19 Sep Corporate success lies in talent and strong work culture
Anne Heraty, Founder and CEO, CPL, underlines the importance of a good workforce in maintaining a thriving business and the company’s insight into the future of work through its new research institute
Can you give us an overview of the company’s operations in Ireland and abroad?
We set up CPL in 1989 as a specialist company in the technology sector and we continued as a technology recruitment company throughout the ‘90s. In 1999 we went public and evolved our services and our specialties across several sectors. Today, we are strongest in technology, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, while also covering the digital, information communication technology, healthcare and financial services sectors. We have around 13,000 people working with us to support our clients globally. We have 45 office locations across Ireland, the UK, Central Europe and Eastern Europe. We also have an office in Boston. These offices help us support the multinational base here in Ireland and indigenous Irish companies looking to scale internationally. I am passionate about supporting people in reaching their potential and a believer that the best way to drive growth within a company is access to talent.
How has the recent acquisition by Japan’s Outsourcing bolstered CPL’s offerings?
We navigated the early stages of the pandemic well. When we began working from home, it was an uncertain time. As we came through the summer months, people settled into working at home and our productivity was high. We continued to support our clients as we always had. We put out a statement at the end of July 2020 to the stock markets explaining how we were progressing. Outsourcing took note of this and saw the resilience of our business model, which encouraged them to work with us.
The acquisition was an exciting opportunity for us and an opportunity to drive further growth and international expansion. Outsourcing has a global network in over 100 different countries, which facilitates our ability to offer more services to more locations. The talent market is now a global market; it is especially important right now for us to have access to an international network. We are culturally aligned with Outsourcing. Our Japanese partners are extremely respectful and good people to work with. The company is integrating quite well as we share similar values, such as committing to long-term sustainability goals and mobility within the workforce.
What kind of insights does CPL glean through its Future of Work Institute?
CPL established the Future of Work Institute several years ago. It acts as an incubator for many unique frameworks that give insight into our clients. For example, we developed a mapping tool for assessing employer value proposition for organizations. We have also done a lot around a strategic wellness model to help with employee retention and raise overall wellness within organizations. The tech transformation taking place is having a real impact on how and where we work, and this will continue to grow in importance. We recently performed a survey through our client base that looks at a five-year horizon. It concluded that 57% of businesses will be more human-centric in the next five years, while 80% of businesses will be more society-centric. Our workforce models use what we call the three Ws of the future of work: the workplace, the workforce and work tasks. Through these lenses it is remarkably interesting how the future of work is changing and what types of models are unlikely to move forward in business.
Why is Ireland a good place to do business?
Ireland’s economic and industrial policy for the last 30 years has been set up to attract foreign direct investment. Ireland is quite a compelling market because we give multinationals access to the EU. Another big attraction for companies coming to Ireland is access to talent. There is a global shortage of highly skilled labor in certain sectors. Ireland has strong talent in information communication technology, biotech, pharmaceuticals and financial services. Our talent pool is used to working globally. Ireland is an exceptionally good place to live and work, with a sound education system. It is a great place to do business.
What recent challenges has industry faced and what is key in overcoming these hurdles?
One of the biggest challenges for a company like CPL is always making sure we have the best teams and that our people are fully engaged on our client first strategy. We have suffered from the impact of recessions, particularly the dot com collapse in 2000 and the global financial crash in 2008. In each of those crashes the thing that always brought us through is the quality of the team and a will to succeed. One’s success is very much built on hiring the right team and placing them in the right roles. Companies are looking for people with strong technical skills, but also superior leadership abilities. Those who can collaborate and operate at a global level, possess management skills and an openness to learning are highly sought after. Building trust is a fundamental part of leadership. Companies require a strong culture within the organization and need to make sure their people are empowered.
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