Monower Associates
We are the pioneers in Management & HR consulting in Bangladesh, with 20+ years of hands-on HR experience, providing end to end services focusing on quality and integrity.
Monower Associates at a Glance
We began our journey in 1994 as MRK Consultants to provide specialized services to the business community in Management and HR areas at a time when such services were unavailable in the country. In 1999, we became Monower Associates.
In the last 25 years, we have worked with most major organizations in Bangladesh, covering the public and private sectors, UN agencies, international donors, diplomatic missions and NGOs. Along the way we have earned our clients’ trust as the go-to provider of reliable and consistent Management and HR services.
Our Senior Consultants are seasoned HR practitioners with a combined 50+ years’ experience in leading multinational organizations, which is unparalleled in Bangladesh.
We strive to build long term bonds with our clients.
We understand the market.
We combine individual, local and global perspectives.
Our promise
- Superior customer value
- Confidentiality
- Integrity, efficiency, reliability
- Timely delivery
- Quality service
Mr. Monower Ahmed, CEO & Lead Consultant, retired as a Board Member and HR Director from British American Tobacco Company Limited, after a period of 50 years in the field of Human Resources. He started his career with the Government of Pakistan as Assistant Central Labor Commissioner, later moving to the private sector starting with Carew and Company, followed by GlaxoSmithKline. In the last 25 years, he has steadfastly guided this industry as the pioneer who defined the Management & HR concept in Bangladesh.
Key Achievements
- Downsized the business operation of BAT by closing down a plant employing 2,000 people after evaluation of its impact on the stakeholders.
- Helped BAT design a social safety net for its staff while ensuring the company maintained its business leadership and guided the Board to discharge its social responsibilities.
- Peacefully resolved a major industrial relations crisis at Glaxo Pakistan Ltd. in 1969, where the top management had been besieged by the workers for 72 hours
- Successfully negotiated sixteen Long Term Agreements with workers in various multinational organizations
External Engagements
- Presently serving as Independent Director on the Board of IDLC Finance Limited as the Chair of the Board Audit Committee and Board Investment Committee.
- Former Member of the Board of Governors of South East Asian Cooperation On Management Development (SEACOMD) while in BAT.
- Former member of the Executive Committee, Bangladesh Employers’ Association, where he represented the Bangladesh employers in ILO conferences in Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
- Former member of the Government Wages Commission, representing Bangladesh Employers’ Association, for determining minimum wages in different industrial sectors in the country.
- Former Member, representing the Bangladesh Employers’ Association, of the National Steering Committee on Vocational Training Reforms, organized by the ILO and the Government of Bangladesh.
- Keynote speaker and guest lecturer in multiple universities, corporate bodies and seminars
Professional Memberships
- Executive Member of Bangladesh Society for Human Resources Management (BSHRM)
- Member, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK)
- Member of Institute of Management Consultants, Australia
Our Team
Naila Mamoon, Consultant, is a physician and a scientist with postdoctoral training in cancer biology. An M.B.B.S. from Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of MS School of Medicine, USA, she is currently a faculty member in the Department of Public Health at Davidson College, North Carolina, where she also directs the Premedicine and Allied Health Professions Program. Dr. Mamoon is a member of the American Public Health Association and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Her research interest focuses on interventions designed to protect the public's health from environmental hazards and risks.
Mr. Ali Ashraf Mamun, Senior Consultant, Occupational Health & Safety, Environment & Disaster Management, is currently the most experienced OHSE expert in Bangladesh. He has more than 35 years of senior leadership experience with multinational and local organizations in complex and large industries, finishing as General Manager & Head of HSE with Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (KAFCO) Bangladesh. He is certified by the British Safety Council and has numerous other professional qualifications and expertise in prevention techniques and audits.
Mr. Naseem uz Zaman, Consultant, is an engineer from Imperial College, London, with a Masters in Business Administration, specializing in HR business process design and implementation methods. He is currently involved in organizational structure design and restructuring and HR audits.
What We Offer
HR Services | Employee Focus
Identification and Placement
Competent people are vital for organizations that have to compete in an increasingly difficult business environment.
Realizing that recruitment needs have become ever more complex, our approach is strategic; we offer solution-oriented services which enable the clients to understand more creative hiring options and the variety of factors which go into recruiting high caliber managers. We short list candidates, who meet the current job requirements and also the future managerial needs in both the local and overseas markets, through competency assessment.
Competency Assessment
The major issue in hiring people is ensuring the right person, with the right skills and attitude is selected. This becomes even more difficult in a short supply market.
As part of our recruitment process, we ensure that the candidates have the skills to meet the job requirements by assessing their skills and competencies, in certain cases, through holding an assessment centre.
Salary & Benefits Structure
A well designed salary and benefits structure is necessary to retain employees while controlling the organization’s payroll expenses. A poorly designed structure can cause increased payroll costs or a drain of talent from an organization.
On an assignment of a market survey, among the comparators in similar industries, we carry out such surveys to determine the pay market and to establish where the client’s position is in the market, draw up a comparative statement for the client to establish a market competitive compensation plan, based on the survey findings, in order to be able to attract and retain quality people.
Job Analysis and Job Evaluation
A major part of retaining employees, while ensuring the organization receives the full value of their work, is to ensure that employees are paid according to the value of the work they do.
Job analysis and evaluation separates jobs into levels, based on the difference between jobs in a line and the comparative value of jobs in different lines.
Our certified consultants use job evaluation techniques to determine the value of each job to the organization, and also as part of ensuring a rational salary structure.
Performance Management
Performance Management helps organizations identify high performers and ensure that employees work in alignment with organization objectives. A good performance management system improves employees’ morale by rewarding their work in a transparent, fair and just manner, while identifying their training needs for future improvement also.
We design effective and user-friendly performance management systems that mesh personal objectives with organization objectives, through identification of competencies and development of rating scales, and linking pay to performance. We follow up our system design by training the appraisers and appraisees by holding workshops to ensure both of them understand and can use the system.
Training and Development
Organizations should recognize the important contribution training makes to continuing efficiency; otherwise obsolescence creeps in. The prime responsibility for training rests with management. Organizations retain people by offering a chance for growth, both in skills and experience, and as individuals. Employees are motivated by knowing they have the opportunity to learn new skills and move to higher positions, while the employer benefits by having trained and skilled people, who will be the future leaders of the organization
We provide training policies and structure, including setting up processes for Training Needs Assessment and Training Calendars; Development processes, like Individual Career Plans and Succession Plans; as well as actual training of employees.
Manpower Planning, Development & Succession Plans
Proper planning ensures that there are no excesses or shortfalls of personnel and people with the required skills are available when needed. A transparent Career progression plan allows an organization to retain skilled people, as they know their future prospects within the organization.
We train management in setting up Manpower Plans and Career Progression Plans aligned with Performance Management Systems so that the organization can identify the strengths and deficiencies of employees to ensure they reach their potential, while the organization develops the required skillsets for its own growth and its future leadership through management training, Succession Plans and Individual Career Plans.
Communication Policy
Lack of communication is the major source of problems within an organization, leading to conflict, loss of productivity and unnecessary stress at the workplace.
We develop an effective communication policy on request, for sharing relevant organizational matters, to ensure that everyone has the information they need to know to do their jobs effectively.
Early Separation Schemes
When an organization is overstaffed, or needs to restructure or shut down some part of the organization, the law offers a provision for retrenchment, which is legally cumbersome to implement and harmful to the morale of the organization. In such situations, the organization can offer employees an option for early separation, under a severance scheme.
Monower Associates designs customized severance packages, in addition to the employees’ terminal benefits, which are socially acceptable for loss of employment and fair and attractive to the employees.
Outplacement Services
Transitioning staff out of an organization is a delicate process and should be handled in the best possible manner. Progressive employers provide outplacement services to their employees who become redundant, to assist the employees to get a proper job on their own within the shortest possible time.
We provide career counselling and training to help develop their skills in the areas of proper resume writing, in line with the requirements of different employers for different jobs; preparation for interviews, which include prior research, proper etiquette, etc.; along with assisting the affected employees in getting jobs, when asked for.
Payroll Management
Payroll management is a major administrative problem, especially for smaller organizations, where the fixed costs are high, compared to the number of employees in service.
For such organizations, we manage employee payments, including salaries, employee benefits, tax deductions, advances, bonuses, etc., and handle all administrative issues, in utmost confidence, so the client only has to pay a single invoice each month.
Outsourcing Services
Organizations often find the process of setting up a complete establishment, following legal formalities, time consuming and expensive, in the short term. Existing organizations too, now outsource certain functions to minimize cost and avoid administrative hassles. Such organizations do not hire employees directly, but rather recruit employees through a third party to carry on their activities.
We provide employees, according to the clients’ specifications, on our payroll, and continuously monitor their performance and discipline while in service. Our reputation in the market provides us the credibility to attract and retain quality people for our clients.
HR Services | Organization Focus
HR Policies/Manuals
HR policies and procedures are crucial to the smooth and efficient operation of any organization. Personnel procedures extend beyond questions of recruitment, hiring and benefits to issues that affect the motivation, productivity, loyalty, safety and security of employees in every area of the organization.
A hallmark of Monower Associates consulting services is professional compliance review of existing handbooks, customized handbook updates, policy re-writes, and development of handbooks from scratch. We seek to understand the organization’s culture and align our work to minimize disruption while making necessary changes.
Employee Relations Policies
Employee relations is the framework within which the employer and employees interact with each other. It recognizes their interdependence and describes and outlines the obligations and responsibilities each has to the other. This allows for a smoothly functioning organization, where each party knows what is expected of them, and can operate in a climate of trust and support to maximize the organization’s effectiveness.
We assist the employers in developing systems that ensure a healthy and congenial workplace, where hostility and abuse are prevented and people are treated fairly and with dignity.
Industrial Relations Policies
Industrial relations disputes between employers and trade unions arise because the two groups often fail to recognize their interdependence and the need for fairness towards each other.
In the event of an industrial dispute, the law provides for both parties to negotiate the issue and try to reach a mutually agreed settlement. In reality, most managers do not have the skills to deal with militant Collective Bargaining Agents (CBAs). We train the managers in negotiating skills, assist them while negotiating with the CBAs and advise on when/where to compromise and peacefully resolve the disputes, on a win-win basis. We also provide legal advice through a practicing lawyer, during negotiations with CBAs.
Mediation
In the event of a situation where there is disagreement between a manager and the employer, regarding the terms and conditions of service, or some other issues, we mediate the dispute on the employer’s request, as an independent expert.
Labour Laws
Non-compliance with current law is quite common, as most employers seemingly pay little attention to enforcing compliance. As a result, most employers are unaware of the changes in the country’s Labour Laws and the updated requirements that have come into force.
We have expert legal advisors to assist employers in understanding and interpreting legal provisions and designing optimal measures to attain compliance.
Health, Safety & Environment
It is an organization’s responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy working environment and safe work practices. Failure to do so may result in injury and death and penalties and prosecution of the employer.
Our certified experts conduct OHSE audits, identify risks and develop HSE Manuals and processes for total management including reporting and Permit to Work systems and provide trainings on risk assessment, hazard identification and emergency response. We also help clients prepare for OHS certification.
HR Due Diligence
The best designed systems in the world are useless if they are not implemented properly.
We carry out HR audits to identify whether the necessary policies and procedures exist, if not, help the organization to draw up the policies and ensure all existing policies and procedures are being implemented at all levels of the organization and the existing practices are in line with the organizations stated values and policies, in order to identify the shortfalls and recommend corrective measures.
Organization Restructuring
An organization’s structure determines the way things work and the flow of responsibility, authority and accountability throughout the organization. A misaligned structure leads to complications, and makes the organization ineffective.
We design new organizations, restructure the existing ones and help clients to develop functional streams with manpower planning. We observe the existing/planned work processes and systems to understand the workflow model, which is then optimized by identifying and removing redundancies, as appropriate.
Disaster/Crisis Management
Disaster/emergency management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. It involves preparing for a disaster before it happens, disaster response (e.g. emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination, etc.), as well as supporting, and rebuilding society after natural or human-made disasters have occurred.
Having proper emergency procedures for handling sudden or unexpected situations in place helps organizations avoid severe losses such as multiple casualties and possible financial collapse of the organization.
Monower Associates helps to develop disaster & emergency plans to ensure prompt & efficient administration of a disaster situation by establishing procedures and assigning responsibilities.
Change Management
Change is inevitable, whether driven by the external environment or by internal constraints. An organization which is unable to change, will find itself irrelevant or uncompetitive. A major problem with implementing changes is that people and institutions generally resist any change that forces them outside their comfort zone.
We study an organization, identify the changes needed and design a process to implement the changes with minimal disruption to normal work.