Employees

[theb100]

to get good staff??... i know quite a few people now around the bangkok area but still to get a great person seems impossible

its been hard finding the person and who can be trusted

i think when you can talk fluent thai this opens up many doors... for me i have always relying on other people for language help etc translators

just want to know how is a good way to get good staff..

has anyone had any problems before?? or any good experiences with the people??

please share some info with me i am interested to see how other people have been getting on??

how did you go about finding these people??

thanks

[raro]

we grew from 2 employees a year ago to now 7.

I must say, we are very lucky with our team and the spirit, professionalism and friendship is outstanding.

Some advise:

• We do pay a bit above average. So we can chose our staff better.
• We have FUN at work. I try my best to motivate my staff by all means...this can be the "well don!" e-mail back to someone, cc to the rest of the staff, this can be silly nonsense talk (I'm good at that...) joking about whatever the situation brings, this can be my rants about Thai politics, administration ets, this can be the Monday morning meetings where we discuss whatever is coming up in the week ahead...team spirit is the most important
• Common activities, staff dinners, invite them over to a BBQ etc..
• Have regular 1:1 meetings with the staff, listen to their problems at work and in private life, give adivse. Guide them also towards more productivity, plan together with them what the next steps in their role in the company are.
• Show your staff how to grow within the company, what is in for them in the future.
• Do not cram too many people into one room, give them space. The price difference between a small and a large desk is not that much and pays out in the end! Also have several rooms rather than one big one with cubicles.

We do a lot of things together also after work. This can involve me, or they plan their own night-outs in karaokes, discos, whatever.

ALL of my staff testifies regulalry that they enjoy coming to work, ennjoy the comradeship and working environment.

[raro]

oh...and all my staff is fluent in English. No english = no job in our company.

[jdinasia]

we grew from 2 employees a year ago to now 7.

I must say, we are very lucky with our team and the spirit, professionalism and friendship is outstanding.

Some advise:

• We do pay a bit above average. So we can chose our staff better.
• We have FUN at work. I try my best to motivate my staff by all means...this can be the "well don!" e-mail back to someone, cc to the rest of the staff, this can be silly nonsense talk (I'm good at that...) joking about whatever the situation brings, this can be my rants about Thai politics, administration ets, this can be the Monday morning meetings where we discuss whatever is coming up in the week ahead...team spirit is the most important
• Common activities, staff dinners, invite them over to a BBQ etc..
• Have regular 1:1 meetings with the staff, listen to their problems at work and in private life, give adivse. Guide them also towards more productivity, plan together with them what the next steps in their role in the company are.
• Show your staff how to grow within the company, what is in for them in the future.
• Do not cram too many people into one room, give them space. The price difference between a small and a large desk is not that much and pays out in the end! Also have several rooms rather than one big one with cubicles.

We do a lot of things together also after work. This can involve me, or they plan their own night-outs in karaokes, discos, whatever.

ALL of my staff testifies regulalry that they enjoy coming to work, ennjoy the comradeship and working environment.

We use many of the same techniques as well as being liberal with allowing time off. This has decreased sick days being used etc. We also pay productivity bonuses (not large but certainly appreciated. We offer scholarship money for continuing education. I do not require my staff to be fluent in English because our market isn't foreign, it is Thai. (To be a foreigner hired above an entry level position I require some fluency in Thai!)

We currently have 12 Thai employees and starting in April that number will double. I have fired one employee in a year (for lack of productivity.)

I have had one other employee leave, but that was due to her husband being transferred,

[raro]

oh yes, we have no fix working hours whatsoever. All staff can come and go as they please. As a result they work longer hours. Believe it or not!

Cannot recall having had an employee on a sick leave either, with the exception of one 2 night hospital stay.

[Valjean]

Very good advice by Raro and jdinasia.

I've started my company 2+ years ago, we're at 16 people now, mostly Thai.

Raro's flexible work schedule has worked well for us. We have a system of make-up days for time off. I refuse to run my business like a kindergarten. I expect people to be responsible, I respect them and they respect me. This has worked well. If you don't fit into this culture, you don't stay.

I've mentioned this on other threads, all things being equal I hire women.

You have to make your work place sanook maak maak. Tonight we decorate the Christmas tree. We have last Friday of the month parties. Go out, have fun. Raro has the list for you. This is essential.

I was frustrated at one point with the no-shows to interviews, or good candidates that didn't accept offers. I knew I was a small start-up so I worked harder to market my company as a great place to work. Doing this has helped a lot getting top talent in http://www.prontomarketing.com/monsoon-communications-job-openings/. I find my people from JobsDB for the most part.

Our clients are outside Thailand. While strong English isn't essential for some jobs, now I require it. And by the way, that's a bonus for many bright young people, they want to improve their English.

I have 3-4 team members interview every candidate. They want to keep the great feeling and teamwork they have today so are very careful about who they want to join the team.

Have fun with your team, treat them with respect, hold your temper and sharp words, set a high bar and you'll do fine.

[raro]

good input, Valjean! When we interview new candidates, it is also not just me who makes the decision, but other team members, too. This ensures that the newcomers fit in the company not only by their professional but also their social skills. We actually rate the social skills higher than professional skills as our business is rather specialized and it would be hard to find one in the open market who would have experience in what we are doing - unless you poach directly from a competitor which I find unethical.

Yet another example:

This Monday, the father of one of our staff passed away. She is actually our latest addition to the team, just two weeks with us. Needless to say, she was totally devastated. I told her that she can go to see her family and sort everything out and take as much time as she wants. Then, Monday afternoon, my staff comes to see me and tells me that THEY decided to go to the funeral and that I have to go, too and yes, it would cost money to the company. Oh well...ok....fine with me. So yesterday, we all drove up to the village, about 4 hours from Pattaya. Company was closed for half a day. I understand now that this was the best possible thing we could do and wold do that again without question if something similar happens again. My staff was overwhelmed that we came out to her village and will resume work tomorrow...

[Valjean]

I'd add on other thing, more about managing and keeping than finding good people. One difference, speaking in generalities, you'll find is from the Thai education and culture your Thai team will work better if you're more directive than you might be with western employees. (I'm speaking as an American.) An American wants more independence to act and make decisions how to approach something - and has been schooled and brought up to be more of an self-directed problem solver. "Go figure it out" might, all things being equal, work much better with an American, or other westerner, than a Thai. In any managing you don't want to put people in a position where they will fail. I've found things work better and, my team and I are less frustrated and stressed with each other, if am more direct and specific about what they should be doing.

[AussieBusinessGuy]

hi all. sorry this is not about this topic but can theb100 please contact me about your bike for sale. i have tryied for an hour to find it somewhere on this site but this is the only way i could contact you thanks max

<snip>

sorry again about not being on this topic