The top priority of Belgian HR departments is leadership development. The focus is (perhaps too much) on young managers and formal training. Informal training and on-the-job training are lagging somewhat behind.

Talent management – attracting, developing and motivating talented employees within the organisation – is the number two priority for Belgian HR departments. Number one? Leadership development. These are the findings presented in the HR Barometer Study, a study conducted by the Vlerick Business School and HR consultant Hudson. They surveyed 46 companies, and asked them two questions: what is your current HR priority, and how familiar do you feel with that subject? The results were compared with the 2015 HR Barometer Study. What were the main changes?

New ways of working (perhaps working without fixed hours/a fixed location has become the new norm?), diversity (a subject that, oddly enough, is still not much of a focal point in Belgian companies) and employer branding (which nonetheless remains a real buzzword) were all subjects that the respondents in 2016 accorded less priority to than in the previous year. Climbing up the list of priorities we find leadership development. This subject was also valued highly in the previous year, notes Professor Dirk Buyens, head of the HRM Centre at the Vlerick Business School.

“The quest for high potential employees – the CEOs of tomorrow – never stops. In a predictable world, that wasn't so hard: you went looking for really intelligent people with specific expertise and traditional managerial talents. Today, however, the world has become very unpredictable. You don't know what kind of expertise will be needed tomorrow. Your high potential employee of today might be your social liability of tomorrow.”

At the moment, the key concept is 'agility': the manager of today is agile, flexible and adaptable.

Dirk Buyens:

“What is currently a key to success can quickly turn into the reason for a lack of success. In that case, as a leader you're running into a brick wall, no matter how good you are at what you do. The question is: how do you teach such people to pick themselves back up again? Successful people are not used to failing. That's important to remember. A good tool might be, for example, 360° feedback. This involves asking those people around you – both in your professional and personal sphere – for their opinion about certain skills. You might also wonder whether organisations wouldn't be better off looking for a different type of leader from the get-go. People with a 'colourful' career path behind them are sometimes unjustly overlooked.”

This edition of the HR Barometer Study took a closer look at the subject of leadership development, asking which methods managers use to develop their managerial and other skills. The respondents answered that their managers only acquire 42% of their knowledge on the job; they acquire 23% via coaching and 33% via formal training. That is not exactly in line with the 70-20-10 model recommended in L&D literature.

Dirk Buyens:

“Traditional formal training should, in theory, only account for 10% of any training package. Today, it takes a slightly larger share. The top five formal training methods are traditional courses, seminars and presentations, tailor-made courses for managers, blended learning and programmes offered by external institutes. Self-study and new types of formal training such as games and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have not yet been taken up across the board.”

The fact that Belgian companies still rely heavily on formal training is also apparent from the CVTS study (Continuing Vocational Training Survey). Together with countries such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France, our organisations are top of the ranking for employee participation in formal training. According to this study, our country has an on-the-job training rate of 21%, slightly higher than the European average of 20%. However, when it comes to the other informal types of training, we score significantly worse.

Employees over 45 left by the wayside

Leadership development initiatives are primarily targeted at middle and senior managers and high potential employees, according to the HR Barometer Study. The main target group is employees aged between 35 and 45. Older employees appear to be left by the wayside. Dirk Buyens finds this somewhat odd: '”The majority of employees are managed by people over the age of 45. And it is precisely this category that is receiving less leadership development training. The question is: do companies think that older managers don't need it because they're 'too old', or is it older managers themselves who are dismissing training opportunities?” 

Age groups targeted by leadership development initiatives

 

Five trends in Learning & Development

According to Professor Dirk Buyens, Head of the HRM Centre at the Vlerick Business School

1. The end of the competence gap model

The idea behind competence management was to close the gap between required job competences and existing employee competences by way of training. That was wishful thinking. Personal development on the basis of people's weaknesses often fails. The new idea is to start by looking at people's capabilities, then sculpt the job and the team around that (job crafting and team crafting).

2. Unlearning instead of learning

These days, it is no longer possible to just accumulate knowledge. Too much knowledge can even blind you to new opportunities or threats. Learning to discard knowledge is the new learning.

3. Anywhere, anytime and all for free

Webinars and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are turning the world of L&D on its head. In the case of MOOCs, course material is disseminated online for free. People can take courses day and night, seven days a week, wherever they want. Tutors and course participants can also interact with one another on discussion forums, so there's no need for a classroom.

4. Short, shorter, shortest

Learning can be done on the go, thanks to smartphones. Programmes that used to be on the heavy side are increasingly being split into bite-size pieces that are worked through gradually: short sessions of 5 to 10 minutes, elevator 'learning vignettes' and games that create a virtual world in which employees can learn from their mistakes.

5. Performance appraisal apps

An increasing number of organisations are putting an end to performance reviews and annual evaluations and performance appraisals. Are performance appraisal apps filling this gap? Performance appraisal apps are pieces of software that allow feedback to be provided quickly. If an employee was well prepared for a meeting, you can just send them a thank you or a smiley via the app. After a few months, patterns start to emerge that indicate how an employee is performing. Younger employees also enjoy this kind of instant feedback. Waiting a whole year for an appraisal doesn't tally with the world of PS4s and Facebook that they have grown up in. 

To prepare your international adventure properly, ask yourself the right questions and talk to people who have done it all before: partners, customers, fellow exporters and experts.

BNP Paribas Fortis listens to the questions asked by international entrepreneurs and offers reliable advice. "A lot of exporting companies ask for our help when it's too late", Frank Haak, Head of Sales Global Trade Solutions, says.

 

Entrepreneurs with little export experience are often unaware of the bigger financial picture. So what do they need to take into account when they set up a budget for their export plans?

Frank Haak: "Budgeting and pricing are affected by a lot of crucial factors: working capital, currency exchange risks and currency interest, prefinancing, profit margins, insurance, import duties and other local taxes, competitor pricing and so on. We always advise customers or prospects to start from a worst-case scenario. Quite a few companies are insufficiently prepared for their first international adventure: they see an opportunity and they grab it, but quite often disappointment and a financial hangover are not far away.

Our experts have years of export experience and the BNP Paribas Group has teams around the world. This means that we can give both general and country-specific tips. Let's say a machine builder wants to design and manufacture a custom-made machine. We recommend including the machine's reuse value in the budget: can this machine still be sold if the foreign customer suddenly no longer wishes to purchase it or if export to that country becomes impossible due to a trade embargo or emergency situation?"

 

What type of companies can contact BNP Paribas Fortis for advice?

Frank Haak: "All types! Entrepreneurs are often hesitant to ask for advice. Sometimes they are afraid that it will cost them money. However, the right advice can save them a lot of money in the long run. For example, we recommend a letter of credit or documentary credit to anyone exporting goods to a foreign buyer for the first time. This product is combined with a confirmation by BNP Paribas Fortis to offer the exporter the certainty that it will receive payment when it presents the right documents and to assure the buyer that its goods or services will be delivered correctly."

 

The consequences of not seeking advice: what can an exporter do in case of non-payment without documentary credit?

Frank Haak: "If you are not receiving payment for your invoices, the counterparty's bank can be contacted in the hope that it advances the payment on the customer's behalf. However, we shouldn't be too optimistic in that respect: the chances of resolving the issue without financial losses are very slim. Once you have left your goods with customs, you usually lose all control over them. Hence the importance of good preparation: listen to and follow the advice of your bank and organisations such as Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT). It will protect you against a whole host of export risks."

 

BNP Paribas Fortis

 

Source: Wereldwijs Magazine

Coordinating a company's social media strategy is a task in itself. Who will you use to handle this? And what about involved customers who suddenly get too involved?

Because of social media, the role of a traditional marketing manager is evolving more and more towards being a conversation manager: someone who facilitates consumer communication. This includes communication between customers themselves and communication between the customers and the company.

Some key tasks in the conversation manager's job description are:

• Uniting and activating ‘branded fans’, as they will recommend the brand to friends and family.
• Listening to what people are saying about your company and seeking their active contribution to your products and strategy.
• Creating content worth distributing in order to encourage discussions.
• Managing these discussions.
• Ensuring your work is very customer-oriented and customer-friendly through customer care, i.e.by responding faster and providing more than what the customer is expecting.

Some companies are big enough to hire a full-time conversation manager. In other cases another employee will take on this role part-time. A third possibility is using a specialised company.
Caroline Hombroukx, conversation manager at content marketing company Head Office:

“No matter which option you go for, communication in social media must come across as personal. There is definitely a reason why large companies such as Telenet and Belgacom have created a fictitious person to deal with their customers; Charlotte and Eva respectively. The conversation manager also has to know the company and its social media strategy very well. It may therefore be an advantage if someone in the company itself takes on that role. That person is right at the source and so can distribute information, take a quick picture and post it online, etc.

This task is not for everyone. A conversation manager must have experience with social media, have fluent communication and writing style and must be empathetic, positive and solution-oriented in his or her dealings with customers. Prior training is not a luxury, because the employee must be very aware of the company's content strategy. The audience is varied and unpredictable. You have to decide time and time again whether certain content is or is not suitable for your target group. It is also not a nine-to-five job: the online world keeps on turning even at night or at the weekend."

The advantage of hiring a conversation manager from an external company is that in principle the expertise is present. In that case the challenge is to know the company to such an extent that the customer has the impression that he or she is talking to a real employee.

Getting angry is out of the question

Traditional marketing and advertising are a one-way street. If they do not work, they are a waste of money. However, they are not likely to result in angry comments. A company venturing out on Facebook, Twitter or other social media, can be sure to receive comments and reactions. Including negative ones. Caroline Hombroukx:

“On social media the consumer is suddenly right next to you banging the table. It is important to respond well to that. Getting angry yourself is out of the question. You need to respond by showing that you understand and you are taking the question or complaint seriously. Everyone following the discussion must see that the company is providing a quick answer and is trying to find a solution. If a mistake has been made, you can acknowledge this openly and honestly. You can also show the problem as something positive: as an opportunity to improve your brand, product or service. Of course you must find a suitable solution in the end. If the person sharing the complaint becomes too negative, you have to try and divert him or her to a private channel: a private message on Facebook, a direct message on Twitter, an e-mail or a phone call."

An enthusiastic, understanding response also works well if the consumer is sharing something positive about your brand, company or service. Thanking the consumer strengthens the bond between the company and the customer. Caroline Hombroukx:

"The dialogue with the target group is an opportunity to improve your product or operations through constructive criticism. Make customers feel involved. It creates a strong relationship. If you are publishing a magazine or starting a poster campaign for instance, you can let customers choose the best layout or title from three options posted on Facebook, for example. Everything that engages customers can only strengthen their commitment."

The huge popularity of social media brings new opportunities, but has resulted in some new stumbling blocks as well. What are the most recent trends? And how should you respond to them?

Social media such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc. seem cutting edge, but the principle is as old as the hills: word of mouth, sometimes abbreviated as WOM in marketing. Even in the heyday of the mass media, positive recommendations from neighbours, family and friends remained important to a company's success. Newspapers, magazines and television advertising were the first channel introducing a new product to consumers, but word-of-mouth turned out to play a decisive role in what matters most: consumer behaviour. Consumers shared experiences and thereby affected the behaviour of their fellow consumers. Today, more than ever, they do so through social media.

Consumers persuading consumers

Social media are the contemporary, more sophisticated and super-fast successor of old-fashioned word-of-mouth advertising. They are a catalyst. Social networks allow people to exchange views, share experiences, express their dissatisfaction, etc. more quickly than ever.

In addition, more and more consumers are opting for a "social search" over search engines such as Google to find information. They consciously do not search the entire internet, but approach their friends on Facebook or contacts on LinkedIn or Twitter. It speeds up the search and makes the result more reliable. The idea is that if X thinks it is good/nice/beautiful, we will probably think it is good/nice/beautiful too. There is also the option to ask questions and really discuss the product or service you need information about.

Consumers talk about all sorts of products (offline and online), from new detergents to new car models. And it is not just young people who are sharing their experiences about products and brands. Young and old, male or female: everyone does it. All these recommendations between consumers are worth gold.

We can illustrate this with an example: computer manufacturer Dell assumes that 25% of its customers choose their brand after it has been recommended by another user. The average purchase value per customer is about 210 dollars. Based on this amount, the value of every recommendation is estimated at 42 dollars. The more consumers Dell can convince to buy its products, the more money it makes.

However, the reverse is equally true: bad word-of-mouth advertising can have devastating effects. Particularly in this age of social media, a bad reputation does not take long to spread.

Social media in 2014

Perhaps Facebook will no longer exist in ten years' time, but it will most certainly have been replaced by something else. Social media are here to stay. It is therefore important for companies to build a good social media strategy. They can start by thinking about which channel they want to use for which content and objective. What do you need to take into account?

• Content (the message to the consumer) is still the key part, but the importance of segmentation is increasing. The audience is varied, so not all content and every channel is suitable for everyone. As a company, it is best to divide your target audience into sub-target groups. You can then choose specific content and a channel per sub-target group.
• Create real-time content: define a number of key moments in the year in advance and use these wisely. The World Cup, back to school, the summer holidays, etc. are all events that happen regularly and companies can respond to in a clever way. The trick is to find a good link between the key moment and your product. Be creative in this respect. If a school bag brand presents its content at the end of August, it will have to use an original approach to avoid coming across as predictable. 
• Social media are predominantly a mobile story: most consumers are switching to smartphones and tablets. It is no coincidence that the four best-known social networks are also in the list of most popular mobile apps: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. In any case, your content (both on the website and on social media) will have to be mobile-friendly. 
• The importance of customer care is only increasing. Consumers will now use social media more than ever to find information, ask questions and make comments.

Which stages should a company that is venturing into e-commerce go through? And how do you avoid customers and employees getting stressed and frustrated in the process?

Phase 1: managing the channel conflict

When a manufacturer, distributor or importer starts selling the products they previously only sold to shops online themselves, the shops may experience that as a channel conflict. Their supplier has now become a direct competitor benefiting from low start-up costs as well as more customer convenience. But does the supplier have a choice? If the supplier does not sell online, some customers will go to a seller who does. The solution? Benny Sintobin, Manager of e-commerce specialist Frucon²:

 "The channel conflict is a perception debate that is more emotional than rational. E-commerce is unavoidable, so you had better adjust. The roughest edges of the channel conflict can be smoothed out by being a ‘friendly’ online store. With that I mean that you have to approach it correctly, with empathy for the party that may be at a disadvantage. You have to be bold enough to tell the customers of your distribution channel in advance what you are planning and which rules you are going to follow. If you start up everything on the quiet, you will cause frustration and negative emotions."

And these are totally unnecessary, because the new situation can be favourable to the distributor or shop as well. The distributor's online sales channel can also refer to his customer's website or shop, for example. Benny Sintobin:

"Take a bicycle manufacturer offering bicycles to customers online, for example. The website could allow consumers to combine certain materials and colours online in order to create a personalised model. The bicycle can be sent by courier, but can also be delivered to a retailer near the customer for the customer's collection. In that case the retailer will have to be satisfied with a smaller margin and the fact that he has gained a new customer, who will come back later to buy a helmet or a bicycle bag or to have his bicycle serviced. The other members of his family will follow his example for their bicycles and accessories. That way everyone wins."

Downward price spiral

When you say channel conflict, people almost automatically think about a price war between shops competing with online sales channels offering the same products at a lower price. According to Benny Sintobin it is therefore important to put a fair, correct price on the products:

"When manufacturers engage in e-commerce themselves, they set the product's retail price. The price is there online in black and white. In that case shops can rarely afford to charge a higher price. That is why the pricing must be correct, so that shops can still earn a living.

In practice a channel conflict often causes the reverse phenomenon: it is usually not the manufacturer, but the shops starting the downward price spiral. That is in fact the biggest threat to e-commerce: the shop trying to hurt the supplier. Major players striving towards market dominance can afford to destroy their profit margins. However, smaller manufacturers and brands cannot compete in such a price war. This proves once again the importance of making good e-commerce arrangements."

Phase 2: geographical expansion

Once the channel conflict has been well and truly digested, it is time for the next phase: tapping into new markets. For larger SMEs e-commerce is often a perfect way to gain more of a market share. For example, take a Belgian brand that achieved a nice market share in Belgium by selling in retail points as well as through its own online sales channel. Perhaps the brand has developed some brand awareness abroad through a couple of shops in the capital, for example. Benny Sintobin:

 "In that case it is entirely possible that some consumers abroad know the brand already, but are unable to get to the shop because of the distance. It would be very unfortunate not to take control of that potential channel yourself and to leave it to Amazon, would it not? Online your products are available to all customers. Conclusion: expansion abroad with an e-commerce channel could be the first low-hanging fruit that is therefore easy to pick."

 Phase 3: reinventing your business model

 The third phase in e-commerce is a leap in the dark. Company thinking is traditionally product-, market- and wholesale-oriented. Take a company manufacturing or importing pots and pans, for example. That product is part of the world of cooking and dining, but still the sales strategy traditionally focuses completely on the product. However, the online activities offer opportunities to change tack and create an entire world around the particular product. You can work with other companies in that respect: a publisher to create content about dining, a candle manufacturer, a herbs specialist, a table linens manufacturer, a supermarket offering home delivery, etc. Benny Sintobin:

"Around Valentine's day or other key moments of the year you can create content and an entire world where those pots and pans belong. In that case what you sell online becomes more of an experience than a product. The effect is further strengthened if each of the partner companies present that experience on their sites as well. That way you enter each other's customer base and target groups. And you also immediately make sure that your social media really start to work for you. Consumers will tend to like a Valentine's experience more than just a set of pots and pans. In other words, you become a "love brand" rather than just an everyday product."