At a private meeting two evenings ago I heard a leading UK CEO state what he expects from his Human Resource Director (who was sitting at the same table). He spoke of the phenomenal business and reputation failures which are down to people and cultural issues and he believed that any HRD needs the insights, confidence and courage to ensure that the CEO and the Board are aware of these risks and the need for a plan to address them. He added other expectations including the ability to inspire, to be a great communicator (and to be responsible for internal communications) and to make sure HR plans reflect the Company’s strategy.
The ensuing discussion started with HRD confidence and courage and It made me wonder about the background to the recent Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy and the role of its master Captain Schettino. The Captain may face prosecution for his role but I have broader and more systemic questions for his successful employers Carnival Corporation and its CEO Micky Arison:
- What are the key responsibilities of any Carnival Captain in the company’s fleet of 101 ships (and 10 on order)? In particular the role of safety and the maintenance of safety culture? Frankly, I don’t give a damn about his/her customer service duties - the Captain’s Cocktail Party and the like that is deck chairs stuff compared to his core duties.
- Against this standard, how are Captains appointed? What tests of competence, character, intelligence and leadership are in place?
- What training informs Captainson the latest technical, navigational and human factor thinking?
- How is a Captain’s current ability assessed? An airline pilot will have regular simulated flight sessions, during which a Training Captain will subject him or her to many potential incidents where flight crew knowledge and judgement will be rigorously reviewed.
- What was the management style of Carnival and the values which actually underpinned behaviours (as opposed to the usual list of commonplace worthy beliefs)?
- What was the role of the Carnival Group HRD (according to the website it is Jerry Montgomery appointed in 2011 and, according to the Carnival press release at the time ‘a long time hospitality industry veteran’)? Reverting back to my central point of HR confidence and courage, did he have a record of alerting previous employers to the potential risks of people and cultural issues in the context of safety? Equally, did his predecessor Wayne Byers have this reputation? It was Mr Byers retirement after 28 years which prompted the need to recruit.
- According to the same release Jerry Montgomery reports to Howard Frank, Carnival Corporation’s Vice Chairman and COO. Did Montgomery express an opinion on the areas above and if so did Mr Frank and Mr Arison act on it?
Carnival have announced a review to be led by Captain James Hunn a retired US Navy Captain and currently the company’s senior VP of Maritime Policy and Compliance. The press release states they will ‘review all safety and emergency response policies and procedures, officer and crew training and evaluation, bridge management and company wide response and support efforts’. Captain Hunn will report to the Health, Environment, Safety&Security Committee of the Board and to Howard Frank , vice chairman and chief operating officer of Carnival Corporation & plc’
This reminds me of the Bank of England’s enquiry into the Nick Leeson/Barings Bank collapse. It was all about the relevant process not about culture and the behaviours which were really valued. The Carnival enquiry needs to be broader and assess the overall employer brand of the company including the priorities of its leadership. As I heard recently ‘Culture always has Compliance for lunch’. I hope that the level of HR involvement is included and I have to say that I also hope that Captain Hunn, as an existing company employee, does, like any great HRD, have the confidence and courage to search and report on the soft issues as well as the rule books. Carnival has a brilliant record and deserves no less.
No comments:
Post a Comment