theceomagazine.comtheceomagazine.com | 39 | 39However, Halim always endeavours to
support his staff, making sure they’re well-
trained and prepared for an ever-changing
industry. It’s been something of a challenge
for him, as he believes that Malaysia has an
issue with intellectual capital, where young
workers may not necessarily be prepared for
a work environment.
“We get a lot of young people who’ve
graduated, but are likely to be lacking in
technical skills,” says Halim. “They’ve all
received academic qualifications, but can’t
operate in a practical environment yet. This
gap has increased over the years to a large
extent. In fact, a lot of our workforce today
has fallen into a middle-performance trap.”
In response, a major focus of the company
in recent years has been upscaling. Sterling’s
strategy has been to engage staff in practical
and structured programs, to create a more
flexible workforce. This strategy can be
summed up as ‘exposure’; as well as internal
training, Sterling’s employees are sent to
numerous conferences and seminars to
broaden their capabilities. But the most
important aspect of this training is the
hands-on, practical element.
“We take our employees out of their
comfort zones and put them into challenging
situations,” says Halim. “But it’s easier said
than done. During that period, we also run
into difficulties. When people are thrown into
the deep end, not everyone can get out. So
there’s a lot of hand-holding. We spend a lot
of time building character and ambition to
push people forward.” »A
bdul Halim Jantan, CEO and
founder of the Sterling Group
of Companies, no longer
wants to be chauffeur-driven
in a luxury car, and ultimately,
he expects all of Sterling’s
executives to follow suit.
“We decided that people like me don’t
need chauffeur-driven cars anymore,” he says.
“This was partly influenced by the fact that
I have a two-year-old granddaughter, and I
don’t want her to grow up defining success as
being chauffeur-driven in a Mercedes-Benz.”
Halim has come to oversee Sterling –
which provides services such as insurance,
consultancy, IT and risk assessment – on
similar principles of equality. For example, one
initiative currently in the pipeline encourages
the Group’s managers to work from home.
The idea being they come in on Monday
for briefing and Friday for debriefing but,
otherwise, to maintain their quality of life,
Halim prefers they don’t come in, working
instead to meet their key performance
indicators from the comfort of their homes.
He describes them as more like
entrepreneurs, and provides them with a great
deal of independence. This freedom is a
crucial part of looking after one’s team; Halim
sees it as essential to the happiness of any
human being. “My children, for example,
know their basic requirements are taken care
of, and want to self-actualise. Similarly, I
would want my staff to self-actualise. I think
when we reach the top of Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs and self-actualise, that’s success.”
ABDUL HALIM JANTAN, CEO OF STERLING, PROVIDES
HIS STAFF WITH BOTH INDEPENDENCE AND SUPPORT.
WORDS OLIVER FEATHERSTON � IMAGES ROB WALLER
Interview | INSPIRE