New G4S Kenya MD
13 July 2010
Frontline team key to delivering promise, says new G4S Kenya MD
The new G4S Kenya Managing Director, John Wheater, explains his vision for the business.
Kenya is a fantastic country with lots to see and do. From a business perspective, there are big opportunities and some significant challenges. Since arriving, I’ve seen lots of talent within G4S and I am convinced that by working hard and living our values we can meet those challenges.
In living the Best People value, the business must attract best people from outside, but at the same time develop and motivate the talent within. Outside talent will come in to boost specific strategic areas. For example, our new Risk Director will be critical in engaging with customers at the highest level, offering strategic advice and developing opportunities for secure solutions.
There is a huge opportunity in Kenya to move away from commodities to solutions. The customers I’ve met in my two weeks in Kenya are interested in outsourcing their security challenges to us; to let G4S take care of their risks. But first we need to be consistently delivering the basics – our existing services.
My experience in the UK was in running a large operation with risk at the centre of it. G4S Justice and Care Services run large contracts for the UK government where giving the right service is paramount. The consequences of anything less could create a lot of negative reaction in the press. This will strike a chord with the G4S Kenya team where we have suffered from negative press attention. It's in times like these when clear leadership is required.
We need to work hard to deliver the basics of our operations so that customers, the media and the public understand the true value of G4S to them and to the Kenya economy. We have a team of 15,000 in the country whose contribution cannot be gainsaid.
The MD of G4S Kenya is not the most important person in the company. To me, the most important people in the company are those in the frontline team who engage with customers daily. The leaders’ role is to provide direction and resources to enable the frontline team to deliver the highest quality service to customers.
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About G4S
G4S is the world’s leading security solutions group, which specialises in outsourcing of business processes in sectors where security and safety risks are considered a strategic threat. G4S is the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange and has a secondary stock exchange listing in Copenhagen. G4S has operations in more than 110 countries and over 595,000 employees. For more information on G4S, visit www.g4s.com.