Kohler focused on leadership and talent

“We believe the AEC will allow Kohler Thailand to achieve a more competitive position as a supply-chain hub, and for human-resources development in the region,” said Laura Kohler, senior vice president for human resources.
The company is planning to expand its business in Thailand in terms of new manufacturing for both local consumption and export markets, particularly after Asean becomes a single market, she said.
The company will therefore also invest in human-resources development at all levels through a number of training programmes, such as “One Leadership”, which target emerging leaders, front-line leaders, managerial employees and executives.
She said that with nearly 3,000 employees supporting continuous business expansion in the Kingdom, Kohler Thailand had become the company’s second-largest location after its head office in the US state of Wisconsin.
Kohler currently has about 32,000 staff at its 55 factories worldwide.
Meanwhile, Jessie Liu, director for human resources for Kohler’s regional unit, K&B Asia Pacific, said that this year regional offices had begun rotating talent across the region. This is a part of the training programmes for future Kohler leaders.
To make the company a better workplace, Kohler will focus on its “Stewardship” programme in Thailand. Under this programme, the company aims to create an engagement with all staff at all levels through a series of activities regarding natural-disaster relief, environmental protection and education, Liu said.
In regard to the impact of rising labour costs due to the government’s minimum-wage-hike policy, which took effect last month, Tan Teik Sing, head of human resources at Kohler Thailand, said this was a big challenge for a large company like Kohler.
However, the company will maximise effectiveness and efficiency in output from existing staff in order to offset such rising costs and achieve growth, he said.