Being Found - another Feature of the UK Labour Market.

One other feature of that very labour market I find myself in is that it disables one to actively search for jobs at the company one might want to work for. There are a few sites with job openings (for consulting and similar industry jobs) but all of them are advertised by agencies. It seems, all companies solely recruit via agencies! 

This is an important finding, as agencies operate differently to what a company would do "back in the old days" when we all bought our weekend newspapers and answered job advertisements. 

Since agencies completely took over in the UK, the dynamics of the labour market have changed dramatically; it is faster, more precise, and it does not enable one anymore to search actively;

Faster: Jobs are active on the market only for a few days. In most cases, I feel, it is not even worth looking at adverts older than a week, sometimes even days (I refer to Monster.co.uk adverts, etc). As reference point, think back in the days when a job was advertised in the newspaper and deadline was 3 or 4 weeks ahead. Those days are clearly gone! 

When looking for a temporary job as freelancer, these adverts get outdated 2 days maximum after they have appeared on the market. 

More precise: Here, please refer back to my other article I wrote last week about the perversion of the labour market; if a company wants to hire a one-legged executive production director who dyes his hair once a week with the colour pink and has 35 years of specific sector experience, he is being found! 

Active search: Since the takeover of the agencies, the labour market, at least my niche I am finding myself in, is no longer actively searchable. One is being searched and found nowadays! 

The only way to be active is ensuring one can be found. So, what one needs to do is to regularly update LinkedIN and XING and go to Monster and TotalJobs and pretend to update something, just so the system knows you are an "active searcher". What I also do, I have a list of agencies and I send them my CV regularly in order to ensure I am on top of their pile when going through CVs. 

And unfortunately, that's all one can do; one needs to ensure one is being found!

The Perversion of the UK Labour Market

Example: There is a company in the food production industry who is in need of a new Operations Director. This director is supposed to have the following qualifications and experience:
- 20 years of experience in the food industry of which 10 years in a management position
- Not older than 45 years
- Having a black belt in Six Sigma
- Speaking English plus at least 2 further European languages fluently
- And who goes once a week to the hairdresser to colour his/her hair in pink. 

The perversion about the UK labour market is, and possibly any other labour market, a headhunter will find exactly this person, and not only one specimen but at least 5 for a shortlist. 

I do see the point from a headhunter's view - "client wants, client gets" and of course, being in the service industry myself, that's the leitmotif of all of us. What I am concerned about though is that this is a sheer tick box exercise. I have had so many phone calls from headhunters who literally tick off their list and then they send your CV off. Nobody ever asks about the candidate's personality or what he does in his spare time, what hobbies he has, etc. And the result can be, that a robot who fulfils all those criteria, but who has the personality of a Bernadine dog gets the job rather than someone who is also suitable, but who probably does not exactly match all those requirements. 

If someone wants to change his career and do something completely different, it will be a drag to find any job, because ticking the box does not leave any room for manoeuvre for any candidate. There is always someone who ticks all those boxes and the one who only meets a few criteria does not stand a chance. 

I am currently in a similar position. Say, I wanted to apply for the role above, and taking away the pink hair bit, I would never get the job even though I know everything about production, tick off many of the criteria, and am sure I would do a great job. In the end, I have "only" been a consultant but never done the management bit of the position, hence I will never get the chance of even getting invited. 

This is clearly frustrating and sometimes I could scream, especially when getting a short e-mail from a headhunter telling me how great I am, but unfortunately not great enough. But okay, that's how things go and I don't want to sound like a frustrated housewife. Rant over! 

What does one do?

One of the things I ought to write down is an account of what I would typically do on a project. In the last few years I was busy with manufacturing and supply chain projects. When looking at those subjects below I would normally check first if these exist and if, if they are effective and efficient.

ORGANISATION:
The organisation is lean
Frontline supervision exists
Separation between Planning and Operations
Training plans for workers and management are in place
Flexibility charts exist, are up to date and used

PLANNING:
Independent Planning department
Planning tools installed based on production standards
Plans are fixed and adhered to
Production standard hours for each product or product group
Communication link between Planning and Production, Procurement and Sales
Reports to measure planning attainment
Procurement arranges JIT deliveries to meet production plan
Planning reviews and manages stock
Obsolete stock is managed (and prevented from existing), scrap and rework are dealt with
There are regular stock reports with action plans

MANUFACTURING:
The shift system is effective
The factory is clean and cleaning plans exist
Production standard hours are known and used
A production plan is agreed upon and followed regularly
KPIs and reports are sufficient and effectively used, also communicated
Daily Planning and Review Meetings with frontline supervision exist
Weekly Planning and Review Meetings among management exist
An agenda for both meetings is in place, also an Action Plan which is used religiously
There are tools for Active Supervision on the shop floor (such as short interval controls)
Machines are used and capacity is known
Scrap is dealt with and hopefully avoided
There are breakdown registers at each machine which would then go into the daily report
Link between Production, Maintenance, Planning, Logistics
Change over procedures are in place (SMED)

MAINTENANCE:
Plans for regular and preventative maintenance are in place and managed
Maintenance reaction time to breakdowns is quick
There are KPIs which show how much time was used for preventative and breakdown maintenance
Machines have a repair history and are assigned with work orders
There is an effective meeting structure in place within Maintenance and to other departments
Engineers are trained and cross-trained

QUALITY:
Quality procedures are in place
Quality is a strong department and independent
Quality processes are well embedded within the production processes
Sampling is done according to plan, tests are undertaken timely
Regular communication to Production and Planning, also to R&D
Quality is not only a topic for the Q department, but Production should feel the need for quality too
Effective internal review meetings are in place, with agenda and action plans

This was just me thinking out loud. There are of course many more subjects within a usual project. I can only think of "new article development" and "article deletion" which have both a tremendous effect on manufacturing and planning. And the list goes on and on. 

All in all, I know what's going on in any operations department, where to look at and what do to do fix problems and implement an ideal organisation and processes.

Freelance vs Employment

It is "in between project time" again and I am looking for something new. To get me started, I think I should use my blog again, as type of self-coaching tool, where I would sit and write about my steps in the process to look for a new job or project. 

One of the problems I have faced so far is: What on earth do I actually want? Headhunters call and tell me about some job they have and then ask whether I like it. I would say "yes" or "no" but in the end, I feel I am missing a list of things I should look out for more categorically rather than imagining I could do something or not. 

The first step today is to think about freelancing vs employment. What do I want? 


THOUGHTS ON FREELANCING:

I have been freelancing for the last few years and for me it works pretty well. I would be hired for a project and these assignments can last from a few weeks to a few years. I like freelancing, as it gives me lots of flexibility which I appreciate so highly. It also allows me to do my voluntary job whenever I want to do it and not necessarily on a weekend (I am not allowed to write about my voluntary job but I mentioned it on my blog somewhere. Let's say it involves the terms "law and order"). 

Recently, I started to wonder whether I should go back to employment, as there are also negative sides to freelancing: It is not so much those few weeks or months in between projects, it is also that one reaches a glass ceiling and the jobs out there for freelancers can all be a bit "basic" at times. Lucky me, mine were good so far, but I know what's out there. I am ready for more in my life and feel I need to push my career a bit more. Nonetheless, I would still go ahead with freelancing and projects as I find it satisfying and rewarding to help my clients to be successful. 

Typically, these are the areas where I would see myself working in:

- Management Consultant/Project Manager/Programme Manager/Project Director/PMO for a consultancy company that specialises in operational excellence, efficiency and performance improvements, coaching, change management, manufacturing and supply chain.
- The same as above, but contracting directly to the end-client rather than through a consultancy company.

Freelance heaven would be, if I had a list of all sorts of clients who I could call or who would call regularly for shorter assignments and keep me busy. 


THOUGHTS ON EMPLOYMENT:

Employment is a different beast. Even though flexibility seems gone, this does not mean that I would enter a life of boredom and being restricted to the daily treadmill. Employment is still an essential way to climb up the career ladder and put more long-term meaning into one's work life, rather than hunting from project to project. 

What would I like to consider where I could use my skills the best? That would be of course any position where one is needed who can detect causes of all sorts of problems arising in companies and deal with them effectively. I can imagine this to be a board or "reporting to board" position, possibly in Operations. 

It would be an industry job, somewhere manufacturing or supply chain. Or in the internal consulting branch of a major international player that is looking to strengthen their continuous improvement efforts. 

I am a bit hesitant to work for another consultancy company. Somehow I have done that during the first few years in my life and it feels I have done it enough. I would not like to rule it out though, as I could possibly like a Regional Operations Director role or anything similar to that. 

Last week I met a headhunter who is looking for 2 positions: The one is for a company that looks to get outsource contracts from the national security industry and the other one is one of the major international property services companies. For the first I am interesting because of my voluntary job AND my knowledge of performance improvement, for the latter only my consulting knowledge would be of advantage as I would come in to ask all the right and difficult questions which would then enable them to think "improvement and change". 

What I like about these 2, those are completely new areas for me. I never worked in either, the security nor building industry. What a challenge to tackle!


EXPERIENCE AS FREELANCER:

If my conclusion is that in the end I should possibly consider another full-time position, would that mean I have to automatically say freelancing was not worth doing? Absolutely not! One learns so many essential skills as freelancer; the best thing for me is that I know I can rely on myself and can do it all alone. I learned to ask for business and find opportunities, as in the old days I always expected work would be there for me one way or another. I am responsible for whatever I am doing and there is no organisation in which I could hide and wait till the storm is over. These are all extremely good skills and I am very proud of having them.  

In the end, freelance work or employment, it does not really matter. Once I commit to an assignment or job I do it full-heartedly. So yes, let's get this job hunt going and see what I will come up with.

Working in a Utility Company in Saudi Arabia

I always wanted to visit Saudi Arabia. I don't know why, but it has been on my to do list for many, many years. This year in spring I got a phone call from a headhunter asking me whether I was interested in a 3 month project there and I said I was interested. 2 weeks later I was sitting on a plane heading towards Riyadh. 

The contracts are normally annual ones, but lucky me, it was much shorter, as that company needed an urgent replacement for someone and only for a few weeks. 

So, the adventure began. I can only recommend to anyone who goes there to ask for a place in a compound rather than accommodation outside. And the reason being is very simple - at weekends and after work it is just nice to see and chat with westerners from a similar cultural background. Also, in compounds women can walk around freely (outside they are more or less expelled from society). 

The work I did was in a PMO environment and I was a subject matter expert for PMO and Customer Relations Management where I was tasked with 2 themes: 

1) I managed 14 projects to manage the interface to customers and ensure their water supply for the drought period 2012
2) I developed a management system for the sales and marketing department of the Treated Sewage Effluents division. 

I am not allowed to mention the name of the company, but one can see it is a utility company, the biggest one of its kind. 

What did I learn and bring back as experience from my trip down there?

1) Speed in Saudi Arabia is different from the western world. In Europe we implement changes so much quicker than there. As consultant we are always trained on speed, but we need to skip that when working in Saudi.

2) Relationship to your clients is key. Arabs more like westerners like to get to know someone first before doing business with them. So, the western approach "Hello Mr Clients, let's do business" does not work. Talking is key and that includes lots of small talk. And I need to say, I rather like this approach. 

3) Saudi Arabia is all about who knows whom from the Royal Family - and that family is big, and I mean seriously big as succession to the throne does not go downstream in the family tree, but sidestream. So, the current king is the last son of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Anyway, in a business environment this means, if your client knows someone in the Royal Family, this is a key client to watch, as the whole organisation will evolve around him. 

4) There are laws out there to prevent Saudi companies from hiring foreigners directly. This is called "Saudiisation" and means that many positions are filled with staff (and we speak higher positions) who are not really able to do the work. Foreigners are still needed but hired through consultancy companies or other bypass organisations. 

5) Saudis are not overly fond of having tasks delegated to them. They in fact seem to expect the consultant to do it for them. For the whole change management experience, that's of course problematic when it comes to creating ownership, etc. And again, this adds to the speed of implementation; it just takes time! 

All in all, workwise it was a very good experience and I absolutely loved it. I also loved working for that utility company. Culturally, the country can be a bit of a challenge and it certainly helps to be a man!

Whoever is interested, I also have a travel blog and had one entry per day. That was sort of my hobby and gave me something to do during the time when there was absolutely nothing to do (like after work and especially at weekends). One has to scroll down to April/May/June 2012 in order to find the blog entries.    

Roland's Travel Blog

All the best and happy scrolling through my blog.

Feed your Monster - How to conduct successful client meetings

Currently, I am tasked to work on 14 projects within a PMO environment within my client´s organisation. And it reminds me again that there are a few things which are vital for any consultant – be structured, prepare your meetings, and work on your tasks efficiently and effectively.

The use of “we” and “us”

First of all, whenever a consultant speaks he should speak in “pluralis majestatis” – the “we”. “We have created..., we have achieved..., we have worked on..., we have managed...!” It should emphasise that consultants work as a team and we do things together. Ramobs are no consultants!

Client Meetings or “How to feed your Monster”

Whenever you meet your client you need to “feed him”; this is mainly with information and to help him with decisions he has to make. Apart from the odd morning tour where a simple “How are you?” suffices, usually one should never go empty handed or without any reason to the client. Never!

So, before seeing him, prepare your meetings:
- What do you want to get out of the meeting?
- What information do you want to give him?
- What decisions do you want to be made?
- In case you need a decision, what options do you give him from which he can make a decision (do not come empty, always give him options to choose from!)?
- How do you respond to any of his potential objections?

Once the meeting has started, shut up and listen, listen, listen. Oh yes, and listen! You should not talk, the client should. Always listen to what he says. Successful consultants have good listening skills. Do not talk too much, do not always repeat what you said, and do not fall into the trap to try and educate your client. If he wants coaching he will say so. Otherwise, treat him with respect and the way you want to be treated. Look at your client´s body language and read it. You will see when he gets bored, impatient, relaxed, excited, agitated, etc, and manage it. Never forget, opposite you is your monster and you need to feed it. Your client is your tamagochi. You are in control. 

When you attend a client meeting with a colleague the golden rule is – if you talk your colleague shuts up, and when your colleague talks you shut up. Give feedback afterwards, but do not correct your colleague during a meeting (unless he makes the worst ever blunder!) and always act as a team. When the consultant asks a question to the client the other consultant should not answer! Often, questions are of a sheer tactical nature. Oh yes, and do no forget the pluralis majestatis even if you alone did something.

When the meeting comes to an end, summarise! Tell the client what decisions have been made during the meeting and which actions are coming out of it. After the meeting, either do those actions straight away or write them down on an action plan and work on them systematically.

And that is it! Sounds simple, is sometimes not so simple, but it is the only way forward!

How to Implement a new Shift System

Changing the shift system is a major task and much bigger and intense than ever anticipated by me. In order to do so, a company needs to evaluate their existing shift system operationally, financially, and from an IT system point of view. 

First of all, I would always ask what is wrong with the current system. There might be all sorts of interesting findings coming from this question. And I'd ask this question throughout the company up and down the hierarchy tree. 

Once I have an overview over people's opinions, a more thorough analysis has to be undertaken. What I did in a project once was to write down every single minute of a day on an excel sheet and mark off the minutes during which a respective production line was busy and not. This gives a nice picture of the situation - it shows break times (which are not covered), change-over times where the machine is stopped, and generally times when the plant is shut down. This is a nice base for a capacity calculation. After this, I'd observe the line to verify break times and other non-productive times. Maybe a new shift system is not needed but only some management tools? 

Now, one thing is very important, for capacity reasons a day has 24 hours and not just day time hours. And a week has 5 or 7 times 24 hours; ideally both for comparisons. This is important to know as 7 x 24 is the maximum capacity available (5x24 in case of weekend closure). From that, cleaning and maintenance times need to be subtracted in order to get from a theoretical to a practical capacity. Once we know the amount of time of availability we are well prepared for a later scenario calculation. 

The next thing I would look at are financial indicators. How much overtime did the company accrue and pay in the last year? What is the pay rate of the workers? How much does the company pay for temps and what is their rate compared to the ones of the employees? How high is the productivity of a temp as opposed to an employee? 

And then, the IT evaluation: Are our systems ready for a switch? This is a discussion to be done with the IT department. Never assume IT is not an issue, it always is! And IT issues take time and money to solve. 

Once, the analysis of the current situation is done I'd sit down and work on possible scenarios. This has to be done line by line and we need to answer the following question: How many people do we need in order to get a certain amount of output? This is particularly important when the company is faced with seasonalities. Any new shift system needs to be able to adjust to any seasonality without making financial losses. 

Here, one needs to bear in mind how much staff a line needs in order to achieve maximum output. There must be some scenarios of what happens outputwise if less people are manned at a line. Those scenarios must cover high and low seasons, and a middle season, too. This is quite a nightmare and takes so much time! Be prepared!

What comes along with those scenarios is the question whether all staff is trained to accomplish such a shift change. How flexible are the employees and can they work at different lines? How much flexibility and cross-training does a new shift system require? 

And finally, HR need to add their comments informing Operations about the legal situation of whether and how contracts can be changed, whether there are any strikes to be anticipated, etc. HR need to know who is loosing out and who is gaining from a new shift system. 

The Finance Department needs to sort out the budget for the new year bearing in mind the scenarios in combination with any expected output. This has to be done with Operations. 

After all the preparation the workers need to be informed and the bomb is going to burst.....  But it is a good bomb and a good and modern shift system is worth going through the initial pain of preparation.