One-Stop HR Information Centre

Sales Manager

• Responsible for the sale of product(s) and for increasing turnover in a specified geographic region.
• Contributes to the development of the sales strategy and responsible for implementing all sales plans to support overall sales and business strategy of the company.
• Leads one or multiple sales teams and direct reports.

Key Account Manager

• Responsible for sales to key accounts.
• Attends to one or several important customers and responsible for the realisation of sales objectives within an assigned group of customers.
• Responsible for maintaining relationships with key accounts in order to achieve profitable results.
• Leads a team of direct reports.

Area Sales Manager

• Responsible for the sale of product(s) in a specified region or geographic area and for increasing turnover within the region / geographic area.
• Contributes to the development of the sales strategy and responsible for implementation of all sales plans in region / geographic area in order to achieve profitable results.

Junior Area Sales Manager

• Responsible for the sale of product(s) in a specified region or geographic area and for increasing turnover within the region / geographic area. Contributes to the development of the sales strategy and responsible for implementation of all sales plans in region / geographic area in order to achieve profitable results. Typical years of experience is between 6-8 years.

Senior Sales / Accounts Executive

• Responsible for the needs analysis, development, negotiation, sale, installation or delivery, and post-sale services to a group of clients.
• Responsible to sell products and/or services to current customers and identify new and potential customers.
• Handle complex assignments and trains junior staff.

Sales / Account Executive

• Responsible for the needs analysis, development, negotiation, sale, installation or delivery, and post-sale services to a group of clients.
• Responsible to sell products and/or services to current customers and identify new and potential customers.
• Experienced employee working independently.

Junior Sales / Account Executive

• Responsible for the needs analysis, development, negotiation, sale, installation or delivery, and post-sale services to a group of clients.
• Responsible to sell products and/or services to current customers and identify new and potential customers. Learning role working under close supervision.

Technical Sales Advisor

• Responsible for providing technical supports to the sales and business development activities.
• Analyses customer requirements and elaborates proposals and technical contracts. and analyses the service level offered. Make presentations of products to actual and potential clients.

Generally, there are two types of testimonial. The first one is a simple one, which usually issued by HR department, certify only the employee’s period of service and last designation with the Company. While the other one, most probably issued by head of department, would be commenting the employee’s performance, on top of certifying the employee’s tenure of service with the company.

A simple sample of testimonial is as follow:

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

To Whom It May Concern

Letter of Certification

This is to certify that Ms. <Name>, <NRIC No.>, was an employee with <Company Name> from <Date> until <Date>. His / Her last position with this Company was as a <Designation, Department>.

He / She resigned from our service on his own accord.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Human Resource Department if you need further information.

We wish him / her all the best in his / her future endeavours.

Yours faithfully

<Company>

<Signatory>

The following is a sample of PIP meeting letter to be served to the staff, prior to such meeting.

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Designation>

<Department>

Dear <Name>

Performance Improvement Program (PIP)

This communication is further to the performance review discussion on <date / year>. Following detailed discussions with you and a documentation of your performance to date, it has been found that your performance is not up to the required standard for <department name>.

In view of the above, you are being put in a Performance Improvement Plan for a period of <number of> months from the date of this letter.

You will be evaluated on your performance by your superior and HR during the Performance Improvement Plan period. You will also receive continuous feedback on your performance. All evaluations and ratings will be shared with you.

On successful completion of the Performance Improvement Plan, you will proceed with your current role or any role that the Company deems fit you. If, however, you are unable to meet specified targets at the end of the Performance Improvement Plan period, we reserve the right to take any disciplinary action, even terminate your employment.

Yours sincerely

<Signatory>

***********************************************************

Acceptance

I <Name>, <NRIC No.> do hereby acknowledge and accept the contents of this letter.

<Signatory>

<Date>

Most employers do not know the proper ways of handling unconfirmed employees who performed below expectation. The under-performed unconfirmed employees will most probably be terminated at the end of their probation period, without going through the proper Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). This might put the company at risk in Industrial Relations (IR) proceeding.

It is therefore important to have a PIP, in order to assist an identified under-performed employee in improving his / her job performance or poor work habits in order to achieve the standards set for the position. The employers or managers must be made aware of their obligation to address poor performance by: 

• Identify and act on sub-standard performance as early as possible
• Provide a reasonable opportunity for the employee to improve
• Emphasize must be on helping the person to improve
• Provide on-going one-to-one performance counseling
• Focus on observed performance issues, not hearsay
• Focus on action plan for improvement with clear measurements

Meanwhile, the implications of continuing poor performance should be made clear to the employees, for example, downgrading, termination, etc.

Review meeting is a "must" process for PIP. There shall be at least three review meetings (hereinafter referred as "PIP meeting") to assist the under-performed employees to improve their performance.

Prior to the first PIP meeting, once the manager found his / her staff does not meet the job performance requirements, he / she shall have a review with the staff and subsequently require the staff to attend a meeting to discuss on PIP. A copy of the outcomes of the review process (pre-prepared by the manager) will be given to the employee for him / her to plan for the PIP meeting. Sufficient notice of at least 2 working days shall be given to the staff.

In the first PIP meeting, the following items must be fully discussed / clarified:

• PIP form
• Corrective action plan with due dates, measures and management support
• Additional on-the-job training, courses, reading, counseling, etc.

Once the above are discussed, a date for a follow-up meeting (second PIP meeting) shall be set to review the employee’s performance. The period between the meetings depends on the nature of the work performed, the period over which performance can be measured and the seriousness of the poor performance. It is recommended that the meetings shall be scheduled periodically within the probation period. The PIP form must be completed which a copy shall be given to the employee and the Human Resource Department respectively.

Regardless of whether the performance has improved, remained, or deteriorated, the follow-up meeting shall take place on the scheduled date. A form of Review of Progress against POP shall be completed a the outcome of this meeting. If performance has improved to an acceptable level, the review could be end there. If performance has not improved, the manager may indicate the possible outcome, including terminating the employment contract if the performance still does not improve by the next meeting. A letter to this effect shall be given to the staff, and all local regulations should be taken into consideration before issuing such letters. Thereafter, the next PIP meeting date shall be set. Again, the employee and the Human Resource Department shall be given a copy of the completed Review of Progress form.

The third PIP meeting, usually is the final PIP meeting. if the manager believes that the employee’s performance has not improved, a senior manager must chair the meeting. A member of the Human Resource Department may also be invited to attend. If the Chairperson finds that performance has improved to an acceptable level, this would mark an end to the review. Otherwise, a separate decision could be made.

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Address>

Dear <Name>

Provision of Accommodation

Please be informed that during your employment with the Company, the Company shall provide you with a rested furnished accommodation of reasonable standard. The Company further agrees to pay for the monthly public utilities such as water, electricity, sewerage and other expenses as is reasonably incurred at the place of the accommodation.

On termination of this employment, you shall surrender the accommodation to the Company’s designated representative.

The above benefit is non-contractual and may be reviewed from time to time or withdrawn at the discretion of the Company.

Yours faithfully

<Company>

<Signatory>

***********************************************************

Acceptance

I <Name> <NRIC No.> do hereby acknowledge and accept the contents of this letter.

<Signatory>

<Date>

Outpatient medical benefit, although is not specified in the Employment Act of Malaysia that it is a must to be provided by the employer, most employers in Malaysia are providing this benefit to their employees, or some even to the employees’ family members, with different annual limit.

There are two common ways of outpatient medical plan administration, which is, either managed by the employer itself, or outsource. There are two common types of outsourcing, which the first one, is to insure the employees under outpatient medical benefit with an insurance company, and an annual premium is paid. The other one is to engage an external company (some insurance company also provide this service) to manage all administration work of outpatient medical benefits, whereby the employers will pay all outpatient medical expenses incurred to its employees, and on top of that, pay a percentage of administration fees to the external company.

As a HR person, if your outpatient medical benefit is managed by your own, perhaps you may include the following exclusion and limitation into your outpatient medical plan policy, as a way of controlling your cost, besides having the annual limit.

1. Acne treatment or cosmetic treatment;
2. Care and treatment that is experimental, investigative and not according to accepted professional standard and care that is not medically indicated;
3. Treatments or injuries sustained while committing a crime or felony, or while under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, or mind altering substance or injuries which are self inflicted while sane or insane;
4. House calls by doctors for any reasons;
5. Any expenses in respect of pregnancy, confinement, miscarriage, contraceptive medications and devices, sterilization procedures, or treatment for complications;
6. Conditions related to sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and AIDS Related Complex or its sequelae;
7. Alternative therapies such as Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Osterpathy, Reflexology, etc;
8. Vitamins, food supplements, herbal cures and anti obesity / weight reducing agents including any off the counter medications;
9. Soaps, shampoos, vitamin creams and vitamin ointment;
10. Psychotic, mental or nervous disorders and behavioral conditions including any neurosis and their physiological or psychosomatic manifestations;
11. Treatment or therapy for congenital or hereditary diseases, deformities and disabilities and any medical or surgical complication arising therefrom e.g. childhood hernias, clubfoot, Thalassemia, etc;
12. Diseases or disabilities of a newborn child contracted prior to or during birth;
13. Blood and topical allergy testing;
14. Routine physical examination, health check-ups or tests;
15. Spectacles, lenses, any process solely for determination of eye refraction and the correction of the same by radial keratotomy, orthoptic or visual training or by other means, optician’s fees;
16. Any dental treatment or surgery;
17. Use or acquisition of all external appliances (e.g. artificial limbs, hearing aids, etc.) and the rental charges of such devices;
18. Outpatient physical therapy or physiotherapy;
19. Preventive vaccinations;
20. Any expenses incurred in respect of illness, injury or disablement arising from any proven faults, carelessness, participation in any hazardous sport, pursuit or pastime.

After the issuance of Breach of Contract Letter, if there is no reply from the employee after the given time frame, the employer may proceed to issue a termination letter to terminate the service of the employee. The sample of such termination letter is as follow:

<Ref. No.>

<Date>

<Name>

<Address>

Dear <Name>

Termination 

This is to inform that you are hereby terminated with effect from <date> under <Section> of the Employment Act 1955 in response to your willful breach of your contract of service with the Company.

The Company had decided to terminate your contact of service since you have failed to respond to our letter dated <date> requiring you to explain your absence from work since <date>.

You are required to return all Company’s property under your possession to <name>, <position> or his appointed staff as soon as possible.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully

<Company Name>

<Signatory>

Under Employment Act and Labour Law of Malaysia, termination of contract without notice maybe done in the event of willful breach by either party on a term and condition of the contract of service, which include the employee has been continuously absent from work for more than 2 consecutive working days without prior leave from his employer, or without reasonable excuse, or without informing or attempting to inform his employer of such an excuse, or at the earliest opportunity, during such absence.

In the above circumstances, the employer may issue a letter on Breach of Contract to the employee, as per below sample:

<Date>

<Ref. No.>

<Name>

<Address>

Dear <Name>

Breach of Contract

This is to inform you that you have breached your contract of service under <Clause> of your Letter of Employment.

You were absent from work without prior approval for more than 48 hours since <date>. Furthermore, you have not informed, or attempted to inform the Company the reason(s) for your absence. Therefore, it is deemed that you have breached your contract of service with the Company.

Please explain to us in writing the reason(s) for your absence within <number> days from the date of this letter, failing which we will have no choice but proceed to terminate your contract of service with this Company with immediate effect.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully

<Company Name>

<Signatory>

The following are the general job description of various human resource functions for senior manager level. However, this is served as a guide only, as job description for the same position / department maybe vary from one organisation to another, depending on the actual role and function of such position / department in a particular company.

Head of Human Resources

• Leads the human resources functions for the company, with the responsibility for organising, integrating, and directing all human resources activities which support the company’s overall business strategy.
• Manages compensation and benefits, recruitment, employees and industrial relations, human resource development, education and training, and employee communications.
• Define and implements company’s short and long-term human resources strategy.
• Leads a team of direct reports.

HR Business Partner

• Key liaison with Heads of business divisions.
• Acts as Account Manager for one or more (line) business division, understands HR needs and requirements of business.
• Liaise and plan with respective HR Manager (Recruitment & Separation, Training & Development, Compensation & Benefits, etc.) to meet needs of business division(s).
• Involved in business planning of respective business division(s).

Compensation & Benefits Manager

• Responsible for the design, development and implementation of company compensation and benefit programs that support the organisation’s strategic goals and competitive objectives.
• Oversees day-to-day management of the compensation and benefit function.
• Leads the entire function and a team of direct reports.

Training & Development Manager

• Responsible for planning and implementing training and development programs for the company.
• Analyses training needs and develops plans and programs to meet those needs.  
• Oversees development of training materials and administration of training plans, including the selection and use of outside providers as needed.
• Leads the entire function and a team of direct reports.

Human Resources Manager

• Responsible for management / operations of the human resource department.
• Operates / implement policies and program that have been formulated and approved.
• Hands-on involvement in day to day operations of all / most aspects of HR.
• Key liaison for employee relations.

Employee Relations Manager

• Responsible for employee-related matters across the organisation such as grievances, disciplinary actions, and recruitment and selection.
• Implements all formulated human resource policies.

Staffing Manager

• Responsible for management / operations of the staffing function.
• Operates / implements policies and programs that have been formulated and approved.
• Hands-on involvement in day-to-day operations of all / most aspects of HR.
• Key liaison for recruitment with line managers.

Organisational Development Manager

• Responsible for design and management of the organisational development strategy of the organisation.

Why do you think a lot of employees leave their managers instead of their jobs? Who do you think some leaders have no follower? Simply because the employees who left have an unefficient and uneffective leaders! A real leader must equipped at least with the below traits:

1. Competence - They know what they are talking about. They know their job, their business, their environment, even their organisation from bottom up.
2. Fairness - They do not play favourism. They reward their employees based on actual performance. They know what is actually happening. They are able to manage, evaluate and reward.
3. Integrity - They walk the talk. They lead from the front. They set themselves as a model to their employees. They step forward rather than shy away when a tough tasks need to be done. They responsible on any important decision that they made. They never demand from their employees what they can’t do.
4. Protection - They place the needs of their employees above theirs. They hold their employees’ welfare first and foremost in their mind. They make decisions that protect their employees, not to put them im unnecessary danger for their personal gain or ambitions.