Chasing the cash: telecom firms have cut back on staffing — but they're still looking for those who can sell, especially if they have regional exposure. And there's still a problem tapping execs for China - Annual Career Survey - Cover Story

Telecom Asia, April, 2002 by Robert Clark

The great telecom slowdown is upon us. Both carriers and vendors are deferring investment and slashing waste. Directors and management teams, where they haven't actually laid off staff, are cutting back on new hires, bonuses and promotions.

But if you want to get ahead fast, here's a tip: sell. Or learn how to sell.

The network construction engineers marketers and M&A experts who were in demand two years ago are today all off the hot list. In vogue are those who can push product out the door in return for hard cash.

That's the finding of the latest Telecom Asia Career Survey, based on a sampling of headhunters and HR executives around the region.

Hiring policies by Asia's telecom an, Internet companies have become "pretty simplistic", according to David Moore, team leader at job search group TMP Worldwide. "They need people who are going to do things which will lead to tangible revenue."

Says Singapore Telecom HR director Prithvi Singh Shergill: "Customers have become more critical. The combination of sales and technical skills has always been powerful, but today it becomes a little more powerful. Customers are looking to spend their technology dollars very wisely."

Two years ago firms were complaining of a huge dearth of people with experience in critical technologies, says Moore. Now the geeks are much easier to hire -- and they're in demand if they are willing or able to take their expertise and sell it to the customer.

"Gone are the days when you could have someone purely sitting in the backroom," Moore says. Not all techies have the ability to sell, but typically those who are taking this path now are five to ten years into their careers.

Certainly, telcos are trying to do more with less. Tze Tu Ho, from Hong Kong head-hunter Executive Access, agrees that telcos are now filling positions that generate revenue or improve efficiency. They are generally looking for customer-focused, "multi-skills, multi-platforms" and flexibility. Out of favor are jobs and skills which are internal-looking, or involve technology with no customer interaction.

Telcos are still learning the lessons of the last five years, according to Sydney-based executive search specialist Adam Salzer.

One of these is the role of corporate strategists. "It hasn't paid off," he says. Telcos know they need strategic advice, but these days they are more likely to turn to management advisers or investment bankers.

International focus

What strategy is left is internationally-focused, especially in places such as Japan -- where Vodafone has arrived on the scene and NTT DoCoMo is looking to expand abroad -- and Hong Kong, where the two main players, Hutchison and PCCW, are part of major international groups. TMP's Moore says people in demand are those who have "built teams or delivered results" in multiple regional markets.

Indeed, SingTel, another telco aiming to build a regional footprint, has set a goal of becoming "the employer of choice" in Asia, according to Shergill.

The contrast with the height of the Internet goldrush in 1998-2000 is certainly marked. As Shergill describes it: "Two years ago, the pressure was on talent retention. Dotcoms were booming and there was a large amount of talent which was leaking off to join dotcoms."

"The biggest drop-off is for people whose specialty is putting cables in the ground or in the ocean," said TMP consultant Tim Fokkes. "In the last two years Level 3, Global Crossing, APCN2 and C2C have completed regional cable buildouts."

At the same time, the expected upturn in demand for mobile network designers and planners ahead of 3G has not yet happened.

"They may be doing basic network upgrades, but they are not planning major new rollouts of kit," says Fokkes.

Nokia Asia-Pacific vice president for human resources, Alan J. Bentley, not surprisingly, sees the last 12 months as "very positive" for hiring. But that doesn't mean it has necessarily been a lot easier for HR professionals, he says.

For one thing, sheer volume of people available doesn't mean that quality candidates for key posts can be easily tapped.

And SingTel's Shergill concedes that "maybe HR departments were not as disciplined" during the boom years. "Maybe they didn't ask the questions that they should have."

Now, he suggests, is when an organization should "renew itself". The focus has shifted to "talent optimization -- you are really trying to separate the `stars' from the also-rans".

"You want to make sure the company is upgrading skills and capabilities, and be ready for the forecasted upswing."

He said he agreed "conceptually, though not necessarily with the number" with the philosophy of former GE chief Jack Welch, who said firms had to cut their 10% worst-performing employees in order to stay competitive.

"Unless you keep raising the bar on yourself and your organization, your competition will catch you, and you will not be the leading provider," he said.

Changed expectations

Bentley says HR and employee-employer expectations have changed a lot in the last five years. Now he practises what he calls a modular, "plug and play" approach, tailoring packages to suit particular staff at a particular stage in their life and career.