Seeing myself contributing to others and working with several effective leaders keeps me motivated
Interview with Thitiwat Thanapornnithinan
Sales Director at IWG plc
Could you briefly let us know what you do at IWG, and what brought you to this industry?
Currently, I am leading all personnel in Thailand to support companies with a flexible workspace and a coworking solution. Furthermore, bringing more flexibility and efficiency to the cost of office space and making sure that our clients have a great day, every day, at work.
Firstly, a flexible workspace is regarded by various researches to be the future of office space and is growing tremendously (30%+ YOY). Secondly, the industry reduces barriers to do business by providing more flexible and accessible options for companies. With those, I am attracted to the industry.
How did you get started involving in the EABC community as a very active member?
European companies are crucial for the Thai Economy. As we hosted thousands of companies and have numerous interactions, we would like to help voice their concerns. Furthermore, to connect those and ourselves with other European companies. With the reason above, I reached out to the Executive Director of EABC then I was introduced to one amazing lady whom at that moment chair of SMEs working group.
The working group vibe was excellent and brought values to SMEs. Seeing myself contributing to others and working with several effective leaders keep me motivated.
What is the percentage of female staff in your team, and what are the advantages to have female teammates?
60% of our staff are female. Female teammates’ advantage? They are empathetic, a great listener, nurturing, focus on teamwork, strong communicators, and flexible. Please allow me to stop as my male teammate might start to be jealous when seeing this.
What would be your action to enhance diversity and keep an open-minded team spirit among your colleagues? Is your team diverse?
To enhance diversity two key factors are hiring and communications. Reviewing profiles and looking for diversity over specific skillsets are the crucial first steps. Then creating opportunities for the team to be together and creating activities to foster more communications. The more people become closer, the more empathy and cooperation there will be. Activities are regular here, to name a few, 2020 Pajamas kickoff, Center virtual tours competition, townhall meeting, several ongoing training, etc.
Male are minorities here. LGBTQ and females are 90% of our team. I have the luxury to be amongst caring, interesting, and amazingly fun people. Shall I recruit more males?
Is there any impact on your business from the current situation? How do you handle it, managing your team to be prepared for both physical and mental matters in particular?
Covid-19 has both positive and negative effects on us. SMEs are struggling which surely impacts us. On the positive side, many businesses are looking for recovery sites and looking for more flexible options for their future office space.
Our staff health is the first priority. We have an obligation to remain open so masks and alcohol must be enough for everyone. As supply is not enough in Thailand, we shipped from abroad. Our cleaning vendor must be on standby to be able to come to disinfect overnight if requested.
Once our team has peace of mind, we then need to keep our people occupied by injecting a little fun. A clear task has been set with the addition of a fun project/fun competition to do during this time to change the team’s focus. We run a virtual center tour video competition amongst our team. That maintains a good spirit within our team and at the same time, provides a tool for business to be more present online.
What have been the biggest challenges in your career?
The current situation would be one of them. Problems are everywhere. Actions are needed at all levels and dimensions, e.g. Sales, Cost, People, operation, etc. I have my favorite quote from Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. If one skinny person with only a loincloth, a shawl, and a rod can liberate and change the whole country, why can’t we overcome just another challenge in front of us?
Who is your female role model?
Greta Thunberg. Her purpose, her will and the way she communicates is exceptional. Her movement starts changing the world to be a better place. She really shows what a person can do when we have grit and persistence.
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