A lesson in leadership at NestléBangladesh

Next Step visited the offices of NestléBangladesh and met with the Head of its Human Resources function – Akhteruddin Mahmood, to have a chat. Chances are you are having a cup of Nescafé as you are reading this - that is how big of a company Nestlé is worldwide and managing the HR department in such a large company is no mean feat. But with ten years of experience at BAT behind him, Mr. Mahmood was more than willing to share his insights and his expertise with me and the readers of Next Step.

What do you think is the main role of HR in any corporation?
"The most important role of HR is the finding and grooming of leaders. Leaders are made and it is beneficial to the success of the company in the long term if we give primacy to succession planning. A company is a lot like a family and just as in a family, we have to consider who will carry the torch when our time on earth is over. In Nestlé, we focus on creating leaders - people who are capable of taking our jobs when we move on. Our job is to ensure that the right people receive the right training and the right opportunities to develop themselves into the best they can be.

What do you mean by the right people?
The right person isn't so easily defined. It is a combination of things, which together is greater than the sum of its parts. We get applications from many candidates and we separate them using a multi-step process. What we are looking for is a combination of aptitude and attitude. By aptitude I am referring to your body of knowledge - what you can do and how you can do. But what is equally as important is your attitude. Are you a team player? Do you have the right kind of mindset? Are you willing to push yourself? Can you influence others and lead? These are the kind of questions we try to answer whenever we are selecting candidates.

Could you elaborate about your process?
We have five steps in our process. First we sort through the multitude of CVs that we receive. We look for things like your internships and experience. We look at your CGPA and no, it doesn't necessarily mean that the higher CGPA the better. We look for CGPAs above 3. After that we take a test and whittle down the candidates further. We take a competence-based interview and if you pass that, we send you to the assessment center. We test out our candidates in a variety of ways - group discussions, presentations, roleplaying, etc. and after that, we have the final interview.

How do you maintain high performance standards at Nestlé?
We standardize performance management here at Nestlé. At the beginning of the year we give each of our employees a list of objectives and deliverables. We give them specific guidelines and their performance is evaluated on how well they are completing those objectives. We look at what is being done and how it is being done. The how is as important as the what. Performances are evaluated in a nine-box model. At the end of six months we notify each employee of their current status and how they are doing at meeting their goals. And finally we have performance calibration meetings. In effect, we raise the benchmark for all employee performance evaluation if we see a lot of people doing well. In this way we can continue to grow and to challenge ourselves to become better.

What do you see as a problem in the Bangladeshi corporate culture?
One of the main problems is that we are not creating enough leaders. We have to ensure that companies seek to nurture and develop potential in their leaders. In recent years, we have seen some of the leaders in MNCs are from Bangladesh. We have to take advantage of this. We have to expose our talented minds to the richness and experience, which can be earned from outside companies, and only then will we function at the highest possible level. Instead of filling positions with outside help, we can fill it with local talent. We have seen members of other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) rise to become CEOs of major MNCs. Why not us?

Finally what advice do you have for professionals entering the job market?
Well what I can say is this. What the industry needs and what the country needs are leaders. People who are not afraid to break the mold and challenge the status quo. Don't just settle for the average life or what everyone else is doing. That is not the right thing to do. Don't settle for small dreams - go for the big ones. Those are the ones that matter.
Also remember that just because you have gotten a job offer somewhere, it doesn't mean that you have earned anything. Don't pat yourself on the back just yet. You have to perform consistently and you have to perform highly if you don't want your career to stagnate.
But you must also be careful. If you run too fast too long, you are likely to burn out and not be able to work at all. So you must steady yourself. Corporate life, or rather life in general, is a marathon, not a sprint. Know your limits, try to push them, but do not break them. A lot of people set low goals because they are afraid of challenging themselves. Do not be that kind of person. Dream bigger - for yourself, your family, your company and your country.