bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Anna Healy Fenton

Direct marketing firm Amway Hong Kong was rated ninth out of the 36 firms who took part in the WorkHongKong study in the Performance Management section.

With a somewhat different business model,  in that sales are carried out by a network of distributors, Amway focuses on perfecting communication with and between its 120 all-local staff, says general manager Angela Keung Lai-ching.

'We let staff know clearly what Amway expects and we conduct ongoing appraisals with feedback to every individual every time after doing a task or whenever there is a need,' she explains.

'We don't use criticism but we reinforce the positive side; if you continue to tell them they are inadequate you only reinforce their inadequacy. We are a direct selling company, so it is very important to give people the confidence to think they can do it.'

The recognition that you can do it does not always warrant a cash reward. It can be a pat on the shoulder, for example.

Amway's 120  salaried employees are not on commission, she explains, and the 60,000 distributors are paid according to their business volume.

Amway's customers are its distributors, so this group recognition comes not only  from management but  also from the other customers, she says.

A mystery shopper system in their three Hong Kong outlets is another way of making sure the Amway teams keep up to scratch. If improvements are needed, staff are told  and clear objectives are given with the whole team getting involved.

'We  give them clear goals and expectations and  performance incentives.'

This, she says, is Amway's philosophy to help people to help themselves, a line set in stone by the company founder. 'We help people to understand what they are because if they can help themselves, they have a sense of achievement and a happier and more fulfilled life.'

Reviewing staff expectations is also vital.  Monthly meetings are called where they are brought up to date with  new initiatives  and a question-and-answer session is held.

'Chinese people do not always want to speak up so we write out questions and answer them.' Ms Keung  hosts meetings with supervisors where she discusses what's on her mind in an 'open heart communication'.

'Once they see the chief executive can open up her heart, then staff feel it's easy to open their mouths, too.'

This is especially important in Hong Kong where management  is seen as being 'up there', she says.

Each year Amway holds a big function featuring   games and staff  presentations. This forces them to develop their other talents.  'Originally they resisted all this but now we offer dancing classes,  Chinese drum playing and other classes.'

Of course, she stresses,  Amway also offers job-related courses, agreeing with the survey findings that Hong Kong  workers are  less satisfied than other nationalities.

Amway conducts its own in-house employee survey. It asks about housekeeping matters such as lighting,  the comfort of chairs and the best type of  computers with quite a lot of opinion surveys, she says.

'Through these we  come to understand our staff better.  Chinese people are generally shy. They think: 'If I am vocal and I speak up, management won't like it.''

Above all else, Amway's teams adhere to the mission statement. 'That amounts to communication, but it must be genuine, honest and transparent,' she says. 'If you are not sincere, your staff will see it and it will bar you from having good communication with them.'



Amway bases philosophy on good communications