HR PROFILE
a common language
By Archana Mehta
Scott Wilson, Ph.D., SPHR, GPHR, credits certification as the
common language that connects him to his peers around the globe.
H
By Margaret Brown
Kim Marshall, PHR, senior vice president, Human
Resources, talks about Wyndham Vacation Ownership.
ow challenging is it to manage
more than 1,000 talented
professionals in 90 locations around
the globe?
Just ask Scott Wilson.
As director of global human resources
for ENVIRON Holdings, Inc., Wilson
directs an HR organization that supports
more than 1,400 employees in 19
countries. That can mean a challenging
workday, but when he deals with HR
professionals around the world, many
speak the same language: certification.
“In the international community, when
I come across someone who is certified,
we have a common language,” Wilson
says. “I understand that this person
is experienced, with a global mindset.
With this understanding of the person’s
baseline knowledge, I can start off at a
different level than I otherwise would.”
Wilson is no stranger to working with
big entities, having begun his HR career
with the federal government in the 1980s
and having sharpened his skills in global
human resources in the late 1990s with
EDS, now a division of Hewlett-Packard.
He says it is imperative to do your due
diligence and understand the market
you hope to enter before going in. And
he says that understanding the mindset
of the executives you are working with,
16 CERTIFIED
2014: Volume I
while having a good working knowledge
of cultural nuances, can be the key to
success.
Wilson would know. He obtained his
certification as a Global Professional
in Human Resources (GPHR®) so
he could have a common perspective
with his global HR peers worldwide.
An accomplished professional (Wilson
also holds an MBA and a Ph.D.), he
is trained to think strategically about
human resources. He says there is a real
challenge — and an opportunity — for HR
professionals.
“HR is at a turning point,” Wilson
says. “We will become less relevant to our
leadership if we don’t get into the vein of
thinking about business problems at the
strategic level. Thinking strategically and
helping business leaders think creatively
about how to solve their problems is the
future of HR.”
Wilson says that ENVIRON uses
best practices to ensure its success as a
consultancy in the global marketplace.
ENVIRON focuses on environmental and
human health consulting. With a rapid
pace of growth and new opportunities
around the world, the company will need
skilled talent to meet consulting needs in
new markets.
“Our industry is growing at a steady
pace,” says Wilson. “As demand for
services expands, we are moving into
areas such as the Middle East and SubSaharan Africa.”
To meet global demands, Wilson is
helping ENVIRON identify engineers and
scientists who have consulting experience.
“We need to identify individuals who can
sell the work as consultants, not just do
the work.”
At times, finding local, skilled
consulting talent can be challenging; it
often depends on the specific market
the firm is entering. “Frequently, we
deploy consultant talent from around the
world into markets in an effort to convey
complex deliverables to clients, from law
firms to multinational companies,” Wilson
says.
Wilson also notes that ENVIRON
made a firm-wide decision to invest
in leadership development. The firm
created a global program that provides
high-potential employees a myriad of
leadership and professional development
opportunities that result in significant
personal and professional growth.
ENVIRON also supports and encourages
the pursuit of advanced degrees among
employees and, on an international basis,
engages in a significant campaign of
graduate-level recruiting.
www.HRCI.org