Q3, 2008

Asia Pacific Growth Summit 2008. The Asia Pacific HR Roundtable held a 1-day Growth Summit in Shanghai to learn and share about executing growth strategies. IHG and Dell hosted a reception and dinner the evening before. Senior Executives from Dell, Mr. Amit Midha, and GE, Mr. Tim Schweikert, spoke on their respective organisations’ growth experience in China and their lessons learned as leaders in this journey. Dr. Alison Eyring (Organisation Solutions) shared the results of OS’ 2008 study on Executing Growth Strategies in China. This study examined the key enablers of high growth from a business perspective and explored the role of HR in driving growth strategies. Small group discussions focused on different dimensions of talent management for high growth and identified which practices were most impactful in China. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004.

Sales Excelerator. The initial stage of a Sales Excelerator programme was kicked off recently for a leading IT company in China. The intent was to transform their Sales strategy for changing market conditions. The company had begun to talk about a shift from a product push to a solution sales organisation, but lack of agreement on what this meant and how to achieve it kept them from executing the strategy. OS engaged staff through interviews and our online Sales Excellence Survey. This was followed by a highly interactive, 2-day Sales Excelerator workshop with over 20 leaders from their China business. Outcomes included agreement amongst the leadership team on the new strategy, identification of key priorities for action (e.g., account coverage, offering customisation and channel strategy) and creation of a Strategy into Action Roadmap to translate the top priorities into results over 18-24 months. The company has already begun to take action.

HR Dialogue. This past month, OS hosted a breakfast dialogue on the topic,
"How does Distance Impact Leadership Capability in Global MNCs?" Senior HR leaders from BHPBilliton, Cargill, Dell, Kraft, Nokia Siemens Network, Microsoft, Shell and Unilever participated.  Using a debate format, we explored the pros and cons of organisational structures requiring long-distance reporting. For example, on the positive side it was recognised that the additional challenges long-distance leaders face can be a catalyst for accelerating their development. On the other hand, leaders face increased challenges in aligning their organisation with the broader organisation, which can slow decision making and reduce motivation of team members. Participants agreed that benefits to the organisation can be maximised by supporting leaders with training and appropriate technology.

Q2, 2008

Leader Excelerator. A 6-month custom Leader Excelerator programme recently concluded for one client. The programme was designed to help prepare a marketing team for accelerated growth by improving leadership development, coaching and delegation. Over the course of 6 months, the team participated in action learning projects, two development workshops, and used Leader Excelerator on-line. Leaders improved targeted skills and increased their capacity to manage complexity by delegating to their staff. In turn, staff capability improved through development projects. The team has committed to a set of actions to drive this further and to increase capability of the entire function.

Asia Pacific HR Roundtable. The June session, hosted by DHL, featured a panel discussion on "The Ups and Downs of In/Outsourcing". Panelists included leaders from Dell, Unilever and ABNAmro. Some key take aways: 1) As HR outsourcing builds momentum, the function can learn from the lessons of IT outsourcing, 2) be clear why you are outsourcing and what you hope to achieve; 3) beware of business cases used to justify decisions already made; 4) when things don't work -- don't simply dismiss outsourcing, but stop and learn what's happening to build on this. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004 .

Getting Results Long-Distance. The "Getting Results Long Distance" consortium is growing and participating companies now include: BHPBilliton, Shell, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Credit Suisse, Avery Denison, Merck and Electrolux. Consortium members participate in OS' Getting Results Long-Distance workshops and related knowledge sharing events. In Q3, workshops were conducted in Singapore and The Hague. In Q4, workshops will be conducted in Singapore and London.
Contact Sridevi to learn more .

Q1, 2008

8th Anniversary. On 24 January we celebrated our 8th year in business in our new office with clients, partners, and friends. In lieu of a party gift, we funded a Village Bank project that will provide micro-loans to 50 women each year in the Philippines. Read more.

Expanding global presence. Dr. Ray Henson and Mr. Bernd Claus joined our global consulting team this quarter; thereby increasing our delivery capability in the US and Europe. Ray and Bernd each bring over 25 years of international experience in MNCs.

Publication: "Executing Growth Strategies in China: Perspectives on People & Organisation" was published in the March issue of the People & Organisation Journal of the HR Planning Society. This was based on research by Dr. Alison Eyring (our CEO) who authored the article. Contact Alison to learn more or discuss the research.

4th Anniversary of the Asia Pacific HR Roundtable. Organisation Solutions hosted the 4th anniversary meeting for this group and shared the results of a study looking at how the 20 member organisations had evolved over the past 4 years. Some learnings were: 1) almost all the companies had become more centralized, 2) companies that had global structures were more likely to report that their leadership pipeline was weaker than 4 years ago while companies that had mixed or regional structures were more likely to report improved leadership pipeline. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by Organisation Solutions and Shell in 2004, Organisation Solutions provides a leadership role for the group.

Q4, 2007

Welcome to our Chief Operations Officer. Dr. James Eyring joined Organisation Solutions as our COO in November. James brings with him nearly 20 years in HR and HRD leadership roles in MNCs. He has lived in Singapore for 9 years.

Office Move. After 6 years in a great shop house, we've moved into a new and completely remodeled building in the Central Business District of Singapore. See photos .

Asia Pacific HR Roundtable - When East meets West. SIA hosted the December meeting. Guest panellists included the global heads of HR from SIA, Jardine Matheson and Capital Land. The aim was to learn from the wisdom of Asian MNCs. Two structural differences emerged: 1) more centralized decision-making - which speeds decision making, and 2) fewer "matrixed" reporting relationships than are common in Western MNCs.