HR Corner Teamwork lies behind IT excellence by Alex Chan Computer engineers require technical expertise and sales skills Some business decisions turn out even better than expected, and when EMC Corp, the global information storage and management company, opted to expand into the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, the prospect of seeing threefold growth within two years might have seemed impossible. Yet they have achieved exactly that and thereby encountered a new set of challenges. Not least of these is how to expand the technical support network at the speed required in order to maintain high standards of reliability and customer satisfaction. In practical terms, the company has already greatly extended customer service coverage by having more computer engineers on location and ready to deal with any technical problems. "However, managing employees who work remotely and are away from the office poses a real organisational challenge," says Paul Mao, EMC's regional service director for the Greater China region. To minimise the problem, a system has been put in place to rotate employees and give them roughly equal time in the office and on location. In addition, the company ensures that all staff receive frequent training and up-to-date information about the latest technology, so that no one misses out. By arranging things this way, each engineer continues to develop on a professional level, gets broader exposure, and can still feel a sense of belonging as an important part of the team. For their mainland operations, the company hires directly and also contracts staff through FESCO, the nationwide agency which helps overseas businesses with recruitment issues. Whatever the case, no distinction is made when it comes to assigning responsibilities and representing the company. "All employees are treated alike because they all represent EMC in front of customers," Mr Mao says. He adds that fairness in such matters has contributed to creating a stronger bond between employees and the company and has led to noticeable improvements in all-round performance standards. Employees should be given the chance to grow vertically as well as horizontally Global opportunities Recognising that IT professionals want the opportunity to test their skills and ingenuity to the full, EMC sees it as a management and human resources priority to keep engineers on their toes. In Mr Mao's experience, this also has an impact on staff retention. "To maintain a loyal and stable team, companies need to provide the right career path and a step by step series of challenges to keep people interested in the job," he says. "Employees should be given the chance to grow vertically as well as horizontally." To make sure computer engineers don't lose interest or get into a rut, they are encouraged to switch job functions and take on new responsibilities. For the more creative types, this could lead, for example, into careers as solutions architects or client support specialists. "In order to find their strengths and interests, we encourage our computer engineers to learn as much as they can about the three distinct fields of technical service, solution design and sales," Mr Mao says . With its global reach, the company can also offer any number of opportunities to gain international experience. To illustrate what is possible, Mr Mao mentions the case of an employee stationed in China who was clearly ready for a change. Rather than risk the loss of a talented member of staff to a rival company, EMC discussed the options with him and reached the joint decision that transferring to a senior-level technical position in Australia would best meet his development needs. Safety net It can also happen that employees reach a certain level of comfort in their current positions and become reluctant to move. They get on well with their colleagues, have developed close relationships with their customers, and have reached a point where they know the job inside out. In such circumstances, they see a move as a risk rather than an opportunity. To make things easier, EMC will suggest a transfer, but also keeps open the possibility of returning to the former position if things are obviously not working out well. Corporate plans for 2006 include continuing to expand the range of products and services. Among these will be a new "carry-on" product which will automatically alert the technical support team if any customer has systems problems. This should make it possible to catch problems well before they escalate to something more serious. Other upcoming projects include the launch of enhanced security services, allowing customers to effect complete data removal from obsolete systems, and the development of private networks. With the introduction of such products, the company expects to expand its resources significantly in 2006, including a double-digit increase in headcount. In particular, there is likely to be consistent demand for technical engineers, management-level recruits with industry experience, and business development professionals. "We are always looking for candidates who have initiative, integrity, are willing to accept change, and want to improve their skills," says Mr Mao. "I follow the philosophy that people should have a vision for their own career development and should look for assignments rather than wait for them to arrive." Salient points Successful expansion into the SME sector Rotation system gives computer engineers roughly equal time in the office and working with clients HR priority to provide clear career path and regular challenge Staff expected to learn about technical service, solution design and sales Taken from Career Times 13 January 2006, p. B16 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]