All Aboard! A personal experience

Four years ago, this was the situation at Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc - a leading tug and marine services provider in the Philippines - when management decided to split the Finance and HR Division. With the rapid growth in the business and increasing employee concerns, the move was inevitable. The search began and several names of former marine officers were considered, except for one who had no background at all in shipping.

Considering that the aspirant had more than 15 years of HR experience, it was expected that she would be able to adequately and competently discuss HR philosophy, principles, pre-designed plans and tried and tested HR programs. But the question still remained whether to take on a former mariner or to risk taking on the non-mariner HR practitioner. Each had its own advantages, but after thorough deliberation, the decision was to take the latter.

When the applicant was called, and terms and conditions of hiring were discussed, she obliged with much enthusiasm but requested one condition: To be on board! This came as a surprise, but the pioneering President gave his support without question or hesitation.

Sales and marketing gurus prescribe: Know Your Customers. It is in knowing your customers that one can prepare plans and strategies and be able to serve them well. Such companies spend time, money and effort just to know customer needs, wants and preferences with the primary purpose of attracting and retaining them.

Following the same principle, it is imperative for HR to know its clientele, to be able to attract, retain and develop them as happy, motivated and productive employees of the company: How do they work? What do they need? What bothers them? What makes them happy? How do they view management? What are their difficulties? Are they home sick? Are they healthy? How do they see themselves in the company? What are their plans?

And, what better and faster way to get to know your employees? To be on board! Eat with them, drink coffee with them, chat with them and even stay afloat in the middle of the sea with nothing to be seen but the twinkling of the stars and the bright full moon.

All Aboard is a program in our company where the HR team goes on board at least once a year in all our vessels. It’s a face-to-face meeting. It’s far beyond the usual daily text exchanges, calls or written forms of communication. It is a personal encounter. Permits from port authorities are secured. Plans, programs and activities are designed and visits are pre-scheduled so as not to hamper operations.

All Aboard allows HR to reach out to employees and keep them in the know. Vision, mission, plans and programs for the continued growth of the business are cascaded. Most of them pay little attention to memoranda and other correspondences. With All Aboard, employees hear it directly from HR. It’s a one-on-one but two way communication.

With All Aboard, employees get to feel that management truly care for their welfare. It is a venue and avenue where crew is relaxed and feels that it is safe to freely discuss how they feel and what is in their minds. Their questions are answered. Their worries are addressed. Their contributions are recognized.

And as the HR team boards each tug, the journey begins unraveling the crew’s needs and concerns: Repair of the air- conditioning unit; purchase of a new rice cooker; copies of their pay slips; issuance of cover-alls and safety shoes; installation of internet facility or a request for new TV or DVD. While for us it may seem trivial, for them it matters a whole lot. And you only get to realize how it affects them once you are on board and hear them out. But, realizing their needs and wants is just half of the story. Addressing these concerns without delay is the more important half. We need to act on them at once. Say yes if we can provide - say no if we can’t.

‘Getting to know you’ was a big revelation. Though the majority shared wanting to be a seafarer even when they were still young, one shared he wanted to be a policeman, another a priest, a doctor, a nurse, a teacher and to our surprise, one even wanted to be an embalmer. This gave us an insight into what led them to be in this career and how they see themselves in the future.

‘My Job’ made us cognizant of the complexities of their work. Specific tasks, duties, responsibilities and accountabilities were reviewed. Job descriptions were updated and rewritten. Performance gaps were identified and served as input to training plans.

The ‘Benefit Survey’ provided us with their preferred improvement in the benefit package. They ranked their choice and now have HR inputs on what, how and why such benefit should be proposed to management. A year later, the rice subsidy and the family health plan were approved for implementation. Faces gleamed with smiles. They were happy to have been heard and consulted.

The 'Organizational Climate Survey’ conducted on board revealed crews’ perceptions in the areas of: planning, leading and management, organizational structure, organizational process, staffing, values and norms, management control, interaction, motivation, communication, physical environment. For the crew, this was an opportunity to let off steam in a constructive, frank and controlled manner. It was also an opportunity to change their pre-conceived negative notions, undesirable practices and beliefs. For management, results were bases for developing strategies, plans and programs that will help define the culture of the organization conducive to productive work. It facilitates addressing employee concerns affecting their interest,motivation and output.

All new office based employees now get the chance to be on board. As they recognize the crew’s hard work, commit- ment and sacrifice of being away from home, they can’t think of a better way to show their appreciation and support than attending to their needs right away. With this, everyone just feels we’re all in the same boat.