The CMED group has rapidly created a dynamic multicultural team, dedicated to applying the company philosophy and policies to CMED’s divisions and flagship brands. Growing its workforce from 40 to 200 full time employees in a just a few years has presented challenges to its Human Resources department.

“When we had a headcount of 40, we provided just the basic benefits,” Mr. Rocky Tan, CMED’s Head of Group HR explains. “To support rapid growth, obvious benefits like compensation had to increase in order to secure the best talent in a competitive job market. It’s been important to closely study specialised working environments to learn how to further improve working conditions, including the best processes, leading to more rapid results and therefore greater job satisfaction.”

To meet the demands of such a rapidly growing company, Mr. Tan’s team regularly studies the market and provides excellent internal training. Its management of personal training has reached a point where few external training programs can rival the quality of the organisation’s internal education initiatives.

“The management procedure is in place,” Mr. Tan says. “We set KPIs for our staff in line with the KPIs for the company. Personal development is measured with yearly reviews in order to ensure promising talent exceeding expectations is rewarded, and those needing more personal development are supported.”

As the company has grown, benefits have improved. This is attracting the best talent from the local pool of talent, and the international experts that continue to bring the most contemporary and, in some cases, ground-breaking processes and techniques to the company. As a result, the company’s status continues to grow.

“Retention is critical,” Mr. Tan says. “Thanks to the group, there are excellent opportunities for employees, including the prospect of crossing different divisions. This allows the business to provide excellent careers, foster loyalty, and retain talent as it is developing.”

Within its divisions, which in many cases have been operational for longer the group, many outstanding talents have risen to executive or senior positions. Under the CMED banner, with its management structure, strong philosophies and best practices, the potential to reward strong performance now extends to new exciting opportunities, as Mr. Tan explains.

“The company has had the pleasure of promoting a number of employees this year including two who have made it to senior management positions, and IT staff being given major project management duties. I’d estimate that 5-8% of employees have been promoted.”

Within the construction division it’s easy to see why promising graduates and veterans of the construction industry are eager to join the ranks of CMED. In a sector where the relationship between architects, developers and contractors can cause delays and inefficiencies, a company that can completely design and build major projects adds an extra incentive in the form of greater communication and the ability to meet and manage standards.

“Design and build is the company’s niche,” Mr. Tan says. “It’s about quality. No element of the project can fail to meet CMED requirements, even after the project is finished. More clients and developers are approaching CMED due to its ability to provide this solution. The company is one of the top construction companies in Cambodia, and one of the few companies that offers an end-to-end solution.”

While CMED Construction’s rapid rise is always an obvious talking point, Mr. Tan is quick to mention the group’s other successful divisions and brands. One of the group’s keys to success has been its ability create strong relationships between its many thriving businesses.

“The organisation’s divisions are all related to the construction or property sectors,” Mr. Tan says. “International partnerships, the retail division, and the important partnership with Hitachi Elevators all contribute to CMED projects, and in turn the projects help all divisions develop and succeed.”

Just as CMED’s leadership carefully selects projects for their strategic potential, Mr. Tan’s team applies the same ‘quality versus quantity’ approach to recruitment. The aim is to find talent that will share CMED’s ideals and ethos.

“In terms of building the brand, we have been able to associate the business and its name with trust and opportunity,” he explains. “CMED has grown beyond its initial needs as a business, to the point where we now place cultural fit and the potential for personal development above any other traits when recruiting talent.”

HR management expects CMED’s growth to continue in the next three years, especially given its ambitious roadmap and confirmed major projects on the horizon. The organisation expects to double its headcount in the next two years.

“On the organisation’s roadmap, five major projects will commence the next 12 months,” Mr. Tan says. “The challenge is to compete with international companies, but the organisation is already among the top local businesses in the sector. I can see it among the biggest companies in the country within just a few years.”

CMED’s Human Resources department is excited to see how the company evolves over the next two to three years as it attracts more interested parties seeking to create new partnerships and ambitious projects. Already the schedule for 2019 ensures it will be the organisation’s most active and challenging year, but with the help of the highest quality employees and contractors, they are confident most challenges will be met.