Executive Newswire - Regional Newsletter for Middle East

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JULY 2009 T h e O n l i n e E x e c u t i v e N e w s f o r C o r p o r a t e L e a d e r s p8 Re-Creating your Organization Upgrade your Talent Pool While reducing staff and consolidating responsibilities is already a widespread practice, companies should make sure to address the implications this has on the employer brand, it’s internal culture and external reputation in front of the larger community. Still, a crisis can offer a tremendous opportunity and – sadly so – an excuse for companies to reduce the levels of redundancies or rather duplications that were the initial result of over-hiring that took place across the GCC in anticipation of market demand, opportunities, expected growth and upcoming projects. This will allow companies to rethink their organizational structures and their effectiveness, and rebuild a tougher, more robust organization that is capable of surviving and even triumphing during this tough economy as well as having a springboard and model for a more balanced growth once the economy begins its turnaround. Re-Create your Talent Skill Set Here is the key to the puzzle. In a downturn and a crisis economy, a new or different set of skills are required in talent to drive continued growth. The skill-sets that got you here are not the same skill-sets that will get you there – there being through the maze of this crisis. A new set of balanced hard and soft skills are required and that needs to be examined by each company based on its new objectives, goals and strategies. The skills that you need to swim one thousand meters or even rescue a swimmer in a swimming pool are totally different than the skills required to swim to and rescue a distressed near drowning person in a storm out in the ocean fighting against 20 foot waves and heavy rain and winds. Rethink your Learning & Development Approach Learning and Development is always one of the first budgets to be affected by such downturns. Yet it seems that these situations may be the best opportunity to upgrade your already existing talent pool by continuing to invest in training solutions. This is a dilemma that has a solution. Companies cutting jobs should carefully maintain and rigorously Executive Newswire How to Triumph through the Crisis of Middle East during Global Downturn Wassim Karkabi is a Partner and Regional Practice Leader, Industrial Services sector By Wassim Karkabi protect training and development programs, as they are necessary to provide your talent pool with the skills needed to perform redesigned jobs that have bigger responsibilities and a greater span of authority and control. One solution is to replace external trainers with internal ones by offering the opportunity for internal specialists and the company’s senior leaders to participate in your learning programs and enhance their facilitating and coaching skills. This approach can both reduce your cost of training and development tremendously while at the same time redirecting the content of leadership programs by tying it to decisions and skills affecting the company’s current performance issues. Leadership A new set of competencies are required by leaders in this turbulent time. The key set of skills that the existing CEO’s possess to drive through this storm are not the same at all as the ones they have been using so far in what was the booming economy. Unfortunately, some of those CEO’s don’t even possess the skills, hard or soft, for this adventure sport. According to Lowell Bryan and Diana Farrell in their article on “Leading through uncertainty”, executives need greater flexibility to create strategic and tactical options they can use offensively and defensively as market conditions change; they need a sharper awareness of their own and their competitor’s positions; and they need to make their organizations more resilient. Stanton Chase International is conducting a survey across the GCC Region, engaging with Leaders and HR Heads in a variety of industries to consolidate their thoughts on the key competencies that their senior and executive talent pool will need to have to drive or support the continued growth of organizations during this crisis. Until the results are out, suffice it to say, there is definitely a different set of skills, and without those skills, some companies may not survive. Here is the upside The companies that manage to make it through, will emerge triumphant as others who don’t will fall. This is a classic case of “survival of the fittest”. Suddenly, companies that will emerge will find themselves in a more robust market with less competition, more demand to meet their supply, and in a stronger ship manned by a tough crew and lead by a clear minded strategist at the helm, with a strong vision for growth in the years to come. p1
p1 By Juan D. Morales The logistics & transportation industry has seen substantial growth, and has been forced to evolve in the process. Customers, manufacturers, and government organizations have all demanded changes to the industry. These demands have increased as the end-users themselves try to become leaner and more competitive. Manufacturers and retailers are relying on freight forwarders to be the managers of their intercontinental supply chains. Governments are more concerned about safety than ever before and are thus demanding more transparency of information from forwarders. The apparent beneficiaries of these demands are the freight forwarders, who have enjoyed rapid growth and generated returns on capital far exceeding those of the asset-based carriers. The challenge has been their ‘inbred’ selection of executives. Now the freight forwarders are moving quickly to attract relevant talent from other industries. What are they looking for? Freight forwarding has become more complex and success requires a caliber of executive who is in short supply. Some key points to consider when recruiting this talent: SLIM MARGINS Returns on capital notwithstanding, the margins are low. Look for talent that has been successful in other highly competitive industries with similarly slim margins. S T A N T O N C H A S E I N T E R N A T I O N A L COMPLEXITY Executives in the sector must understand complex financial systems. Freight forwarders must be able to control different modes of transportation and different carriers. CUSTOMER INTERACTION Freight forwarders often control the relationship with the end customer as asset-operating air and ocean carriers increasingly rely on the wholesaling capacity of forwarders instead of their own direct marketing. Who has shown talent in interacting with the customer and increasing customer satisfaction? SOPHISTICATION Freight forwarders need to manage the sale and deliverance of a complex service that includes more than just the movement of goods, but also emphasizes technology, reporting, systems integration, compliance, risk management, and often global coordination. TECHNOLOGY Freight forwarders must be familiar with technology that captures rich transaction data and allows them to manage critical information. Look for talent with backgrounds in similar industries, such as banking, credit card, or utility companies. With the rising emphasis on complex logistic services, the best freight forwarders have attracted talented individuals with fresh perspectives and varied backgrounds, many from outside sectors. Expect this recruiting trend to continue. Their next challenge will be retaining these cross-industry experts. THIS IS HOW WE SEE IT. ISSUE 2 This Is How We See It: Freight Forwarding Talent, A New Breed p9
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