Jimmy Fong
CEO
Afor Limited (Apple products retailer)
What does it take for an HR practitioner to be CEO?
I think the job of the CEO to me is like the job of a HR person to a certain extent. Why do I say that? I fuse together a group of talented individuals, know where to place them in the organisation, where to bring them in at right place at the right time, and how to lead and motivate them and perform optimally to meet the company’s objectives.
How can an HR practitioner become CEO?
Focus, hard work, commitment are the normal attributes that we require. In our organisation, HR is actively involved in budget processing and business partnering and all aspects of the operation such as strategic planning. Understanding the external business environment is important too.
How can HR be more strategic to the business?
HR needs to understand the business, not just from the inside. Certain times, HR may be too focused on the internal human resources.
The external business environment, industry trends and how it impacts the company are also important. HR needs to look at external factors and how these could help or change the way we work.
What do you enjoy about your work?
I think the most enjoyable part is growing the company together with a great team of talented, committed and innovative colleague who share the same vision and values. I think we need to enjoy the journey and not just the destination.
How do you know what your employees are thinking?
It’s all communication, communication, communication – and that’s people management. You can never overemphasize on communication.
Open communication is not just one-way, so communication would definitely help.
Can further education help you be more effective in your job?
Further education is part of our organisation’s core values that learning never stops. And it is the same for me personally and it helps me be more effective as a CEO.
I attended the Job of the Chief Executive course by Singapore Institute of Management which provided me with a more systematic way of doing my job. My job of a CEO is a very dynamic role, it has a lot of challenges, especially during these times. So it is always good to hear from other course mates, learn from each other, learn about what they are doing.
How would you define your leadership style?
I think I have a participative leadership style. We meet very often with department heads and different groups and we sort things out. We meet to discuss budgets against actuals, discuss the problems and issues and everybody would throw in suggestions and ideas on to sort it out, and then they would decide on how to get it done together.
