Q&A: Meet Smita Anand |
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Effective October 1, Hewitt appointed Smita Anand as
the new Regional Consulting Leader for Asia Pacific.
This follows the promotion of the previous regional
consulting leader, Eric Fiedler, to the position of co-
president for Hewitt's global consulting business.
Smita Anand joined Hewitt in 2002 and was the
architect behind the company's transformation of
its consulting business in India, taking it to the
current position as the leading HR consulting firm
in the market. During the past year, she has also
energized the company's China business as market
manager and accelerated business growth.
There's a lot of change going
on right now. Why now, and
what's going on?
SMITA ANAND: These are certainly challenging
times, and I'm really excited about the
opportunities ahead of us. I also think that
change in many ways is good.
Eric really established a sound foundation
for our growth in the region. It's great that this
has been recognized at the top at Hewitt, and
he has a chance to bring his vision to a larger
audience in his new position as co-president.
We are very well positioned with a clear
focus for our regional business, an experienced
management team, and over 600 hundred
talented associates in the 10 markets and
territories within the region.
This represents an excellent foundation for
further growth. |
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As a client, how will these
changes affect me? Or, to
express this in another way,
anything new being planned to
meet my human capital needs?
SMITA: Great question. It's something that
all leaders of great companies are focusing on
right now, given the global credit crisis, the fear
and uncertainty at this time, and the impact on
a listed company's value.
It is my hope that changes within Hewitt
and specifically within the Asia Pacific region
will represent good news and an even higher
value to you.
Hewitt has a legacy of and proven track
record with leading-edge HR consulting. We
use our research and knowledge to both track
and "predict" the future - to benchmark, and to
identify key trends that affect our clients' business.
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We partner with our clients to help
representatives at all levels of an organization,
from Boards of Directors and CEOs to HR
managers. This is a fact, not a business pitch.
I see part of my role in Asia Pacific as the
"caretaker" of our relationships with clients and
with our associates.
My passion is excellence. By this, I mean
excellence in what we do (The skills
and talents of our associates), and how we do it
( Excellence in delivering value and
exceeding the expectations of our clients).
You will be hearing a lot more about
services designed to meet your needs today
and tomorrow. We continue to build in the
region, for example, our capabilities focusing
on leadership, executive compensation, and
reward and compensation. We know how
significant these challenges are, along with
talent management. |
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As a leader, how are you
approaching your new role?
SMITA: It's interesting. If you had asked me
this question two months ago, I would have
said the same thing then as I will say now,
even though the overall business climate is so
volatile right now.
Within Hewitt, I am challenging our
associates to implement fresh approaches that
deliver value in their client engagements. As
I said earlier, this involves delivering what we
do even better, but also means taking ideas
and best practices from our consulting services
globally, for example, and tailoring them to
the specific needs of clients in our markets
regionally.
We are also considering what our clients
need now to help them through the current
business challenges. I predict that Asia Pacific
markets will likely not experience as large an
impact compared to what is occurring in the US
and Europe, for example. Time will tell.
That said, there are many strategies
and actions that organizations in the region
should be considering now, and implementing
immediately. |
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What stays the same, despite (or perhaps,
because of) the economic challenges, are key
issues we have seen growing over time: a
significant war for talent, the ever-increasing
complexities of the internal HR functions and
the vice presidents' or managers' roles which
are also under pressure to do more for less, and
the critical importance of linking HR into the
organization's business strategies.
These are only a few of the big challenges.
And there are certainly others, such as HR
issues around M&A, corporate transformation,
retirement and benefits, and employee
engagement.
What's next?
SMITA: I'm very proud of Hewitt's
unique and distinct culture. What
defines our delivery of services really
is how we deliver these services and
products, and the value we bring to
the impact that HR can have within
their organizations.
It really is a gift to be given the
opportunity to help guide and mold
these services to create even
greater value. |
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Hewitt Quarterly Asia Pacific
is made possible through the combined skills and experience of Hewitt consultants from across the Asia-Pacific region.
For further information please contact:
Hewitt Associates
2601-05 Shell Tower
Times Square
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2877-8600
Fax: (852) 2877-2701
editor-hqap@hewitt.com |
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