When an essential position in a company has to be filled, companies scout for those with both talent and experience. Seng Li Peng writes that experience is not the only critical element in a candidate

It was an offer she could not resist. It started when Ho Yean Fee was selling a self-built multilingual display product to Sybase. Impressed with the product (capable of displaying Chinese, Korean and Japanese characters), Sybase decided to have her for their own. So in 1998, they made her director for its Asia Development Centre (ADC) located in Singapore.

Among her tasks: develop ADC into a full-fledged software powerhouse, taking over the development works for its rapid application development (RAD) tool, PowerBuilder (PB)—an engine that allows professional developers to build mission-critical transactional applications rapidly and with ease—from the US.

Here lies a challenge—finding the talents. “Sybase US wanted people who are experienced in building products for worldwide release. But such people are rare and few in Asia then. When you do find them, you have to fork out a premium. But the reason Sybase is moving some of its products offshore is to cut costs,” says the business-savvy Ho.

Her solution: “Go for those with potential, not experience. A simple rule of thumb is to look at the university, grades, and technical knowledge of the candidate.”

Ho, who used to be a software engineer with Wang Labs in the US and a research associate with the Institute of System Science in Singapore has other sources to help with the recruitment besides relying on job ads and agencies. “The universities and research institutes give me good referrals.”

Within two short years, Ho increased ADC’s staff strength from five—doing mainly support work for Sybase open client/sever and PB 6.5 then—to more than 80. These engineers are spread across Singapore, China, India and the US to “cut costs”.

Retaining your man

For some, once the hiring process is over, it’s just that—over—without considering that the cost of rehiring a staff is much higher than retaining existing ones. As head of department, Ho takes the responsibility of motivating and retaining her staff very seriously. “Monetary rewards alone are not enough,” she says. “Career development and rewards of other kinds are equally important.”

For this reason, everyone in ADC, from engineers to project managers, is given the opportunity to upgrade himself or herself to keep abreast of the latest technology—very critical for software developers—via courses outlined for them.

“Sometimes, they would come to me instead. If the courses are related to what they are doing and are good for them, why not? We want them to be gurus in their areas and we will groom them if they have the potential,” she says.

It is all about good management. “You take care of them as much as you can and let them know that they have a system they can trust. That way, your team will soar with you,” says Ho.

Twice a year, awards such as the ‘Technical Innovation Award’ and ‘Best Technical Paper Award’ are given out to its outstanding engineers as a gesture to recognise their contributions as well as to motivate them further.

For those who are really good at what they do, Ho goes the extra mile by writing to the HQ justifying why their remuneration packages should be adjusted.

What HR experts say

When an essential position in a company has to be filled, companies typically scout for those with both talent and experience to fill them. But HR experts advise that experience is not the only critical element in a candidate.

“Companies should also assess the potential a candidate possesses when thrown into new situations,” says Nishchae Suri, head of rewards-Asia Pacific, Hewitt Associates, a global HR outsourcing and consulting firm. “As companies continue to move up the value chain, niche skills will be in demand,” Suri adds. But supply of these skills may not be on par with demand. Instead of lamenting over the lack of talent, companies can start grooming existing employees to fit the roles.

For companies who fail to find a suitable candidate, Suri cautions: “For every essential post that is left unfilled, the cost of attrition can vary from 1.5 times an employee’s annual gross salary, depending on the level and complexity of the job.” Productivity will also be jeopardised. But to fill the position with just anyone is just as harmful.

“This emphasises the importance of succession and manpower planning...every role should be covered by someone who is groomed by the incumbent. If HR processes are in place and are working well, this should not arise,” says Suri. And once talent has been found, companies should focus on being a Best Employer in their industry to retain their staff.

“Employees today do not look at work in an isolated way...the culture, work environment and people practices all form an important role in attracting and retaining key talent,” says Suri.

This article first appeared in Intelligent Enterprise Asia

Regards,

CHRM

"To win...you must stay in the game" - Claude Bristol