1. A L L B U S I N E S S D A I L Y
28 • FRIDAY • APRIL 27, 2012
Talent
Human Capital
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by Karina Foo
Let’s set the record straight: Human resources
(HR) is about the organisation’s people, the tal-
ent, not the department. It has evolved from per-
sonnel administration into an essential business
partner for the organisation to thrive.
This realisation has come as today’s business
world has been shaped by globalisation, in-
creased competition that’s fuelled by a revolu-
tionary pace of change together with the afflu-
ence of information and technology. In tandem
with these accelerating developments, there are
an increasing number of mergers, acquisitions
and business expansions that have spurred a
greater demand for higher work performance
and more sophisticated talent requirements.
Thus, the issue of talent and HR strategies will
remain on some of the top companies’ agendas as
Malaysia becomes more integrated with global
business trends and the economy. This was one
of the key points of discussion at the recent
13th National Human Resources Summit in
Kuala Lumpur, that saw the attendance of
several HR directors and senior profes-
sionals.
Building and Enriching the
Talent Workforce
With regards to talent, HR needs to
know how to benchmark right, strat-
egise right, reward right and develop
them right, according to Malayan
Banking Bhd (Maybank) senior execu-
tive vice president and head of group hu-
man capital Nora Abdul Manaf.
“If companies keep lamenting that their
employees are not productive and efficient
enough, then the employer first needs to know
and understand what their definition of produc-
tivity is. This is when they have to benchmark
right, meaning measuring themselves against
some of the leading global companies in their
respective industries to calculate the return on
investment in human capital and achievements.
“For example, Maybank’s revenue per head-
count amounts to about RM360,000 and our
company benchmarks against one of the top fi-
nancial organisations in the world where their
revenue per headcount is RM1.14 million,” ex-
plained Nora, adding that if there are the right
HR strategies to develop talent, any local com-
pany can be just as successful as the internation-
al bigwigs.
Of course, baby steps need to be taken to re-
alise this and it can be done through goal
stretching. “Each business segment of a com-
It’s about the people, the talent
— and not the department
Talent issues, HR strategies remain
key factors for any company that
wants to make the right moves to
harness human capital
by Tay Kay Luan
The global financial crisis has not only altered
the economic landscape in many major econo-
mies but has also changed the way markets are
being managed. But more importantly, there is a
consensus that public interest remains at the
heart of any change strategy aimed at tackling
the adverse financial consequences.
Major economies, including that of emerging
economies such as China and South East Asia,
have reacted cautiously by ensuring the right
fiscal and monetary policies are put in place to
manage the risks of a fallout, as well as to man-
age the impact on social development. While
political leaders are assured that the implica-
tions of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis are
contained for the moment, the situation remains
precarious and if not managed well, could po-
tentially result in an economic tsunami with
devastating and far-reaching repercussions.
Leading economists are expecting a global
economic slowdown in 2012. The International
Monetary Fund projected that global economic
growth will fall from 3.8% to 3.3% in 2012.
Thought leader and economist Graeme Maxton
stated in his book "The End of Economic
Progress" that the world will no longer enjoy the
high levels of growth and prosperity previously
achieved during boom cycles. Indeed, banks, as
well as other businesses, will have to find more
sustainable ways of doing business.
Financial markets are critical drivers of pros-
perity and development in economies around
the world. It is therefore important that changes
to the education syllabus and curriculum em-
phasise the necessity of upholding certain
standards and serving the public interest.
Indeed, no one disagrees that when financial
markets operate without a strong ethical base, it
will put at risk the public interest it is meant to
serve and protect. Ethical issues in the financial
services industry affect everyone, because of the
direct and indirect dependency of all involved.
Ethical leadership is, therefore, crucial in ad-
dressing these issues, and determines how the
industry operates. Leading business thinkers
and experts believe that ethical leadership is
simply the way leaders behave and apply the
principles of integrity and values of accountabil-
ity and trust. By demonstrating the right charac-
ter and having the right values, an ethical leader
can set an example for others to withstand any
temptations that may arise along the way.
In reality, ethical leadership is critical towards
the sustainability of organisations. Drawing a
parallel example, leadership failure in uphold-
ing ethical principles at Enron Corp and World-
Com has largely been blamed for the demise of
these companies that were once among Fortune’s
Most Admired Companies.
While there is a need to ensure that the indus-
try workforce keeps pace with technical de-
mands, organisations should also be mindful of
the need to win and sustain public trust and
educate consumers on the responsible use of
credit.
With that in mind, attention should be fo-
cused on reforms in the education and learning
curriculum. The importance of ethics should be
part of the changes to the educational frame-
works in all financial educational institutions.
The virtue of ethics should not be just a set of
theories, but the relevance and necessity of its
application should be emphasised in the context
of consumers’ interest, the environment and so-
cial considerations.
The call to embed ethical components and
values across banking processes that result in
increased awareness and capabilities in banking
professionals have been echoed loudly by regu-
lators. This should also include the shaping of
behaviours and abilities such as critical think-
ing, communication and leadership at all levels,
including senior management.
Reforms in curriculum should ensure
ethical competence be applied, focusing on
moral values and judgements across the var-
ied practices, especially when principle-
based evaluation on credit facilities are
practiced in banking. This emphasis should
be conveyed across all levels and in all rang-
es of banking services to ensure standard-
ised practice and application.
It is known that fraudulent practices in banking
Emphasising ethics in banking education
see P27
‘humanising’ their talent through re-
profiling and re-skilling each indi-
vidual as the company moves forward
in their business goals and achieve-
ments,” explained Nora.
She believes that rewarding employ-
ees in monetary and non-monetary
forms is a moral obligation for any
reputable organisation. “It’s an action
of business intelligence to recognise
that rewarding right leads to produc-
tivity increase. Also, it’s a simple equa-
tion as employees will put in extra ef-
fort as long as you reward them
right.”
Leaders Create Leaders
Successful talent development starts from hav-
ing high calibre leaders who are seen as essen-
tial and influential role models who will develop
and create more leaders. “Leaders themselves
must have some of the desirable attributes to de-
velop, engage with and motivate their talent. A
leader with such characteristics is an individual
who is trustworthy, cares about the wellbeing of
others and someone who is able to lead change
effectively,” noted Nora.
But in the real world, many employees are
sceptical about the leadership qualities of their
management. According to a recent survey, it
said that 75% of corporate executives question
whether their senior executive teams possess the
appropriate mix of skills to generate growth for
their companies. In fact, 52% of executive re-
spondents said their companies need to acquire
a small number of new talent or invest in more
talent development initiatives for their execu-
tives, said the study by Korn/Ferry International,
a leadership and talent acquisition organisation.
Maybank's Nora says
leaders themselves
must have some of
the desirable
attributes to develop,
engage with and
motivate their talent
Illustration by Katrina Foo
see P27
Korn/Ferry's Azman says
talent development is
crucial to businesses
especially now where we
are seeing a new breed of
talent and leaders who
are waiting to succeed
pany sets a target to be achieved and when that
happens, set another higher target. In order to
see this happen, HR would strategise right by