David Levitt
Regional director for talent, training and development, Ogilvy & Mather Asia-Pacific
Our industry represents one of the best career opportunities for talented people. In Asia the need for the best people is growing exponentially -- there's never been a better chance for good people to make their mark. We offer long-term careers in a creative business that encourages individuals with ambition and the right instincts -- working with demanding clients, helping to design memorable, branded communications across a burgeoning array of channels. Ogilvy knows Asia very well, with close to 7,000 people employed across the region. It is a truism but good people are always hard to find whatever the state of the economy. The best people have to be wooed and then cherished. Prospective employees, especially the good ones, now have a huge range of career choices, and our business is only one of several. Given our size, Ogilvy is an acknowledged source of talent for others either unwilling or unable to develop their own. From our perspective, we are already looking beyond people in the business. In emerging markets this is a necessity. It is unwise to generalise about Asia; its scale and diversity cautions against making glib comments. Nevertheless, when it comes to talent, certain things hold true everywhere. The best people have the right to know what's in it for them if they come to Ogilvy. Their expectations are as valid as those of our clients: what will we do to make it worth their while to choose us in the first place? Why should they stay? Will it be a valuable experience? Will they grow? Will our best people work with them? And so on. Ogilvy is acknowledged for its commitment to training and learning. In markets like China and India we are setting up our own learning centres. We are fortunate to have so many good people who are well disposed to the agency, but we cannot take this for granted. Throughout the region, we are training all our senior people in the art of managing talent -- from finding and securing the best people through to leading and developing people once they join. The need to find good people across all disciplines will increase next year, particularly in places like China and other emerging markets. Simply hiring talent from within the industry is often more risky than it first appears, making do with people who may appear to know the business but who are, frankly, not always good enough. We know that talent must come from outside the industry as well as from other parts of the region. This is a good thing for a business that puts a premium on being creative and adaptable, but it also puts added pressure on business leaders and managers to help make this work for all concerned. The knack of leading teams of people today requires far more skill and application than ever before -- only the best will make it.
Philip Beck Chief operating officer -- diversified services, ZenithOptimedia China
If you ask an agency CEO what percentage staff costs represent of their annual revenue, they can answer you without hesitation. However, ask an agency CEO what staff turnover costs their business, most would have no idea, other than to comment that it's difficult to find good people, there's a shortage of talent, it's disruptive to clients, takes time to train new people and staff costs are increasing year-on-year, etc. In reality, staff turnover is not the focus of their attention and, so long as their superiors measure their performance on their ability to retain clients and retain revenue versus their ability to retain their most important asset, their people, staff turnover will always remain a problem to them and the majority of this industry. Their focus is misdirected on controlling staff costs versus focusing their efforts on controlling staff retention. What would happen, if they could actually prove a three per cent reduction in staff turnover increases the bottom line by one per cent? Not only would they have a stronger bottom-line, their clients would be happier (one of the biggest issues for clients is staff turnover on their account) and the agency would find it easier to attract the best people through a unique employee value proposition. Most agencies (though they will not admit it) have at least 20 per cent staff turnover every year. In China or India, where the market is growing at more than 15 per cent per annum, the challenge is finding the equivalent of 35 per cent of staff numbers each year. In mature markets, like South Korea and Japan, where growth is low single digits, it is still a challenge: finding 25 per cent of staff numbers each year. The cost of attracting staff, covering the down-time between positions left vacant, training costs and the time lag before a new employee becomes fully productive, are significant to the business. Those same funds could be re-deployed to better rewarding existing staff, developing local talent and initiating programmes that allow them to achieve their personal best. Exacerbating the problem of staff turnover is: • The lack of training provided by agencies. • The talent base is in strong demand as there are a limited number of professionals with the required expertise and experience to fulfill most client's needs. As one senior client recently put it: "It's the same people. They just keep jumping ship and landing in a different port." • The belief by 36 per cent of people is that they will have no problem finding a job. Most agencies are the same. However, any agency that is committed to applying the same rigour and discipline it demands of its clients in building an effective brand proposition will have no problems in attracting and retaining the very best people to its business. At ZenithOptimedia, we apply our ROI philosophy to our employment brand through two dimensions of implementation. Any agency in Asia that is guilty of the following: 'What we don't know, we can't measure, what we can't measure, we cannot be held accountable for and what we cannot be held accountable for, will not be the focus of our attention' will continue to struggle in meeting the people demands on its business.
Nadia Pan Regional human resources director, Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific
Asia as a whole is a region of dynamic growth and change -- which is fabulous from a business perspective as it offers businesses' enormous growth opportunities. However, it does present an HR challenge, particularly when it comes to attracting and retaining talent -- good talent is always in high demand, both within our industry and outside of the advertising world. Asian, multinational companies as well as new comers all compete in the same pool of talent. The competition is particularly fierce in fast-growing markets like China, India and new discipline areas such as the integrated services. We're also facing a wider competition with business model changes to include more new media, as well as business partnership and consulting. As a company, we strive to offer our best thinking, best ideas, best integrated and most effective solutions to our clients. We're therefore always on the lookout to hire strong talent in creative, planning, integrated areas; as well as talent with strong business acumen and project management capabilities. We are committed to staff training and development in the region. We set up Leo Burnett University in 2001 and have been offering many professional growth and development programmes to various levels of our talents in the region. Last year, for the first time, we conducted a formal talent review process in the region as part of the global talent review initiative. Management in each office discussed their local key talent development and management succession plans with the regional and global leadership and HR teams. Globally, Burnett has dedicated 2006 as 'The year of talent' and we're in the midst of rolling-out various training and development initiatives for the next 12 months. As to how we reward our people, it's mainly based on company and individual performance, in addition to market inflation. We have formed a new regional business team to drive new business efforts in the region, and very much look forward to a year of growth in 2006.
Shobha Devi Asia Pacific HR director for IPG's constituency management group division (including PR brands Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris)
Without doubt, recruitment and retention will remain our industry's biggest HR issues in 2006. Chronic talent shortages, with ever-growing demand from both consultancies and corporations for the limited pool of Asian PR professionals almost continually outstripping supply, have been a fact of life in most markets across the Asia Pacific region for at least the past decade. In the past couple of years, the search for talent has become even more acute, with the explosive growth of the China PR market. What started out as a trickle of PR practitioners heading for the lights of Shanghai and Beijing might not have quite become a flood, but it's definitely a fast-flowing stream. This outflow from other markets, especially those with Chinese-language skills such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, has in turn put more pressure on local talent shortages. In such an environment, it's not enough just to offer competitive salaries to attract new recruits. We need to offer comprehensive packages that provide the right mix of remuneration, learning opportunities and career development. At the lower levels, we've stepped up our efforts to hire top-quality entry level and junior staff and then train them rigorously within our agencies. The success of this strategy is indicated by the fact that Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris staff have had a mortgage on the Young PR Professional of the Year title at recent Asia Pacific PR Awards -- winning outright for the past three years and having five of the six finalists in that period. Other recruitment pressure points are in specialties such as healthcare and technology -- particularly for our offices in Singapore and Hong Kong that manage key regional clients. For senior level positions, we continue to look outside Asia to the more established sophisticated markets of the US, UK and Australia. While this is perhaps understandable in healthcare PR (as the sector is in its infancy in Asia and there is a definite need to import qualified talent), the technology sector is recovering strongly from a few lean years following the dotcom implosion. It seems that many experienced agency folks from those heady days are now comfortably settled into in-house PR roles or other careers, and aren't that keen on returning! Given the ongoing recruitment challenges, retention has become even more critical. For both Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris, a key element is a comprehensive learning and development (L&D) programme, comprising modules on professional PR skills, interpersonal skills and managerial training. Sitting alongside the L&D efforts are a series of retention programmes aimed at bringing to life some of the benefits of being part of a large international agency -- including the Asia-Pacific Exchange Programme (two weeks in another office within the region), Global Exchange Programme (up to six months spent in another office worldwide), the Asia-Pacific Leadership Award (a three day retreat to an exotic Asian location for 'star' employees), and Anniversary Recognition Awards (encouraging long-term tenure). In addition, our yearly Employee Attitude Survey provides indicators on retention issues and other employee concerns.
Our industry represents one of the best career opportunities for talented people. In Asia the need for the best people is growing exponentially -- there's never been a better chance for good people to make their mark. We offer long-term careers in a creative business that encourages individuals with ambition and the right instincts -- working with demanding clients, helping to design memorable, branded communications across a burgeoning array of channels. Ogilvy knows Asia very well, with close to 7,000 people employed across the region. It is a truism but good people are always hard to find whatever the state of the economy. The best people have to be wooed and then cherished. Prospective employees, especially the good ones, now have a huge range of career choices, and our business is only one of several. Given our size, Ogilvy is an acknowledged source of talent for others either unwilling or unable to develop their own. From our perspective, we are already looking beyond people in the business. In emerging markets this is a necessity. It is unwise to generalise about Asia; its scale and diversity cautions against making glib comments. Nevertheless, when it comes to talent, certain things hold true everywhere. The best people have the right to know what's in it for them if they come to Ogilvy. Their expectations are as valid as those of our clients: what will we do to make it worth their while to choose us in the first place? Why should they stay? Will it be a valuable experience? Will they grow? Will our best people work with them? And so on. Ogilvy is acknowledged for its commitment to training and learning. In markets like China and India we are setting up our own learning centres. We are fortunate to have so many good people who are well disposed to the agency, but we cannot take this for granted. Throughout the region, we are training all our senior people in the art of managing talent -- from finding and securing the best people through to leading and developing people once they join. The need to find good people across all disciplines will increase next year, particularly in places like China and other emerging markets. Simply hiring talent from within the industry is often more risky than it first appears, making do with people who may appear to know the business but who are, frankly, not always good enough. We know that talent must come from outside the industry as well as from other parts of the region. This is a good thing for a business that puts a premium on being creative and adaptable, but it also puts added pressure on business leaders and managers to help make this work for all concerned. The knack of leading teams of people today requires far more skill and application than ever before -- only the best will make it.
Philip Beck Chief operating officer -- diversified services, ZenithOptimedia China
If you ask an agency CEO what percentage staff costs represent of their annual revenue, they can answer you without hesitation. However, ask an agency CEO what staff turnover costs their business, most would have no idea, other than to comment that it's difficult to find good people, there's a shortage of talent, it's disruptive to clients, takes time to train new people and staff costs are increasing year-on-year, etc. In reality, staff turnover is not the focus of their attention and, so long as their superiors measure their performance on their ability to retain clients and retain revenue versus their ability to retain their most important asset, their people, staff turnover will always remain a problem to them and the majority of this industry. Their focus is misdirected on controlling staff costs versus focusing their efforts on controlling staff retention. What would happen, if they could actually prove a three per cent reduction in staff turnover increases the bottom line by one per cent? Not only would they have a stronger bottom-line, their clients would be happier (one of the biggest issues for clients is staff turnover on their account) and the agency would find it easier to attract the best people through a unique employee value proposition. Most agencies (though they will not admit it) have at least 20 per cent staff turnover every year. In China or India, where the market is growing at more than 15 per cent per annum, the challenge is finding the equivalent of 35 per cent of staff numbers each year. In mature markets, like South Korea and Japan, where growth is low single digits, it is still a challenge: finding 25 per cent of staff numbers each year. The cost of attracting staff, covering the down-time between positions left vacant, training costs and the time lag before a new employee becomes fully productive, are significant to the business. Those same funds could be re-deployed to better rewarding existing staff, developing local talent and initiating programmes that allow them to achieve their personal best. Exacerbating the problem of staff turnover is: • The lack of training provided by agencies. • The talent base is in strong demand as there are a limited number of professionals with the required expertise and experience to fulfill most client's needs. As one senior client recently put it: "It's the same people. They just keep jumping ship and landing in a different port." • The belief by 36 per cent of people is that they will have no problem finding a job. Most agencies are the same. However, any agency that is committed to applying the same rigour and discipline it demands of its clients in building an effective brand proposition will have no problems in attracting and retaining the very best people to its business. At ZenithOptimedia, we apply our ROI philosophy to our employment brand through two dimensions of implementation. Any agency in Asia that is guilty of the following: 'What we don't know, we can't measure, what we can't measure, we cannot be held accountable for and what we cannot be held accountable for, will not be the focus of our attention' will continue to struggle in meeting the people demands on its business.
Nadia Pan Regional human resources director, Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific
Asia as a whole is a region of dynamic growth and change -- which is fabulous from a business perspective as it offers businesses' enormous growth opportunities. However, it does present an HR challenge, particularly when it comes to attracting and retaining talent -- good talent is always in high demand, both within our industry and outside of the advertising world. Asian, multinational companies as well as new comers all compete in the same pool of talent. The competition is particularly fierce in fast-growing markets like China, India and new discipline areas such as the integrated services. We're also facing a wider competition with business model changes to include more new media, as well as business partnership and consulting. As a company, we strive to offer our best thinking, best ideas, best integrated and most effective solutions to our clients. We're therefore always on the lookout to hire strong talent in creative, planning, integrated areas; as well as talent with strong business acumen and project management capabilities. We are committed to staff training and development in the region. We set up Leo Burnett University in 2001 and have been offering many professional growth and development programmes to various levels of our talents in the region. Last year, for the first time, we conducted a formal talent review process in the region as part of the global talent review initiative. Management in each office discussed their local key talent development and management succession plans with the regional and global leadership and HR teams. Globally, Burnett has dedicated 2006 as 'The year of talent' and we're in the midst of rolling-out various training and development initiatives for the next 12 months. As to how we reward our people, it's mainly based on company and individual performance, in addition to market inflation. We have formed a new regional business team to drive new business efforts in the region, and very much look forward to a year of growth in 2006.
Shobha Devi Asia Pacific HR director for IPG's constituency management group division (including PR brands Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris)
Without doubt, recruitment and retention will remain our industry's biggest HR issues in 2006. Chronic talent shortages, with ever-growing demand from both consultancies and corporations for the limited pool of Asian PR professionals almost continually outstripping supply, have been a fact of life in most markets across the Asia Pacific region for at least the past decade. In the past couple of years, the search for talent has become even more acute, with the explosive growth of the China PR market. What started out as a trickle of PR practitioners heading for the lights of Shanghai and Beijing might not have quite become a flood, but it's definitely a fast-flowing stream. This outflow from other markets, especially those with Chinese-language skills such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, has in turn put more pressure on local talent shortages. In such an environment, it's not enough just to offer competitive salaries to attract new recruits. We need to offer comprehensive packages that provide the right mix of remuneration, learning opportunities and career development. At the lower levels, we've stepped up our efforts to hire top-quality entry level and junior staff and then train them rigorously within our agencies. The success of this strategy is indicated by the fact that Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris staff have had a mortgage on the Young PR Professional of the Year title at recent Asia Pacific PR Awards -- winning outright for the past three years and having five of the six finalists in that period. Other recruitment pressure points are in specialties such as healthcare and technology -- particularly for our offices in Singapore and Hong Kong that manage key regional clients. For senior level positions, we continue to look outside Asia to the more established sophisticated markets of the US, UK and Australia. While this is perhaps understandable in healthcare PR (as the sector is in its infancy in Asia and there is a definite need to import qualified talent), the technology sector is recovering strongly from a few lean years following the dotcom implosion. It seems that many experienced agency folks from those heady days are now comfortably settled into in-house PR roles or other careers, and aren't that keen on returning! Given the ongoing recruitment challenges, retention has become even more critical. For both Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris, a key element is a comprehensive learning and development (L&D) programme, comprising modules on professional PR skills, interpersonal skills and managerial training. Sitting alongside the L&D efforts are a series of retention programmes aimed at bringing to life some of the benefits of being part of a large international agency -- including the Asia-Pacific Exchange Programme (two weeks in another office within the region), Global Exchange Programme (up to six months spent in another office worldwide), the Asia-Pacific Leadership Award (a three day retreat to an exotic Asian location for 'star' employees), and Anniversary Recognition Awards (encouraging long-term tenure). In addition, our yearly Employee Attitude Survey provides indicators on retention issues and other employee concerns.
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