2. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
Foreword............................................................... 2
Engaging the best talent........................................ 3
Lawyer up!............................................................. 4
Growing need for skilled candidates...................... 5
The Antal Global Snapshot highlights................... 7
The power of our network...................................... 8
Country focus:
South Africa………………………….………. 9
China………………………………………….. 10
Logistics, a sector in movement............................. 11
The impact of Cloud technology................…......... 12
Pharmaceutical insight.............................….......... 13
Give something back.............................................. 14
Table of Contents
Contributions: If you wish to contribute to the next issue of the Antal Passport, please send
an email to passport@antal.com
Antal International
20 years in careers
3. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
Welcome to the latest edition of the Antal Passport.
2013 has been a highly significant year for us, marking our 20th
year in international recruitment.
The anniversary has been just one landmark in a very busy 12 months. For example we were also awarded
the accolade of ‘Best UK Overseas Operation’ by one of the recruitment sector’s top bodies and were
officially recognised as an ‘Ambassador of the Polish Economy’ for the second year running. 2013 also
brought us a new group CEO Tremayne Elson, an Antal veteran who has been responsible for developing
our operations in Russia, APAC and Germany and who brings a wealth of experience to the role. All I can
say is if the next 20 years are anywhere near as exciting as the last 20 then we are definitely in for a great
time.
However the Passport is not designed to be about Antal, it’s designed to be about you.
So, in this issue we bring you in-depth analysis of some key international employment markets such as the
automotive industry, life sciences and the logistics sector. We also look at the rise of the in-house lawyer
and the pros and cons of hiring such individuals.
The topic of talent management is central to this edition as we appreciate this is critical to the success of
your business.
We also focus the lens on China and South Africa and examine the challenges and opportunities that
employers in these economies are facing up to.
We hope that you find this Passport interesting, engaging and, above all, useful.
2
Foreword
Foreword
Tony Goodwin
Founder and Executive Chairman
4. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com3
Employee engagement and retention is emerging as the greatest challenge facing companies nowadays.
Current trends in the job market raise the risk of losing good employees. Talent has been changing and
what attracted employees 10 years ago does not attract them today.
So what can be done to create a desirable employment situation that allows for acquisition, engagement
and retention of the best talent? Antal experts recommend the following tips to engage and retain the top
talent.
Engaging the best talent
Mayank Chandra - MChandra@antal.com Irina Vasile - IVasile@antal.com
Nina Anđal - NAndal@antal.com Ana Garcia - AGarcia@antal.com
Talent management
Clarify expectations and deliverables to
minimise role overlap
I think the above point clearly helps the
employee see their growth path in the
organisation and also removes any unnecessary
communication gap in terms of employer’s
expectations. Success is the biggest motivator
for any employee to make an extra effort for the
company and there is nothing better
than to have a measurable performance
system. This increases integration into
the organisation and helps control the
attrition.
Mayank Chandra, Antal India
Demonstrate appreciation
The top talent will remain at their companies if
they have a clear strategy and focus on long-
term people development and building skills
necessary for career success. Managers need to
provide balanced and constructive feedback on
employee’s performance and
demonstrate appreciation for their hard
work.
Nina Anđal, Antal Croatia
Avoid price-quality mismatch and invest in your
recruitment
More and more we observe today’s paradigm of
recruitment: employers trying to find and attract the
best people to do more work but for lower salaries and
paying lower recruitment fees.
Every employer complains they are facing an
increasing key talent crisis as the top staff are
not making job moves as easily as they did
previously. At the same time, the employers
keep lower financial expectations for the
lowest recruitment fees as possible.
Irina Vasile, Antal Romania
Help your employees balance work and life
Generation Y talent are supposedly more socially
aware, less driven by money and less loyal to their
employers. They want more flexibility in everything –
working times, working environment, working from
home and so on. With today’s technology there is
not necessarily a reason to work from the office
nine to six. Remote working is a big thing and
not all companies have quite got that yet.
Ana Garcia, Antal Amsterdam
5. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com 4
Irina Meidman - IMeidman@antal.com - UK Kate Gallo - KGallo@antal.com - UK
Hiring a good in house lawyer is crucial to any successful business. A good legal counsel will provide vital
assistance in almost every aspect of your business from basic compliance, copyright and trademark advice
to formal business incorporation, lawsuits and liability.
While each company's legal situation is different, according to Irina Meidman, our managing partner in the
UK, there are times when you really should hire a lawyer. Below are the top 5 reasons why:
Lawyer up
Law
If you are not a lawyer you
probably have no business acting
like one in certain instances.
Failing to consult a lawyer when
starting a business, reviewing a
contract or embarking on other
endeavours with potential legal
liabilities can result in otherwise
avoidable pitfalls.
Do you really understand the fine
print of that contract you are
signing? A lawyer will.
Many companies report that modern business
operations create a compelling need for daily
legal advice. Almost every aspect of your
business is regulated. It is difficult to operate a
successful business and not be alert to all the
laws and regulations. An annual salary is often
substantially less costly than hourly rates of an
outside law firm.
It is probably better to avoid
problems in the first place
rather than try to fix them
once they arise. Hiring a
lawyer in many instances will
help you avoid potential legal
headaches down the road.
An experienced lawyer probably has seen cases
similar to yours or at least knows enough to make
a calculated guess about how it might resolve at
trial. Sometimes a settlement is the best choice,
while other times it makes more sense to see
your case through to trial. An attorney can also
help negotiate a fair settlement with the opposing
party.
Without the help of a lawyer you have to
navigate legal issues daily while running
operations. Hiring a lawyer will free up the
CEO to focus on operations and hunt for
acquisitions. Also, a staff counsel can
make acquisitions happen faster and help
to mitigate the risk of an acquisition deal
falling apart because of stalled legalities.
Not having a lawyer may
actually cost you more
Law is complicated
An in house lawyer can also help
you growing the business faster
A good lawyer can strike up a good
settlement or plea bargain, if necessary
Staying in line with compliance
on a daily basis can fend
off more serious litigation
5 Reasons to
HIRE
a lawyer
6. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
In June 2013, Europe saw the worst car
sales since 1996 with demand falling to
1.134 million vehicles - that is down
5.6% from the same period last year.
Germany saw a decline in sales of
8.1%, Italy fell by 10.3%, Spain was
down by 4.9% and France by 11.2%
from a year earlier. The UK was the
only major European car market to grow
with sales up by 13.4%.
Globally, China continues to be the
largest car market and saw a rise in
sales of 12% in June. The USA saw
record highs in six years suggesting
consumers are becoming more
confident after the economic downturn.
However, India saw a decline in sales of
9% as manufacturers claim there is less
demand at home.
It is apparent that most of the blame is
directed at the global recession but with
countries such as the UK and China
hitting record sales highs and Poland
opening new factories, it seems the
automotive industry is growing, offering
a haven for recruiters but is the talent
readily available?
Sales and demand have risen so much
in the UK that the car industry and the
UK Government are set to invest £1bn
into researching low carbon engines.
They claim this will help generate
30,000 jobs currently linked to the
production of engines. However, it has
been highlighted there is a shortage of
engineers and other skilled workers that
would need to be addressed if the UK
car industry was to continue growing.
Increased need for skilled
candidates
This funding into the automotive
industry is also seeking to persuade
foreign firms to move their operations
to the UK. This is despite Ford shutting
plants at Southampton and Dagenham.
Luxury car manufacturer Rolls-Royce
has announced that they are set to
create more than 100 jobs by the end
of the year with a few more at regional
centres around the world following
expected record sales growth for the
fourth year running.
DID YOU
KNOW?
In China, motorists
are only allowed
to drive their cars
6 days in the week
due to the
pollution and
traffic controls in
place.
Automotive industry
5
Vehicles Produced
Argentina
Slovakia
Iran
Indonesia
Turkey
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
France
Spain
Russia
Canada
Thailand
Mexico
Brazil
India
South Korea
Germany
Japan
USA
China
0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000
7. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
Carmaker Bentley will also be investing
£800m into its headquarters in Crewe
resulting in 1000 new jobs.
This investment is to develop and build
an SUV which will compete with cars
like the Range Rover. Volkswagen who
own Bentley did consider
manufacturing the new car in Slovakia
but the British Government pushed to
keep the project in the UK.
Jaguar Land Rover is set to create
1700 jobs as part of its plan to expand
on its product range. The number jobs
they have created at Solihull would
reach 11,000 over three years.
Artur Migon, Partner & Business Unit
Director of Antal International in Poland
believes that despite the global
downturn in car sales, the automotive
industry is expected to rise in the 3rd
quarter of 2013. In Poland, for
example, the majority of automotive
manufacturers are Tier 1 and Tier 2
suppliers. 65% of these companies are
not expected to reduce their staffing
levels; in fact only 3% are, leaving the
other 32% planning on hiring new
employees this year.
A very popular strategy for Polish
automotive companies is the creation
of R&D centres and several companies
have already invested in this area.
Artur Migon states that companies are
still hiring 99% of their employees
locally and with an already established
demand for automotive engineers in
Poland this is estimated to rise to
several hundred in the next 3 years.
Despite China being the largest car
market in the world, there is a lack of
technical people in this sector locally.
Companies such as BMW and VW are
offering internships to local Chinese
people giving them the opportunity to
travel to Germany for training for 6
months to build their knowledge and
skillset.
The employees then go back to China
to finish their internships and this mix
along with trained foreigners is slowly
replacing expats who have always
dominated these roles.
Max Price, Partner of Antal China
commented that although
manufacturers are recruiting locally,
there is still a need for expats with
technical knowledge in the sales
division. They are also working with
foreigners living in China who are
looking to stay there to counter the
shortage of knowledge required in
these fields.
Germany has a similar situation says
Ingo Wagner, Managing Partner of
Antal International Network. Following
the problems with the EU in 1993, cars
were not selling, companies stopped
hiring and a high level of people
stopped training in the automotive
industry. Now the market is picking up
and there is a big need for engineers
but good candidates are hard to find in
Germany.
So with the obvious lack of trained
individuals in the automotive
industry, it seems
companies may struggle to
recruit skilled candidates
locally. An organisation
like Antal International is
able to help source
trained individuals with
their global network of
offices willing to work on a
cross border
basis to
help ensure
the right
candidates
are hired.
6
Artur Migon - AMigon@antal.com - Poland Max Price - MPrice@antal.com - China
Ingo Wagner - IWagner@antal.com - Germany
KEY POINTS
The UK was the
only major
European car
market to grow
The lack of
technical
people is a
global issue
The Polish
automotive
industry is
expected to
rise
The German
car market is
seeing an
upturn for the
first time since
1993
8. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
The Antal Global Snapshot
highlights
AGS highlights
Find the answer in the most comprehensive study
of hiring activity! The Antal Global Snapshot
determines hiring and firing intentions among over
10,000 employers across 47 key countries on five
continents. It helps to measure which sectors and
disciplines are looking for new talent and which are
letting their staff go. The research shows what skill
sets are in demand and where the action is. The
data is collected by online and telephone surveys
conducted by Antal consultants working in key
markets across the world. The output from this
study will help you to manage your human
resources even more effectively by anticipating
fluctuations in your region.
“With the global economy showing sporadic signs
of improvement, it’s encouraging that levels of
managerial and professional recruitment have
begun to creep up on those registered in the last
editions of the Snapshot,” says Antal’s CEO, Tony
Goodwin. “Many figures in this latest survey
suggest that there are green shoots of employment
positivity. It’s perhaps difficult to create a complete
picture, but reports from our network suggest that,
having gone through an elongated period of doing
more for less, many businesses are keen to
refresh their senior level talent pipelines and gain
further competitive advantage with new skills.”
7
Find out more & email us on www.snapshot.antal.com
Lee Narraway - LNarraway@antal.com JEdwards@antal.com.cn - China
than other economies which have struggled over
the last quarter. It is encouraging, though, that
these levels are predicted to drop as employers
look to at developing retention strategies in the UK.
Manufacturing in the UK has been severely
affected by the uncertainty around the economy
and rather than take risks the sector has played
extra safe, this has resulted in head count
reduction and cost saving rather than going for
increased sales and capacity demand. The longer
term effects will be increased candidate driven
vacancies as the candidates move into other
sectors more willing to invest and push for
revenue.”
“As the largest luxury goods’ market in the world
after Japan,” says Jonathan Edwards, Partner at
Antal China, “China promises a bright future to
those established or trying to establish themselves
in the market. The luxury goods arena in China
grew by more than 223% from 2007 to 2012.
Despite high recruitment levels in 2012, and a
slight slowdown this year - along with global
economic growth slowdown - recruitment in the
sector is expected to take off again in the third
quarter this year. In order to support the
development of their sales, the new store openings
will be looking for retail operations, merchandising,
as well as PR & Marketing staff.”
“While talent management and retention are hot
topics in the UK business environment, says Lee
Narraway, Managing Partner at Antal Warrington
(UK), “the country hasn’t fared as well when we
look at the figures. Despite a vast number of
business decision makers talking about keeping
top talent in the company in order to maintain a
competitive advantage, levels of firing are higher
9. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com 8
The power of our network
Network power
Read more on www.parksiderec.com
Back in March 2013, we hired a consultant who
had a very strong pre existing relationship with a
lead Recruiter at global pharmaceutical research
business. Unfortunately we could not do business
with this client in the UK as the client has a team of
people sourcing direct for UK roles however we
uncovered the fact that whilst they attempted to
recruit directly in the Europe too they often
struggled. We took this opportunity to sell Antal
and our international network of offices, low and
behold the countries where they were struggling
Antal have a dominant presence and specialist
consultants dealing in Scientific and Clinical
recruitment.
The two territories we were
given access to initially were
Poland and Russia with a
view that if we are successful
here, our lead recruitment
contact would recommend us
to other areas in the region. I
had the benefit of having met
colleagues from both Antal
Poland and Russia at the
Antal Global Conference 2012 so I knew who to
contact immediately, talking directly to country
directors in both regions they quickly put me in
touch with their specialist teams and consultants.
We set up calls for Poland and Russia directly with
the client where they discussed requirements and
agreed fantastic terms.
The initial jobs that Poland and Russia worked on
were by no means ‘easy fill’, Team Manager
Joanna Kuziola from Poland and Consultant Timur
Omelchenko worked tirelessly to source quality
candidates for the client resulting in some great
deals in September for Russia and October for
Poland.
We are now preferred suppliers of this client which
demonstrates the true power of our Network.
10. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
Country focus
9
South Africa
Alan Russell - ARussell@antal.com - South Africa
It has been 3 years since South Africa hosted the
Football World cup and the labour market of 3
specific industries namely Finance, Engineering
and IT seems to be slowly but surely starting to
enjoy the benefits of this event that was
prophesied as a major economic boost. There is a
high demand of certain professionals with certain
skills in these industries and this is good news not
only to executive recruiters but the wellbeing of the
countries labour market and if it continues, South
Africa may see a decrease in their current
unemployment state.
Gone are the days where if you think of someone
in the accounting and finance field you envision a
man in a black suit and a tie with a briefcase, going
into his office in the morning and only emerging
late afternoon. The finance professional of today
needs to be a multifaceted individual being
involved in system implementations, operational
decision making and even human resource
functionality. With that being said, this speaks to
the qualification and exposure a finance candidate
should consider. To give oneself the edge above
the rest in the market a double barrel qualification
should be considered. In the market, for example
there definitely is an increase of individuals who
have complemented their chartered accountants
qualification with that of CIMA (Chartered Institute
of Management Accountant). We also see an
increase in subject matter specialisation, especially
in the tax and investment fields. Continuous
improvement lies in your own hands, but the
demand from possible future employers for specific
skills lies with them.
In Engineering, Project, Construction &
Management (EPCM), the biggest requirement is
for professional engineers to be registered with the
South African national engineering council, be it
Electrical or Mechanical. There are precious few of
these individuals in the market and most clients
require this type of skill to actually tender for and
acquire projects. They cannot even secure the new
projects if they do not have this skill in place.
It goes without saying that the salary level of the
more experienced engineers is almost becoming
unaffordable for many clients. Another massive
requirement in the industry is younger engineers
between the ages of 30-40 years old who have
solid project application experience and who have
not job hopped in the industry. Companies are
keen to groom these engineers but it is a constant
struggle to keep these engineers longer than 3 or 4
years as they get poached by the opposition.
From an IT point of view, there has been a big
demand for experienced Java (J2SE/J2EE), PHP
and Oracle Developers especially around Cape
Town. Experienced developers with 5-8 years’
experience are paid well and most of them are in a
massive comfort zone. Clients often do not
understand the value of these developers when
recruiting them and most of the time it is shocking
to see what they are prepared to offer to get
someone on board. On the other hand, the market
is flooded with C# Developers, most of them jump
ship every 2 years, and the salary expectations are
getting higher and higher.
So with buoyancy across the core
industries and an increase in demand for
highly qualified and experienced staff,
there is a short fall in candidates. With
this, South Africa has seen a steady
increase in salary demands. To
counteract this, companies need to
invest heavily in training and
development to avoid a skill
shortage crisis in the future.
11. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
China
The low labour cost, which used to contribute to China’s rapid economic
growth is fading and consequently, one of the most important competitive
advantages of China is disappearing.
Companies therefore have to be more and more certain in their hiring
processes as the increased spend has to be justified. On the other hand,
stability increases as employees are earning more money and so tend to
move less often. Finally, with increased money comes increased spending
power which means that job creation in the service and retail industries rises
to meet demand.
The problem along with the increase of labour cost is that more and more
MNCs will invest in lower labour cost countries and China’s investment may
reduce in certain sectors such as manufacturing. However on the other hand
this labour cost increase implies higher salary and purchasing power for
workers and this will eventually boost domestic demand and consumption in
line with the central government’s strategy. In the meantime, it offers
opportunities to expand business in China, especially in industries such as
FMCG’s and luxury goods, and increases HR needs in these areas.
Job seekers will need to understand that as salaries are increasing, they
might need to be prepared to provide more supporting information and to be
ready for a tougher interview process. Generally speaking, as the market
matures, more consistency and professionalism is expected from
candidates.
10
James Darlington - JDarlington@antal.com - China
12. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com11
Logistics, a sector in
movement
The logistics industry includes
two distinct sectors, the “extra-
logistics” and the “intra-logistics”.
The “extra-logistics” are all
logistics involving the material
handling between two companies
and the “intra-logistics” are
companies that supply technical
systems and services to help
other companies manage their in-
house materials handling
requirements. “Intra-logistics”
manages material flows along the
entire supply chain, so is called
supply chain management.
The biggest and worldwide
challenge that the logistics sector
is facing today is the lack of
talent. There are several reasons
for this skill shortage: A large
percentage of skilled
professionals are approaching
retirement and the logistics
industry does not seem as
attractive to young workers as
other sectors. The wages are
comparatively low, the progress
in careers is slow with difficult
working conditions.
Kevin LeGoff, our Managing
Partner in Le Mans, France, says
“it seems that candidates do not
want to build their entire career in
the logistics sector. I have met a
lot of candidates who have
decided to move to the
manufacturing industry as this
seems more stable and
interesting than a career in
logistics.”
It consequently makes it very
difficult for companies to hire
talented candidates and they are
now more inclined to work with
sub-contractors.”
Nevertheless, experts are
expecting an increase in the
market by next year. Jost von
Kuczkowski, Managing Partner in
Dortmund, confirms: “In
Germany, the logistics sector is
still running at a high level, but it
is not growing. There is a lack of
investment as the budget is very
low. The figures from the second
quarter are positive and 2014
should be a good year”.
The consequence of this
increasing lack of talent is a battle
for young and skilled workers,
especially process experts,
logistics analysts and
planning and engineering
customs process experts.
To attract these
professionals,
companies will have to
be smart and offer more
to staff, making the
future for young
logistic experts
very bright.
KEY POINTS
In Germany, good candidates are
generally working for global
companies who have the
resources and can offer more
advantages than small to medium
sized companies. This makes it
difficult for average companies to
attract talented candidates,
especially as these are generally
in remote areas to be close to key
transport links.
A significant problem highlighted
by Alan Russell, Managing
Partner in South Africa, is that in
African emerging markets are
draining the number of candidates
due to the market growth and
tough employment regulations.
“Before resorting to hire expats,
companies in South Africa have to
give preference to finding an
equivalent local South African
expert.
Alan Russell - ARussell@antal.com - South Africa Kevin LeGoff - KLegoff@antal.com - France
Jost Von Kuczkowski - JKuczkowski@antal.com - Germany
Extra-logistics are logistics
involving material handling
between two companies
Intra-logistics manages
material flows along the
entire supply chain
Logistics
13. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
The IT industry is going through an evolution with
more companies now providing their products as
an online service. Service providers are developing
the infrastructure and security to support this
expansion into Cloud solutions as this is gaining
momentum.
With enhanced broadband width, it is now possible
to move high levels of data quickly, overcoming the
hang-ups about centralising resources. There are
more and more examples of companies
successfully embracing the technology to their
advantage such as the CRM, Sales Force and
Microsoft that offer their software on a lease basis.
The use of the Cloud infrastructure to support a
business provides a financially rational proposition
for multiple reasons:
The flexibility to start up quickly with less cost
No penalisation for fluctuations in staffing
Systems updated regularly and remain current
Companies only pay for service elements used
There is an ease in outsourcing other aspects of
the business such as IT support / email back up
The impact of Cloud
technology
KEY POINTS
Flexibility into start up
No penalisation for staffing
fluctuations
Regular system updates
No payments for unused service
elements
Ease in outsourcing
The offices and working day at companies using
cloud technologies are also changing with more
people working remotely and when in the office
they hot desk. In the Netherlands this is referred to
as “Het nieuwe werken” (the new way of working).
The impact on staffing is that the location of the
employee is no longer an issue. However, there are
challenges as the traditional management struggle
to adapt to measuring the output from someone’s
work rather than the hours in the office.
With the rapid expansion in companies offering
Cloud solutions, the expert from Antal International
concluded that the only thing holding Cloud back is
the industry wide concern about security.
Cloud Technology
Jim Foster - JFoster@antal.com - United Kingdom
12
14. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
In general within the medical
device sector we have seen a
noticeable drive to improve and
strengthen quality and regulatory
systems throughout both the pre
and post market environment.
This move has been taken to
ensure businesses comply with
the increased regulations and
compliance demands from the
FDA (Food and Drug
Administration) and the MHRA.
According to David Crossley from
the Antal Hadleigh office in the
UK, the impact on staffing is that
companies are bolstering their
regulation, compliance and
quality teams to be able to meet
the stringent regulation
requirements and has created a
war for top talent.
On the other side of the globe,
Mexico boasts the second largest
pharmaceutical market in Latin
America, after Brazil, and is one
of the 10 largest drug producers
in the world representing 23% of
the Latin American region. As the
main trading partner of the USA,
Mexico has presented steady
economic growth in recent
years and is an attractive
investment destination.
Industry analysts estimate
that the Pharmaceutical
market in Mexico will
reach approximately
$22.5 billion by 2020,
while the Medical
Device market is
expected to reach
approximately
On the other hand the German
market has proven to be very
stable; thus, Pharmaceutical and
Medical Device companies have
yearly high income rates. Sally-
Sahel Pad from the Antal office in
Frankfurt says that Germans are
well known for their high settled
mind regarding quality assurance
and control, regulatory, clinical
and sales & marketing. Nearly
66% of the Pharmaceutical
companies are in hiring
processes or are planning to hire,
mainly in the sales & marketing or
quality assurance segment. It is
expected that by 2014 the
average hiring process will be
0,8% per month for each
company, counting small to mid
size companies.
Another factor impacting the
industry as a whole is a general
shortage of medical professionals
interested in joining
pharmaceutical and medical
device companies. The main
catalyst is the improved
remuneration packages and high
levels of intrinsic rewards offered
by the medical professions.
Pharmaceutical and medical
device companies need to raise
the bar to attract those highly
skilled fresh graduates as they
are no longer the first choice.
KEY POINTS
Impact of regulation is vast
Compliance and quality skills
are in demand
More medical staff needed
Pharmaceutical insight
$4.9 billion by 2020. These
positive trends in the Mexican
healthcare market are driven by;
an increasing elderly
demographic, government
initiatives for the prevention and
management of chronic diseases,
the North American Free Trade
Agreement and an improved and
updated regulatory environment.
Throughout our network we have
continued to see a growth within
the Lifescience sector where
there has been a noticeable drive
for businesses within the capital
equipment market to enhance
their consumable sales and to
build more creative ways of
obtaining new and developing
existing business. Despite this
slight shift in strategy, the
industry continues to thrive and is
a significant contributor to the
British economy with profits of
£5 billion per annum according to
figures from UK Trade Info,
released by the HMRC in
February.
Pharma & medical devices
David Crossley - DCrossley@antal.com - UK Eva Piqué - EPique@antal.com - Mexico
Sally-Sahel Pad - SPad@antal.com - Germany
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15. www.antal.com www.passport.antal.com
Many companies now choose to ‘Give
Something Back’ by launching their
own non-profit organisations (NPO’s) or
foundations and engage in
partnerships with existing charity
organisations. Some businesses prefer
to back local community charities and
others choose to support on a national
level.
The idea of giving something back has
been a trend with large corporations
and SME’s for many years as part of
their continuing corporate social
responsibility. However, there are other
factors that drive businesses to support
the charities which include:
1. Highlighting corporate social
responsibility
2. Awareness & visibility
3. Brand differentiation
4. To increase brand loyalty
In 2008, Tony Goodwin decided it was
time to give something back so
launched The Antal Charitable
Foundation. The foundation supports a
small selection of Charities all of which
help children who are less privileged,
and through no fault of their own find
themselves in difficult situations. We
asked Tony his reasons for setting up
the Antal Charitable Foundation and
his thoughts on companies who use
charity work to boost their brand
visibility in order to stand out from their
competitors?
“I do not believe anyone should be
involved in charity work just for
business objectives; to do this would
undermine the whole reason for
helping people.
My reasons for setting up ACF were
wholly to do with my rather chequered
teenage years and how I managed to
pull myself out of a difficult situation
Give something back
Giving back
and move to an altogether more stable,
calmer and productive life combining
work and achievement with social
responsibility.
Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of
all time, often talks in his book about
how lucky you are if you were born in a
developed economy such as those of
the West. And this is the starting point
for me - attributing one’s success to
good fortune. Yes we have to work
hard as entrepreneurs; we have to
strive, overcome difficulties, and
sometimes experience awful levels of
pressure and stress to achieve
business success. But despite this very
necessary resilience, ingenuity,
determination and hard work we are
still usually incredibly lucky even if it’s
only to enjoy good health, this in itself
being one of the greatest gifts to any
man or woman.
Therefore I agree with Bill Gates and
many of the great business
philanthropists of recent history that
helping the disadvantaged is not just a
good thing to do, as a fortunate human
being, it is an absolute obligation
whatever one’s religious and moral
standpoint is.
However I do not believe in
indiscriminate hand-outs. There are
many examples throughout the world
where this has not worked or has even
had negative connotations. I believe in
careful, socially constructive and
sustainable assistance that can be self-
perpetuating if at all possible.”
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For up to date news and information on the work the Antal Charitable Foundation are doing,
please see www.antalcharitablefoundation.com.
