A world of opportunities

THE SCENARIO UNFOLDS like this: in 1994 a small but successful New York sourcing and marketing company sees a niche for designing and manufacturing its own consumer electronics and household products and decides to move to Hong Kong to be close to the world's most vibrant manufacturing base. Fast forward 12 years and the company has grown into a Hong Kong-headquartered operation with a staff of more than 50 and supporting a mainland workforce exceeding 800. 'I never dreamed the company would grow this big, and I never dreamed I would have the responsibility for so many mouths to feed,' said Gary Fisher, OneWorld's chief executive. Mr Fisher said OneWorld, like many companies that had grown organically but quickly, needed management staff and designers who thrived on the challenge of coming up with innovative solutions and saw problem-solving as a way of life. In an industry where a product's lifespan could be less than a year, there is a constant demand for new products, and not just products that fill up shelf space or look attractive on a website. For example, OneWorld's team of product designers, managers and quality control personnel are expected to introduce 75 to 100 new products every year. About 65 per cent of OneWorld's output is sold to premium products buyers in the United States, and the remainder is sold in Europe and Asia. The product range includes auto accessories, outdoor products, pedometers, flashlights, lanterns, radios, clocks, watches, micro voice recorders, data banks, games and remote-controlled racing cars. At first glance these products may look like familiar household items, but most have been re-engineered with additional functions. A good example is a barbecue fork with a digital readout that tells the user when the meat is cooked. The digital display panel can be switched to left or right for the convenience of left- and right-handed users. Mr Fisher said that over the past 10 years there had been a sizeable growth in the talent pool of Hong Kong designers. 'We have designers who are truly creative and keep delivering original designs, but we need more of them. We can't have too many designers,' he said. 'If we hire good people we can attract more good people, which in turn builds a company's strength and benefits everyone,' Mr Fisher said. OneWorld depends on designers to conceptualise and develop new products and management executives to maintain the company's reputation for innovation and quality. Mr Fisher said there was a strong demand for packaging designers. He advised young graphic designers to consider making packaging design their speciality. Hong Kong companies such as OneWorld were in desperate need of packaging designers who embraced the concept of packaging design as part of strategic branding, he said. 'The type of packaging designer we require starts from a blank page and uses imagination to encapsulate a product's quality and functionality. 'Packaging designers are key players in any company's marketing efforts. No matter how excellent or beneficial the product inside the container may be, unless a consumer decides to pick it up, that product will never get used and tested,' Mr Fisher said. OneWorld is considering setting up a human resources department to streamline its recruitment process. 'We have grown to a size where we are on the cusp of perhaps needing a human resources department, but I am not sure that human resources personnel would understand what we need in terms of talent and what makes our company tick,' Mr Fisher said. The company will be looking at recruiting designers and managers with electrical and mechanical engineering skills, and who are either team players or would enjoy taking on a leadership role. OneWorld's recruitment process for hiring senior and middle management staff involves interviews with different department managers and senior managers, including Mr Fisher. 'We each see different strengths, qualities and weaknesses in people, and this helps in the evaluation process.' He said new hires tended to settle in fast and fit into the office culture because they already had a sense of how the company worked from having talked to various decision-makers within the company. OneWorld recently hired several middle management staff in their 40s to mid-50s. 'We consciously sought people with industry and life experience. These are people in the prime of their careers and they bring a wealth of knowledge and leadership capabilities to inspire and motivate younger people,' Mr Fisher said.