South China Morning Post

December 13, 2007 Thursday

Challenge to keep up with change

BYLINE: Managers need to realise that employees want to be more knowledgeable and involved in decision making, writes Andrea Li

SECTION: SUPPLEMENTS; Pg. 3

LENGTH: 795 words

Two decades ago, workers in Hong Kong would have thought it ludicrous for a boss to explain the rationale behind each crucial decision being made. Archetypal employees then did not question, they just did as they were told.

"The business environment in Hong Kong was far more paternalistic 25 years ago," said Paula DeLisle, vice-president of international client services, Asia-Pacific at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an international human resources and finance consulting company.

"The attitude was: 'You come work for me and I'll take care of you but don't question me or the direction I am taking the company'," said Ms DeLisle, who has been a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM) for decades and has had a ringside seat to the evolution of the human resources industry for years.

The pace of globalisation, coupled with access to better and improved education, have reshaped the expectations of the workforce and revolutionised generations of employees who, once content so long as they were taking home a pay cheque, are now placing greater demands on office life and how it affects their personal situations.

Francis Wong Wai-wah, cluster general manager - human resources at the Hospital Authority, said: "The shift to having more knowledgeable workers in the workforce who have a better understanding of their rights has raised the bar on what individuals have come to expect from their employers."

Mr Wong, a member of the HKIHRM since 1979, said the need for open communication, transparency and fairness was more pertinent. "Communication is now critical to any organisation as staff want things laid out and explained to them much more clearly and in-depth. With the prevalence of the internet and the speed at which news is being transmitted, organisations that can't keep up on the communication front will have difficulty coping with this new generation of needs."

He said effective interaction with the workforce did not mean the frequency of communication but its mode and quality. Enterprises in Hong Kong still had a way to go in

refining their internal communication networks before they caught up with the west, where intranet systems were used and senior members of staff solely looked after internal communication.

Aside from wanting to be more engaged in the company for which they are working, the modern worker is no longer interested only in money. Individuals are looking for companies that understand work-life balance, and provide career opportunities, training and development, while being treated as equitable members of the organisation.

Professional bodies including the HKIHRM have over the years reflected the broader needs of the more dynamic workforce. Perhaps the clearest sign of this was in 1994 when the Hong Kong Institute of Personnel Management changed its name to the HKIHRM to better represent the widened scope of human resources responsibility.

Human resources is no longer the mundane department that processes leave applications and recruits bodies to fill cubicle trenches. It has become an indispensable part of any business and its importance will only become more pronounced.

Meanwhile, an ageing workforce, coupled with phenomenal regional economic growth, triggered most notably by China and India, has further fuelled the chasm between recruitment needs and the available talent pool.

Recruitment has become a complex game and will be more difficult as companies wrangle over the limited talent supply while trying to meet the workforce's shifting expectations.

"One of the biggest challenges for corporations is finding the right people," Mr Wong said. "Salaries are no longer the be all and end all, because the salary differences between companies are generally not huge. Instead, companies need to provide some motivational factors that can help with recruitment.

"Though there is no fixed success formula to retaining people as this depends on corporate culture and the way business is managed, broadly speaking at the most junior level, companies need to look at whether staff are getting the right benefits, and the people mix and their chemistry in the company."

At the middle-executive level, Mr Wong added, corporations should focus on providing the right career development, leadership and training opportunities.

Ms DeLisle said the recruitment of senior management was proving to be especially hard, due partly to the talent drought but hampered further by the type of leader companies wanted today.

"The type of leader being recruited has changed dramatically from a command-and-control type 15 years ago. Leaders today would be more like coaches and really need to inspire their team members and get them focused and working as an interrelated team," she said.

South China Morning Post

August 9, 2008 Saturday

Change for the better; Corporations and individuals are using the services of professionals to improve soft skills and outer appearance

BYLINE: Written by Catherine Macer

SECTION: SUPPLEMENTS; Industry Focus; Pg. 22

LENGTH: 957 words

In a city as compact and aggressive as Hong Kong, finding an effective competitive edge can be challenging. While strategic branding and marketing can go a long way towards getting noticed, it is often at the individual personnel level that the biggest impressions are made. Poor communication skills, sloppy behaviour and a shabby appearance from staff can quickly undermine the slick image a company wishes to convey.

"I think society is getting more competitive," said Desmond Chan, image consultant by profession and president of the Image de Monde. "Ten or 20 years ago all you needed was knowledge of your chosen profession but now people look at the way you serve them, the way you dress, the way you present yourself. Image has become important and professionals need to develop their 'likeability' - the soft skills that make good first impressions."

The pursuit of these soft skills has led many corporations and individuals to employ the services of image consultants, such as Mr Chan, who specialise in re-shaping visual appearance and enhancing verbal and non-verbal communication. Working carefully within a company's branding and ethics, an image consultant will coach individual staff members to express their company's goals more effectively.

They also advise staff members on how to spruce up their personal appearance, sharpen their communication skills and refine their business etiquette.

"What you wear and how you behave is what you are - and that determines what people will think of you," said Lan Ting, founder of Exciting Life Strategic Image Management, and the president of the Hong Kong chapter of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI). Through her work, Ms Lan helps individuals develop what she calls their "personal branding" - a name and an image that reflects their vision of themselves and their role in society. Her clients come from all walks of life - from hoteliers to bankers, fashion models, university students, housewives and corporate executives.

Despite a growing public awareness of image consultancy in Hong Kong, the sector lags behind its well-established counterparts in the United States and Europe.

"In the beginning we found it hard to educate people, or tell them that we are more than just hair stylists and beauty artists,' said Mr Chan, who was the founding president of the AICI in 2004. Through a series of open seminars, talks to professional bodies and media interviews Mr Chan and fellow consultants have slowly increased the visibility and credibility of image consultants in the region.

These days most image consultants have a mix of clients, including corporate workshops, student seminars and private individuals.

When individuals elect to see an image consultant their motivations can be multifarious. Having an awareness of the underlying emotional needs of a client, and a clear picture of what they want to achieve, is all part of an image consultant's work.

"A lot of times clients get emotional because underneath it is all about understanding themselves. It is not just image, it is a very holistic approach to unveiling who they really are," said Sonia Samtani, a professional image and lifestyle consultant and trained hypnotherapist. "Sometimes women aged between 30 and 50 find their body changing shape and need coaching to accept the change and work with their new shape. For me, it is all about loving your own body."

To assist clients through the emotional layers of the work, image consultants, such as Ms Samtani, use tools to help their clients understand the underlying processes involved. Ms Samtani offers receptive clients the chance to explore the deeper levels of their motivation through hypnotherapy, while Mr Chan uses psychological tests to help determine his client's character.

While most image consultants have a cocktail of skills to offer their clients, Hong Kong does not require them to have any formal professional certification. This presents challenges to the sector. The public can often get misled or confused about how to identify a good practitioner.

To help alleviate such problems the AICI has established three tiers of certification, recognised worldwide, that distinguishes its members from other image consultants. The levels entail First Level Certification (FLC); Certified Image Professional (CIP); and Certified Image Master (CIM). Most of these training programmes are available in Hong Kong, the US and Europe and can be completed online.

More than 200 local students have completed the first level training, though many choose to use the skills within their primary profession - as stylists, hairdressers or make-up artists. The local chapter of the AICI has more than 30 image consultants registered in the region and there is still plenty of room for new players.

"I think this is one of the best places in the world to be in this industry," Ms Samtani said. "I love the fact that the industry is still not that well known here. We are the pioneers."

Key Players

Image consultant

Personal stylist

Hairstylist

Personal shopper

Wardrobe analyst

Jargon

Colour analysis the analysis of a client's skin tone, hair and eye colour to find out which colours suit them best.

Style analysis the analysis of a client's body size and shape to determine which clothing styles suit them best.

Wardrobe analysis the analysis of a client's existing wardrobe to determine which clothing items and accessories fit into their new colour and style palette.

Etiquette training is training in business and social rituals and practices according to either western or Chinese standards.

Colour palette a small flip book of colour swatches that help clients buy new clothes in the colours that suit them.

Los Angeles Times

August 30, 2009 Sunday Home Edition

Debate over the online fast lane

BYLINE: DAVID LAZARUS

SECTION: BUSINESS; Business Desk; Part B; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 899 words

The new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski,

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didn't pussyfoot around last week when he was asked to explain the Obama administration's stance on net neutrality.

"One thing I would say so that there is no confusion out there is that this FCC will support net neutrality and will enforce any violation of net neutrality principles," he declared.

If you're like Toluca Lake resident David Larson, who describes himself as a frequent Internet user, that sort of talk only leaves you scratching your head.

"I have a vague idea what net neutrality means," he told me, "but I'm not sure."

OK, you've come to the right place.

"Net neutrality is what every Internet user takes for granted when they go online," said Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press, a nonprofit advocacy group that focuses on communications issues.

"It simply means there are no gatekeepers. Any consumer can access any content without discrimination by the network owner."

What he's referring to is a pay-for-play system that would allow network operators -- phone companies, cable companies -- to decide for themselves which online content gets preferential treatment.

That's not how things are now. But if the telecom heavyweights have their way, it could be.

In effect, the debate over net neutrality -- short for "network neutrality" -- is a debate over whether the companies that own the pipes through which data flow can dictate terms to the websites that originate the data.

Telecom companies contend that they should be able to charge bandwidth-heavy content providers such as a movie-download service.

Cable giants Time Warner Cable Inc. and Comcast Corp.

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referred questions about their net neutrality stance to the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn., an industry group.

The association's website says government regulators should stand back and allow companies like Time Warner and Comcast to decide what's best for Internet users.

"The current marketplace is working well to bring consumers the services and features they want at prices they can afford," it says.

"Lawmakers should be very reluctant to replace that flexible, market-driven success story with a system of intrusive regulation."

For its part, Verizon Communications Inc.

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referred questions to the U.S. Telecom Assn., another industry group. Its website calls the prospect of net neutrality legislation an "unnecessary intervention" that "would delay the arrival of life-enhancing technological advances."

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that telcos want to sell VIP treatment to content providers that can afford it.

Let's say Netflix

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pays a fee to network operators so that its movies download faster to people's computers. One result is that while Netflix's content sails along in the fast lane, other content would be bumped to the slow lane.

The Internet's various junctions can handle only so much data at any given moment.

Network operators want to set priorities for users, rather than letting all data flow freely and equally.

At the same time, a pay-for-play system would create a tier of "super providers" that enjoy a competitive edge over rivals that lack the resources for speedier service. This also would make it harder for entrepreneurs to even enter the market.

"You're essentially ghettoizing Internet content that cannot pay to play," said Scott at Free Press.

Last year, the FCC ruled that Comcast couldn't stop Internet users from accessing BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing site. Comcast had contended that it needed to fence off BitTorrent to reduce network congestion.

The company subsequently went to federal court to appeal the FCC's decision. The case is pending.

No matter how the court rules, many observers believe it's just a matter of time before lawmakers step in to decide once and for all who calls the shots online -- network operators or Internet users.

The Obama administration

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has served notice on where it stands. If you want FCC Chairman Genachowski to know your position, shoot him an e-mail at julius.genachowski@

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fcc.gov.

For the moment, your Internet service provider can't stop you.

--

No more robocalls?

Also on the telecom front, the Federal Trade Commission announced last week that it was banning most "robocalls," those irritating recorded messages from telemarketers and others.

That's swell, as far as it goes. Unfortunately, it doesn't go far enough.

While the FTC's new rule, which takes effect Tuesday, will block most unsolicited sales pitches from private companies and their telemarketing minions, there are a bunch of exceptions that will permit the worst offenders to stay in the game.

For example, politicians will still be free to unleash robocalls on people's homes. This is especially annoying around election time, when the likes of former President Clinton or L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa check in robotically with electoral advice.

Also exempt from the ban are banks, phone companies, insurers, charities, debt collectors and survey takers. Most of these guys fall under different regulators.

So an A for effort to our friends at the FTC. But until other government agencies play ball, it still isn't safe to pick up the phone.

The Toronto Star

February 21, 2008 Thursday

Simulating the workplace experience; Innovative program helps highly trained new Canadians fit into skilled positions here

BYLINE: Paul Dalby, SPECIAL TO THE STAR

SECTION: BEST EMPLOYERS; Pg. Y06

LENGTH: 635 words

One day last month, Charles Creppy found himself sitting across a desk from a problem employee. The man had a chronic record of late timekeeping and absenteeism.

The challenge that faced Creppy, a human resources specialist, was to uncover the real story behind the employee's tardiness. Was it just sloppiness or a more deeply rooted problem?

"If I asked the wrong question, obviously he would give me the wrong answer and I'd never get to the bottom of it," Creppy explains.

Fortunately for Creppy, this was just a test. The "employee" he was quizzing was an actor, working from a script to test the 48-year-old African on his interpersonal communication skills.

"He mentioned a clue and I eventually discovered the real reason for his poor timekeeping," Creppy says. "In fact, he didn't like the job that he was doing but gave other excuses for being late."

It was all part of the training in a new program designed to smooth the transition into the Canadian workplace for highly trained immigrants like Creppy - who left a secure job as the human resources manager of the Central Bank of Ghana to come here.

The "fake" employee interview is just one of many simulations devised by the Gateway for International Professionals program at Ryerson University's G. Raymond Chang School for Continuing Education. Creppy is one of 17 employees from TD Bank Financial Group

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enrolled in the accounting and financial services sector of the Gateway program. Other career fields include dietetics and nutrition, midwifery, nursing and social work.

If the workplace simulations in the financial field seem utterly authentic, that's because they were designed by an advisory committee drawn from the major banks.

"TD bank gave us huge access to their recruiters and I thought that was really remarkable," says Gateway director Phil Schalm. "They suggested all kinds of simulations that would really give life to the program in a workplace setting."

On the first day of the Gateway program, 90 immigrant professionals volunteered for a one-day assessment of their skills in different workplace experiences. This number was whittled down to 40 who needed help with communication and presentation skills.

This, in turn, helped steer the candidate toward elective courses that could polish skills in areas such as collaboration or teamwork, strategic thinking, customer interaction, written and oral communications, use of language, presentation skills and personal effectiveness.

"It's a pretty heavy commitment for students to do this because, by and large, they do the course in after-work hours," says Martha O'Hara, senior vice-president of human resources at TD.

"And they are fundamentally sticking with it and saying 'this is making a difference for me.'"

That's certainly been the case for Creppy, who willingly sacrifices evening hours at his Brampton home to do his homework and preparation.

"The difference I see now is that it has raised my confidence level," he says.

"Now, I can stand up before a big crowd and talk because the course has improved my communication skills."

Instructors suggested that to overcome his pronounced accent, he just needed to slow down his speech.

"Now, I always tell people before I speak that if they can't understand me, just stop and ask me a question, and this seems to break the ice," he says.

Creppy likes the course because it is not trying to change his culture, just helping him to avoid "sending out the wrong signals."

Perhaps for the first time since he arrived in Canada in November 2001, Creppy feels at home in his place of work.

"I came to Canada because I wanted a good opportunity for my twin sons and my daughter," he says.

"Now, my sons are at the University of Waterloo reading medical science and my daughter is doing well in high school in Brampton. It has all worked out well."