Khairul Alam, CEO of Fleet Bangladesh
After losing his father at a young age, Khairul Alam was forced to figure out how to support himself and pay for his educational needs. While juggling a job and multiple freelance gigs, he realized there was a huge disconnect in the marketplace. While many were hungry to freelance, they lacked the proper incentives and training to be truly successful. He established Fleet Bangladesh, and in a few short years, Fleet Bangladesh went from ten employees to over a thousand.
Here’s what he learned in the process
Look for people with enthusiasm and energy
What is more important – an employee’s attitude or their skillset? It’s an age-old question. Oftentimes, it is more beneficial to find someone who has the right attitude and eagerness to learn than someone who might have a great skill set but doesn’t fit as well with company culture. This approach allowed Alam to expand his hiring pool and open up employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh. Creating the team you want will ultimately create the business you want. The company culture at its core is not composed of happy hours and company karaoke nights (although these things are serious perks) – it is made up of the people you hire, whether they are contracted employees or full-time. Everyone benefits from a good teammate.
Make consistency a priority
In life and business, you will always have failures and successes that ebb and flow with time. But time and effort make it easier to create processes for your company that bring balance to the inconsistencies of time. Consistency creates freelancers that are confident, organized, and thorough in what they deliver to clients because they have a sense of security within their team. This stability leads to better ideas and innovations, which lead to a brighter future for your business. Creating processes and standard operating procedures for your team leads to easier onboarding and training and communicates intentionality. In the age of COVID-19, these processes and training are of utmost importance to make sure your entire team is on the same page and working toward the same goals. Freelancers often bounce between projects and clients daily. Having processes in place strengthens your relationship and leads to better business results.
Find out what motivates your team
Fleet has created unique incentives for its freelance employees. Based on performance, iPhones, bikes for transportation in a country where bikes are a predominant means of transportation, domestic tours, and five-star hotel entertainment. One incentive sets Fleet apart from other private job providers in Bangladesh. Fleet rewards its top thirty-performing employee’s parents with a Hajj fund. While in the Western world this may not be a meaningful incentive, it is incredibly meaningful to his employees – many of who hail from the Muslim faith. A Hajj fund provides financial resources for parents of Muslim employees to perform a religious pilgrimage to Mecca and is considered a deep honor for the child that provides it. Know what is critically important to your team.
Offer competitive salaries and benefits
Fleet Bangladesh provides insurance for its freelancers and bonuses for teams and individuals based on performance. While salary may be a hygiene factor, it still matters. Treating people well and paying them well attracts and retains the top talent.
Fleet plans to establish 60 offices in 64 districts in Bangladesh, which will give them full coverage all over the city. Their goal overall is to offer the young, significantly unemployed generation in Bangladesh job opportunities. As Fleet provides services to over 300 companies worldwide, including Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, they feel confident they can change the current pattern of unemployment in this generation.
