Companies must search global talent pool

Possessing experience from just  one country and one culture  is no longer sufficient for managers in today's globalised world, says Michael Ascot, partner-in-charge of  Heidrick & Struggles' Bangkok office.

Ascot said his advice to Thai students and executives is to "go out" and learn from many cultures.

"I'm encouraging Thai students that wherever they may have been educated, they must go out and work somewhere else. The world is moving at a  pace where having one country, one culture experience is not enough," he said.

Heidrick & Struggles is the world's leading executive-search and leadership consulting company, which has recruited many chief executives globally, including Google's Eric Schmidt. The company opened its Bangkok office in May.

Stephen Langton, the Sydney-based managing partner for Asia Pacific at Heidrick & Struggles, said most chief executives of companies in Thailand are still Thais, but in many other countries, corporations have brought in executives from around the world.

"New Zealand, for example, has a population of 4 million, of which  1.4 million are living overseas. Many of them are chief executives in other countries. The No 2 executive at DHL is an Australian living in Germany," Langton said.

Ascot said Heidrick & Struggles set up its Bangkok office - its fifteenth in the Asia-Pacific region - because it has a policy of serving its global clients wherever they have operations. In addition, Thai companies including the CP group, Central group, Dusit group and some banks, have been expanding to foreign countries.

Ascot said Heidrick & Struggles would like to help these Thai companies develop their talent pool and adapt to various cultures. But many other Thai companies are still not well-prepared, Ascot said. He has more than 22 years of experience in Thailand and other Asian countries.

"The road is not easy. We may need to go Singapore's way, which has opened the floodgates for qualified foreigners," he said.

More than 1 million foreigners  seek to extend their work permits  in Singapore each year, as the island state has powered its economic development by attracting "brains" from elsewhere.

However, in Thailand, the government has not completely understood the race for global talent, Ascot said.

For instance, Heidrick & Struggles had to send a very capable executive to work in its India office for about four to five years because Thai immigration did not approve the person's work permit, since he was too young.

"Foreigners must get old to get a work permit here," Ascot said.

Langton said, for a country where 43 per cent of its gross domestic product comes from services and reliance on overseas income and foreign customers, Thailand needs to bring in more foreign executives to help it learn to adapt to a multicultural environment.

Ascot said Heidrick & Struggles is aiming only at servicing the top-end of the executive-search market and would be happy to have only 50 to 75 placements a year in Thailand.

 "We're not everything for everybody," he said.

Langton said executive search goes beyond just sifting through the curriculum vitae.

Heidrick & Struggles worked on a year-long programme with some clients, helping them find their next chief executives.

pichaya@nationgroup.com.