Working out the Kinks with your Thai Staff – a Thai perspective

How many times have you been to a restaurant and heard someone utter the words, “My Thai staff are so incompetent!” followed by a long sigh? It’s happened to me over a dozen times in a dozen different restaurants while in Thailand. It’s very true that the Thai staff have a different and sometimes strange way of thinking when it comes to working under an expat. I myself being what is referred to as a lookkrueng, or a child of two halves understand where both parties are coming from. This is what both Thai’s and their expat superiors need to see, the view of both sides.

From the Thai side, they see expats as people who are generally very professional and willing to understand the divide in the two cultures. However there are some pointers that Thai staff generally would like to give to new expats. Firstly, when working with your Thai staff, it is important not underestimate their ability. Many times there have been situations where expats have been transferred to be the head or support of the business activities and think that they know everything after only being here for a short period of time.

Another thing that Thais would like to point out to expats is that they have been brought up a different way than their expat counter parts. It is not usual for the education system to encourage questioning superiors in Thailand. As a result this often leads to misunderstandings because Thai staff are too shy to ask for clarification. It is the responsibility for the expat to ask if the Thai staff understand (usually repeating the instructions work best). Lastly, along with the Thai mentality of not questioning superiors, expats needs to lead the staff in their work and stay close and aware of what they are doing so that the staff are never wondering what their next task is. But leading them is not enough, because they don’t tend to speak out (even if they know something is very wrong!), it is suggested that the boss ask for input from the Thai staff.

It often seems that the Thai staff are never at fault, and that the expat just needs to get a grasp on how the Thai working mentality functions, however this is far from the case. After listening to Thais I have realized that many do admit in their faults. It is common for them to realize that their punctuality is less than perfect and that blaming lateness on traffic jams can only get you so far. Thais do admit that their professionalism is not up to that of their foreign counter parts and that they need to change their “play first and do work” attitude.

In conclusion to get the most out of your Thai staff, it is suggested that more communication is needed and that if you accept these basic observations, things between you and your Thai staff should go more smoothly. Understanding both sides of the coin provides opportunities for expats to create working environments that can counter the above problems.

Written by Ben Henderson

Edited by Stuart Blott, General Manager, Sutlet Group

Appraising staff in Thailand

Appraisal is a key HR tool that assists a manager to understand the problems and inefficiencies in an organisation clearly and, ‘from the horse’s mouth’, so to speak! The problem is that it is often carried out as something to get out of the way rather than as an exercise that can add incredible value to organisation-wide planning.

Appraisal is just as important an HR-tool in Thailand, as it is in other countries. Some things you may learn from appraisal:

·         Staff X is underutilized

·         Staff Y does not understand his role

·         Staff Z has an idea that could save the company money/improve service/add value

·         Staff A does not work well with others

·         Staff B does not understand communications from management
And so on…

To carry out an effective appraisal, follow these key steps:

Get organised

As with marketing, sales, operations, you need to devote some proper time to appraisal (planning and the activity / analysis itself), plan the appraisal process carefully and set some objectives for yourself.

Obtain resources

Create / download / purchase an appraisal form that can be edited and is usable for your business. The Thailand HR Suite sells a 360-degree appraisal form, in Thai and English language, for just a few thousand Baht.

Your appraisal form should quantifiable (ratings 1-10), but also provide scope for additional thoughts and information, taking in to account the following:

1.    Staff review of themselves in line with their job description

2.    Staff review of their team/department in line with objectives

3.    Staff review of their superior, with regards communication, support, advice, motivation

This 360 degree approach, when used properly, is very effective.

Prior to the appraisal

Inform your team when they will be completing their appraisal, and what the objectives are. It is especially necessary in Thailand to assure the staff that the information they provide is confidential and that the goal is to improve the company. Honesty is key and this is a chance to show management what you are capable of.

The appraisal itself

Sit down with the employee first and remind them of how to complete the form and that honesty is key. The atmosphere should be relaxed, not overbearing. Provide them with a chance to ask questions and then provide enough time for them to complete the form, and place it inside an envelope (for added confidentiality).

After the appraisal

Set aside time to review the results and look for trends, consistencies, inconsistencies and problems. How you address these findings is important, as it should be as soon after the appraisal as possible to maintain momentum. Call people in for a second talk if required to clarify certain issues, but always be thankful for their feedback.

With a proper process in place, your appraisal will yield interesting and helpful results that can improve your business and motivate your team.

Written by Stuart Blott, CEO, Fusion Business Concepts and General Manager, Sutlet Group

Recruitment in Thailand

An organisation is only as strong as the people within it. As such, recruitment is a key part of your HR operation here in Thailand.

Recruitment in Thailand poses unique problems for the foreign national manager; with language barriers, cultural barriers and lack of knowledge with regards universities and education standards. As such, any recruitment exercise undertaken should be planned carefully and should involve the following:

Undertake a comprehensive HR plan for the upcoming year. What are your current staffing levels, how do you expect to grow in the coming year, what skills are you lacking, which skills can you train and which do you need to recruit for? An HR plan will provide you with the basis for determining your recruitment needs.

Develop your recruitment plan. Every position you recruit for should have its own specific job description and this, in turn, should be based on selection criteria that takes in to account the key functions of the position and your industry.

The actual recruitment of employees can be done in a variety of ways. There are a number of larger recruitment firms in Thailand who will recruit employees for you and charge fees based on the number of applicants you wish to see on the shortlist, the level of the position and other factors. Whilst this may be useful when recruiting a a more Senior Manager, it may not be cost effective when recruiting middle managers and administrative team members.

The most common way to recruit employees is to utilise online job advertisement websites, such as:

JobsDB.com: Ideal for recruiting middle and senior-level staff

Jobbees.com and Jobtopgun.com – ideal for recruiting lower and middle-level staff

The above job websites offer excellent rates when advertising multiple positions simultaneously, costing as little as Baht 2,000/position. Contact them and ask for their latest promotional rates.

Job boards such as http://www.pantipmarket.com/job/ provide a good opportunity to recruit part time staff and/or lower level staff.

The problem with posting job advertisements online is that because these systems are so user friendly, applicants can literally apply for anything they search for with the click of a button. This results in your inbox being filled with applications that sometimes are completely irrelevant to your advertisement or from applicants who have not really read the job description and who are therefore unsuitable for the position. To minimise these problems:

• Really think about the position you want to fill. If you manage a small business, you may find it necessary, and cost-effective, to combine responsibilities from several roles in to one i.e. HR / Office Manager, Marketing / Customer Service Manager, Accounting / Finance Manager.
• Determine what attributes and skills are most important for you, and write the job description keeping these in mind. Focus on job skills and attitude, and try not to be too demanding when it comes to skills that you can easily teach or train.
• If you are advertising a position that requires good English skills, post the job in English only and ignore any resumes that arrive in Thai language.
• If there are specific skills that are very important, emphasis these immediately in your posting. You want to discourage applicants who do not meet your minimum requirements.
• If you are recruiting on a budget, list the salary prominently, but refer to the engaging corporate culture and opportunities for advancement

The other benefit to using job websites are that most packages will allow you to then search their database of candidates via a simple login. You can then submit requests to people if you wish to see their resume; this can be useful when building a database of prospective candidates for current or future positions.

University recruitment – if you require low cost/entry level employees with a degree, approach a university. Often they will allow you to post a notice about an internship or full time position if it is suitable for their students.

Conclusion

Recruitment is key to the success of your business in Thailand, but so is the ongoing management of your team. This will be addressed in subsequent articles.

Written by Stuart Blott, General Manager of the Sutlet Group and Owner of Fusion Business Concepts, an HR-service provider in Thailand specialising in HR planning and team development.

ARCI matrix's - defining roles in your organisation

Often, even for small businesses, poor communication, blurry lines of responsibility and a lack of accountability pose serious problems for organisations.

The answer is a simple tool known as an ARCI matrix. The matrix will provide a clear road-map for any process it is applied to, outlining (for every element within an activitiy, project or process):

• Who is accountable for the task - ultimate accountability lies with just one person
• Who is responsible for the task - the person or group who undertakes the work itself
• Who needs to be consulted on each task - for information or knowledge
• Who needs to be informed on the progress of each task - kept in the loop

At any one time in the process or project it is clear who is doing what, thus eliminating those blurry lines of responsibility and accountability and ensuring that the job is complete.

The role of any individual or group will change throughout the course of a process or activity, and for especially complicated projects it is crucial to learn when a particular process reaches a milestone where the accountability switches to someone else.

For more information on ARCI matrix's, contact Fusion Business Concepts, a Member of the Sutlet Group. Fusion provide HR consulting and planning services for businesses in Thailand.

Finding the best Thai staff for your SME

As an SME, the quality of your team is important to your future success, especially if you are employing just 4-10 local employees. There are different skills and attributes that are important compared to those you may look for in other countries.

Here are some hints to ensure that you always (or almost always!) employ the best Thai employees.

1. Make sure you know exactly what you NEED as an SME, not only what you WANT. You may meet a superb potential Marketing Manager and feel tempted to veer from your HR plan to recruit them, but if you need a Sales Manager right now, focus on that.

2. Understand the skills that are most important to you, especially the ones that you don't think you can teach yourself. Add these to your own selection criteria for the positions you are recruiting for.

*Note recruitment process itself will be addresses in another article.

3. When interviewing applicants keep the following in mind:

a) Experience with other SME's and an understanding that SME's don't necessarily have the same formal processes and limited job descriptions of a larger organisation.

b) Applicants from wealthy Thai families tend to have higher opinions of their abilities than they perhaps should. Combined with a sense of 'entitlement' means that often these employees leave very quickly if the novelty of office work is not what they hoped.

c) Long term plans - always ask what your applicants plan is 2-3 years from now. Be wary of answers that involve further education overseas, as these applicants tend to have applied for courses already and may leave you at the last minute if you hire them.

Also be wary of those who say their longer term ambition is to work in a position completely different to the one you are interviewing for! This means they are applying to work with you as a stop-gap.

d) Ego - there are Thai applicants who will heavily emphasise contacts in local government or military. While this may be beneficial, it may also not be what you are looking for in an applicant. Think carefully. You want someone who recognises that they have things to learn!

e) Ask applicants to provide references to their previous superiors and ask them in advance "what would this person say about you in I called them now?". Make sure you have a Thai-National to call their reference, so you are not limited by the language barrier.

f) Be wary of the 'jumper' who has worked for 4 companies in 4 years - really understand the reasons they left each job and check this with their references.

g) Focus on attitude and a willingness to learn - skills you can teach; attitude is what you are looking for in Thailand. Especially those that are willing to grow WITH your small business. This is especially true with applicants who have worked in larger Thai-orientated companies (see below)

h) Understanding of the differences between Thai-style management and Foreign-management skills. Thai structures tend to discourage questioning, problem solving, creativity, accountability - all things you WANT to encourage at your SME.

Following these guidelines will help you screen applicants and to find the best possible Thai staff for your SME. Good luck.

Written by Stuart Blott, General Manager, Sutlet Group and CEO of Fusion Business Concepts

Fusion Business Concepts is a Member of the Sutlet Group and provides HR planning, recruitment, training and HR templates for small businesses in Thailand.


Sutlet Group is a leading provider of business solutions in Thailand, including accounting, visa and work permit management, HR and marketing services.

Labour Law in Thailand

Obtaining a good understanding of Labour Law in Thailand is important when managing a business. There are hundreds of examples of small businesses that have had trouble with employees and ex employees simply because they did not understand or adhere to Labour Law requirements.

Here are some of the more basic parts of the Labour Law that all business owners and managers in Thailand should understand, and are based primarily on the Labour Relations Act 1975 and the Labour Protection Act 1998.

Firstly, you need 4 Thai staff earning minimum salary in order to obtain a work permit.

Social welfare
All staff salaries are deducted 5% (up to Baht 750/month) for the purpose of social welfare. This then provides basic medical benefits for employees at selected hospitals.

Documents
Any organisation with more than 6 Thai staff needs to provide employment contracts, rules and regulations and also to put public holidays and an organisation structure on a public notice board. Procedures for utilising leave days should also be posted.

Probation
All employees are subject to a 3 month probation period, during which they can be terminated at any time without severance being due. This 3 month period can be extended by 30 days, but this must be notified in writing. Upon passing or failing probation, you must notify an employee in writing.

Termination
An employee contract can be terminated for any of the following reasons:

1. Resignation by giving appropriate notice – a minimum of 30 days notice is required for full time staff (although this may be longer if outlined in the Employee’s Contract i.e. for senior management position, but does not need to be more than 90 days), and resignation must be via written notice. Resignation by email, telephone or SMS will not be considered formal resignation.
2. Dismissal for misconduct / negligence resulting in damage to the organisation.
3. Death
4. Termination as per the terms and conditions outlined in the employment contract, specific to each employee and position.
5. Physical or mental disability as examined and certified by the Organisation’s doctor.
6. Retirement at the age of fifty five, subject to a review by at the sole discretion of the Organisation.
7. Provision of false or misleading information on the employee application or in any document / form submitted by the employee to the Organisation.
8. Termination due to organisation re-structure / budgetary issues, or for the introduction of machinery that reduces the need for human labour.
9. Imprisonment of the employee

Severance must be paid to terminated employees as follows:
1. An employee who has completed 90-120-days of service (probation) but less than a year is entitled to severance pay equivalent to thirty-days of current wage/basic only.
2. An employee who has completed one-year of service but less than three years is entitled to severance pay equivalent to ninety-days of current wage/basic only.
3. An employee who has completed three-years of service but less than six years is entitled to severance pay equivalent to one hundred eighty-days of current wage/basic only.
4. An employee who has completed six-years of service but less than ten years is entitled to severance pay equivalent to two hundred forty-days of current wage basic salary only.
5. An employee who has completed ten-years of service is entitled to severance pay equivalent to three hundred-days of current wage/basic salary only.
6. If the organisation undertakes a relocation of their work location, the employee has the right to refuse assignment at the new location and claim 50% of the customary severance for not-for-cause dismissal. The organisation must also provide 30 days written notice of the impending move.

NO severance will be due to an employee if they have been terminated for the reasons below:
1. Committing an intentional criminal offense against the Organisation.
2. Willful damage to the Organisation – equipment, relationships, business or brand.
3. Serious damage caused to the Organisation because of his negligence and carelessness.
4. Violation of professional rules and regulations or the legal and reasonable orders of the Organisation in spite of written warning given to him/her (with the exception of a very serious damage caused, the Organisation has no need to give a warning). All written warnings will remain on record and in effect not longer than one year from the date of violation, and can be removed sooner in accordance with the performance of the recipient.
5. Unreasonable failure to report for duty to the appropriate senior manager / supervisor as assigned for three consecutive days not including public holidays or days-off.
6. Criminal conviction and receiving final judgment for imprisonment with the exception negligence and misdemeanor.

Working hours and leave
Employees may not be asked to work longer than 48 hours per week, and 6 days per week, or less for jobs defined as dangerous. Working restrictions also exist for pregnant employees.

A wife variety of leave days can be utilised by employees in Thailand, including up to 30 days per year for medical leave. If an employee takes 3 days or more consecutively for medical leave, you may ask to ass a doctors certificate. Additionally, employees are permitted personal leave to handle government issues, and a minimum of 6 days per year annual leave once they have completed a year of employment. Other sources of leave are also permitted relating to monkhood, military service and others.

Additionally, a  minimum of 13 public holidays per year must be granted to employees, selected from the standard list.

Conclusion
All managers and owners are encouraged to learn about Thailand Labour Law, and to incorporate strict HR practices at their organisation. A good source of this structure is the Thailand HR Suite, who provide HR templates for businesses in Thailand.

Written by Stuart Blott, General Manager, Fusion Business Concepts - Member of the Sutlet Group

Cost effective ways to run your HR function Thailand

Whilst many may view Thailand as a low cost country when it comes to HR, the reality is that it is all relative. Yes, staff wages here are much lower than western countries, but as an SME we often earn revenues that are lower than our western counterparts. As such, the need to run an efficient HR department/function is just as important here in Thailand as in other countries. We’ll focus our attention on recruitment, systems and retention.

Recruitment

Utilising the large recruitment firms in Thailand is an expensive endeavour and primarily designed for the larger organisations here. As such, as an SME, the best option for recruitment is to utilise the plethora of online recruitment tools available in Thailand; this is by far the easiest and most cost effective manner in which to obtain applications. But which online tools are the best, and how should they be utilised to achieve the best possible results?

JobsDB.com: Ideal for recruiting middle and senior-level staff

Jobbees.com and Jobtopgun.com – ideal for recruiting lower and middle-level staff

The above job websites offer excellent rates when advertising multiple positions simultaneously, costing as little as Baht 2,000/position. Contact them and ask for their latest promotional rates.

Job boards such as http://www.pantipmarket.com/job/ provide a good opportunity to recruit part time staff and/or lower level staff.

The problem with posting job advertisements online is that because these systems are so user friendly, applicants can literally apply for anything they search for with the click of a button. This results in your inbox being filled with applications that sometimes are completely irrelevant to your advertisement or from applicants who have not really read the job description and who are therefore unsuitable for the position. To minimise these problems:

• Really think about the position you want to fill. As a small business, you may find it necessary, and cost-effective, to combine responsibilities from several roles in to one i.e. HR / Office Manager, Marketing / Customer Service Manager, Accounting / Finance Manager.
• Determine what attributes and skills are most important for you, and write the job description keeping these in mind. Focus on job skills and attitude, and try not to be too demanding when it comes to skills that you can easily teach or train.
• If you are advertising a position that requires good English skills, post the job in English only and ignore any resumes that arrive in Thai.
• If there are specific skills that are very important, emphasis these immediately in your posting. You want to discourage applicants who do not meet your minimum requirements.
• If you are recruiting on a budget, list the salary prominently, but refer to the engaging corporate culture and opportunities for growth (discussed below).
• Refer to your employee benefit program and opportunities for growth (see below)

The other benefit to using job websites are that most packages will allow you to then search their database of candidates via a simple login. You can then submit requests to people if you wish to see their resume; this can be useful when building a database of prospective candidates for current or future positions.

University recruitment – if you require low cost/entry level employees with a degree, approach a university. Often they will allow you to post a notice about an internship or full time position if it is suitable for their students.

Internal HR systems

There are various ways to ensure your organisation is more cost effective when it comes to HR, and they are all related to maximizing the efficiency of your employees and your systems.

Inefficient systems cost you money. Whilst it is not as obvious as other costs, having your staff working at 60% capacity means that you are wasting 40 % of your wage bill. Now, that seems like something that needs to be addressed! So, what can be done:

• Get involved: Review your team roles, job descriptions and daily activities, Begin daily morning meetings where teams explain what they are doing that particular day. Your involvement as the owner/senior manager will begin the process of improving efficiency.
• Get organised: Launch employee rules and regulations, contracts, IT policies, time sheets, job sheets and others to confirm job roles and provide monitoring tools. All these dual language templates, and more, can be purchased from the Thailand HR Suite.
• Demand accountability: Begin formal appraisals, ask for weekly and monthly reports, ensure that progress is monitored and communicated. Your goal is to ensure that when staff are given a task they KNOW that you’ll be asking about it when it is due, not that it can be forgotten.
• Launch a warning system: Employees should know that if they break the newly established rules or are underperforming, there are consequences. This should take the form of a simple warning process whereby you following these steps when an employee; formal verbal warning, formal written warning, second formal written warning, dismissal. Warnings should be recorded in employee files and stored for 12 months maximum. Warnings should be clear and steps to improve performance should be presented clearly, and signed by the employee. As an added benefit, dismissal in this way will reduce the chances of having to pay severance. 

Retention and benefits

Retention is a key issue for SME’s in Thailand. Preventing that top sales person from defecting to a bigger, multinational competitor is a tough task, but not an impossible one. How can an SME on a budget provide employees with suitable benefits, with the goal of retaining their top team members?

• Launch an employee benefits program: your team need to know that they mean something to the organisation. This can be done cost effectively. Key is to improve benefits as employees are promoted, and in line with their time at the organisation.
• Be creative with your benefits program: you don’t need top of the line health care, pension plans and champagne at staff birthday parties. Here are the types of benefits you should be offering:

1. Company pays for lunch on Friday
2. Everyone leaves work early on Friday
3. All staff birthdays include a card signed by all employees, and cake
4. Staff trips are organised every year – remember, in Thailand this does not have to cost a fortune. A couple of minibuses, a trip to a waterfall or beach, lunch and some dinner can easily be done by under Baht 700/person with a little bit of planning.
5. Basic annual bonus plan: equivalent of 3% of monthly salary goes in to a savings account and is paid as a bonus at the end of the year.
6. Pay mobile expenses for employees that need it for business purposes
7. Provide basic health insurance for middle/senior staff; basic plans from AIA start from just Baht 2,500/year/person.
8. Launch employee of the month and employee of the year awards – be creative with what these might be. For employee of the year, Baht 5,000 cash is great, but a return flight to Chiang Mai, free hotel night and some spending money is much more exciting
9. Make staff loans available at fair interest rates
10. Get yourself on training company email lists and look out for cost effective programs –send your staff on training where required. Some government sponsored courses can be as cheap as Baht 3,000 for 4 days! This is valuable for your employees AND for your organisation as these new skills are applied to operations.
11. Increase annual leave over time as employees are with you longer.
12. Have sit down meetings with employees to discuss potential growth within the organisation, and your expectations of them before they can achieve this.

• Follow through with your benefit program and budget accordingly. Don’t miss an employee of the month award! Do not forget staff bonuses or a staff trip! Your commitment to the program will sell it as much as the 12 items above; it must be something you do willingly and gladly, not begrudgingly.

Conclusion

It is entirely possible in Thailand to cost-effectively recruit, manage and retain excellent teams and HR systems. Taking a little more time, and being a little creative, will save you money and result in a more productive and efficient team. 

Written by Stuart Blott, General Manager, Sutlet Group Co., Ltd