Connecting Africa’s Skilled Professionals
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We speak to John Patterson, Diageo Africa’s Director of Human Resources, to discover how his company is showing its commitment to developing African talent.
ID: When did you first join Diageo and in what capacity?
JP: I joined Diageo in North America in May 2001. Through my work in integrating the Seagram business merger, I was appointed Senior VP for Human Resources for Diageo’s supply business in North America. After two years, I was then offered the opportunity to move to the UK to head up the Human Resources group within Diageo Africa.
ID: What inspired you to take on the role with Diageo Africa?
JP: Africa was completely unknown to me and my immediate response was how completely romantic it would be to head Human Resources for Diageo in Africa! As I lookedinto the business, however, I quickly became aware of how strategically important Africa
We speak to John Patterson, Diageo Africa’s Director of Human Resources, to discover how his company is showing its commitment to developing African talent.
ID: When did you first join Diageo and in what capacity?
JP: I joined Diageo in North America in May 2001. Through my work in integrating the Seagram business merger, I was appointed Senior VP for Human Resources for Diageo’s supply business in North America. After two years, I was then offered the opportunity to move to the UK to head up the Human Resources group within Diageo Africa.
ID: What inspired you to take on the role with Diageo Africa?
JP: Africa was completely unknown to me and my immediate response was how completely romantic it would be to head Human Resources for Diageo in Africa! As I lookedinto the business, however, I quickly became aware of how strategically important Africa is to Diageo’s business. I discovered that one out of five of Diageo’s employees work in Africa, that 10% of Diageo’s profits come from Africa and that the growth in the global Guinness brand has been greatly fuelled by the Africa region. Taking on this role satisfied my desire to be part of a large-scale business within Diageo and my cultural and intellectual curiosity about the continent. Despite the fact that I was also offered a more senior role in North America and another opportunity in Asia, there was never a question in my mind that the role in Africa was the right one for me and was what I was interested in doing.
ID: What do you see as the key challenges for Diageo and its brands in Africa?
JP: We have a real opportunity to leverage our premium brands in the region. We have seen the emergence of what we term the premierconsumer in Africa who wants premium brands and we have a huge challenge in ensuring that we deliver to these ever growing demands.
The challenge for us is to build on our knowledge of consumer tastes to deliver a total premium portfolio in the region.
In terms of our people, the big challenge is recruiting from the African Diaspora, attracting the talent who are keen to move back to Africa and making sure that they are valued and successfully integrated to contribute significantly to our business.
We have a real opportunity to merge our great employment opportunities in Africa and to be able to identify the most capable Diaspora talent to bring diversity to our management team. We want to see a shift from a predominantly European management team and to build local capability and drive leadership within the local market with nationals of those markets.
ID: How do you think people in Africa view Diageo as an employer?
JP: I think the perception of Diageo varies by market. We are proud of the fact that East African Breweries Ltd. has been voted as the number one employer of choice in external surveys conducted in Kenya for 4 years running. We recently conducted a global survey of our employees and more than 3000 surveys were completed, with over 75% of our staff responding. In looking at the results of the survey, the question with the highest scores (upper 80’s to lower 90’s in % terms) was ‘I am proud to work for Diageo’. The Guinness brand has been in Africa since the early 1800’s and across much of the continent our employment brand has been viewed as a secure company that has in past years been quite paternalistic in culture. We know what our current employees think of us and one of our priorities is managing a transition to being viewed externally as a competitive, market-focused and performance driven company. We aim to attract people who are looking for a progressive company that is open to change, people who want recognition for personal accountability and responsibility, people who welcome a performance based culture that rewards individual and team performance.
ID: Given the traditionally heavy reliance placed by multinationals on European expats in Africa, what real career choices does Diageo offer to Africans?
JP: As we build the capability of our local management, we will have less reliance on senior European management for our African markets. As businesses grow and become very successful, that growth will naturally offer career opportunities. The number of expats in the African markets has stayed flat over the last four years and growth has come from local leaders. However, we are not satisfied with the balance and we are very sensitive to making sure that businesses are being led at a senior level by people who know the market and who represent the market. Of the 45 expatriates in African markets, 10 are Africans working in London or other African markets. That is not high enough and we are working hard to ensure that we are exposing our African talent to the businesses in Africa as well as other parts of the world. Some expatriate posts are important to retain and expats will always be a part of all our operations, as we are a global business. However, we need to continue to build on our success in promoting and developing local nationals in our African markets. We want to attract the top talent and this means that we do not want to put a glass ceiling on those we take into the company.
“We recognise that if all our senior jobs are going to non-African expatriates, we will be a less attractive option for prospective top African talent. Therefore, we have a strategy to encourage local leaders to run local businesses and we must execute that strategy.”
We are not all the way there yet but great focus is being placed on finding African talent, both locally and in the Diaspora and when we achieve that goal, the best talent in and outside Africa will come to Diageo for a global career. What is key for us is to shatter any perception of a glass ceiling and to show that we will put the best people into senior roles based on capability and performance.
ID: Africa is often treated as the poor cousin within global businesses. What commitment do you intend to make towards investing in building the skills of your African employees?
JP: In the past this was true and, even at Diageo, Africa was not viewed as the place to work within the business. However my commitment is to ensure that first and foremost the people hired into the African businesses – whether local or expat – are the top talent within and outside the organisation. That will allow us to showcase our great talent in Africa and to identify moves outside the African markets once they have contributed to our business. Secondly, I am committed to branding the opportunities, both internally and externally, and letting people understand what great businesses we have in Africa. A General Manager role within the market is an opportunity to run a truly integrated operation with a full P&L, control over every aspect of the business, in addition to having significant responsibility for Boards of Directors within those countries, Board level governance experience and a significant corporate affairs agenda.
“Whether you are a functional or general manager, you will gain a richer and broader experience if you are working in Africa. People are recognising this and there is no shortage of talent lining up to work in Africa, which is a great reversal of past trends.”
ID: What are the key achievements that you intend to put in place as Human Resources Director for the region?
JP: First and foremost at my leaving party, I want them to say, ‘John brought great passion to increasing our capability’ and that ‘John and his team have built the best executive team across the market and have one of the best performing teams at leadership level.’ Also, I want them to be able to say that ‘John and his team have increased their functional capabilities and should be viewed as the most admired and effective HR team across the business’, and that Africa HR talent will be sought across the corporation for African and global positions. I think we can do that.
ID: What kinds of roles are available to Africans in Africa and from the Diaspora if they come to Diageo?
JP: They cut across the whole spectrum of our business. There is a huge need for Marketing talent, Finance talent and, of course, HR talent. There are also exciting opportunities now for individuals across the technical areas of brewing and manufacturing. We also have real opportunities at senior levels within the Leadership Team and while we are not advertising for MD’s, we are looking at senior opportunities for promising talent. We have identified approximately 40 key roles coming out of our recent organisational and people review which we would look to local talent to fill.
ID: What is the best route for potential applicants who want to apply to Diageo Africa?
JP: The most efficient way to apply is to register on our website or to make contact with people within the company. Shortly after I started in this role, I identified that our website was being under-utilised for African opportunities. As a result, over the next few weeks, we are making improvements to enable people to interact more effectively with the site. In the meantime, I am willing to accept e-mails and to personally take the time to look at talent in the Diaspora that is interested in coming to us and to forwarding cv’s to the relevant contacts for following up.
ID: Given the impact of poverty, illiteracy and HIV/AIDS on Africa’s employee base, many employers in Africa now demonstrate some element of commitment to and investment in social and community issues in Africa. What has Diageo’s record of corporate social investment in Africa been to date?
JP: Clearly we aspire to be the most trusted and respected company in all the markets that we operate, and Africa is no different.
We are proud of our record in Africa. We are leading the way in support to employees and their immediate family in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention training and in providing antiretroviral drugs free of charge.
In terms of the environment, we support programmes that provide a safe and reliable water supply and we locally engage our communities in initiatives to ensure that we are good neighbours and leaders.
www.Diageo.com
For further information about careers with Diageo in Africa:
To e-mail John Patterson: John.patterson@diageo.com
is to Diageo’s business. I discovered that one out of five of Diageo’s employees work in Africa, that 10% of Diageo’s profits come from Africa and that the growth in the global Guinness brand has been greatly fuelled by the Africa region. Taking on this role satisfied my desire to be part of a large-scale business within Diageo and my cultural and intellectual curiosity about the continent. Despite the fact that I was also offered a more senior role in North America and another opportunity in Asia, there was never a question in my mind that the role in Africa was the right one for me and was what I was interested in doing.
ID: What do you see as the key challenges for Diageo and its brands in Africa?
JP: We have a real opportunity to leverage our premium brands in the region. We have seen the emergence of what we term the premierconsumer in Africa who wants premium brands and we have a huge challenge in ensuring that we deliver to these ever growing demands.
The challenge for us is to build on our knowledge of consumer tastes to deliver a total premium portfolio in the region.
In terms of our people, the big challenge is recruiting from the African Diaspora, attracting the talent who are keen to move back to Africa and making sure that they are valued and successfully integrated to contribute significantly to our business.
We have a real opportunity to merge our great employment opportunities in Africa and to be able to identify the most capable Diaspora talent to bring diversity to our management team. We want to see a shift from a predominantly European management team and to build local capability and drive leadership within the local market with nationals of those markets.
ID: How do you think people in Africa view Diageo as an employer?
JP: I think the perception of Diageo varies by market. We are proud of the fact that East African Breweries Ltd. has been voted as the number one employer of choice in external surveys conducted in Kenya for 4 years running. We recently conducted a global survey of our employees and more than 3000 surveys were completed, with over 75% of our staff responding. In looking at the results of the survey, the question with the highest scores (upper 80’s to lower 90’s in % terms) was ‘I am proud to work for Diageo’. The Guinness brand has been in Africa since the early 1800’s and across much of the continent our employment brand has been viewed as a secure company that has in past years been quite paternalistic in culture. We know what our current employees think of us and one of our priorities is managing a transition to being viewed externally as a competitive, market-focused and performance driven company. We aim to attract people who are looking for a progressive company that is open to change, people who want recognition for personal accountability and responsibility, people who welcome a performance based culture that rewards individual and team performance.
ID: Given the traditionally heavy reliance placed by multinationals on European expats in Africa, what real career choices does Diageo offer to Africans?
JP: As we build the capability of our local management, we will have less reliance on senior European management for our African markets. As businesses grow and become very successful, that growth will naturally offer career opportunities. The number of expats in the African markets has stayed flat over the last four years and growth has come from local leaders. However, we are not satisfied with the balance and we are very sensitive to making sure that businesses are being led at a senior level by people who know the market and who represent the market. Of the 45 expatriates in African markets, 10 are Africans working in London or other African markets. That is not high enough and we are working hard to ensure that we are exposing our African talent to the businesses in Africa as well as other parts of the world. Some expatriate posts are important to retain and expats will always be a part of all our operations, as we are a global business. However, we need to continue to build on our success in promoting and developing local nationals in our African markets. We want to attract the top talent and this means that we do not want to put a glass ceiling on those we take into the company.
“We recognise that if all our senior jobs are going to non-African expatriates, we will be a less attractive option for prospective top African talent. Therefore, we have a strategy to encourage local leaders to run local businesses and we must execute that strategy.”
We are not all the way there yet but great focus is being placed on finding African talent, both locally and in the Diaspora and when we achieve that goal, the best talent in and outside Africa will come to Diageo for a global career. What is key for us is to shatter any perception of a glass ceiling and to show that we will put the best people into senior roles based on capability and performance.
ID: Africa is often treated as the poor cousin within global businesses. What commitment do you intend to make towards investing in building the skills of your African employees?
JP: In the past this was true and, even at Diageo, Africa was not viewed as the place to work within the business. However my commitment is to ensure that first and foremost the people hired into the African businesses – whether local or expat – are the top talent within and outside the organisation. That will allow us to showcase our great talent in Africa and to identify moves outside the African markets once they have contributed to our business. Secondly, I am committed to branding the opportunities, both internally and externally, and letting people understand what great businesses we have in Africa. A General Manager role within the market is an opportunity to run a truly integrated operation with a full P&L, control over every aspect of the business, in addition to having significant responsibility for Boards of Directors within those countries, Board level governance experience and a significant corporate affairs agenda.
“Whether you are a functional or general manager, you will gain a richer and broader experience if you are working in Africa. People are recognising this and there is no shortage of talent lining up to work in Africa, which is a great reversal of past trends.”
ID: What are the key achievements that you intend to put in place as Human Resources Director for the region?
JP: First and foremost at my leaving party, I want them to say, ‘John brought great passion to increasing our capability’ and that ‘John and his team have built the best executive team across the market and have one of the best performing teams at leadership level.’ Also, I want them to be able to say that ‘John and his team have increased their functional capabilities and should be viewed as the most admired and effective HR team across the business’, and that Africa HR talent will be sought across the corporation for African and global positions. I think we can do that.
ID: What kinds of roles are available to Africans in Africa and from the Diaspora if they come to Diageo?
JP: They cut across the whole spectrum of our business. There is a huge need for Marketing talent, Finance talent and, of course, HR talent. There are also exciting opportunities now for individuals across the technical areas of brewing and manufacturing. We also have real opportunities at senior levels within the Leadership Team and while we are not advertising for MD’s, we are looking at senior opportunities for promising talent. We have identified approximately 40 key roles coming out of our recent organisational and people review which we would look to local talent to fill.
ID: What is the best route for potential applicants who want to apply to Diageo Africa?
JP: The most efficient way to apply is to register on our website or to make contact with people within the company. Shortly after I started in this role, I identified that our website was being under-utilised for African opportunities. As a result, over the next few weeks, we are making improvements to enable people to interact more effectively with the site. In the meantime, I am willing to accept e-mails and to personally take the time to look at talent in the Diaspora that is interested in coming to us and to forwarding cv’s to the relevant contacts for following up.
ID: Given the impact of poverty, illiteracy and HIV/AIDS on Africa’s employee base, many employers in Africa now demonstrate some element of commitment to and investment in social and community issues in Africa. What has Diageo’s record of corporate social investment in Africa been to date?
JP: Clearly we aspire to be the most trusted and respected company in all the markets that we operate, and Africa is no different.
We are proud of our record in Africa. We are leading the way in support to employees and their immediate family in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention training and in providing antiretroviral drugs free of charge.
In terms of the environment, we support programmes that provide a safe and reliable water supply and we locally engage our communities in initiatives to ensure that we are good neighbours and leaders.
www.Diageo.com
For further information about careers with Diageo in Africa:
To e-mail John Patterson: John.patterson@diageo.com
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