Change Management Services

Sanet
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Recruitment
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Change Management Services

Change Management Services for Thai Companies

A quality recruitment consultancy is not just about being a top recruitment agency in Thailand. Rather, leadership and shaping corporate culture are also part of the scope of a goal-oriented personnel structure. The management of Sanet Manpower Co. Ltd. has decades of experience in corporate management and organizational restructuring, which the intercultural team combines with 20 years of HR experience.

As a result, Sanet Manpower Co. Ltd. in Bangkok, which represents one of the top 10 headhunters in Thailand with its brand CREATING CAREERS, is the first address for leadership and change management in Thailand.

Change management in Thailand

The process of successful change management in Thailand:

The Initial Situation: The first step is to determine whether and which deficiencies exist in the personnel structure of a company. It is not uncommon for these shortcomings to lie deeper within the organization.
if the commercial set-up of the company does not fit, for example the target group of customers has not been selected correctly, the company’s products are not accepted by the market or the company’s communication does not match the local business culture, this is a problem. Even the most talented personnel will not be able to lead the company to success then.
For this reason, CREATING CAREERS cooperates closely with our Management Consulting experts, such as the restructuring specialists of the Sanet Group, to analyze the initial situation.
Together with our Clients, we then define the starting point and the goal of their projects. Both are communicated with the people likely to be affected by it.
Structural adjustments to the organization and responsibilities or, for example, the organizational set-up of the sales department are subsequently planned.
The next step is to analyze the employees’ functions and assess their personality and skills. This is done according to criteria like those used by CREATING CAREERS, the leading recruitment agency in Thailand, when assessing personnel.
Finally, the findings are formulated into measures and put into practice.

Principles of the approach to Leadership and Change Management Services in Thailand:

The "Story" and its "Goal"

At Sanet Manpower, we know that the space for communication is always filled with data and facts. There is no such thing as an “information vacuum”. Spaces that management does not fill with information will be filled by others with rumors and concerns.

Successful change management therefore requires motivating ways of communicating the project to middle management and all affected employees. Initially, every employee is concerned about possible changes in the personnel structure. They are afraid that their involvement in the project will “saw away” at their own position.

We at Sanet Manpower and CREATING CAREERS therefore start by collaborating with the management to create the positive “story” as to why the changes are being sought.

As always, the truth is the right path. The company wants to improve, adapt to future requirements and guarantee a secure and successful future for its shareholders as well as its employees and their families.

The fact that this will require changes and that outdated structures need to be adjusted is clearly addressed.

The Project Team

After presenting the project, the “Story” and the objectives to as many of the employees likely to be affected as possible, the project team is set up. However, “the participation of all those affected” does not mean the “participation of all”. It is not about the introduction of “grassroots democracy”, but about the genuine participation of all those affected by the changes in the development of the concept.

"Not our idea!"

This sentence contains the greatest risk to any success in change management. The best results and plans can only be implemented if the changes are not seen as “ordered from above”, but as “jointly decided”. For this reason, the aforementioned project team must include those whose areas of responsibility and activities are likely to be affected by the changes.

No hasty decisions

As a rule, it is a crucial obstacle on the way to successful change management for Thai companies when major personnel decisions are made immediately before or during the project.

This may then jeopardize the entire process. For example, if the manager who has already been dismissed is replaced jeopardized if hastily. This early hired replacement may not exactly meet the requirements defined at the end of the process. Rather, the entire team becomes unsettled.

The motivation for a joint solution becomes replaced by attempts to interpret the hasty measures and the caution of those involved in the further discussions.

It is not uncommon for “promotions” or dismissals to be announced during the process, which inevitably lead to doubts on the part of those affected and to the attitude “Not my idea!”.

The heart of change management: the personnel structure and appraisal in Thailand and the remuneration system

Once the initial situation has been defined and possible structural and organizational deficiencies have been determined, it is inevitable that leadership and change management may also require personnel adjustments.

A check must be carried out for each employee concerned

- Once the initial situation has been defined and possible structural and organizational deficiencies have been determined, it is inevitable that leadership and change management will also require personnel adjustments.
- whether he/she knows, accepts and fulfills the tasks and objectives of his/her own position;
- whether he/she possesses the necessary knowledge because of education or practice;
- whether the remuneration is appropriate for the position and in relation to other functions and persons and includes performance-related components;
- whether the loyalty of the employees is also given with regard to their contribution to the changes;
- whether they have the necessary soft skills for leadership or teamwork, depending on their position.

The results should be discussed with each individual employee concerned

Points of criticism and special achievements are to be addressed directly.
The need for improvement must be defined and linked to measurable results.
Any necessary professional training measures shall be agreed.
The criteria for performance-related parts of the remuneration must be addressed.
The results must be then discussed with each individual employee concerned.
But also don’t forget: “If you cannot change a person, you have to change the person!” If necessary, the employee must also be prepared for a separation.

The measures are presented and agreed in the team of those involved. This includes the new structures and changes in the company’s organization.

During the presentation and discussion, it should be noted:

First and foremost, the impression that the changes are being imposed “from above” needs to be avoided again. “Not my idea!” hinders or prevents implementation.
The discussion of the measures has to be conducted with respect for other opinions.
Young employees think differently to their elders. They may have different ideas about the world of work.
Yet, respect for other opinions and contradictions should not call into question the management’s determination to implement the changes.

Case studies on recognizing structural challenges

Structural problems can often be identified very early on in the process.

CASE STUDY 1: The sales organization

Our client, let’s call him “OLDCO” Limited, sold technical equipment that was frequently utilized in the automotive and metal processing industries, among others. He complained about the poor performance of his sales force. While the market share in other South East Asian countries stood at around 16%, it did not exceed a modest 4% in Thailand. Doubts arose about the commitment and quality of the sales staff.

Initial consultation with the employees concerned revealed that, according to our personnel assessment, they were capable salespeople and loyal to the company. However, some employees were complaining that they simply could not manage their work. Other employees moaned that they were always missing out on bonus payments.

Together with our market analysts from Sanet Asian Advisors, we then took a look at the market potential and compared it with OLDCO’s active customers and the sales success of the individual employees. It turned out that OLDCO had organized its sales by sales region.

Frustrated and overloaded employees in their areas around the deep-sea port of Thailand had a huge potential in Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the automotive industry. Other salesmen were serving Chiang Mai in the north and the Northeast of the country, where there was hardly any metal processing and no automotive industry.

To be able to provide good and regular support to customers in the area of the deep-sea port and even to develop the large number of available leads, at least six employees would have had to be deployed in this region instead of two employees.

Although the sales staff in the north only brought in a few orders throughout the year, they received a slightly lower bonus each year. This was done “for reasons of fairness” and because they were indeed nice employees and familiar with the products. According to the remuneration rules for the sales force, they should not have received a bonus at all.

In the end, we jointly decided with the management to no longer organize sales regionally, but rather through key account managers who became assigned specific customers. A special team was set up to win new customers.

The employees from the north and north-east were given the opportunity to take up a position as a key account manager after relocation to a busier area. They still could serve their customers in the north and north-east through a visit every one or two months.

The result was predictable: these measures alone led to a significant increase in turnover and earnings after just one year.

Case Study 2: “Well meant” is the little sister of “poorly done”

Another client, let’s call him “CHANGE” Limited, had recorded losses for years and had already started with restructuring planning. As a first step, the managing director had already been dismissed. Sanet Manpower was engaged to assess the existing team and staff structures.

Even before the discussion with the people concerned and before any interviews and evaluations of the individual employees, the employees were informed that a long-standing and loyal administrative colleague had been promoted to a management position and placed on the Board of Directors following. The management expected this “honor” to motivate the entire team.

Surprisingly, this announcement did not result in congratulations and joyful recognition from the other employees as expected. Instead, the response was passive silence and a lowered gaze from colleagues.

The honored employee herself obviously felt uneasy and overwhelmed in her new position, but for plausible reasons did not want to turn down the unexpected promotion and accepted her fate.

The experts at Sanet Manpower were faced with a difficult situation. The “ban” on rash measures had been neglected for well-intentioned reasons. But “well-intentioned” is just the little sister of “badly done”

Further discussion revealed numerous shortcomings in the company structure:

In an anonymized questionnaire, almost 80% of employees expressed as their main wish that they wanted to be better trained for their job.
No one in the administration team knew what their tasks were. The entire team stated that all tasks were “performed jointly”. One simply helped one another.
Neither the HR division nor the office management nor purchasing or accounting had a clear assignment of tasks. Everyone was jointly responsible – and therefore no one was responsible for anything.
The internal IT manager was paid dearly, but his tasks were limited due to the size of the company.
The sales manager worked in-house only, the sales representatives were new and without leadership.

Both the cause and the result were evident:

The dismissed manager was focusing on sales and nothing else. The profit contributions of each product and contract were unknown, about which the management was well aware. Losses increased in proportion to turnover. Although the employees were satisfied in material terms, yet, they obviously did not know what they should motivate themselves for. They were all aware of the poor earnings performance and feared for their jobs.

They were also - and we did get this impression:

All likeable and willing to work hard for the company. However, the corp culture made it impossible to use and manage their energy.

As a result, the measures to be taken as part of change management were clear:

- The management had to be entrusted to a candidate who was sales-oriented but also experienced in efficiently restructuring an organization.
- In administrative terms, employees had to be assigned with clear responsibilities. The focus here was on improving efficiency.
- The employee who had initially been promoted was assigned to a position below the Board of Directos, where she felt confident and valuable. Her acceptance among colleagues had suffered as a result of the premature promotion and she had clearly felt overwhelmed. Her loyalty made her accept the revision.
- The employee who had initially been promoted was assigned to a position below the Board of Directors, where she felt confident and valuable. Her acceptance among colleagues had suffered as a result of the premature promotion and she had clearly felt overwhelmed. Her loyalty made her accept the revision.

Sanet Manpower, as one of the most competent change management consulting firms in Thailand, recommended that the manager position should be filled by a sales-oriented GM, yet with extensive restructuring experience. The position would be filled quickly.

Initially, no one was laid off as part of this genuine “leadership and change management” in Thailand. It was simply a matter of providing clear leadership to the largely good and loyal employees. Sanet Manpower provided the new manager with the required actions.

With their wide experience on cross cultural communication and international Management, the Sanet project team communicated the results to the staff and finalized the project with a comprehensive guideline for the new Managing Director and the shareholders.

Sanet Manpower, the specialist for intercultural management in Thailand, will be happy to advise you on leadership and change management or on restructuring your company. We also offer specific seminars on sales and closing techniques through our partner company Asian Advisors.