‘Don’t tolerate non-performers when times are good’

The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) is the world’s largest business advisory platform that is used by 20,000 CXOs across 5,000+ global companies.

It has developed a huge repository of business insights and strategies targeted at CXOs.

Through this series, DNA and CEB attempt to delve into the minds of top executives from India to try and understand what makes them and their companies tick.

This time, CEB met up with Anshul Jain, CEO of global property consultancy DTZ in India.

What can you tell us about DTZ?
DTZ is one of the ‘big four’ global real estate advisors, operating in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. It employs over 12, 500 property professionals across 150 cities in 45 countries. We provide comprehensive real estate services to the corporate sector, financial institutions, developers and public organisations.

In India, DTZ has completed five years of operations, with offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. With a team of 200 professionals, we provide transaction services, corporate finance, consulting & research, valuation and project management services to our clients.

What about the DTZ culture?
We are a young, smart and a performance-driven organisation. We believe in fostering an environment of trust through honest and
open communication, and in having fun at work as this brings out the best in people.

Is it beneficial to have global experience?
Absolutely, since we work mostly with international clients. It is immensely helpful to provide them similar standards of service that they would receive elsewhere, as a true multinational company should do. The multidimensional perspective I have gained by working in different geographies — Asia Pacific & Europe — has really helped me in dealing with clients from these regions. In terms of people management, a cross cultural perspective really helps any top manager handle diverse teams and people across locations.

How were you impacted by the recession?
We were as affected by the recession as anyone else. What the management tried to do was to ensure transparency with employees so that they were clued in to all the changes that were taking place. There was pressure on everybody to perform and surely more for members who have not been to the mark, which in turn resulted in attrition. This, in a way, helped us to right-size our operations in some business verticals. There were other measures too to optimise our operations for better productivity but proper communication ensured that there wasn’t a corresponding loss of morale and disengagement amongst the employees.

What are the challenges you are facing right now?
The key issue for us in the downturn and now is retaining high performers even though we have right-sized. A second is bolstering our existing customer relationship management platform, as our current one is not adequate for a purely services driven organisation. Innovation is also a pressing need to help cope with the current economic situation.

How do you typically address the management issues on your plate?
One needs to be mentally very strong to survive in this industry. Decision making should be quick and I always consult enough people and believe in a consensus driven approach. Having said that, I do know that the ‘buck always stops with me’.

What are the most common management mistakes you see peers making?
Most people are suffering from what I call ‘short term-ism’. A reactionary approach is always self defeating. I strongly advocate a client-focused approach for companies such as ours.
What’s your biggest learning from the downturn?
Don’t tolerate non performers when times are good

What about Internal Best Practices?
We have initiated a ‘Young Leaders’ program in which we are mentoring and nurturing mid-level talent with a five-year career vision. It is a great tool to develop the next level of leadership for DTZ in India and give young talent a clear career path.

What’s your vision for DTZ India?
It is threefold, to make DTZ:
1. The most sought after company to work for
2. Top of the mind in recall value with our clients
3. Among the top two real estate advisory companies in India