HR Corner Ready for anything by Chris Johnson Companies operating in the technology sector need HR systems which emphasise flexibility Any company operating in the technology sector knows that change is constant. Ongoing business success depends on the ability to respond to the competitive pressures of a market that is driven by new products and the introduction of enhanced systems. In such an environment, any HR professional has a special responsibility to prepare for contingencies. "It is usual for our business to follow a certain cycle with a period of quite constant growth over a couple of years," says Michael Stickler, Asia Pacific HR director for EMC Software Group. "If we anticipate correctly about the next generation of tech solutions, we continue to grow. If not, we may have to slow expansion until we can catch up again with the competition." Therefore, what Mr Stickler looks for is "manpower flexibility", which he believes is essential in the software business for several reasons. First of all, it allows restructuring if there is an economic downturn similar to that of the last few years. Secondly, through cross-training, it creates a platform for people to move more easily between departments and locations. This makes it possible both to meet demand in an area of growth and for employees to gain broader experience. Finally, the concept of flexibility also allows for the outsourcing of certain tasks to specialist third-party providers on a contract basis. All of these factors have proved critical for EMC as they have undergone a major corporate transformation in recent years. Having previously focused largely on high-end hardware storage products, they realised that market demand within the technology sector was shifting towards software and service solutions, and acted accordingly. The company now employs over 21,000 people worldwide, with around 2,000 of them. In more than 35 branches and representative offices in the Asia Pacific region. They are currently one of the world's fastest growing software companies and working with organisations that need to centralise and automate storage management tasks. This involves achieving cost effectiveness during the generation, storage, archiving and, eventually, the disposal process – a chain of procedures called information lifecycle management. Regional strategies In order to cope successfully with change, specific HR strategies were adopted and applied region-wide. An "employer of choice" initiative, originally started around 18 months ago in Australia, asked each member of the workforce for their opinions on how the company should be designed. The project was put together with the help of an external consultant and led to "a million small changes" to make the company a place where people liked to work, wanted to contribute and felt they were among friends. Local variations were identified, mainly relating to such things as office location, but generally the feedback about large-scale items was consistent. Employees wanted to be treated fairly and with respect, to receive recognition, and to have options for career development. As a result, EMC took a deliberate step-by-step approach to implementing change without turning the company upside down. "For example, we used to recruit externally rather than focusing on training and development to prepare existing staff for internal promotions," explains Mr Stickler. "Although we always attracted good talent from outside and were not losing people, we thought, as a multinational, we could maintain our strengths better by investing in training." As individual offices had expanded from around 25 staff to as many as 100, staff had also begun to feel that the company was no longer as friendly as before. "Therefore, we made special efforts to be accommodating and to facilitate communication," he adds. This extended to having regular Friday gatherings and starting sports clubs to build team spirit among colleagues. Besides that, staff have been encouraged to apply for any vacant positions and to recommend former colleagues or friends. As a way of involving employees in the overall development of the business, the idea has worked extremely well. Special recognition One surprise that emerged, however, was the feedback about rewards and recognition. While admitting compensation and benefit packages were generally competitive, staff indicated that there were not enough "on the spot" rewards. Realising that these were an important factor in building and maintaining morale, the HR team made several recommendations. Now, employees can expect a congratulatory email from a colleague for a job well done or a birthday greeting from the boss, all intended to make them feel recognised and a part of the team. The next big step will be to make benefit packages more flexible and to tailor them to individual needs. "Someone with a family might opt to have extra insurance, while a single person might choose membership of a fitness club," explains Mr Stickler. "We plan to go country by country with targeted benefits." Beyond that, a further plan for 2005 is to expand the internal talent pool to be ready for business growth wherever it comes. In planning for this, EMC has set up e-learning tools to assist in-house training and development programmes. Over the last two years, they have created a knowledge base on their website and the project has now evolved to include more technical information available in four languages. "The advantage of e-learning is that it is accessible to employees anytime, anywhere," says Mr Stickler. "However, total leaning still requires the interaction and personal instruction of the classroom." Salient points Need to maintain manpower flexibility to cope with business cycles Desire for improvement led to adopting the "employer of choice" concept Employee feedback pinpointed desire for fair treatment, recognition and career development Specific efforts were made to improve internal communication E-learning programmes are seen as only one element in staff training Taken from Career Times 15 April 2005, p. 16 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]