yourself irrelevant. Getting There For those of you who are now interested in becoming a more business-focused HR professional, I highly recommend these recent articles from The HR Agenda magazine. You will take away specific ideas or action steps that you can immediately start implementing: • HR Business Partnering "The What, Why and How": An Interview with Intel's Kevin Reynolds The HR Agenda, Jan.March 2013 Issue • HR as a Business Leader: Going Beyond the Psychobabble & Esoteric Nonsense – A Conversation with Ric Wilmot The HR Agenda, July-Sept. 2013 Issue Of course, there are other great reads within The HR Agenda Magazine and you can subscribe here to gain full access to our current and archived issues. If you decide to get really into it, why not become a certified HR professional and get noticed?! JHRS and HRCI are doing a joint webinar on HRMP and HRBP certifications on Oct. 9, 21:00 JST. Register here to learn more about these credentials and how you can prepare for the exams. Also, JHRS is in discussions with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR professional organization with more than 250,000 members, and HR.com, the world’s largest online HR community with more than 200,000 members, to become strategic partners in delivering HR certification and re-certification programs and courses in Japan. Email us at hragenda@jhrs.org with comments or suggestions.
Jun Kabigting is managing director of HR Central K.K. and an adjunct professor with Temple University Japan Campus. He has more than 20 years of experience across the entire HR value chain, most of them Japanfocused. He passionately believes in advancing the HR agenda in Japan through continuing HR education, knowledge sharing, and use of HR best practices.
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Hiroyuki Akaso • Dana Gallagher • Mikki Tomoeda • Peter Capelli • Ozlem Battal • Atty. Jiro Oyama • Prof. Ikujiro Nonaka, Ph.D. • Pranvera Zhaka • Nimalan Nadesalingam • Yumiko Shito • Atty. Grant Stillman • Atty. Vicki Beyer • Radoslava Angelova • Mio Araki • Kiyo Ogushi • Hideki Ikeda
reason of being in that elite pool of professionals who understand
Chad Stewart • Daniela Ploberger • Shinya Yamamoto • Warren Arbuckle • Norio Suzuki, Ph.D. • Yutaka Sugimoto • Noboru Minamoto • Rochelle Kopp • Shabeer Ahmad • Elizabeth Handover • Susumu Shinbori • Celeste Blackman • Dan Harrison, Ph.D. • Atty. Mie Fujimoto Shigeki Egami •
past, I hope you eventually choose to continue in HR for the right
How many faces can you name?! Each issue, The HR Agenda invites contributors to be our special guests at a JHRS event. "Join us!" to Get Published!
Be part of the dialogue.
If you have an idea for an article we look forward to hearing from you. Please send your articles to HRAgenda@jhrs.org. We cannot promise to publish all submissions, but our policy is to reply to all emails we receive. We welcome your feedback on any aspect of the magazine. We would also like to hear what topics you would like to read about in future issues. The HR Agenda: A Ground-Breaking Platform As Japan’s first bilingual HR magazine, The HR Agenda offers an incredibly unique platform. By sourcing material written in both English and Japanese, funding translation and encouraging bilingual submissions from contributors, we offer a genuinely two-way exchange. For a century and a half Japan has been translating Western knowledge into Japanese. We create a forum where Japanese voices can also be heard in international circles. Our aim is to understand both sides of the coin; all facets of an issue. We want to encourage collegiality through open and sincere dialogue amongst our readers in Japan and overseas, and amongst HR professionals, researchers, and key opinion leaders throughout the world.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Get to know the latest news and updates within the JHRS Community.
OCT-DEC 2013
Navigating the World’s Largest HR Conference The HR Agenda
SHRM's Networking Map
Former U.S. Secretary of State (and possible presidential candidate) Hillary Clinton, Time magazine editor at large Fareed Zakaria and author Daniel Pink took part in the world’s largest HR conference. So did The HR Agenda magazine. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the 65th annual conference of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Nearly 20,000 people participated in this year’s conference, which was held in Chicago, Illinois (U.S.), June 16-19. The conference was so vast that it even circulated its own publication. Reporting on Clinton's speech, the SHRM's Conference Daily, highlighted her warning that many countries, including the United States, are hurting their productivity and economic growth by having barriers that keep women from participating in the workforce. “Leadership is a team sport… Success is measured by how well you can get people to work together,” Clinton said. Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World: Release 2.0, as well as editor at large for Time magazine, said that today “dozens continue on page 8 u 6
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u
from page 6
SHRM 2013 in numbers Attendees: Exhibitors: Presenters: Total sessions: Session participants: Overseas participants: Countries of participants: Volunteers:
20,000 700 280+ 200+ 15,000 1,200 70+ 1,000
Attendance at these sessions can be used as continuing education credits for people wishing to renew their HR Certification Institute credentials. Source: SHRM Media Affairs
and dozens of countries have found a way to… raise the living standards of their people and grow their economies,” SHRM's Conference Daily reported. “That’s the big story of our time.” Daniel Pink is the author of several books about the
participants not accustomed to American English follow the proceedings.
changing world of work. His most recent book is To Sell Is Human:
SHRM held a special orientation for the approximately 1,200
The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. Pink told conference
conference participants attending from more than 70 countries
participants that sales is a big part of what people do every day,
and provided a global lounge that served as a networking venue.
“and my guess is that HR is doing more of this” than people in
The opportunities to talk with other HR professionals from around
other jobs.
the world were of value, whether it was a roundtable discussion over lunch or the international reception over cocktails.
SHRM held a special orientation for the approximately 1,200 international attendees from more than 70 countries.
This year, about 700 exhibitors introduced a wide range of products and services at the SHRM Exposition. The organizers also set up a special SHRM store stocked with HR-related books, videos and other goods. SHRM offered a free email newsletter and its website featured
This year’s conference featured more than 200 sessions covering: • Corporate management and strategy • Remuneration and allowances
a job site where HR-related job seekers and employers could post employment information. Both of these were available to members and non-members alike. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia (U.S.) with 250,000
• Employment law and the legal system
members in 140 countries, SHRM is the world’s largest professional
• International HR
association devoted to human resource management. SHRM’s
• Human resource management
mission is to advocate the importance of HR as a profession
• Self-development and leadership training
and to provide venues for member education, certification and networking. It also conducts lobbying activities.
Materials at the concurrent sessions were displayed on large screens and made available for download which helped, overseas
The next SHRM annual conference will be held on June 22-25, 2014 in Orlando, Florida (U.S.).
COMMUNITY NEWS
Get to know the latest news and updates within the JHRS Community.
OCT-DEC 2013
“Taking the Next Step” at WIN Conference Elizabeth Handover Board Advisor, Global WIN Originally written in English
Women at this international networking conference join together to change selflimiting attitudes, develop confidence and gain new skills. “Taking the next step” in women’s leadership, work-life balance, and inclusion and diversity in the workplace was the theme of the second Women’s International Networking (WIN) Conference Japan, held in Tokyo in May. Participants recognized the need to take a bold step in Japan’s corporate world, where there are still only 11 percent women overall in managerial positions. More than 74 percent of women off-ramp at some point in their career and many find it all but impossible to on-ramp again. In her message to the group, WIN founder Kristin Engvig emphasized that this is “the time of the women,” and that “women need to take a big step forward, to be authentic and to help each other to bring their uniqueness to the workplace.” WIN is an independent global organization for women and men working internationally and organizations active in the field of women’s leadership, development, diversity and inclusion. Chia Fang Hu, originally from Taiwan and now the representative director for PepsiCo Japan Co., said, “My professor told me I have to speak up for myself because I’m in the minority – a female and a foreigner. Being a minority was not easy, but being a female minority made me unique.” She encouraged conference participants to “build up confidence, courage and care in order to step up and become successful as female leaders. You should feel good about yourselves and never undermine your strengths. You need the courage to be firm; not necessarily to be tough and fighting back, but to be brave to express your opinions in a positive way,” she said. The five plenary sessions – with titles such as “Women Taking the Next Step,” “The Global Picture – What’s Going on?” “The Future of Work – Where do we Want to be Working?” “How are Women Creating Their Future?” and “Realizing You” – 9
featured senior business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs who presented cutting-edge information on best-practice gender equality, working trends, career transitions, leadership development and work-life balance. Sessions in the two-day workshop series focused on increasing self-awareness, changing self-limiting attitudes, developing confidence and gaining new skills and different behaviors. The goal is to support attendees in recognizing the path to growth, the next steps to take and the positive impact on future self-leadership.
Build up confidence, courage and care in order to step up and become successful as a female leader.
In the “Discover Your Strengths” workshop participants explored three unique yet integrated views of each individual – “the Underlying you, the Everyday you and the Overextended you.” Mireille Watanabe took the group on a step-by-step personal development journey showing them how to power up their career and enhance their relationships by making the most of their natural strengths. In “Showing up Like a Leader,” actress Keiko Katsukura shared acting techniques to demonstrate how to look more confident and self-assured as women leaders. The conference focused not only on business leaders – writers, NPO representatives, journalists, community networkers, artists, actresses, martial arts specialists and musicians also took part. This year participants watched Aikido performers, a violinist and a talented young female band (Harp & Soul, an indie/pop girlband) before being urged, on the second day, to join in “Dancing The Five Elements” with Indian consultant, Nilima Bhat.
Stories, Songs and Other Conference Highlights The opportunity to hear the stories of women and men from all over the world offered different perspectives on challenges that companies face as well as potential solutions to some of the most pressing issues that women find in the workplace.The sessions also revealed the many ways in which women are now achieving great success in Japan as they support other women along the way. One of the high points of the WIN Conference was the series of interactive and practical workshops covering topics such as “Managing up for Career Success,” “Authenticity...The New Smart” and “Feminine Leadership in Action.”
Elizabeth Handover is the President of Lumina Learning Partner for Asia and is passionate about supporting women’s career development. As CoFounder of the Women’s Leadership Development Centre Programme, she designs and facilitates transformational women’s leadership development programmes. She is Co-Chair of the ACCJ Women in Business Committee, Board Advisor to the Global WIN Conference and Training Consultant to the TOMODACHI Women's Leadership Initiative.
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F E AT U R E S TO RY OCT-DEC 2013
Global Mobility Systems
Tempting Top Talent into Target Markets Abroad Hilda Rosca Nartea Contributing Editor, The HR Agenda Originally written in English
The movement of executives, professionals, specialists and key employees for international assignments has long been considered the ultimate sign that we’re living in the age of a global economy. In the last few decades, the growing demand for overseas relocations appears to have introduced a revolutionary shift in the interplay of technology, knowledge and human capital. Now that this economy is geared toward more growth, the need for organizations to design the right global talent mobility program has never been more massive or more urgent, as the arena sees emerging markets, new players and newer rules come to the fore. McLean & Company, a division of Info-Tech Research Group, defines global talent mobility as “the movement of talent around the world to fulfill business goals and workforce plans.” In its webinar, “Optimize the Global Talent Mobility Program” McLean & Company addresses the challenges organizations face in supporting employees before, during and after their assignments. The momentum of this global movement is evident in KPMG research that shows a 71 percent increase in cross-border work and in a PwC report predicting a further 50 percent growth in mobile employees by 2020.
Global Talent Mobility is the movement of talent around the world to fulfill business goals and workforce plans Global talent mobility programs are the mandate and support structures in place to move employees around the world to conduct business. An effective global mobility program:
Global mobility programs support key business and HR priorities:
✓ Satisfies business strategy needs ✓ Fulfills workforce planning ✓ Delivers eventual return on the investment required to move talent around ✓ Complies with tax, immigration, employment, and security laws ● Global growth strategy ● Supply chain management ● Presence in emerging markets ● Global project management
Business priorities A low percentage of employees is involved in global mobility programs
Mobility practices target executives, managers, and professional/technical employees. More than 40% of the organizations surveyed move 5% or less of their employees each year, and 65% move 10% or less. -Source: World Economic Forum, 2012
● Global skills deployment ● Talent development ● Leadership development
HR priorities Optimizing your global talent mobility program won’t impact everyone, but it will impact key employees that drive business results.
Source: Optimize the Global Talent Mobility Program, reproduced with permission, McLean & Company, a division of Info-Tech research Group
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The figures account for enterprises of all sizes and across all industries, proving that going global is now considered a business imperative not only among big organizations but also increasingly among small and mid-sized businesses. Driving Factors According to the report “Global Mobility of Talents: What Will Make People Move, Stay, or Leave in 2015 and Beyond?” by international graduate business school INSEAD, the tremendous growth of talent mobility can be attributed to several factors. Increased access to international travel and information technology has opened new avenues for global working arrangements. More opportunities to lift earning potential, professional growth and business development have encouraged talents and organizations to make a move toward other more supportive business ecosystems. The study also highlighted the key role governments play in facilitating international talent flow; countries investing in the proper fiscal and immigration policies have greatly encouraged talent mobility worldwide.
HR is expected to champion a talent management strategy that meets the business mission, optimizes the global experience for the employee and the company and delivers measurable results. Altered Landscapes & Japan's Bold Moves The emergence of new players in the talent market is likewise reshaping the new workforce environment. INSEAD estimates that around 200 million people are now living and working outside their home countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Talent Index Report says the U.S. and the U.K. continue to attract the biggest global talent population worldwide, but these global talent hotspots are facing tough competition from Asia Pacific’s breakthrough economies such as India, Malaysia and Korea. From its usual ranking of 16th to 14th place, Japan is now number 13 in the list of Top International Relocation Destinations recently published by global mobility management consultant Cartus. Traditionally characterized with an inward-looking culture, Japan has now started to reframe its perspective to face the explosive changes that globalization may bring. The changes are institutional and societal in scale. Hiroshi Ota discusses the globalization-oriented education policies that promote the employment of international students in Japan, the aggressive recruitment of foreigners to study here and relaxed immigration regulations. These bold moves reveal how serious Japan is about gearing up for what the author calls the “ever-intensifying global talent war.” Paving the Path Ahead The sharper focus on talent movement across the world has become a powerful game changer. No longer limited to transplanting executives to foreign countries, global talent mobility is now about “stationing the best talent in the right place, at
3 Case Studies, 3 Takeaways From Successful Global Assignments A successful global mobility program can help organizations develop future leaders In 1997, Samsung developed its Global Strategy Group (GSCG) to recruit high potential employees for top spots in dynamic and fast-growing Asian conglomerates. The fresh global perspective and innovative ideas from the GSC alumni proved valuable in enhancing the company’s performance. "Trying to ensure as close a match as possible between individual and organizational expectations… means that there is a higher probability of reaping the benefits of the international experience and the skills that have been developed while abroad." – Dr. Noeleen Doherty, Cranfield University The foundations of a successful global assignment are laid before the employee is selected to go abroad Priorities to focus on include cultural and language training which are essential in forming lasting global relationships. For example, an aggressive salesperson may exceed expectations in North America, but in Japan, the same behavior may be seen as offensive. When SoftBank Mobile Corp. Japan purchased a 70 percent share in the U.S.-based firm Sprint Nextel Corp., the company's executives offered employees one million yen if they could score 900 points or better on the international Test of English for International Communication, or TOEIC. “To be locally embedded is very important. Creating discomfort through cross-cultural training and openness cranks up skill development.” – Professor Mila Lazarova, Simon Fraser University A more structured approach to mobility cuts expenses and prevents costly mistakes To address concerns about gaps, risks, and liabilities in the management of the assignee population, Abbott Laboratories improved their global mobility program through better planning and the collection of strategic metrics. As a result, they were able to find a costcontrol solution and were eventually rewarded with high customer satisfaction and enhanced employee performance. “Tracking costs is much easier than tracking what companies can gain. But there is a trend to moving towards collecting more metrics to truly understand the impact of a global assignment from various perspectives like skills, market share, or profit gained, as well as an expanded social network.” – Professor Mila Lazarova, Simon Fraser University
the right time, for the right reasons,� the McLean & Company report says. Effective mobility programs can stimulate worldwide economic growth, improve long-term ROI, provide opportunities to expand to new markets and tap new talent pools. But the high reward of attracting and nurturing talents and moving them across a changing global business arena comes with an equally high amount of risk. McLean & Company calculates that a two-year assignment for a middle manager can amount to more than $1 million, making it absolutely crucial for organizations to make sure each assignment will eventually reap ROI. A failed or incomplete assignment can lead to legal implications, disengaged employees, missed opportunities and tarnished reputation, all of which can be costly and devastating for the company and the stakeholders involved. (See also Pranvera Zhaka.) Addressing these issues is an opportunity for HR to take the lead role in designing an effective talent mobility program that will conquer the demands of a highly dynamic workforce. The McLean & Company research poses the key question: How can HR better manage the company’s talent mobility program? By tackling talent mobility in this light, HR is expected to champion a talent management strategy that meets the business mission, optimizes the global experience for the employee and the company and delivers measurable results. The McLean & Company report prescribes five key themes of an effective global talent mobility program: 1. Align your global talent mobility program with your business strategy and workforce plan. 2. Define the type of employees (operational, high
performing, high potential) you require for global projects so you can tailor your program offerings to meet both employee and talent needs in your organization. 3. Choose employees for global assignments who have the ability to succeed in new environments. 4. Build the basics of your program into an efficient process otherwise risk compliance issues, immigration delays and overall havoc. 5. Support employees before, during and after an assignment with tailored programs that match the type of employee, assignment and needs for the specific environment. In the new normal that is global talent mobility, the pursuit of success can no longer be seen as a chase, a climb or race, but rather as a dance – an intricate, unfinished dance that demonstrates how a renewed sense of balance, agility, creativity and purpose is now the pivotal drive to delivering groundbreaking performance. Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Jennifer Rozon, Product Director, McLean & Company for her cooperation on this article.
Hilda Rosca Nartea, heads the writing team of a Sydney-based PR agency. She is also a content producer for non-profit organizations and has done projects for the United Nations Development Programme under the Philippine Department of Energy.
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OCT-DEC 2013
Why External Hires Get Paid More, and Perform Worse, than Internal Staff Knowledge@Wharton
In a paper titled "Paying More to Get Less: The Effects of External Hiring versus Internal Mobility," Wharton management professor Matthew Bidwell documents "some quite substantial costs to external hires and some substantial benefits to internal mobility." Bidwell suggests that his paper "provides unique evidence on the value to firms of internal labor market structures. Results show that internal mobility allows the firm to staff higher-level jobs with workers who have better performance but are paid less." By detailing the strong advantage of internal mobility over external hires, he adds, "these findings help to explain the continued resilience of internal labor markets in the face of pressures for worker mobility." "People hired into the job from the outside often have more education and experience [than internal candidates], which is probably some of the reason they are being paid more," he says. External hires generally are paid about 18 to 20 percent more than internal hires. "When you know less about the person you are hiring, you tend to be more rigorous about the things you can see" – such as education and experience levels listed on a person's CV, or what Bidwell calls "externally observable attributes." And yet "education and experience are reasonably weak signals of how good somebody will be on the job,� he notes. These observable attributes might help explain why external hires earn so much more than internal employees promoted into the same jobs. If these hires have better resumes and are perceived as able to get a job more easily outside the company, then they can demand higher pay than internal people. Hires may also want higher pay to reflect the unfamiliar environment that they face on coming into a new position. He acknowledges that his research may frustrate an organization's in-house workforce. "It is sadly the case that being more marketable, as external candidates are, is always going to be valuable and will generally lead to higher compensation. So the
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question is, should internal people threaten to quit to raise their pay?" It's well known in academia, for example, that the only way to get a significant pay raise is to nail down an outside offer, Bidwell notes. "But in some organizations, that's an easy way to get fired. People will take it as a signal that you are disloyal." Building Up Effectiveness Bidwell offers this career advice: "If you like where you are, stay there. Or at least understand how hard it can be to take your skills with you. You think you can go to another job and perform well, but it takes a long time to build up to the same effectiveness that you had in your previous organization. You need to be aware that often your skills are much less portable than you think they are." Bidwell is clearly a fan of internal mobility. "While the pay may be less, your performance is better, and there is more security." For his research, Bidwell analyzed personnel data from a U.S. investment banking division from 2003 to 2009. In that study, he documented twice as many internal promotions as external hires. Investment banking, Bidwell writes, represents "an interesting context in which to study the effects of internal versus external mobility [because] organizational performance often depends on the skills of the workforce, [thereby] increasing the importance of personnel decisions." In addition, workers in banking are "notoriously mobile, making this a context in which organizations regularly engage in external hiring at all levels." One important feature of investment banking jobs is that promotions tend to involve some measure of continuity with the prior job. Promotions often involve getting a higher title, such as
vice president or director, while continuing to do similar work. In fact, as Bidwell notes, promotions in many organizations do not instantly lead into a very different job. Instead, responsibilities increase gradually, being recognized over time by a promotion. When considering their future staffing needs, though, organizations still must think about how they will acquire the workers capable of operating at the higher levels: Will it be by hiring or promotion? Similar Patterns Bidwell found similar patterns for different kinds of jobs and within different organizations. He analyzed separately the investment professionals (traders, salespeople, research analysts and investment bankers) and the support staff at the research site. His findings about pay and performance were consistent across those groups. He also looked at another investment bank and a publishing company, and found the same results of "paying more for external hires while giving them lower performance ratings." He concludes, however, that the nature of the promotion mattered. Unlike other promoted workers, those who were simultaneously promoted and transferred to another group did not perform any better than external hires. Bidwell speculates that "the skills that are important to our jobs may be very specific to the positions that we are in. Even large changes in the nature of jobs within the organization were associated with performance declines." To promote more people internally means that “companies need to have a long-term perspective and know how big a pipeline of people will be needed in the future," notes Bidwell. It also requires managers to ensure that internal people are aware of the opportunities open to them. "Finally, there are clearly some costs
to internal mobility – for example, the cost of training people inhouse versus piggybacking on someone else's training." In his paper, Bidwell argues that the differences between internal and external mobility ultimately stem from two factors: the skills workers bring from their prior jobs, and the amount of information that firms and workers have about each other. He comments on the significant amount of new knowledge that external hires are required to learn, even in those jobs that demand "high levels of general skills, such as securities research, scientific research and surgery... Although such work depends on individual workers' skills and knowledge, it can also require intense coordination with others in the organization." Because internal movers have longer experience within the firm, "they are likely to have already acquired important firm-specific skills that new hires will lack," Bidwell writes. In terms of the process that takes place when firms and external employees are eyeing each other for a possible matchup, Bidwell writes that the task can be difficult because each side often has "highly incomplete information about each other. Firms struggle to evaluate the true qualities of applications, and workers struggle to know which of the jobs available will best suit their preferences and abilities." But, as Bidwell notes, companies obviously have more information about internal job candidates, including how well they have performed in prior roles and how well they fit in with the current organization.
Editor's Note: A longer version of this article was published March 28, 2012. Abridged with permission of Knowledge@Wharton the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Š2012. All rights reserved.
LEGAL CLINIC OCT-DEC 2013
"Ignorance of the Law is no excuse."
Without a Union
What Approach Does Management Take? QUESTION: I work for a foreign company in Japan that has about 100 employees. We don’t have a labor union. In this case, what approach does management normally take to satisfy the legal requirement of consulting with labor representatives? Also, what kinds of things are not permitted? —HR staff at a foreign company
ANSWER: Originally written in Japanese
There are two main approaches. The company can take the initiative and create a labor committee. The company provides the venue and other support, so it cannot be called a labor union. Practically speaking, however, it does have the potential to become an organization that represents employees. If the company tries to exert too much control over the committee, it will no longer fulfill its original purpose of representing employees. And if there is a backlash from employees, they may create a separate, real union. So it is important for the company to provide support that is neither too intrusive nor too distant.
The company must give due consideration to how the representatives are selected so that the company is not accused of disregarding the will of the employees and pushing through its agenda. The other approach is to select employee representatives on a case-by-case basis for individual problems. Employees must select the representatives in this approach, but, in reality, the company needs to take the initiative. When a specific case comes up, it is necessary to select a person or persons to represent the majority of employees. The company must give due consideration to how the representatives are selected (such as ensuring that employees
LEGAL
CLINIC
are free to vote for whom they want) so that the company is not accused of disregarding the will of the employees and pushing through its agenda.
Introducing our
Panel of Experts
Legal Questions? If you have legal questions relating to HR practices, or would like to become a member of our panel of legal experts, please contact us at hrclinic@jhrs.org.
Vicki Beyer Atty. Jiro Oyama is principal, Yokohama Partner Law Office is a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law and Washington University in St. Louis Law School. He worked in the legal and IP departments of Alpine Electronics, Inc. and Sidley Austine Tokyo Office for 16 years before establishing his private law practice specializing in labor/employment matters as well as providing legal counsel to his clients.
Recruiting & hiring; benefits programs; termination; retirement; employee relations; discrimination & diversity; non-competition; investigations & disciplinary matters.
Toby Mallen
Doing business in the U.S.A.; labor and employment; real estate laws.
Jiro Oyama
Corporation laws; intellectual property laws.
Grant Stillman
Law of international organizations and trade. 17
Disclaimer: The advice, views, and/or opinions expressed by the author(s) in this section are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Individuals requiring legal advice are encouraged to engage a qualified legal professional.
ASK HR OCT-DEC 2013
Andrew
& Y o s h i ’s
AskHR Helping you solve your people issues.
Ask Andrew & Yoshi: email us at AskHR@jhrs.org
"Can I Move to Japan to Work in HR?" "Is there any way of doing this, or is it like accounting, which runs on different sets of standards in different countries?" —Student from U.S.
ANDREW SAYS… Article originally written in English
Anything is possible! There are many international/nonJapanese people working in Japan in all areas of business. My first question is: Have you visited Japan before? If not, look
A final thought would be to take a look at Ask HR archives, as we are often asked about the experience of working in Japan from different perspectives – there are previous answers which may help you gain more insight and understanding. I wish you good luck with your studies. Follow your dream.
for an opportunity to visit, explore the country and meet the people. Doing this will help you to anticipate the challenges and the joys that you could face when working in a foreign country. Some of the key challenges to working overseas, no matter where you are from and where you want to go, often involves nonwork aspects such as language (spoken and written) and gaining a visa to work. My first recommendation, therefore, would be to find out more about what it takes to live in Japan. Relevant and updated information is now easily available through various sources, from individuals sharing their experience to official government websites to companies giving visa advice.
Andrew Manterfield Executive Coach and Senior Consultant, SudaManterfield Andrew has an innate belief in people and their desire and ability to achieve more. His purpose is to find the greatness in every person he meets and to ensure that greatness lives and breathes every day and is fulfilled. He has worked in the global FMCG industry for over 27 years for Diageo Plc, the world’s biggest adult drinks company. Andrew has over a decade of director-level experience in both human resources and sales. He has lived and worked in Japan, Australia, and the U.K., and he has worked with organisations across Asia, Latin America and Africa.
YOSHI SAYS…
Translated from the Japanese original
From an employer’s standpoint, we definitely would want to
In terms of finding work, there are always opportunities –
hire someone who has distinctive strengths over the rest of the job
the challenge is finding them. Your skill set may not fit the specific
applicants. So what would I do to get hired by Japanese companies,
requirements of some businesses such as language proficiency
if I were you? I would take advantage of my individual, specific
or the previous experience in a Japanese company. Regarding
situation – for example being able to attend college in the United
standards, labor laws may be different, as may other HR practices.
States, which is something people in Japan generally cannot do.
Still, there are ways to overcome these perceived barriers: for instance, you can learn more about an unfamiliar area or apply to a more Western-style business.
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If I were you, to further build that competitive advantage I would consider the following:
•
Increase HR Technical Mastery: Work hard to
view HR from a stakeholder’s perspective. How about
master global best practices of HR – its philosophy,
getting an internship or a part-time job at a Japanese
approaches, principles, policies and systems, tools, etc.
company in California? I would also recommend that
As many Japanese companies are trying to become truly
you do some field research to learn directly how people
globalized in this economy, I believe mastering global (not
collaborate and how things work in Western companies
North American) practices would certainly be one of
versus Japanese companies by interviewing employees
the keys to become an effective HR practitioner. Joining
in those organizations. This kind of experience can help
the Society for Human Resource management (SHRM)
you become street-smart and discover many important
would be a good way to directly learn from experts and
insights.
practitioners and would help expand your perspectives, knowledge, skills and mindset.
The distinctive strengths I had when I joined my first company as a marketing assistant of a global (North American)
•
Expand Leadership Experiences: In many excellent
pharmaceutical company based in Japan were: (a) a U.S. MBA,
global companies HR is increasingly taking a leadership
focusing on marketing, (b) intercultural experience in the United
role in building people and organizational excellence.
States with a bachelor’s degree in intercultural communications
We need lots of experiences to develop soft skills like
– this helped a lot as all the function heads in my first company
leadership, effective communication and negotiation
were non-Japanese, and (c) numerous leadership experiences and
skills. Please find something you feel passionate about
accomplishments throughout college.
and then take the initiative to create and lead something that contributes to increased people or organizational/
I am sure you will be able to do something like this before you apply for the job in Japan.
community effectiveness, while leading a diverse group of people. This experience will definitely stretch your leadership, initiative-taking, and results-orientation, all of which are necessary for effective leaders. •
Increase Real World Experiences: Organizations in today’s fast-changing economy need agile and practical members to effectively achieve results – not intellectual thinkers or academic monsters. You may want to start as an intern to experience a line-function job and
Yoshiharu Matsui President, HPO Creation, Inc. Yoshi specializes in leadership and organization development leveraging his more than 12 years of marketing experience and 12 years of HR/OD experience. He provides executive coaching, leadership development, organizational change and marketing and sales development to help clients strengthen their business performance, organizational health and employee engagement. He has a BA in intercultural communication from Kita-Kyushu University and an MBA from Northwest Missouri State University. He is currently working on his doctoral degree in organization change at Pepperdine University.
Disclaimer: The answers, opinions, or viewpoints expressed by Andrew and Yoshi are their own and do not necessarily represent the general views and sentiments of The Japan HR Society and its members, Secretariat, friends, and supporters. In addition, the answers, advice, or opinions expressed by Andrew and Yoshi are for informational purposes only and are not meant to substitute for legal and/or financial advice from qualified legal and financial professionals.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT OCT-DEC 2013
A Positive Approach can be Contagious Brett Anthony Bedard International Operations Specialist, training, publishing and consulting company Originally written in English
If we really want performance, we’ve got to take the positive approach. That means investing in people’s strengths and aspirations rather than worrying over their weaknesses. More than one HR manager might disagree, but we generally don’t hire children into our companies. We are dealing with adults. They only act like children when we treat them as such. If you were to review the many HR policies we implement these days, you’d think we were running a high school, if not a day care. As managers, HR or otherwise, we make choices. Yes, we like to think of them as important decisions but often they are simply choices. Here are a few examples: Would you rather have your employees scurry hurriedly from the crowded train to arrive in the office on time, or would you rather give them a chance to take a seat somewhere quiet and have some peace after a harried commute, even if that means arriving 10 minutes late? (Hint: Your computer is almost certainly not going to be angry if you are late. Humans get angry. Machines, and most dogs, simply don’t care.) Would you rather see an employee spend hours attempting to develop an area of weakness, or would you prefer they invest that time to further develop their strengths? (Hint: Do you have any idea of how much time and money is spent training employees in areas they simply don’t aspire to? Well, I don’t, but I do know how much time and money I have wasted on trying to become a proficient Japanese speaker.) Would you rather have a performance appraisal system that most people yawn at or cower from, or would you like to do a four-question review and spend the rest of the time talking about the fun stuff? (Hint: Being transparent and spending time to coach and work with your employees throughout the year makes a 20
performance review nothing more than a developmental meeting
As a manager, your main duty and responsibility is to the
and a chance to laugh about those bizarre glasses that have no
people of your organization. If you take care of them, you take
lenses.)
care of your responsibility to the shareholder, too. Discuss stuff,
So, am I really all that cynical about today’s HR environment?
coach your crew, have fun with them. Every now and then, remind
No, but here’s the thing – it is quite difficult for people schooled
yourself that all companies want performance and consider why so
in organizational psychology to do their job if they don’t have
seemingly few actually get it. As Abe Lincoln said: “I am not bound
a very good understanding of human resource management.
to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
Unfortunately, it is quite possible for someone to become an HR or general manager without having a good appreciation for organizational psychology.
Foster the discovery of potential in those around. Allow your people to be genuine. I know, if you aren’t lucky enough to be cozied up on the sofa with someone you care about, you may be reading this alone. And
One person’s weakness is most likely another’s strength, so let people recraft their jobs based on their strengths and aspirations.
yes, you may be thinking that there is only one of “me” and oh so many of “them.” But think about just how few people it takes to trigger a full-scale flu epidemic. Positivity, just as contagious, leads to creativity. A good environment and management care creates organizational energy. Being genuine fosters excellence.
If we learn and apply psychological principles to the realm
This is the stuff that leads to performance – exceptional
of HR and management in general, the organization becomes a
performance. Consider becoming patient zero (the first person
different place. If we take it a step further and learn to apply these
in the chain of an epidemic) and you might be surprised at how
principles from a positive perspective, the organization not only
catching the positivity contagion can be!
becomes different, it also becomes ripe to flourish. We can play the key performance indicator to performance bonus game all we want, but if we really want performance, we’ve got to start looking at what works. Give people time to live their lives and space to savor the good times. Assist people in exploring, discovering and developing their strengths. Keep in mind that one person’s weakness is most likely another’s strength, so let people recraft their jobs based on their strengths and aspirations.
Brett Anthony Bedard, MBA, CPA, is International Operations Specialist for a large publicly-traded training, publishing, and consulting company, reporting to the International License Division, Human Resources and Accounting Departments.
O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L B E H AV I O R OCT-DEC 2013
Go With the Flow Energize and Focus Your Workplace
Tetsuji Ohta Director, Center for Positive Innovation Originally written in Japanese
Are your employees feeling unfocused, uninspired? Promoting “Flow” can increase their sense of involvement, productivity and enjoyment at work. Thanks in part to a boost from “Abenomics,” signs of economic recovery can be seen, but Japanese society still faces a mountain of difficulties. In the business setting, I have noticed three key problems in terms of culture and meeting style that may hinder the growth and recovery of companies and local governments. The first is indicated by the silence I encounter at the workplace. People work while talking to and through their computers. The result is a lack of discussion and an atmosphere of isolation. The second thing I’ve noticed is the lack of time management and excessive overtime in the workplace. It is no surprise then, that the number of people who quit within the first three years is on the rise. The third problem is that in response to economic stagnation and globalization, corporations with survival at stake have introduced performance-based pay. The negative impacts of focusing solely on results at the expense of people’s hearts and minds can be seen in so many of the organizations I visit. 22
How can we overcome this state of affairs? What can we do to enable all employees to feel enthusiastic and motivated about their work despite the difficulties? How can we create more productive organizations despite the challenges? One solution is to improve the “flow.” Flow theory, proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, concerns a fluid state of mind when mental energy flows unobstructed. It is the state that produces concentration of a high order. Time Seems to Fly You may have had the experience of being completely absorbed in something, whether it is work, a hobby, or a social activity, where time seems to fly and before you know it, day has turned to night. At these times the activity takes precedence over all else and you become so immersed that time is forgotten. It is more enjoyable than anything else and gives the greatest sense of satisfaction. In this state people are at their most productive
Flow theory pioneer
Photo by CPI Representative Director Makoto Watanabe
D
C
A
B
BOREDOM
Low
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
E
ANXIETY
CHALLENGE
High
Where Flow Occurs and Growth Through Flow
Low
SKILLS
High
Figure courtesy of Makoto Watanabe, CPI
and feel great happiness. Positive psychologist Professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi of Claremont Graduate University in California calls this state "flow." Flow theory is a fluid state of mind when mental energy flows unobstructed. It is the state that produces concentration of a high order. Recent advances in neurology report that positive feelings are produced in a flow state as beta-endorphins and other neurochemicals are released, creating feelings of happiness, creativity, insight and the ability to come up with ideas.
Increasing the frequency of people's flow experiences in the workplace can lead to higher productivity and employee development. Professor Csikszentmihalyi states that the following conditions are necessary to achieve flow: • Clear goals or targets; • The need to challenge oneself in terms of ability to achieve the goal; • Intrinsic reward and significance to achieving the goal; • Personal control over the situation with room for innovation; • Ability to apply one’s own strengths to the task; • Ability to get immediate feedback.
of challenge. When people undertake a task in state A and their skill or personal capacity increases, they gradually get closer to state B, boredom. If this state continues for too long, they will lose motivation and have fewer opportunities to become immersed in the task. But if they switch to new task C, a task that necessitates challenge, they will once again be able to experience flow and become absorbed in their work. By repeatedly challenging people with tasks that match their capacity, people achieve growth. No More Blue Mondays The expression "blue Monday" describes a melancholy that descends with the realization that the weekend is over and work is starting again. But work can be enjoyable. If flow is established at the workplace, people won’t be feeling blue on Mondays, and will instead look forward to getting back to their jobs. They will be excited and may even want to get to work early. Creating flow in the workplace can offer people a sense of purpose, enabling them to enjoy and take ownership of their work. As a result, achievements will increase, employee satisfaction will rise, and growth for the company and its people is initiated. This is truly the way to create an organization that learns to create a virtuous cycle. If all members of an organization experience flow and enjoy the process, positive results will inevitably follow even without performance-based incentives.
Tetsuji Ohta is director of The Center for Positive Innovation, an instructor in the College of Business at Rikkyo University, and an HR and organizational development consultant.
The figure, “Where Flow Occurs and Growth Through Flow,” shows the relationship between people’s skill level and the degree
Email us at askHR@jhrs.org and bring Andrew and Yoshi to your organization!
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT OCT-DEC 2013
Think Global, Think Nomad! Business Transformation Through Territory Mapping Anthony Willoughby Founding Partner, Mammoth Hunters Originally written in English
During his adventures developing global leaders and teams, Anthony Willoughby has captured stunning images that contrast the geographies of distant latitudes and longitudes of our planet. In this article, we hear from Willoughby himself and his Maasai colleague Milia Mankura about the principles his semi-nomadic tribe use to guide their entry into new territories. We also hear insights gained on the Great Wall of China and from journeying to Indonesia's active volcano Mount Merapi.
The time might be right for executives to stop looking for new and novel ideas and to start exploring the methodology of successful decision making, leadership development and capital protection upon which all civilizations have developed. As technology and information services become even more readily available and accessible today, the next great business innovation may very well come from the fundamentals of wealth management and leadership development that have been with us for thousands of years. Over the past decades, I have been working on a visualizing process called territory mapping, obtained from 15,000 yearold nomadic principles and wisdom that draw on responsibility, authority, contribution and an absolute clarity of your territory. 24
This process encourages future-thinking organizations to tackle the most complex business situations like nomads trekking the globe: to understand, value and transcend all cultural, hierarchal and language barriers is to achieve a new clarity in today’s changing and challenging commercial landscapes. Laying the Groundwork One way to lay the groundwork for territory mapping is to go out of the boardroom and break out of the comfort zone literally and figuratively, and embark on immersive, off-the-path experiences – some people call them adventures. The scene for a leadership workshop might be a 100-yearold Chinese building constructed around a large internal shady
courtyard. Or the backdrop of the Great Wall of China itself. Ian Thubron, TBWA Greater China Group President, describes takeaways from his experience: “Up on the Wall – there can be no more powerful metaphor for the barriers we face than the Great Wall of China… We came away bonded as a group of leaders, with some war stories, some legends, some common language, and more importantly a clear plan per office, of some of the things they need to do to help us be more TBWA; how to build the culture, how to energise staff, how to collaborate, how to make ourselves more attractive to clients and prospects. A huge array of ideas.” Global Business Nomads The Omnicom Group Inc. applies territory mapping techniques in developing the workforce and attracting “the brightest and most creative talent.” Creating a common corporate language is also a focus of Express Automation in Kenya as they use nomadic principles to get people to take more responsibility for the destiny of the company. Vacuum cleaners manufacturer Dyson used the concept of territory in strategizing the entry of their new air treatment fans to new market categories in North America, China and Australia. The board of Aviva Group in Turkey and the executives of Cigna Global Health also have embarked on semi-nomadic journeys to gain insight into new methods of growing their business and developing talent. Situating talent development in locations that disconnect employees from the modern way of life (no Internet access, dormitory accommodation, hot water and electricity optional) allows for intensive engagement within the core group. Participants discover that it lets them focus on investing in the will power and morale of the team. If a company
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Mount Merapi
builds trust in employees, it leads to individual fulfillment which creates group motivation. At the same time, the motivation of the group inspires individuals to lead in ways that generate more profitable, competitive and happier firms. Immersion in Indonesia Not all organizations choose such remote locations to inspire employees because they disconnect people from their business realities. One forwardlooking Japanese electronics firm is using immersion as a strategy to connect key players into the realities of what they see as a burgeoning emerging market. This electronics giant aims to develop the mindset and skills of its staff to tie in project opportunities with infrastructure development in Indonesia (see also Editorial). The company sent seven executives from Japan, to join two Indonesian researchers as part of their mindset and skills training. The mapping and discussion sessions took place in various settings: Borobudur, a 9th century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Central Java; a climb to Mount Merapi, dubbed one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes on Earth; then back to the seminar rooms for intensive brainstorming.
Nomadic lifestyle takes us into others' territory. How we approach this is by sharing what we can do, and being respectful by taking care not to damage territory.
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Nomadic School of Business facilitators (left to right) Anthony Willoughby, Milia (Emmanuel) Mankura, Ed Hough and Ruben Oloishuro outside their training center's camp in Kenya's Great Rift Valley.
Herders, Warriors, Leaders The stunning locations are just a backdrop – such settings work because of the interaction with and learning from the culture and wisdom of the people inhabiting these landscapes. For many years I have been taking foreign executives to spend time with the Maasai people of East Africa to explore leadership and values. A famed tribe of herders and warriors, the Maassai stays true to a traditional semi-nomadic way of life that has allowed the tribe to farm deserts and scrublands for generations, and survive the most devastating droughts and natural disasters – a relevant model for a world facing the challenges of climate change, energy consumption and resource availability. For a week, executives walk, talk and sit around camp fires with Maasai elders, warriors, women and children. These discussions provide the executives with fascinating insights into the nomadic way of life and how it has enabled the Maasai to thrive, adapt and prosper in changing and hostile environments. By examining Maasai core competencies, participants can design their framework for building a successful organization, which is anchored on clarifying and aligning responsibility, authority and accountability of their key stakeholders. Milia (Emmanuel) Mankura, a Maasai elder and colleague who co-facilitates programmes with me, highlights the core values of stability and knowing who you are – important traits for sustainability and adaptability. According to Mankura, “Nomadic lifestyle takes us into others' territory. How we approach this is by sharing what we can do, and being respectful by taking care not to damage territory.” The practice of nomadic cattle herding and ways of thinking that Mankura demonstrates can be applied to modern business systems of decision making, people development, resource management and organizational structure. Using nomad principles as a framework, we sit down with the chief and the head of HR and work with the executive team to help employees understand, own and take responsibility for delivery of the corporate mission.
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As the sun sets, facilitator Ed Hough reflects on the day just gone and those to come. Far off, above the lake and the hill is the conference room where he and his colleagues will be running the last three days of training.
The experience highlights a key Maassai principle: ensuring everything a person learns is useful and has a relevant application is to instill pride and confidence in their own identity and ensure their contribution to the community. Mapping is a useful technique for people to explore both their inner territories (who they are as business leaders) and their business terrain (their organizations, their markets, the economic landscape). Having a clear sense of how everything fits together grows the needed inspiration, passion and courage as we claim our space and share the world with others.
Anthony Willoughby is an explorer, entrepreneur and team builder. He is a Founding Partner of Mammoth Hunters.
EDITORIAL OCT-DEC 2013
Talent Mobility Don't Mention the War Annette Karseras Editor in Chief, The HR Agenda Originally written in English
The workplace is not a warzone. Still, global organizations can take a look at the military experience on overseas assignments, and learn some strategies on managing physical and psychological barriers that may enhance the business opportunities that global travel can bring.
Don’t Mention the War While I continue to make the case that war is not a good analogy for work, and that business should not be considered a battlefield (see also The Yamato Damashii 大和魂 Challenge and Everyone Counts in the Race for Talent), one area where global business can, perhaps, benefit from military experience is the extensive history of deploying people overseas. In the largest overhaul of Britain’s employment model for its service personnel in 50 years, family-focused revisions feature heavily (see side-bar). This comes in direct response to the fact that partner/spouse and children are the biggest issues affecting retention and recruitment in the forces. Referring to assignments that involve family separation of six months or more, the wife of an officer in the British Royal Marines says poignantly, “you’ve got to be a very special kind of person to be able to live like that.” Her comment hints at a test of endurance trying even for those with special training, let alone civilian families. According to one survey, the vast majority of business organizations around the world do not take family status into account when considering an employee for an international assignment. However, many HR professionals now recognize that in order to continue to perform well at work, other areas of their employees’ life need to be aligned. If home and social life is out of kilter, that will take its toll on both success and satisfaction of employees, especially for longer periods of separation. One senior Japanese engineer spoke to me about the reason he chose to change his career late in life. Deep regret for the decade spent away from his family working on construction projects in Africa and South East Asia, led him to quit his company in an attempt to recover his relationship with his teenage children before it was too late. The issue of separating families may not be as common in western workplaces as it is in the forces, but separation is significant for many Japanese firms. Closing remarks at a Japanese management conference hosted by G-MaP were directed specifically at TanShinFuNin 単身赴任, the practice of transferring an employee away from his family, as one of the biggest barriers to developing world class global leaders in Japan. Amending terms and conditions to accommodate whole families as well as employees not only increases the pool of mobile talent but can also help your company retain firm-specific value accrued by long-serving employees (see also K@W for more reasons to promote the mobility of internal staff over external
ro
Ze
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Family-Focused Mobility Model “…the impact of Service life on families and on the careers of spouses and civil partners are consistently the ‘top two’ causes of dissatisfaction” says the British Ministry of Defense.
7 ways the British Services' Employment Model aims to increase family stability Career Management – improving predictability and family stability, including reducing frequency of moves. Continuity of Education – keeping continuity as the key, study how education of children might be improved. Partner Employment – exploring opportunities to support partners finding employment, or running a business at home such as an internet business or mail order catalogue. Journey Transfers – allowing personnel to transfer journeys to their parents or spouse/partner.
Financial Assistance for Visits Abroad – providing an allowance for food and accommodation and an advance to assist with the cost of the flight for deployments of 182+ days. Part-Time Working – considering ways of offering personnel a reduction in commitment for limited periods of time. Distributed Training – reducing time spent away from home on courses by expanding local centres and distance/e-learning.
SOURCE: British Ministry of Defense
hires). The Jabodetabek Challenge International assignment used to be a straightforward, oneway transfer of skills from head office to the target country. Head office talked, locals listened. Doing business today requires more two-way engagement and an awareness of issues outside the workplace. Some things are easier to discuss than others… being aware can make business less of an uphill struggle and more of a breeze. As a way of ensuring global economic stability, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is using infrastructure investment in some of the most uninhabitable urban living conditions on earth. Jabodetabek, Indonesia’s urban metropolis, includes the five cities, Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi referenced in its name. With a rock-bottom commuter satisfaction rate (7km/ hour at morning peak), highest vulnerability to natural disasters, lowest access to piped water and negligible sewerage compared with other Asian Metropolitan cities, Jabodetabek is not most employees' first choice of international assignment. But what an adventure and sense of achievement bringing a product to market in that environment! Since the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) identified Indonesia as “one of the most attractive foreign investment locations,” many Japanese companies have been gearing up to take advantage of the country’s robust domestic consumer market and GDP of 6%. As Jun Kabigting points out, it’s HR’s responsibility to rise to business challenges not just deal with the people issues. How can HR make the reality of doing business in an emerging economy
as attractive for employees as the potential return for investors? Coming from hyper-hygienic and punctual Japan, it takes a certain bravery to face daily life in these physical and cultural conditions. Learning to live with a more elastic sense of time, for example, is one of the ways to take the barbs off barriers that may at first seem as impenetrable. As for the people, anyone who has been to Jakarta will tell you how even-tempered most Indonesians are – even in the face of adversity. For Japanese, that translates into high potential for cooperation. Addressing psychological barriers is as important as addressing the physical ones. Here are some of the objectives HR is setting in one major Japanese Electronics company courageous enough to take up the Jabodetabek challenge: 1. Developing mindset and skills to find project opportunities related to infrastructure development in Indonesia. Which employees are most excited about personal development and collaboration in a totally new culture? 2. Identifying needs and effectiveness of disaster information sharing system for volcano and flood. How would your crisis management and business continuity plan need to be adapted to the Indonesian geography and infrastructure? 3. Growing inspiration, passion, and courage to expand our own world and grasping opportunities to expand our
Avoiding politics is usually at the top of most shopping lists of small talk dos and don’ts. I’m not about to re-write those lists. But to sidestep an issue you do need to know its there. Click around the pictures to see where they take you.
business fields (see also Willoughby’s article in this issue). Who would see product development in emerging market conditions as an adventure?
globally work and train together. See the next issue of The HR Agenda HR 2.0 for more on human-resource-friendly technologies.
As Breezy as a Bike-ride to the Office New family arrangements, including in emerging economies, are part of the evolution of talent mobility models. Both International Assignment Services at PwC and global relocation company Cartus point to an increase in all three types of overseas assignment: 1. Long term assignments: Employees and their families develop a more permanent lifestyle overseas and a transnational relationship with their country of origin. 2. Short term assignments: Project-based assignments that might involve reverse transfers by top performers from emerging markets to head office, rotational employee programs, as well as cross-border experience of up to 12 months for head office staff, with provision for family travel during this time. 3. Commuter or regular business trips: Assignments supported by virtual mobility to enable employees to
What combination of these three types of assignment best meets your company’s business needs? Can your HR department address the physical and psychological barriers of international travel, empower people to hedge risks associated with international diplomacy and natural disaster and... make global mobility as feel as accessible as a bike-ride to the office? Acknowledgements: S. Kakuchi, K. Lake, B. Munro, D. Sasaki, J. Sneyd, G. Stillman, Y. Takada Disclosure: The author has an independent business relationship with Cartus referenced in this article.
Annette Karseras is a coach and training consultant who develops leaders and teams at all levels of the organization. Annette has trained with the Coach Training Institute (CTI) and the Society of Organizational Learning’s Systems Perspectives. She also delivers Global Mindset and Communication Intelligence courses at Japan’s top universities. Her master’s degree is from Leicester University, UK.
These bridges are really nifty over barbed wire. How d'you plan to keep the enemy at bay with eggs instead of grenades?! We got lots of eggs but no grenades...
It's safer my way.
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