‘In a nutshell, they deliver’
Brian Sakwa, Human Resources Manager for Huawei Kenya, seems remarkably unphased by the enormity of the HR task facing him in the fast-growing East African telecoms market. ‘I’ve been in HR for seven years,’ he says, ‘and, to be honest, I found getting staff for hospitals (my last job) much more stressful, as you’re not only looking for people with the right experience and qualifications, their character is all-important.’
That’s not to say that his job is easy: ‘Right now, Huawei East Africa has a big opportunity, with good money,’ he says, ‘but I’ve just come from a planning meeting with the department heads, and there’s a huge role for HR to play in terms of delivery.’ The opportunity is outsourcing: ‘Managed services are becoming increasingly popular in the region, and we’re in a good position to profit from this.’ he says. ‘Where we’ve penetrated markets, customers are very happy: now we have to find a way to convert that success to other markets, and part of that is bringing in ex-pats who understand the network and can keep it up and running. It’s a great opportunity, but we’re going to need more resources who can deliver to our expectations, so it’s good that I’ve got First Point to help me.’
Brian has been working with First Point since he joined Huawei in June 2009. He deals with Wendy, and says ‘Personally, to be honest, I find she’s very good: she has delivered and the people she’s supplied have delivered too. They’re good candidates. I contact her for whatever resources we require, and if there’s a particular kind of resource needed, she’s able to look at the market and find us exactly the right people.’
Brian measures the success of a project in its delivery on time, within the established parameters, according to Huawei’s methodology. He says that ‘Huawei is very strict in terms of not just what you do but also how you do it, so it’s important to find the right people, who know the culture and methodology.’ Huawei’s requirements are very specific, and ‘others don’t understand this, and supply candidates who don’t fit.’ Working with Wendy is different, he says, ‘because she does understand.’
In fact it’s clear that, for Brian, this understanding is the major advantage of working with FPG: ‘They specialise in the telecoms industry and they understand our culture, so they understand our demands and really deliver against them'
Interview dated: March 2010
Click here to see Wendy's profile
