Struggling with Thai staff

[Maha Sarakham]

After my wife came to the US, she was surprised that people were so busy at work here.  As in, they actually had to work.  While she personally likes to stay busy, many in Thailand just want to sit on their phone and don't want to do anything.  That's why you see so many people working in places like HomePro.  The preference to just stand around all day in A/C with no sun is far preferred over farm labor that will make the skin dark and involve having to actually do something.

[MarleyMarl]

I've hired (and fired) many Thai staff for my business, though we are only small and retain around 10-12 or so at anyone point, so it's not too difficult to manage. Along the way I've worked with some great Thai people and of course not so great. The ones who are unreliable and incompetent don't last long, that being said in a 12 year period there's only been about 4 of 5 that have been egregiously bad. 

 

The staff that have worked out the best have a very good understanding of English and typically have master degrees or working towards masters. Maybe aim at hiring on that level. Do you have any bonus/performance incentives also? I find this helps too. We also interview several people for a role and don't just grab the first one who applies.

 

We have had our share of troubles along the way, when recruiting people, it's not uncommon to schedule several meetings and have only a couple show up. There is no courteous call saying they're canceling.

 

Another problem is the high turn over of staff, most of our staff last 1 - 2 years, it's the same for our clients also. I think this is a problem with recent graduates, in the end they often move on to another company that is much stricter and find it tough. With such short tenure they don't have a chance to grow and earn more, my staff that have worked for me for  a long time make good money.

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by MarleyMarl
added some more info

[watboy]

What sort of business you are in and how much are you paying? Many of the talent coming out of university want an established name employer as their first job on their CV, and pay has been getting competitive for experienced candidates. I've never had a problem finding plenty of excellent talent that could fit in any corporate environment NYC or London. The bulk of my fresh grad hires are from Chula/Thammast, and have never had a problem, but have also found excellent people at other universities. But I work for a big name and thanks to all the tech giants around hoovering up talent (Grab, Shopee, Lazada...), the compensation figures have grown rapidly to stay competitive. I pay kids out of Uni 45k/month starting salary and that doubles in 5 years. Middle managers with 10 years experience make 2-300k, these are 1.5 - 2x what I was paying 5-6 years ago. Its also very important the work culture and the social bonds, the Roon Pi's / big brothers and sisters. Once I established my core team, recruiting was primarily referrals through their social networks.

 

I know not every job can pay at this level, but that ambitious, self starter with critical thinking skills who doesn't need to be micromanaged? He/She isn't a mythological creature, there are many of them, but they have lots of options. You either have to attract them or deal with managing the talent you can afford. I don't think its helpful to have broad sweeping negative generalizations. HR is always one of the challenges in managing a business. Millenials/GenZ world wide have proven to be new HR challenges. When we remodeled our offices, I gave up my corner view and now have a windowless room, smaller than before, so that the whole floor and common areas can have a view and sunlight. When I was younger, I worked hard to please my bosses, now that I'm the boss, I have to work hard to please my staff.

[cocoonclub]

Have your recruiter screen for those who graduated from Chula or Thammasat and who studied abroad. In addition to interviews, let them do aptitude tests and let them work on real life case studies in small teams. Have the right compensation and benefits in place (salary, bonus, provident fund, health insurance, career opportunities, brand to show off,…).

 

PS: And since you mentioned you don’t have clear JDs, go revisit those HR basics. This really is a basic so maybe there are more of those. How’s your recruiting and interviewing process? How is the onboarding and training? Is there a mentoring or coaching model? What’s the performance management system? Etc. 

Edited September 5, 2021 by cocoonclub

[whaleboneman]

16 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"...put staff on a ’trail system’ "[sic]

You mean trekking or hiking expeditions?

Obviously he meant a "trial system". I'm sure most here figured that out.

[thaibeachlovers]

If I learned anything from this thread it's that I'm really really happy I never tried to work in LOS.

 

Several posts saying only hire those with uni degrees, but I'm always minded by a successful well known NZ businessman ( from many decades ago ) that refused to hire anyone with a degree, as people that learned on the job were far superior in his opinion. Perhaps that's different in LOS.

[brianthainess]

Totally un-pc but don't hire Thai Buddhists. Most other religion's have a good work ethic, for example Muslims, Christians, Hindus.   Sad but true.

[Liverpool Lou]

5 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

22 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"...put staff on a ’trail system’ "[sic]

You mean trekking or hiking expeditions?

Obviously he meant a "trial system". I'm sure most here figured that out.

Obviously, I knew that (see the "sic"?), I'm sure most here figured that out.  Maybe you should try to figure out the significance of "sic".

Edited September 6, 2021 by Liverpool Lou

[Sticky Rice Balls]

On 9/3/2021 at 11:37 PM, WEBBYB808 said:

Remember  in Asian culture it is the age that dictates knowledge and seniority  just like tribalism around the globe.  This is not something that is switched  off snd on just because  of work environment.   You should make a procedural book for each position  and task with the foresight to handle situations.   I have seen this at some businesses here and in many Western  businesses  and military a book for each position.  Many lack ambition  around the globe.  Many need to be shown they way.  School and university only prove that one can be shown the way and follow directions.   Many just want a great salary that comes from following  directions.   Lets for example take one of the simplest positions in a restaurant.  Let's say wait staff.  In the west wait staff have many responsibilities other than just bringing food and drinks from the kitchen.   Like keeping condiments fresh, keeping floors clean, keeping restaurant  clean, continually  checking on customers. preping certain foods, etc.  Western wait staff are always busy at work and not sitting around on their phones if business  is slow.  Here,   I see very little work from wait staff other than setting food.  One must often shout out that they need another beverage, as the staffs on their phone and improperly trained.  Dirty windows, dity this and that.  And hygiene.   I watch them pick their nose, toes, or snezze in their hsnds without  washing and serve the next customers.   They just have no training or skills here.  Even college grads.  You must plan every position  and have contingency.   Use black binder books with step by step for each position  describing  in detail

I was a Chef in LOS---dont get me started on hygiene and food safety...I gave up after 5 months

[cocoonclub]

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Several posts saying only hire those with uni degrees, but I'm always minded by a successful well known NZ businessman ( from many decades ago ) that refused to hire anyone with a degree, as people that learned on the job were far superior in his opinion. Perhaps that's different in LOS.

If I’m one of those several posts, note that I wrote “screen for”, not “exclusively only hire”. I don’t mind hiring good people from other unis, and we do so. 
 

The issue is that many candidates from other unis already fail at our English requirements (we require actual business fluency; many of our employees speak close to native fluency, some better than non-native English speaking westerners like me, with strong British or US accents rather than the Tinglish you may hear often) so often it’s just more efficient to remove those first from the pile even if that means losing the odd diamond in the rough. 
 

This is for fresh grads. Experienced hires are a different story, of course. 
 

And note we are talking big brand name corporate here. I appreciate the fact that our hiring criteria may not work for many SME who neither need perfect English nor have the means to afford it. The market for talent is highly competitive in Thailand and people know that. With the e-commerce players having arrived, there’s also much more money in the market now. Many people are getting poached by the likes of Shopee that offer big salaries and the cool tech vibe. 
 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by cocoonclub

[lkn]

On 9/5/2021 at 4:32 PM, Maha Sarakham said:

many in Thailand just want to sit on their phone and don't want to do anything

My girlfriend flew Frankfurt → Phuket to do the 14 day sandbox.

 

The plane continued to Bangkok, where passangers continuing would have to do quarantine (unable to leave your room).

 

My girlfriend did the quarantine last year, it was terrible, like solitary confinement, so she was rather surprised when some of the other passagers, that continued to Bangkok, told her, that they had done it before, and had no reservations about doing it again: “You just eat and sleep whenever you want for 14 days, what is there not to like?”

 

[Neeranam]

On 9/4/2021 at 10:20 AM, Farmer007 said:

Where do other foreign employers find the Thais with a more universal western work ethic...or is this like finding a needle in a haystack?

Look at international universities like ABAC.  

 Be prepared to pay more. 

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, lkn said:

My girlfriend flew Frankfurt → Phuket to do the 14 day sandbox.

 

The plane continued to Bangkok, where passangers continuing would have to do quarantine (unable to leave your room).

 

My girlfriend did the quarantine last year, it was terrible, like solitary confinement, so she was rather surprised when some of the other passagers, that continued to Bangkok, told her, that they had done it before, and had no reservations about doing it again: “You just eat and sleep whenever you want for 14 days, what is there not to like?”

 

Great opportunity to read all those books that you never had time for.

[KannikaP]

On 9/5/2021 at 1:02 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

"...put staff on a ’trail system’ "[sic]

You mean trekking or hiking expeditions?

Well, at least for 50m!