Q. Please share with us your experiences at KPMG?
A. I joined KPMG in 1989, and the journey so far has been wonderful. We work in partnerships and there is a sense of ownership. The values around teamwork, respect for each other and integrity define the way we work for our clients and staff. I joined as a junior consultant and rose to become a partner in 10 years. I was asked to take over the global role six years ago, and it has been quite rewarding. KPMG is a federation of country partneships. We work together in networks, so when you take up global roles, it tests your skills to influence and galvanise people around a particular vision or objective.
Q. You started as a junior level executive, how did you push yourself to reach such heights?
A. Firstly, you should be able to listen to what your clients are asking for and come back to them with a proposition not only in terms of solving the issues but helping in implementation. Being a good consultant is the first priority. Secondly, clients always look for ideas and new ways of tackling issues. Third, you have to be a leader who can articulate a vision and have people follow you on a journey. One of the joys of working in a consultancy is that you have huge number of talented people around, but different thought processes is the flipside.
Q. As a leader, how do you get to best solutions while dealing with knowledge workers.
A. You need to listen. As a leader, I do not have an illusion that I know everything. Getting the right people in the room, addressing an issue and coming up with a solution are the things we should be able to do today. When knowledge workers face a problem, they also come up with a powerful solution.
Q. How would you define leadership?
A. Leadership is an ability to align and best utilise the skill sets to deliver efficiently on a journey. You have to be clear about the vision and the key strategic pillars. You have to engage with right people who have the right skills to deliver on it. I personally believe in clarity, people have to know what they are accountable for.
Q. What has been the greatest challenge in your career, and the lessons from it?
A. The greatest challenge was taking on leadership of a key division of UK consulting business at KPMG. This meant leading a team of 500 consultants with expertise in financial management, IT advisory, operational transformation as well as people and change. It was a step outside my comfort zone and tested all my leadership skills.
Q. How can we align people strategy with the organisation’s strategy? How do you do it?
A. People strategies need to be driven out of business strategy. It is important that key components of the business strategy are understood by the HR function and analysed to identify the major people implications. As a result, a fully aligned people strategy can be produced that addresses the key people issues and demonstrates connection between HR activities and the attainment of business objectives. For that, a variation of the strategy management approach developed by Kaplan and Norton works.
Q. How can HR infuse a sense of optimism during economic slowdown?
A. Encourage leaders to engage with their staff to provide details of strategy and key strategic initiatives. This will result in two-way dialogue and encourage their staff to own the strategy. By engaging with their team, the people will recognise that their leaders genuinely care for them. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that fully engaged staff will have a major impact on business results.
Q. You have worked across the industries, how different are the challenges in managing people from one industry to other?
A. There will always be need for specific technical skills that relate to the type of industry or activity an organisation undertakes. For example, managing an investment bank operations is different from managing operations in a retail organisation. Each industry requires different skills. However, there are many synergies across organisations, irrespective of type, size or geography. That includes how people are motivated, the reason for their career choices, the need to develop, the impact of generation Y and the need to be engaged.
Q. How effective do you find young entrepreneurs today? Is there any area that you would want them to focus on?
A. Generation Y and Z bring a wealth of ideas and creative solutions to key issues. However, the lack of experience can mean the ability to execute and stick to a course of action is more challenging for them. I believe we need to embrace this creativity to help innovate but in a way that helps the new generation learn and grasp all important capabilities!
Q. What are the unique steps that can be taken by leaders to make the organisation change-ready?
A. Leaders must engage with key stakeholders to understand the needs of those who are most affected and build a programme that addresses their concerns. They should create an environment where the people who are best qualified to lead the change are motivated and empowered to make it happen. They should not think they have got all the answers, but must continously engage the collective intelligence of employees who will be better placed to manage the change they see.
Q. Please share the unique human resource development practices the best organisations follow.
A. Looking for best practices is not the way forward for HR. For the last 15 years, HR has been applying generic models and best practices. This has not helped HR improve its standing or credibility because the application of so-called best practices leads to a generic, non-evidence based and undifferentiated HR function that is not uniquely driving competitive advantage or proving its value.
The biggest indictment of HR is that HR functions are more similar to each other. Every big company has a variation on a theme of the Ulrich model. The problem is if your business needs to compete through innovation, then the HR function needs to be uniquely configured to enable and drive that innovation. If your business needs to achieve market leadership through a distinct customer experience, then that is the way the HR function needs to focus and configure itself. For each strategic challenge and business value chain, HR must bring evidence as to how it is driving added value in those circumstances. Looking for a one-size-fits-all solution will not lead to competitive advantage and therefore will not lend credibility to the HR function or its leaders.
Q. To what level has the workforce evolved in recent years?
A. It is interesting when you compare the characteristics of workforce 20-30 years back and today. When I started, people used to have jobs for life. They would work for years, retire, and draw pension. When I joined my first job, my father said it is fantastic to join a company that you can retire with. Things have changed now. Employer-employee contract has changed a lot. Now people look for prosperity and empowerment early in their career.
