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Chalre Associates - Executive Search in Asia Pacific - Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and LaosExecutive Search in Asia Pacific - Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

About Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam Services related to Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam Clients of Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam How to Recruit Managers in Asia Promoting Clients of Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam

 Hiring Leaders

 

INTRODUCTION

   Why Learn to Recruit? 

   About the Author 

   Advancing Your Career

   Key Trends in Executive Careers 

   How is Success Determined?

 

1. PLANNING:

   Bad Hires Cost Plenty

   Planning the Position

  

2. SOURCING:

   Sources of Talent

   Candidate Universe

   Active & Passive

   Talent Mapping

   Candidate Attention

   Blacklisted Candidates

 

3. INTERVIEWING:

   Rules of Executive Interviewing

   Resume Deceptions

   Balanced Interviewing

   Illegal Interview Questions

   Unlawful Questions Made Legal

 

4. ASSESSING:

   The Assessment Process

   Evaluating Asian Candidates

   Differentiating Candidates

   SuperAttainers

   Why Managers Fail

 

5. COMPENSATION:

   Income Structures

   The Expatriate Package

   Pay For Performance

   Uncovering Compensation

   Salary Negotiation

 

6. CONFIRMING:

   Reference Checking

   Reference Check Mistakes

   Lawful Background Checks

   Last Minute Mind Changes

 

7. ONBOARDING:

   Integrating New Managers

   Onboarding Failure

 

8. RETENTION:

   Employee Retention in Asia

   Reasons People Resign

  

9. REJECTION:

   When to Terminate

   Respectful Rejection Notice

   Executive Outplacement

 

10. RECRUITERS:

   Working with Recruiters

   Motivating Recruiters

   Retained vs Contingency

   Executive Search Contracts

   Executive Search Answers

 

11. EXPATRIATES:

   Choosing Expatriate Managers

   Reasons for Expatriate Failure

   Expatriate Culture Shock

   "Gone Local" Expatriates

 

12. CULTURE:

   Business Differences

   Social Differences

   Strategies to Manage Asians

   Actions That Harm Progress

 

13. CORRUPTION:

   Corruption Explained

   Handling Corruption

 

14. COUNTRIES:

   Singapore

   Malaysia

   Thailand

   Philippines

   Indonesia

   Vietnam

   Cambodia

   Laos

   Myanmar

 

15. SPECIAL EXTRAS:

   Famous Recruiting Quotes

   Executive Interview Questions

   Glossary of Executive Search

 

 

 Active & Connected

Chalre Associates is active in promoting the industries and companies we serve.  Examples of these activities are below.

"WE PROMOTE OUR CLIENTS' BUSINESSES AND CAREERS." 

 

  C o n t a c t  U s

 

   Telephone Chalre Associates - Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam + 632 822 4129

            Email Chalre Associates - Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam leaders@chalre.com

  


 

Public Addresses

 

The Principals of Chalre Associates are well known and respected within the business community.  Below are some examples of Public Addresses delivered by them at major events throughout the Asia Pacific region.

 


 

Singapore HR Institute - Leading HR Summit - Official Event Brochure

The Chairman of Chalre Associates, Richard Mills, presented at the most recent Leading HR Summit in Singapore.  The event was organized by the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) - the region's largest HR industry association.  Richard was asked to provide attendees with a detailed overview of the burgeoning field of HR Outsourcing.  

To review Richard's in-depth

presentation, click the icon below.  

Leading HR Summit, Singapore HR Institute - Download Presentation


 

Executive Compensation & Benefits 2007 EXPO - Official Event Details

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION & BENEFITS EXPO

The Chairman of Chalre Associates, Richard Mills, was the Keynote Speaker of the most recent Executive Compensation & Benefits EXPO.  Held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore, the 2-day annual event is of interest to regional business leaders. Other featured presenters included Asia Pacific leaders from companies including Mercer, Gallup and HayGroup.  Richard provided his views on the near term economic outlook for the SE Asia region and its impact on career progress for senior managers.  

Download Richard's detailed presentation by clicking the icon below.  (The event brochure is also available here.)

Executive Compensation & Benefits EXPO - Download Keynote Presentation


Recruiting Senior Managers in Asia - Download Presentation

RECRUITING SENIOR MANAGERS IN SE ASIA

The Chairman of Chalre Associates, Richard Mills, presented recently for the American Chamber of Commerce on the challenges of acquiring and developing senior managers in South-East Asia.  The presentation covers global trends to more specific information relevant to fast growing sectors like Business Process Outsourcing.  Richard's personal comments have been added on most slides.  

To review Richard's in-depth

presentation, click the icon below.

 

 Recruiting Senior Managers in Asia - Download Presentation

 


 

HR Shared Services & Outsourcing Conference - Official Event Details

The Executive Basics of HR Outsourcing

The Chairman of Chalre Associates, Richard Mills, was the Keynote Speaker of this year's Regional HR Shared Services & BPO Conference.  Held in Singapore, the event is the largest in Asia for the booming sector.  To learn about the state of offshore outsourcing in Asia, view Richard's detailed presentation by clicking below. 

To review Richard's in-depth

presentation, click the icon below.  (The event brochure is located here.)

HR Shared Services & Outsourcing EXPO - Download Keynote Presentation


 

Successful Shared Services EXPO - Official Event Brochure

 

The Chairman of Chalre Associates, Richard Mills, delivered the Keynote Address of Successful Shared Services. The event was a region-wide conference held in Singapore. Richard's presentation provided a broad overview of Shared Services as it relates to multinational companies and regional managers. The event featured Outsourcing Leaders from Reuters, Johnson & Johnson, Convergys and others.

 

To review Richard's in-depth

presentation, click the icon below.  (The event brochure is located here.)

 

Successful Shared Services - Download Keynote Presentation

 


 

Strategic Talent Retention & Succession Management - Official Event Brochure

The Chairman of Chalre Associates, Richard Mills, provided his insights on Retention and Succession Management to business leaders in the booming city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.   

Strategic Talent Retention & Succession Management - Official Event Brochure


E-services Philippines Japanese Website

Richard Mills, Chalre Associates Chairman, was a featured speaker of this event, one of the largest IT/BPO related conferences in Asia. 

He delivered a highly motivational presentation to describe the monumental opportunity that exists in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector. 

The most revealing information to come from the conference was the tremendous quality ratings being achieved by young Filipinos.  Citigroup, HSBC, GXS, Siemens and others reported world beating performance rankings from their Philippine facilities. 

Download presentation on Offshore Outsourcing


 

SEIPI

Richard Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates, was asked to address the annual convention of the Semiconductor & Electronics industry association (SEIPI) in 2006.  The sector is the largest in Philippines accounting for 70% of the nation's export earnings and 34% of GDP. 

Richard's presentation discussed the future outlook for Philippines and the specific impact of the booming Business Process Outsourcing industry.  He provided an optimistic view of the economic situation over the next couple years.   

To review Richard's in-depth presentation, Click Here.

 

Download presentation on Offshore Outsourcing

 


Business Processing Association of the Philippines

Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) organization is the main umbrella association for the Philippines IT-enabled services/BPO industry.  It is the second largest such association in Asia. 

Richard Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates, was asked to address BPA/P to provide his insight on the fast moving sector in the country.

He spoke along with Beth Lui, Country Managing Director of Accenture, whose company employs 7000 people in Philippines.  Richard's presentation was titled: “Philippines as an Outsource Destination - What CEO's Really Think.

To review Richard's in-depth presentation and to learn more about the current views of Senior Decision Makers in the BPO Sector in Asia, Click Here.

 

Download Richard Mills' presentation of Offshore Outsourcing

 


 

 

  C o n t a c t  U s

 

   Telephone Chalre Associates - Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam + 632 822 4129

            Email Chalre Associates - Executive Search in ASEAN - Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam leaders@chalre.com

  


 

 

Assessing Management Candidates in Asia

 Unique Aspects of Southeast Asia

 

Evaluating Asian Candidates


 


When assessing senior level candidates, there are certain attributes that are consistent across most cultures. However, there are some important differences among the world’s regions and Asia also has unique charactistics. Some of the special differences that are unique to the Asia Pacific region are discussed below. 


1. Career Stability


Frequent job changes are considered a concern in virtually all regions of the world when it comes to recruiting senior management people. For various reasons, job stability is perhaps more important in Asia than elsewhere. 

The economies of Southeast Asia (mainly Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam) are relatively small on a global scale and many industries are dominated by a few family-owned conglomerates. As a result, there are a small number of possible employers (as well as customers and suppliers) in each industry sector. Because of these limited employment options, senior managers tend to stay with their employers for longer periods of time. 

Another reason senior managers are inclined to be stable has to do with the importance of relationships to doing business in Asia. Job-hopping is a notorious bridge-burning activity and too much of it is seen as harmful to a senior manager’s career. 

Exceptions to this rule have become apparent over the past few years in Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong. These countries have experienced extraordinarily strong demand for experienced managers because of high rates of economic growth and foreign investment. The result has been that a habit of frequent job changes has developed. International managers building businesses in these countries should not be disappointed if the candidates they see have uncomfortably high rates of job changes. 



2. Local Company Experience 


Within most of Asia, there are still a lot of perceived differences between the quality of managers developed in “local” companies as compared to international companies. This distinction is slowly fading as more locally-owned organizations aspire to become more professional in their management style. These days, each country in Southeast Asia has a number of successful companies employing superb senior managers. The most obvious examples of this are Singapore and Hong Kong where leading local companies would be considered internationally competitive by any measure. 

Despite these exceptions, the perception of international hiring managers is that only people with multinational company experience should be considered for management positions in multinational organizations. There are various reasons behind this but some stereotypes of emerging country companies include: overly hierarchical management style, promotions based on personal loyalty rather than performance, hiring of friends and relatives, overly centralized decision making, and so on. 

International managers who are hiring leaders need to ensure that candidates have experience working at, or very close to, international standards. Otherwise, they may end up with an organization functioning in a stereotypical third-world company manner. 



3. Blames Past Employers


Most people would agree that something is very wrong when a senior leader points his finger at others for mistakes that were made while he was in charge. While this is true in all societies, it is of particular concern in Asia. 

It is reasonable to say that Asians are generally more concerned with matters like good manners and relationship-building than people in other regions. They are diplomatic people and usually very cautious about what they say about others. 

It should be considered a great cause for concern if a candidate denigrates a past employer or its senior managers during the interview process since it indicates that he could have burned bridges at previous employers. If he has done so with employment relationships, there is a risk he may have done similar harm with other relationships such as with clients, suppliers, regulators, etc. and this is not a good thing in Asia.  



4. Decision-Maker or Order-Taker?


Unfortunately, there are some international organizations that do not empower local managers to make decisions of any consequence. In these companies, important decisions are made in a regional office and local management merely carries out instructions. Across Asia, there are too many senior managers with impressive sounding titles who are mere figure heads – they do not have the authority that their position would normally entail. 

In addition, it has long been a grievance of regional managers that some of their Country Managers behave like “relationship managers” rather than leading sales initiatives. In these situations, local managers simply maintain customer relationships with people who they already have long-term relationships with. They rarely prospect for new clients or even try to introduce new products and services for existing clients. 

A disproportionate number of large Asian companies are family-controlled and family-run businesses. Decision making is often centralized among family members and a few personal confidants. Employees outside this narrow sphere are not able to develop what would be considered by multinational companies as management accountability. When assessing candidates from local companies, it is critical to determine the exact nature of the organization’s reporting structure and authority. 



5. Can’t Describe Career


A primary duty of virtually all senior managers is to communicate their ideas and instructions to others in clear and compelling manners. Successful managers typically have a high sense of self-confidence and can usually be expected to talk a lot about themselves and their amazing achievements. If a manager representing himself as senior is unable to describe his own career history in an understandable and convincing manner, it should be cause for concern. 

That said, it should be understood that Asians are not as comfortable with self-promotion as western managers. Asian culture demands a softer approach that avoids being seen as boasting. As well, English is a second language to most Asians and this will somewhat limit their ability to make a strongly-worded western-style sales pitch. 

Another important consideration is that people who have a history of long-term employment within one or very few organizations can be bad interviewers. These desirable candidates may not have interviewed competitively since graduating from university and are understandably out of practice with what is expected.

On the other hand, people with career histories of frequent job changes or sales experience will usually be experts at selling themselves. If not, it may indicate that the candidate is less impressive than he seems on paper. 



6. Overly Eager for Job Change


Successful senior managers are generally entrenched in their roles and usually cautious about entertaining other opportunities. Within the tightly-knit economies of Southeast Asia, it is not uncommon for managers to be wary even about meeting to discuss new opportunities since they realistically fear negative impact of a privacy breach. 

If a candidate seems overly enthusiastic about making a career change, it might be because their current employment relationship is either severely flawed or soon ending. This may not be a bad thing but it is useful to understand why. 

Helpfully, international managers (westerners or otherwise) representing multinational companies will usually not be perceived as a confidentiality risk by local managers since they are seen as coming from outside. People are naturally interested in meeting such people to talk about their careers. 



7. Risky Loyalty


International managers who are new to Southeast Asia are often impressed when a newly hired local Country Manager brings team members with him from his previous employer. Group transfers like this are not uncommon since managers in Asia often have very close relationships with their staff.

The short-term benefits are obvious since an organization can be built from scratch quickly. However, the risks should also be evident. Employees are loyal to their local manager and less so to the organization. Some of these employees will almost certainly be long-term friends and possibly even relatives of the manager who hired them (but use different family names). 

If the international manager tries to make necessary changes to “his” organizational structure or replace staff, he could experience tremendous resistance. He may also discover that when the local Country Manager leaves the company, he will leave with everyone he came with. 

Across Asia, there are international managers who feel they have lost partial (or sometimes complete) control of their organizations because they did not understand the nature of the relationships of their staff. It is important to understand ahead of time whether your new senior hire will attempt to build staff loyal to the company or to himself. 



8. Poor Developer of People


It used to be a common negative perception of some Asian managers that they were more interested in building a fiefdom for themselves than building capabilities of their people. For various reasons, traditional managers in emerging countries used this strategy to ensure tenure of their own employment. They hired and promoted staff based on assessments of personal loyalty rather than on performance. In this way, everyone would cover everyone else’s backs and the boss would never have to worry about someone showing him up or threatening his job. 

Gladly, this self-retention strategy seems to be losing favour as local managers come to understand the benefits of modern management practices. Nevertheless, work is required of international managers to research the practices in the candidate’s past work-places.



9. “Connected” Candidates


When meeting candidates for senior positions in Asia, international managers will discover some who describe their personal or family connections with supposedly high-powered people. They may mention an uncle who is the head of this or a friend from school who is the head of that. They may also emphasize their last name as part of some prestigious family. 

Many international managers are perplexed how to determine whether such relationships exist, first of all, and then whether they have more value than risk to the organization. To people from egalitarian countries, it might even seem revolting for candidates to pride themselves on supposedly unearned advantages rather than on earned achievements. Nevertheless, relationships are important to doing business in Asia and the international manager will need to determine which ones are important to his business. 

In general, if a business involves large contracts and approvals with high profile people in government and the private sector, then candidates with established personal relationships could be important to success. In that case, it is necessary to assess the suitability and quality of candidates’ relationships through extensive background checks. It is not enough that candidates are beneficially connected – they need to be willing to use those relationships for the benefit of their employers. 

If a business requires a hands-on manager to drive a sales business, then a manager who has worked his way up the ranks solely on his own efforts will be better suited. 
 

 
 


 


Next Page - Assessing Management Candidates in Asia

 

 

 

Hiring Leaders

 

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Chalre Associates - Executive Search in Asia Pacific - Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

Executive Search &  Management Consulting:

Chalre Associates provides its Executive Search and Recruiting services throughout the emerging countries of the Asia Pacific region with specific focus on Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos.  We are proactive and well known in our sectors of focus.  Regional Managers use us to help bridge the gap between local environments and the world-class requirements of multinational corporations.   

 

C o n t a c t   U s

 

Telephone Chalre Associates - Executive Search Headhunters in Philippines  + 632 822 4129     Email Chalre Associates - Management Recruiters in Philippines leaders@chalre.com

 


 

 

 

 

Asia CEO Forum - Philippines Expatriate Business Networking Event - The Asia CEO Forum is the largest regular networking event for the international business community in Philippines. The forum serves as a hub for industry networking and deal-making by executive managers from across the Asia Pacific region. 

 

Asia CEO Forum

 

Asia CEO Forum presented by PLDT ALPHA Enterprise is the largest regular business event in Philippines and considered one of the most important in the Southeast Asia region. The forum serves as a hub for the spreading of ideas that help executive managers overseeing enterprises across the Asia Pacific region. 
  
Attendees are both expatriate and Asian management personnel overseeing multinational and regional organizations.  Held in Philippines, presenters are leaders in their industries and engaged in momentous pursuits of significance to the entire region.  

 

Asia CEO Forum is operated as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activity of Chalre Associates, one of Southeast Asia's most prominent senior management executive search firms, to promote Philippines as a premier business destination in the Asia region.  

 

Click Here to go to Asia CEO Forum now!

 


 

 

Asia CEO Awards - recognizing international leadership excellence in Philippines

 

Asia CEO Awards

 

Asia CEO Awards presented by Aseana City represents the grandest alliance of local and international business people ever created to promote Philippines on the world stage. As one of the largest events of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, it is considered a must-attend occasion for business leaders active in Southeast Asia. 

The star-studded Board of Judges of Asia CEO Awards give away 10 awards to many of the most accomplished leadership teams and individuals currently operating in Philippines and the region. The awards recognize extraordinary leaders who have demonstrated outstanding achievement for their organizations and contributions to others. 

As one of the fastest growing nations on the planet, the world's business leaders have their eyes on Philippines like never before. The annual gala was established as a natural outgrowth of Asia CEO Forum, the largest regular networking event for the business community in Philippines. 

 

Click Here to go to Asia CEO Awards now!

 

 


 

SPECIAL DOWNLOADS:

 

Media organizations throughout the world call upon the Principals of Chalre Associates for thought leadership.  Below are some examples of published material written by our consultants or international journalists who refer to them.  For a complete list of published work, Click Here.  

 


Economist Intelligence Unit  

Getting Ready For The Deluge: Outsourcing in Philippines

by Chalre Associates senior staff

 

Download [PDF file, 62KB]

 

The Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist magazine asked Chalre Associates' Chairman, Richard Mills, to write a chapter about the Philippine outsourcing sector in its annual Business Guide Book.  The material provides a Executive Briefing on the progress and major issues facing this industry that is certainly one of most significant growth stories in the world.  more

 


The Northern Miner Online

Asia Pacific Mining Conference 2007 - Report

by Chalre Associates senior staff

 

Download [PDF file, 28KB]

 

The 7th Asia Pacific Mining Conference put on by the Asean Federation of Mining Associations was perhaps the largest such event in the region.  Richard Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates gave this report on what was said by the prominent mining people who presented. more

 


ComputerWorld USA

The State of BPO in Philippines: Dan Reyes Speaks

by Chalre Associates senior staff

 

Download [PDF file, 31KB]
 

Richard Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates, interviewed Dan Reyes of Sitel for ComputerWorld (US) recently to get his views on the state of the BPO industry in Philippines. Dan presented US readers with compelling information to support his view that Philippines is currently seen as the "Number 1" option by global companies sending BPO work to offshore destinations. 
 
Dan Reyes is easily one of most experienced Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) managers in the Asia Pacific region and the world. He is head of the extremely successful Philippine operations of Sitel, the world's largest call center organization. Among other things, he is a founder and former president of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines.   
more

 

Target Executive Search Headhunters in Philippines

 

 


Executive Recruiting in Asia Pacific - Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

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