Continuous lockdowns have severely curtailed economic activities resulting in significant reductions in income. - NSTP/HAIRUL ANUAR RAHIM
Continuous lockdowns have severely curtailed economic activities resulting in significant reductions in income. - NSTP/HAIRUL ANUAR RAHIM

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, it is laudable that many Malaysian corporations are contributing aid and assistance as an intrinsic part of their environmental, social and (corporate) governance (ESG) agenda to help affected communities.

The government too has given out stimulus packages to promote economic revival and provide financial aid. In large part, these stimulus packages have a crucial underlying intent to preserve employment and maintain essential societal needs. This is a valuable social agenda.

Arguably, the "S" within ESG needs heightened prominence to direct efforts towards assisting impacted segments of society and help rebuild self-sufficiency.

Continuous lockdowns have severely curtailed economic activities resulting in significant reductions in income. This situation is becoming increasingly untenable with hunger and food insecurity intensifying as reserves run dry.

Like the government, corporations are similarly limited in their financial capacity to extend support due to the pandemic. How can corporations still contribute in a meaningful way? To this end, I suggest approaching ESG from a distinctly different angle.

This approach, specifically mentorship, does not impose additional financial burden, but optimises the corporations' experience and body of knowledge.

Mentorship by stronger corporations with the means to help their struggling kin has the potential to not only fortify the weaker ones, but also to enhance their ability to address the pandemic's adverse effects and sustain employment of their workforce.

Cambridge Dictionary defines mentoring as "the act or process of helping and giving advice to a younger or less experienced person…". Mentoring in the context of this column has a similar meaning except that parties involved are corporations.

Experienced mentor corporations possess a wealth of operational and technical knowhow that can be imparted to and assimilated by weaker mentee corporations to enhance capabilities to stay afloat and survive the pandemic and beyond.

Importantly, mentorship will also contribute to the nation's economic revival. Clearly, the ESG agenda is served with social impacts that are "fit-for-purpose".

The tight integration in the automotive industry between vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers is a prime example of what can be achieved through mentoring.

Although practiced as collaboration, mentorship was no doubt involved in the initial stages of this collaboration which laid the foundation for a successful and mutually beneficial relationship.

The benefits accruing was significant especially in greater innovation, stronger product alignment to market needs and trends, greater customer satisfaction, enhanced product quality and crucially, a strengthened intuitive working relationship.

The overarching intent of mentorship should be to elevate mentees to a more stable footing thereby ensuring continued employment for their workforce.

Notably, the mentoring is intended to build self-sufficiency, it is akin to teaching a person to fish rather than giving him the fish. Thus, capabilities built will be sustainable and equip mentees with requisite knowledge to institute changes needed to fit variations in market and operational circumstances

To eliminate competitive tensions, mentor corporations will select deserving candidates for mentoring from within their operational ecosystem, an example being suppliers that are critical supply chain components.

In order for efforts to be worthwhile, they must generate sustained benefits which will be shared between mentors and mentees – a win-win situation. Needless to say, trade secrets and strategic areas will not fall under the mentorship to preserve mentors' competitive advantage(s).

Additionally, mentorship must not create the perception nor take the appearance of interference in mentees' business and operations, for instance commitment of investment and resources, risk assessment and management will lie with mentees.

The subject matter of mentorship should be in areas where there are clear and explicit links between mentors and mentees.

As an example, mentorship can be on supply chain efficiency targeted at strengthening mentees' capabilities to ensure supply quality, timeliness and reliability. This is an area where mentors and mentees are explicitly linked which is capable of yielding mutual benefits.

Importantly, mentorship being collaborative will be more palatable to mentees than imposing penalties to force performance. This win-win collaboration sets the foundation for a more sustainable relationship that induces greater efficiency and responsiveness.

The platform of deeper integration and stronger collaboration that is created through initial mentorship can be progressed moving forward to a situation where mentees are embedded as intimate components of their mentors' operations and are able to intuitively recalibrate and respond to variations in mentors' demand.

Mentorship warrants consideration for its potential not only to support mentees in getting through the pandemic and keep their workforce in employment, but it also arms them with the requisite knowledge to improve and fortify for the future.

Equally important, mentorship afford mentors business benefits, directly contributes to achieving their ESG agenda and creates an impact that explicitly reflects care for society in difficult times.

The target of the proposal is two-fold. It targets mentorship at supporting economic revival and income sustenance. The tighter, more intuitive mentor-mentee collaboration that is created can be built on through further mentoring and across more areas to promote continuous improvement.

Together they can contribute to the corporations' future prosperity and the nation's economic growth.