At this Chinese co, performance management is a daily process

Even though China has generated tremendous interest among the business community at large, little is known about China Inc’s way of managing people. And how are companies from Mainland China are bringing some order in their subsidiaries in India.

Chinese home appliances major, Haier Electronics’ HR head, Sandeep Tyagi, answers a volley of questions. He speaks on the company’s retention policies, the Sino-Indian cultural fits, the changing dynamics of organisational behaviour in a glocalised setup, and more:

What is it like managing people the Chinese way? What kind of training opportunities does Haier offers for Indian employees?

HR policy at Haier has picked up cues from the Indian work environment and adapts the industry best practices. The Group believes doing business in different countries, the local way. However, focus is provided on creating differentiation with a clear vision of where it wants the business to be.

The group wants to stand apart — it doesn’t hire “typical” Chinese, Americans or Indians. We hire people whose values are consistent with the management philosophy and aligned with its business strategy.

Employees from the world over (including from India) are exposed to Haier’s management practices at Haier headquarters and go through development programmes at Haier International Learning Centre.

What are some of the best HR practices that Haier follows? How much of China figures in them?

Foundation of Haier’s people strategy is rigorous performance management, where employees are ranked daily on results, monthly on performance and quarterly on potential.

The system is fully transparent. Haier's performance management is linked to employee rewards and development and the same is being followed in India as well. Career progression in Haier is based on performance and internal competition.

The Haier India Newsletter is published every month for internal circulation, to share significant achievements and new developments with employees. The purpose is to have a common bonding of the team and share experiences.

Haier has never highlighted its Chinese lineage while positioning itself in the market. How has that helped attract the best talent in the trade?

Haier is a global company, with Chinese lineage, which we have never tried to hide. We have presence across the globe with prominent position in several developed markets as well. Haier has been very successful in attracting best of the talent in India from consumer durables & electronics Industry, which has been driven primarily by its strength and positioning in the world market.

In the recent past, the consumer electronics space has seen high attrition levels. How is Haier coping with the exodus?

Retaining the talent is a challenge we face, as also faced by other companies. However, we believe that by offering our team a very conducive environment, with an open culture provides a pleasurable working experience. That would perhaps act as a deterrent for our people to consider other career options outside Haier.

Haier has attrition levels much lower than the competitors in the industry, which is primarily due to employee motivation through engagement and encouragement, including attractive incentive schemes directly linked to performance. MBO or KRAs are defined for each employee who is ranked every month based on their performance. The top performers are rewarded through individual and group rewards.

While China is known for its manufacturing prowess, how will a company like Haier build other skills like marketing and after sales service?

While China is very strong in manufacturing, Haier is strong in all gamut of business areas like after sales service, logistics, sales as well as in marketing, and that is the reason that Haier is the No1 brand in China in our industry.

We have also reached a prominent position in the global market in a short span of 22 years, which has been possible due to clear policies and strategies from the top management and we wish to replicate the same success story in India as well.