CAREERS MEDIA: Regional agencies plug HR oversight

<p>Having lagged behind other industries, agency groups in </p><p>Asia-Pacific are now putting regional human resources chiefs in place to </p><p>handle critical people management issues that have emerged amid the </p><p>changed business climate. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Grey Worldwide recently appointed Ms Martha Collard as its first </p><p>regional human resources director, and Saatchi & Saatchi has recruited </p><p>Ms Lavina Mehta to take over from Mr Milano Reyna, who relocated to New </p><p>York a few months ago. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At Ogilvy & Mather, Ms Beth Ronsick has joined as training and </p><p>development manager, the agency's equivalent of an HR manager. With O&M </p><p>set to increase resources in HR in the future, Ms Ronsick will work </p><p>alongside the agency's training and development director, who has been </p><p>in the role in Asia-Pacific for the past 11 years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"HR is now becoming an important function in the communications industry </p><p>as talent acquisition, people development and retention have become </p><p>crucial issues," said TMP Worldwide eResourcing HR recruitment team </p><p>leader Madelyn Lip. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But, with the industry's limited HR history, there is now a dearth of </p><p>suitable candidates to meet growing demand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the three latest appointments, the agencies either looked beyond Asia </p><p>or the industry itself for suitable candidates. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Both Ms Collard and Ms Mehta came from outside the ad industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Collard has extensive HR consulting experience in the region, having </p><p>worked for such companies as the Bank of Boston and Manulife Insurance, </p><p>while Ms Mehta was previously with Andersen Consulting. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Ronsick relocated to Hong Kong from O&M's New York office, where she </p><p>was director of organisational learning. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Leo Burnett's regional HR director Nadia Pan believes the changing </p><p>business environment - with increased mergers and acquisition activity </p><p>and localisation - is pushing people management issues to the </p><p>forefront. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In particular, the dotcom exodus of the past 18 months brought HR issues </p><p>into sharper focus for agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The ad industry has lagged behind other industries on this issue and we </p><p>have lost talent to client companies as a result," said Ms Pan, who has </p><p>been with Burnett for the past three years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TMP handled three of the recent HR appointments, including Ms Catherine </p><p>Tam, a local position at Euro RSCG Hong Kong, which was filled late last </p><p>year. The company said it had several requests from leading agency </p><p>groups on file. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"While we have had to look outside, it has not been difficult to find </p><p>candidates who are willing to join the industry," said Ms Lip. "They are </p><p>attracted by the vision and type of people running agencies, since HR </p><p>can only succeed if there is buy-in at the very top." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>