The significance of international exposure in professional life
By IMRAN ZAFAR
Here, I cover the third and golden phase of my career – Time spent in Siemens Germany. And the clear message for you is “The Significance of International Exposure in Professional Life”.
In continuation of the last 02 articles which you may refer to,
On the first day at the office, my new boss Roland Spoerl greeted me. He introduced me to the whole team. Before discussing anything on my new job role, his first and only concern was my smooth & comfortable settlement in the new country.
Team Bonding & Knowledge Sharing
We had a weekly Monday morning team session in which timely presence was necessary. Otherwise, people used to work in flexible timings. A team meeting was a platform to find solutions for any issues, share learnings, any mistakes caused so others can learn and avoid.
How To Train Newcomers Quickly?
Most of the inquiries received by our department around the globe were complex and/or higher specs. Like, 50kA short circuit switchgear that cannot be manufactured in local Siemens factories. Without knowing the product in detail, how could I prepare technical proposals and make comments and deviations?
Again, a list of people was provided to me with whom I need to contact for any detailed clarification. This list includes all different people from factories, other divisions, and vendors, etc.
In the morning, I do not know much about the product. After reading the specifications, I prepare my questions and send them to all relevant persons. The quality & clarity of reply I received, helped me learn miles in one day.
This is still the way in multinationals, you have experts available in different areas and by coordinating with them you gather a lot of information in a quick time. However, most of the time, newcomers are not properly guided on whom to contact and eventually they lost their path.
How On-Job Training was Planned?
Everything was done according to the predefined procedure, this is the third list I refer to. I got this list covering the topics and products I am going to learn, my boss did discuss this list and ask my opinion for any addition & inclusions, considering my future job requirements in Pakistan.
As you are an expert on a certain product in Germany, while in Pakistan, you have to know every product little bit to deal with a wide variety of your customers.
How You Overcome Your Lack Of Experience?
One of the initial inquiries I worked on was from a South African utility company. It was a huge project and a lot of special requirements from customers. I got to visit Siemens Lisbon Portugal factory for orientation as well as to get all clarifications on the customized requirements of this inquiry.
Later, I traveled to Johannesburg to meet the consultant & customer to do technical clarification. Now I was representing Siemens AG as an expert technical Proposal Manager.
I could go nervous but when I realized my position and how they see me, it helped me overcome my nerves. It was not like I knew all their answers but confidence was key and I avoided saying “I am not sure”, “I will check with the factory”.
Luckily, this project was awarded to Siemens AG and I coordinated the first lot for production. I got the chance to conduct Factory acceptance of the first batch in the last days of my stay with Siemens AG. The project had to continue for the next two years to complete the deliveries.
Standardization Is The Key. Do Not Reinvent The Wheel...
In Germany, we had to complete 35 working hours per week while in Pakistan it was 48hrs. Despite fewer working hours productivity would be higher. One of the different factors is standardization.
You can train new staff quickly and improve efficiency if you have made standard procedures and templates whether you are making technical proposals, engineering drawings, or planning projects. The key is to learn from the past and do not reinvent the wheel.
Opportunity Doesn't Come By Chance, You Need To Plan It!
As usually happens in multinationals, we had department restructuring within 2 months of my joining, and execution was taken out of sales.
However, because of my eagerness and interest, I was retained in the Sales department and this was one of the major turning points in my career.
Monitoring & Controlling
It is not like we did not have any check & balance. We had a senior team lead who distribute & monitor the workload. He also discusses the progress of the projects with each PM regularly.
He goes through again a checklist questions, and every PM was already prepared with answers to efficiently conclude the meeting. This was a way to induce performance culture in every PM.
How to Handle Mistakes?
Whenever a mistake occurs, the first and important thing is to take your senior in confidence. Hiding and lingering on the issue would not help any cause, as happened with me during the FAT of one project.
It was 03 x 6.6kV Vacuum contactors panels to serve as ASD starting of the motor. All the contractors were working but the customer wanted to simulate switching of ASD to DOL circuit as per site condition and thus we had a dispute over the scope and the customer canceled the FAT and did not sign the report.
It was not like you can come another day, everybody was coming from overseas for FAT and everything was chargeable. I got my seniors in the loop, we fought the case, and eventually, the customer accepted it as the additional scope and agreed for claim PO.
Do What You Enjoy, Not What Promotes You Quickly!
What I noticed in Siemens AG, and is also the case in other companies too, some technical experts spend their life with a certain product and become an authority in it while some people keep changing their role either within the same company or new company to move up the ladder quickly.
Some people idealize high profile Multinational jobs that involve International visits, business class travel, and 5-star accommodation. But if you ask, these people are used to these luxuries. Rather, I hear they complain that they have no freedom, their hands are tied and they can only make decisions under strict company guidelines while they idealize small entrepreneur who has the freedom to implement their strategies.
So, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether you are doing the same job for years or keep changing, if you are happy with what you are doing then it provides ultimate satisfaction.
Compliance First, Ignorance Is No Excuse!
As I mentioned earlier, you have to be very clear about DOs and DONTs while working in multinationals. I finished a FAT in the Lisbon factory and invited the customer for dinner as per usual practice. However, he informed me that he has arrived with his wife and she will accompany him to the dinner.
But under Siemens guidelines, it was not permitted to include the customer’s family in official dinner, so I had to consult the compliance office in short notice, and eventually, I got permission to go ahead. Even if you want to help customers or give favor in the interest of the company, you cannot do it and unless you follow company guidelines.
Formal Training Is Important, But Real Learning Comes With Practical Job Experience
I had attended many formal training sessions during my tenure. However, I least remember content from these training sessions. The real and unforgettable lessons were grasped in routine jobs that involve communication both verbal & written, handling mishaps, and overcoming obstacles, and fulfilling expectations.
When I returned from Germany, I tried my best to implement whatever I had learned there and shared with my juniors from knowledge sharing sessions, standardization of tools & procedures, etc.