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Remote control – managing performance from a distance

Interview with Harold Gittelmon, MD of The Harding Brothers Group

I met Harold Gittelmon, MD of The Harding Brothers Group, on a lovely sunny day back in May. Harold started a keep-fit regime at the beginning of the year and joined me after a particularly gruelling session at the gym.

“Keeping fit is a big part of dealing with the pressure,” he explained. “I've found it makes a huge difference to my ability to cope.”

Anyone reading this article will be more than familiar with the pressures of leadership and managing people. However, how much more is this exacerbated for the leader of a company with teams scattered all over the world? How do they deal with performance issues; ensure effective communication and consistently high standards of performance?

Harold joined Harding Brothers in 2002 following a career in banking and finance. He ran his own private equity house specialising in early stage retail businesses needing capital and management to expand. He's a regular speaker on the travel retail conference circuit and at business schools and universities.

He has seen the company grow significantly from £12 to £100m in five years, expanding into Australia, Spain, Greece, and Miami. Founded over sixty years ago by the grandfather of the current CEO, the company is the fastest growing cruise-line concessionaire.

It operates gift shops on board 60 cruise ships around the world. Goods range from perfume, cosmetics and skincare, through to jewellery; clothing; watches; branded, itinerary and destination specific souvenirs; giftware, and the everyday toiletries and sundries you might need on board a cruise ship.

The company dominates the UK, US luxury, and Australian domestic markets. It's also prominent in the US mainstream market. It was a regional finalist in The Sunday Times entrepreneurial challenge 2008 and has won many industry accolades.

Managing teams around the globe

“Managing virtually does bring its own pressures,” Harold agreed when I put the question to him. “We’ve had to compete with exceptionally well-capitalised competitors and the managers of new territories need more help.

“They represent the company, wherever they are based, be that Brazil or Majorca. I need to be really confident they'll stay loyal to us and conduct themselves appropriately.

“The different time zones and distances make them a semi-autonomous organisation and that really changes the culture. We are hiring strangers to represent us in a local environment.”

Not only does the company have employees in different countries around the world, it has around 600 people at any one time working on board cruise ships. With such a global operation how do you make sure the company image is consistent?

“We have to be very confident people at all levels are doing it the Harding Brothers way,” he said. “I stay very involved with them, on a day-to-day basis, but not so as to micro manage. Delegation is a skill worth learning for any manager but when you're managing remotely it's an absolute necessity.”

“Our people stay motivated with encouragement and unswerving support when something is tough or has gone wrong.

“I like to be really open with from the first meeting. I find this honesty works. In the last seven years I've only lost two managers I didn't want to lose.”

Harold then admitted he had recently veered away from his own advice:

“I recently recruited someone to the UK office whose CV read like a dream. He had all the skill-sets, all the experience, and the network of contacts.

“However, I made the mistake of focusing on those attributes and totally excluded personality,” he admitted. “I didn't give enough thought to whether or not he was a good fit for the team.

“To make matters worse, all I could see was how much it had cost to hire him. So rather than getting him to recognise he was the wrong fit, I persevered. My instincts were 100% right. The longer you leave a change of that nature the worse it is. You have to be decisive.

“You can't be too instinctive – OK you have to make sure you're not basing your judgement on a particular situation, or that it's not because of how you were feeling at a particular moment. But when a pattern emerges you've got to deal with it.”

Taking a tough line with poor performance

In my September interview with head-teacher, Jon Chaloner, we touched on the need to take a tough line with poor performance.

It's no easy task to tell someone they no longer fit the business. But equally, just how long are you prepared to let it go unsaid before someone's poor performance begins to impact the business?

I was interested to hear Harold's take on it.

“I keep tabs on the progress that departments make,” he told me.

“I look at it from the client's perspective as well as that of other departments. Are they happy with performance?

“I also look at whether there are resource or training issues.

“I tolerate all mistakes, but I won't tolerate repeated mistakes. Simple but effective.

“We've managed-out some people whose skill-set was never going to get to the desired level and who were holding the business back.

We've done it with honest feedback at appraisal time. Admittedly, some conversations have gone better than others.

“Some people have been relieved when we’ve taken the initiative because they haven't been coping with the demands of the job. They've been going home afraid of being unmasked.

“Some are delusional about their abilities and they are far more difficult to manage-out.

“For me, the irreducible core is dishonesty. I decided that from day one. The only people I have fired are those who have lied to me. I didn't trick them into lying. I made it known why I fired them too because I felt it was a good lesson to pass on to the business.

“Our HR team are sticklers for the detail of the process. We do it humanely and generously.” Spotting and addressing poor performance is difficult enough when you are in the same location as your teams. How much more difficult is it when you have people in offices world-wide? How do you tackle performance from a distance?

“In Australia, I have a local director who I've known for a long time and to whom much is entrusted,” says Harold. “We often appoint people who are known in the industry and have worked with members of our team before.

“Elsewhere we keep tabs on performance through regular visits, conversations, and constantly keeping in the market so you hear what their clients are saying about performance.”

As well as the usual combination of internal and external training, Harold told me about another method he uses to improve performance. It's one he's found to be highly effective,

“I upgrade the quality of the next person that comes into the department. That makes sure mentoring skills are available to help improve performance.

“In any upgrade that makes the team fit for purpose the trick is to hire for as far into the future as you can reasonably foresee.”

Bringing people on

“There is real joy looking at the improvement in the business over seven years,” Harold told me.

“We've been opportunistic and have paid more than the market. We've developed a clearer idea of the skill-sets and experiences we are looking for.

“Good performers work well with other good performers so changing two managers can get twenty people working together more effectively.

“We are now a significant player in our industry and are known to be a great place to work. We have forward momentum. We also appointed a very high profile chairman -the biggest name in the sector. That gives us a halo effect when recruiting at a senior level.

“The average quality of our managers has dramatically improved. When you find a really solid performer and you get them to perform well, the whole team performs better because of it. That's a real joy.”

Praise where praise is due

“I also believe in letting people know when they have done a good job. I get the managers to make sure I know when someone has gone the extra mile. I'll fire off an email telling the person how what they have done (e.g. working through a weekend) has made a difference to the business.

“Our people could be poached by bigger companies, so I have to think what is it that will make a difference, make it worthwhile for people. It's got to be a sense of recognition, a sense of growing somebody. When you are growing this fast, you need to build this true sense of team.”

Delegation and trust

Harold had already touched on the need for delegation skills, particularly when managing remotely. I asked him how he puts this into practice and if he ever gets the urge to get involved when he knows he should stand back.

“I let the department heads manage the business and their teams. They bring to me what they choose to bring to me - I let them decide what they feel is important. If they want to suppress things, they can. That means I can be seen to be remote.

“Once I trust - I trust. Trust is earned and retained. I keep a close eye and then ease back depending on performance.”

However Harold did admit to having a slight sense of panic about what’s being decided on occasions. Is that because it's hard to let go I wondered?

“The management team is running a business that has been growing at 40% each year for seven years. If I didn't stay hands-off I would disappear down a dark hole. I very carefully put management in place and let them manage.

“People need to know what their MD stands for. They shouldn't feel you will stand for something one day and then change the next. It's about consistency and direction.

“My worries are usually to do with filtering and loss of contact with the customer base. For instance, I wouldn't exactly look in control of the business if someone called me with a big issue and I knew nothing about it.

“I try to stay in the loop through the formal and informal chats that take place all the time. I also chair cross-department groups and watch the interaction. That way I get a sense of issues that are brewing. And I stay in touch at the sharp end in the 200 or so retail outlets. I get to hear from the shop floor staff what's really going on!

The pressures of leadership

In a very honest admission, Harold told me that he felt his personality was one of shortcomings. I asked to him explain further,

“I'm emotion led. I’m analytical as well, but people tend to know how I am feeling. I tend not to disguise emotion and there are times when it is quite lonely.

“I'm not good at absorbing pressure and leading calmly. I don't shout or rant, but the pressure of all those faces looking at me asking me to tell them how I'm going to lead them out of a difficult situation is tough.

“Everything is a compromise. Every new priority means something has to be de-prioritised. I feel that until I've figured out what to do, I'm transparent. On one level, that works as people see you as human. But if they see panic in their leaders; they will panic themselves.

“I like to think I come across as enthusiastic, passionate, excited, and happy. When those things are missing, I'm perceived to be under pressure.”

Echoing my interview from last year with Sainsbury's CEO, Justin King, Harold admits it's lonely at the top.

“I get a lot from the business but no-one says 'well done' to me. I'm cautious about sharing any real concerns with anyone because I can't be certain it wouldn't lead to a bit of panic. And when my wife or daughters ask how my day was, I give them a bland answer because I don't want to spread panic at home. I do find that element stressful.

“When you are at the top of a company you have to focus on the fact it's the biggest job you will ever do; it's the biggest challenge you'll ever have.

“Most people don't ever get that opportunity. I focus on the fact that I will look back on this time as a gift not to be spurned.”